Documentary Looks Back on Start of Taiwan's Environmental Movement
A restored documentary from the 1990s takes a look back at how Taiwan's environmental movement got started in the 1980s, a time when the country was still under martial law.
**The First Environmental Movement in Taiwan**
REPORTER:
40 years ago, the people of Lukang in central Taiwan did something that hadn’t been done in Taiwan before. It was the dying days of martial law, a time when dissent was dangerous. Yet crowds of locals took to the streets, demanding a stop to plans by US chemical giant DuPont to build a factory in their backyard. And it worked.
REPORTER:
This was Taiwan’s first successful environmental movement. And now, the Taiwan International Documentary Festival is screening a restored version of the 1990 documentary that captured the movement firsthand.
Lee Daw-ming (DIRECTOR):
We wanted to understand who these people were
the ones who sacrificed everything in their lives
and devoted themselves to this work
even though it was a thankless job.
REPORTER:
The film’s restorers say it’s a reminder of the seeds for what’s become a thriving environmental movement.
Tu Li-chin (TAIWAN FILM AND AUDIOVISUAL INST.):
I think we should treat this as a history lesson
giving everyone the background.
This was Taiwan’s first environmental social movement
before the lifting of martial law.
It was large-scale and it was successful.
REPORTER:
and it was far from the end.
The film follows activists who went on to lead other protests in the 1980s. As Taiwan emerged from martial law, and eco-awareness spread—their demonstrations paved the way for the legacy of free speech, free assembly and ecological concern that’s still being felt today.
