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Aboriginal Protest Turns Violent in Taiwan
Violent clashes erupted Monday when a group of aborigines staged a demonstration at an Asia Cement Co. plant in eastern Taiwan's Hualien County demanding that the firm return the factory's land to them, reports said.
The 40-plus aboriginal demonstrators first planted two seedlings at the rear entrance of the Asia Cement factory in Hsiulin, Hualien County to symbolize their ownership of the land, which is near the county's scenic Taroko Gorge.
The aborigines claimed that the Asia Cement factory is located on property that their ancestors handed down to them. They already staged a protest last Friday demanding that the company remove surrounding fences, buildings and machines from the site before March 12.
As Asia Cement made no response to their demands, the aborigines began to converge at the back entrance to the plant early Monday morning. After a three-hour standoff with the firm's staff, the demonstrators broke through barbed-wire fences and forced their way into the rear of the plant compound.
Asia Cement employees tried to bar the intruders, resulting in a dozen injuries of both demonstrators and Asia Cement workers.
Amid the chaos, aboriginal demonstrators planted several trees in the Asia Cement compound to signify their claim to the site.
The violent clashes ended when police forces restored order. The aboriginal demonstrators left the compound at around noon, but they vowed to continue their "land reclamation" crusade until the property is returned to them.
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