Administrative divisions
There are seven
neighborhoods (社) in Lanyu Township, four of which are also administrative
villages (村):
Flora and fauna
Orchid Island hosts many tropical plant species, sharing many species with tropical Asia but also many
endemics
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
: there are 35 plant species found nowhere else. For example, ''
Pinanga tashiroi
''Pinanga tashiroi'' is a species of palm tree in the family Arecaceae
The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all c ...
'' is a species of
palm tree
The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm tr ...
found nowhere else than Orchid Island.
Green sea turtle
The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exten ...
s make nests on the island, which is surrounded by coral reefs. Four species of
sea snakes inhabit the waters around the island.
Humpback whale
The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh up to . The hu ...
s were historically common in the area, and there were continuous sightings of them in the 2000s, which marked the first return of the species into Taiwanese waters since the cessation of whaling. Sightings are reported almost every year, although the whales do not stay for long, as they once did. They appear instead to be migratory visitors.
Demographics
Out of a total current population of 5036, approximately 4200 belong to the indigenous
Tao people
The Tao people are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the tiny outlying Orchid Island of Taiwan. They have a maritime culture, with great ritual and spiritual significance placed on boat-building and fishing. Their ways of life have been th ...
and the remaining 800 are mainly
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive v ...
.
Economy
The islanders are mostly farmers and fishermen relying on a large annual catch of
flying fish and on
wet taro,
yams, and
millet
Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets a ...
.
On 19 September 2014, the first
7-Eleven
7-Eleven, Inc., stylized as 7-ELEVE, is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. A ...
store in the island was opened. During the opening ceremony, the township chief said that the store could provide conveniences to the local residents such as fee and tax collection.
Energy
Nuclear waste
The
Lanyu
Orchid Island, also known by other names, is a volcanic island off the southeastern coast of Taiwan Island. The island is part of Taiwan. It is separated from the Batanes of the Philippines by the Bashi Channel of the Luzon Strait. It is g ...
nuclear waste storage facility was built at the southern tip of Orchid Island in 1982. The plant receives nuclear waste from Taiwan's three nuclear power plants operated by state utility
Taiwan Power Company
The Taiwan Power Company (, Taipower; ) is a state-owned electric power industry providing electricity to Taiwan and off-shore islands of the Republic of China.
History
Taipower was established on 1 May 1946. Its origins can be traced to 19 ...
(Taipower). Islanders did not have a say in the decision to locate the facility on the island.
In 2002, almost 2000 protesters, including many residents and elementary and high school students from the island, staged a sit-in in front of the storage plant, calling on Taipower to remove nuclear waste from the island. The government had pledged and then failed to withdraw the 100,000 barrels of waste from their island by the end of 2002.
Aboriginal politicians successfully obstructed legislative proceedings that year to show support for the protests. In a bid to allay safety concerns, Taipower has pledged to repackage the waste since many of the iron barrels used for storage have become rusty from the island's salty and humid air. Taipower has for years been exploring ways to ship the nuclear waste overseas for final storage, but plans to store the waste in an abandoned North Korean coal mine have met with strong protests from neighboring South Korea and Japan due to safety and environmental concerns, while storage in Russia or China is complicated by political factors. Taipower is "trying to convince the islanders to extend the storage arrangement for another nine years in exchange for payment of
NT$
The New Taiwan dollar (code: TWD; symbol: NT$, also abbreviated as NT) is the official currency of Taiwan. The New Taiwan dollar has been the currency of Taiwan since 1949, when it replaced the Old Taiwan dollar, at a rate of 40,000 old dollar ...
200 million (about
$5.7 million)".
Following years of protests by residents, more concerns arose about the facility after Japan's
Fukushima nuclear disaster
The was a nuclear accident in 2011 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan. The proximate cause of the disaster was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which occurred on the afternoon of 11 March 2011 ...
in 2011. A report released in November 2011 said a radioactive leak had been detected outside the facility and this has added to residents’ concerns. In February 2012, hundreds of Tao living on Orchid Island held a protest outside the nuclear waste storage facility.
