3
In this paper, I would illustrate the evolution of environmental justice campaigns in
Taiwan and suggest that theses movements did not only emerge from the existing social
grievances, but also mostly from the discourse of industrial countries introduced by
intellectuals in Taiwan who had experiences engaging the industrial countries. In this
dynamic process, the epistemic community plays a significant role, for they are not only
social norm definers who create the legitimacy for the environmental justice discourse,
but also leaders of these movements, directly challenging the Taiwanese government. The
strong participation of intellectuals not only integrates these campaigns into a nationwide
movement with a core discourse but also pressures the government to react effectively.
Unlike intellectuals in Taiwan, those in China tend to exist as an advisory body of the
government and feel relatively reluctant to challenge the Chinese government. Their
relatively lower social status and lack of participation in leading massive environmental
campaigns result in the failure for activists to develop a thorough environmental justice
discourse and also keep the these campaigns from integrating into an organized
nationwide movement.
In other words, the fact that environmental campaigns are generally more accepted by
the governments across the Taiwan Straits is mostly because of the penetration of Western
Convention