Meiliwan Resort Hotel’s game of words

On the 5th March, at the Fushan Village Activity Center in Beinan Township, Taitung County, a public meeting was held to look at issues concerning the resumption of building work at Meiliwan Resort Hotel (美麗灣渡假村). Although, the majority of local attendees were in their thirties upwards, the developer failed to acknowledge the need for a translator to clearly explain the content of proceedings in either the local Ami dialect or Taiwanese, and instead used Mandarin Chinese.
The developer is currently focused on installing hotel equipment, carrying out external landscaping works as well as related preparations before operating. The CJ observed that before the end of the morning session of the meeting, Meiliwan Resort car park began to fill with construction vehicles, materials and construction personnel; it seems time is of the essence!
Meiliwan Resort representative Lin Hong-che (林弘哲) said the resort was designed ‘ in harmony with the local environment’. However, after some investigation, the CJ ascertained that the hotel swimming pool has been build within reach of the ocean waves – not a great selling point!
Meiliwan Resort Hotel Co has stressed that Taitung County residents will be permitted to enjoy the ‘clean and safe’ beach completely free, but residents from other counties will be required to pay - “users have to pay.” In the future, should you wish to enjoy the area around Meiliwan Resort Hotel, even though you don’t eat, drink, use toilet facilities, or trouble any of the hotel staff, you will most certainly be required to pay. "Every room in the hotel enjoys panoramic views over the beautiful Shanyuan Bay (杉原灣),” stressed Lin Hong-che. The CJ pointed out that even though generations of local residents have enjoyed the same beautiful views over Shanyuan Bay, it seems that now that Meiliwan Resort Hotel has been constructed, this view has suddenly become a commodity, which will be controlled and sold off. It seems that in the eyes of Meiliwan Resort Hotel ‘cultural identity’ is nothing more than a means of profiteering.
With regards to pollution control measures, Meiliwan Resort Hotel emphasizes that the hotel will merely generate ‘everyday’ wastewater, and that there will be no industrial pollution. However, with over 100 employees and 80 rooms, the large amount of wastewater that will inevitably be generated by hundreds of tourists is very alarming. The hotel emphasized that except for “torrential rains, typhoons and other emergency situations,” all wastewater will be treated and recycled to effectively protect the local ecological environment. Unfortunately, the hotel failed to elaborate on the meaning of ‘other emergency situations’, and just what potential damage these may cause.
Meiliwan Resort Hotel Co stresses the protection of four main areas: local cultural identity; environment and ecology; employment opportunities; and public interest. However, ‘employment opportunities’ at Meiliwan Resort Hotel do not amount to ‘employment guarantees.’ The outcome of Taitung County Government’s first BOT venture, which has become an embarrassing fiasco, is something everyone awaits!

Meiliwan Resort Hotel’s game of words

URL:http://www.peopo.org/news/109171

美麗灣教我們的文字遊戲

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3月5日於台東縣卑南鄉富山村活動中心內，舉辦「美麗灣渡假村新建工程施工前公開說明會」，參加民眾多為中高年齡者，但現場沒有當地方言─閩南語或阿美語族語─的翻譯員，業者全程以國語發言。

近期業者的工作重點包括飯店設備的建置、外部景觀工程及營運前相關準備，公民記者觀察到，上午開說明會，中午不到，美麗灣停車場就看到工程車、材料及施工人員進駐，動作很快。

美麗灣員工代表林弘哲說飯店建築物是「配合地形地勢」做設計，但公民記者也為文提醒網友，蓋在沙灘上的游泳池正位於海浪行水區，觀浪應該不是景觀賣點之一。

業者並有心地強調台東縣民進入「乾淨、安全的」海灘完全免費，但外縣市居民還是要付費的，因為「使用者付費」嘛，進來美麗灣渡假村的範圍內，就算你不吃、不喝、不拉、不必麻煩到任何一位飯店的工作人員，也是要付費。林弘哲強調「每一間客房都可以看到美麗的杉原灣海景」。公民記者指出，海邊在地居民世世代代天天看的杉原灣海景，從飯店房間看出去，跟在自家門口看出去，好像開始不一樣了，海岸可以框起來買賣，文化可以在公共空間或各種指定展演「當地特色」的場地再現。
   
關於汙染防制措施，美麗灣業者強調飯店產生的是「生活汙水」，不是工業汙水。不過，這個「大戶」的「生活汙水」總量應該很驚人，它有來自80個房間、上百名員工、數百名遊客在製造汙水。美麗灣還表示，就算是處理過的水，也是全回收再利用，能有效保護當地生態環境，除了「暴雨、颱風及其他緊急狀況」。這「其他緊急狀況」若造成破壞怎麼辦？業者沒提到。

業者強調四項保證「文化特色、環境生態、就業機會、公共利益」，但美麗灣的「就業機會」從不等於「就業保證」。台東縣政府面對這第一件BOT案的窘境，到底會怎樣轉進，值得繼續注意。