Chang Hai-yu, a preacher at a local church, said "it was a tragedy that Tao children are being born into a radiation-filled environment". Lanyu mayor Chiang To-li "urged Taipower to remove nuclear waste from the island as soon as possible".
In March 2012, about 2,000 people staged an anti-nuclear protest in Taiwan's capital
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...
. Scores of aboriginal protesters "demanded the removal of 100,000 barrels of nuclear waste stored on Orchid Island, off south-eastern Taiwan. Authorities have failed to find a substitute storage site amid increased awareness of nuclear danger over the past decade".
Power generation
The island houses its only power generation facility, the fuel-fired
Lanyu Power Plant
The Lanyu Power Plant () is a Fossil-fuel power station, fuel-fired power plant in Yuren Village, Orchid Island, Taitung County, Taiwan. It is the only Power station, power plant on Orchid Island.
Technical specification
The power plant uses 15, ...
. Commissioned in 1982, the plant has a total installed capacity of 6.5 MW and is owned and operated by
Taipower. Stipulated under Article 14 of the Offshore Islands Development Act, households on the island enjoy free electricity. The situation on the island resulted from the preferential policy given to the island residents due to the construction of the
Lanyu Storage Site on the island in 1982.
Due to the free electricity, electricity consumption on the island is generally much higher than in other parts of Taiwan. In 2011, the average annual electricity consumption per household in Lanyu was 6,522 kWh, almost twice the 3,654 kWh Taiwan average. In 2002, Taipower provided an equivalent of NT$6.35 million worth of electricity to the island, and in 2011 the amount rose to NT$24.39 million. Due to this suspected abuse, members of
Control Yuan
The Control Yuan is the supervisory and auditory branch of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Prior to constitutional reforms in the 1990s, the Control Yuan, along with National Assembly (electoral college) and the Legislat ...
called for an investigation into the electricity subsidy to Lanyu Island in 2012.
Tourist attractions
*
Lanyu Flying Fish Cultural Museum
*
Lanyu Lighthouse
*
Lanyu Weather Station
Transport
The island is accessible by sea or air.
Daily Air
Daily Air Corporation () is an airline with its headquarters in Songshan District, Taipei, Taiwan. It operates scheduled passenger services to offshore islands from Taiwan, including Penghu, Green Island and Orchid Island, as well as helicopter ...
offers flights from
Taitung Airport
Taitung Airport () is an airport serving Taitung City, in Taitung County, Taiwan.[Airport i ...](_blank)
in
Taitung City
Taitung City () is a county-administered city and the county seat of Taitung County, Taiwan. It lies on the southeast coast of Taiwan facing the Pacific Ocean. Taitung City is the most populous subdivision of Taitung County and it is one of th ...
to
Lanyu Airport on Orchid Island. The flight duration is half an hour and the daily frequency is dependent on weather conditions. Ferry trips to the island are available from Taitung City's
Fugang Fishery Harbor year round. In the summer, there is a ferry from Houbihu port in Kenting.
Gallery
Langdao.JPG, Langdao beach
Lanyu 8.JPG, Traditional canoe
View from the Lovers Cave near Iranmeylek.jpg, Lovers' Cave near Iranmeylek
Coastal landscape Lan Yu, Taiwan.jpg, Fields along the coast
Steamed Bread Rock (257260399).jpeg, Mantou
''Mantou'' (), often referred to as Chinese steamed bun, is a white and soft type of steamed bread or bun popular in northern China. Folk etymology connects the name ''mantou'' to a tale about Zhuge Liang.
Description
''Mantou'' are t ...
Rock
The Discarded Anti-communist Slogan in Orchid Island 2010-9-15.jpg, Old anti-Communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
slogan
Traditional Tao Building 2010-9-14.jpg, Traditional Tao building
Yami 1900 02.jpg, Tao fishermen in 1900
See also
*
Green Island – the other offshore township of Taitung County
*
List of islands of Taiwan
*
List of volcanoes in Taiwan
References
Citations
Bibliography
* .
Further reading
*
* Badaiwan de Shenhua 《八代灣的神話》 (Myths from Ba-dai Bay). Taipei: Morning Star Publishing Co., 1992.—Syaman Rapongan's first book; a collection of myths and his personal reflections on contemporary Tao; divided into two parts, with the first on myths, and the second on personal reflections.
