9
sovereignty to indigenous people, drawing an “old-time boundary” that can keep the
indigenous culture and rule intact.
The environmental justice campaigns for Orchid Island gradually became an impetus
and a precursor of large-scale civil right movements of indigenous people. Although the
indigenous people are still too weak to speak out for themselves, the facts that they have
won more and more battles “without” their direct massive participation, “without” their
own active political lobbies, and even “without” the assistance from the international
society are astonishing. How does it happen? To answer this question, we might need an
alternative explanation to tell the whole story. We might find a clue while we compare
these campaigns with the environmental disputes in China.
Environmental Justice Campaigns in China
Unlike their counterparts in the other side of the Taiwan Strait, in China,
environmental disputes campaigns only became influential in Chinese politics in recent
years. Nevertheless, these environmental campaigns have received higher tolerance from
the authoritative Chinese government.
1
The Chinese government, which is noted for the
1
Please see the report from US Embassy in Beijing, “Environmental NGO's in China: Green is Good, But
Don't Openly Oppose the Party”, http://www.usembassy-china.org.cn/sandt/ngo3.htm.
Convention