Protest Planned for the Executive Yuan

Paper humpback dolphins for tomorrow's protest: photo courtesy of the Taiwan Academy of Ecology.


At 10:00 a.m. tomorrow members of the Matsu's Fish Conservation Union will be joined by a number of other interested groups to stage a small demonstration in conjunction with the delivery of a petition to the Executive Yuan (EY) concerning the plight of the Taiwan humpback dolphins and the need for the government to take action on the five major threats to the dolphins identified by international experts at the Second International Workshop on the Conservation of the Taiwan Humpback Dolphins in September 2007. The members of the Matsu's Fish Conservation Union will be joined by a number of other interested groups including representatives from the Green Party Taiwan and Taiwan's largest ecology organization, the Society of Wilderness.

Five paper models of the dolphins will represent each of the five major threats.

Protesters will be asking the EY to commit to addressing the concerns and to appoint a Minister to take responsibility for the issue and act as a window for consultation on the issue.

The Executive Yuan will accept the petition and likely arrange for several officials to meet with representatives of the various groups attending.

We have also heard that the steering committee set up at the Second International Workshop to establish an international working group of scientific experts whose mandate will be to provide independent advice on the research and conservation needs of the Taiwan humpback dolphins will be announcing the establishment of the scientific working group tomorrow. This announcement will be made in the United States and will coincide with the Taiwan protest.