* Lenghai Qing Shenhaiyang Chaosheng Zhe 《冷海情深—海洋朝聖者》(Deep Love for Cold Sea: The Oceanic Pilgrim). Taipei: Unitas Publishing Co., Ltd., 1997.—A collection of short stories about Syaman Rapongan's life on Lanyu; the book marks the writer's constant struggles with himself and his family because he voluntarily went unemployed and devoted himself solely to the ocean as a bare-hand diver in order to explore Tao civilization and find the meaning of life. The book also marks the writer's initial identity transition from a Sinicized man to a real Tao who embraces the value of physical labor and learns to cultivate the art of story-telling. The book was the Annual Reading for 1997 by United Daily News.
* Heise de Chibang 《黑色的翅膀》 (Black Wings). Taipei: Morning Star Publishing Co., 1999.—Syaman Rapongan's first novel; it questions the future of Tao people through the characterization of four young men (Kaswal, Gigimit, Jyavehai and Ngalolog) Should they run rigorously after the tempting ‘white body’ on the land or wait patiently for the arrival of ‘black wings’ on the sea? Although this appears a rhetorical question, Syaman Rapongan reveals that the conflicts are severe and their impact profound. This novel won Wu Zhuo-liou Literary Award in 1999.
* Hailang de Jiyi 《海浪的記憶》 (Memory of the Ocean Waves). Taipei: Unitas Publishing Co., Ltd., 2002.—Another collection of short stories; divided into two parts, with the first on the countless ties between Tao and the sea (six stories), and the second on Tao's staunch fights against foreign influences. Experimenting boldly with different genre and languages, the writer combines verses with prose and juxtaposes Tao and Chinese languages. As another Taiwanese writer and critic, Song Ze-lai, points out, Syaman Rapongan deliberately defamiliarizes his language and syntax in order to praise traditional Tao values and to guide his readers, especially Tao, back to the original way of living, far from influences of Chinese culture and modern civilization.
* Hanghaijia de Lian 《航海家的臉》 (The Face of a Navigator). Taipei: INK Literary Publishing Co., 2007.—Also a collection of articles; it continues the oceanic theme but exposes more of Syaman Rapongan's personal battles with modernity or traditionality and his pursuit of prosperity or return to innocence. Calling him-self a nomadic soul, Syaman Rapongan knows there may be no end to his battle. His course is a romantic one, without any definite plan. Nor will his beloved sea offer any answer or guidance. Nevertheless, consolation can be found in sweet solitude and family understanding. Syaman Rapongan's first attempt at trans-Pacific navigation with a Japanese captain and five Indonesian crew members is also included here.
* Lao Hairen 《老海人》 (Old Ama Divers). Taipei: INK Literary Publishing Co., Ltd., 2009.—Syaman Rapongan's second novel; highly praised and awarded (The Wu Lu-chin Prize for Essays, Chiu Ko Publishing Co. Annual Selection in 2006). Instead of following the previous semi-biographical direction, Syaman Rapongan focuses on three outcasts on his island, Ngalomirem, Tagangan and Zomagpit, whose pretty names fail to bring them pretty lives. Ngalomiren is regarded as a psychopath, Tagangan a miserable student though a brilliant octopus-catcher, and Zomagpit a hopeless drunkard. Through these figures, Syaman Rapongan portrays how Tao society stumbles between traditionality and modernity, and how broken the society has become in both material and mental terms as its humble and simple way becomes recognized again. In spite of a slight hope for reconciliation, this way back to the humble and simple Tao world is arduous, sometimes painful, and fully filled with regrets.
External links
Taiwan Aborigine Monograph Series 2Cultural Survival on Orchid IslandSome information and pictures about the island*
ttp://reading.udn.com/act/syaman/index-en.html Syaman Rapongan, Taiwan's Ocean Literature WriterBBC News: Taiwan's paradise island fights to save its identity
{{Authority control
Islands of Taiwan
Landforms of Taitung County
Lands inhabited by indigenous peoples
Miocene volcanoes
Subduction volcanoes
Volcanoes of Taiwan