Abstract
Democracy is messy. Ever since Taiwan became a democracy, starting in the 1990s, the state of the environment has become increasingly politicized. This occurs in virtually all democratic societies around the world, because it is difficult to reach consensus on what is best for the nation and society as a whole, as opposed to what is best for individual special interest groups and stakeholders. The end result is often disappointing for those who cherish a quality environment. Non-democratic societies usually do not have opportunities and avenues to campaign for a better environment because those in a position of power can do whatever they like. Taiwan was like this back in the decades when the Kuomintang ruled with an iron fist (1940s into the 1980s). But that era is largely over. In today’s Taiwan it is ironic that all the stakeholders in the environmental scene (national and local governments, NGOs, academic institutions, businesses, and private citizens) claim to be in favour of sustainable economic development. The problem lies, however, in the many interpretations of what this really means.
Simona Grano provides an interesting and detailed examination of this dilemma, in her book on Environmental Governance in Taiwan, one of the latest additions to Routledge’s excellent series, Routledge Research on Taiwan. After reading some of the literature on Taiwan’s environmental situation, Grano felt a pressing need to bring the story up to date, to the end of the Ma Ying-jeou administration in 2015, and specifically to examine the roles of the various stakeholders in the complex environmental governance in Taiwan. Toward that end, Grano spent the year between 2011 and 2012 in Taiwan doing field research, which involved an impressive number of interviews with individuals and stakeholders, an exhaustive review of the literature, travel and field investigation in many parts of Taiwan, participation in rallies and protests, in short a total immersion in the environmental scene in Taiwan. Part of her rationale for writing this book also is the fact that with the return to power of the Kuomintang in the 2008 elections, Taiwan’s environmental governance became even more complicated, with the rise of more effective NGOs and other interest groups, proliferation of political parties, and ‘green politics’ taking centre stage. Taiwan has become an excellent case study of how the environment fares within a complex governance system, and might provide useful lessons to other countries struggling with similar issues.
The book begins with a chapter reviewing the broad range of environmental politics in Taiwan, followed by a chapter summarizing the history of Taiwan’s environment. These are useful chapters, although repeating much that is already available in other literature. The most interesting parts of the book, and the most valuable contribution, are the four succeeding chapters devoted to case studies of four major development projects that have bedevilled Taiwan for many years, namely, nuclear energy and the controversy over the fourth nuclear power plant; Taiwan’s petrochemical industry and the raging controversy over the Kuokuang Petrochemical Naphtha Cracker; the Taipei Dome build-operate-transfer project; and the Tamsui North Shore Road Project. These four illustrate particularly well the incredible complexity of environmental governance in Taiwan, the zigzag path that development projects must go through in order to pass an environmental impact assessment and all the other hurdles standing in the way, and the uncomfortable reality that many of the stakeholders are self-serving first and devoted to the well-being of the environment second. This includes the major political parties, the Kuomintang and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Grano’s book vividly reminds us that the road to sustainable development in Taiwan is a tortuous one indeed. With the return to power of the DPP in the January 2016 election, it will be interesting to see whether the government returns to a truly pro-environment approach to sustainable development, as still promised on the DPP platform, or whether the familiar pattern of compromising of principles and self-serving behaviour on the part of officials (at all levels) will prevail. Much will depend on whether the DPP gains control of the legislature, not just the presidency.
The reader can learn much from Grano’s detailed and carefully documented story. Her book is must reading for anyone interested in contemporary Taiwan and environmental policy and governance.