Give Kihaw an opportunity

Kihaw, which means “beautiful natural harbor” in the Amis tribal language, is located close to Taitung’s Sanxiantai Nature Reserve (三仙台保護區) and Pisirian (比西里岸). Kihaw’s beautiful natural harbor and coral reef, as well as countless other natural resources, have made it a popular tourist spot. But this business opportunity has not gone unnoticed, and in the near future two major development projects will commence, one of which is an ecological aquarium by the Julius Baer Group (寶盛集團). Only seven days before work commenced and with barely any information regarding the project, the company held an information meeting to notify local residents and tribespeople of its construction plans. This sloppy and negligent behavior incited a strong reaction from locals.

The emergence of this large-scale development project will hit the traditional culture of tribal life, and the government has yet to take the appropriate supporting measures or been able to give any positive response to the concerns of the tribe. Pisirian Tribal Youth Group (比西里岸部落青年會) member Fusay Lekal Sapiyat said that pollution from the development project would not only cause environmental damage, but also indirectly strangle their traditional culture through the elimination of the surrounding natural resources. This, she said, would eventually lead to a situation where they would be unable to pass on their tribal traditions.

Give Kihaw an opportunity

URL：https://www.peopo.org/news/298551

(以下是中文對照)

還給基翬一個機會

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基翬(阿美族語Kihaw，語意為天然美麗港灣)緊鄰於台東縣成功鎮三仙台保護區和比西里岸，擁有天然港灣以及珊瑚礁等自然資源，是觀光熱門之地。也因這股商機，近期有兩大開發案將在此動工，如寶盛集團的水族生態遊樂區是其中之一，此開發案在毫無相關資料的情況下召開說明會，當地居民以及部落族人在施工前七天才被告知即將動工的消息，草率的行動引發強烈反彈。

大型開發案的出現，將重創部落的傳統文化生活，而政府至今尚未做出適當的配套措施，也無正面回應部落族人的聲音，比西里岸部落青年會幹部的Fusay‧Lekal‧Sapiyat表示，開發案帶來的污染不只是造成環境破壞，當天然資源消失的同時，也會間接扼殺傳統文化，導致族人們無法把傳統延續下去。