InfraVest’s thugs strike again

None of what happened this morning was unavoidable, if only the firm and the government agencies that have facilitated its operations had abided by democratic rules and treated the collateral to green energy with respect and humanity

Well, it was bound to happen. Early this morning, a male protester was smashed in the face with a stone by a private security officer during an altercation at the site of a wind turbine under construction. The resident of Yuanli, Miaoli County, whose cheekbones were crushed by the hit, was hospitalized and will require facial reconstruction. Another protester sustained a broken ankle.

I’d paid a personal visit to the site in early June following reports of earlier incidents. Sure enough, we were greeted at the site by a group of ruffians who not only followed us wherever we went, but also made it amply evident that our presence there was not wanted. A good number of them — hired from kung fu schools, one of them informed me, via a Taipei-based firm known as Hai Tian (海天保全) — were evidently high on a mix of nicotine and betel nut, and I thought to myself then that in the event of an altercation, such guards were bound to lose control and cause serious damage on the local youth and elderly farmers who have mobilized against the project. Already, we had seen photos and film of protesters being surrounded by thugs, dragged, and kicked while on the ground, with local police looking on. The thugs, who have no power of authority, also behaved as if they were law-enforcement officers and blocked protesters (and journalists) access to sites that are public property. This morning’s incident was but a logical continuation of the problem.

The residents of Yuanli argue that InfraVest, the German firm, and the government, have not treated them fairly. While the majority of them do not oppose wind power per se, they and their lawyers have made a strong case about the fact that the wind turbines are being erected far too close to their homes — much closer, in fact, than seen elsewhere worldwide. It’s also pretty clear that there have been serious procedural deficiencies in how the Bureau of Energy, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and other agencies have handled the “public hearings” held to resolve the matter. Among other infractions, “experimental hearings” have, post facto, been made official, and on more than one instance, the residents were informed at the last minute about a hearing, or were prevented from attending. In one instance, police officers surrounded the room in which a hearing was being held and turned their camcorders on the residents, academics and activists whenever they spoke up or asked questions.

I’d long wanted to ask InfraVest whether they thought it was appropriate for the firm to hire thugs ensure security at the site. This morning’s incident provided the perfect justification for doing so. My conversation with one of the senior employees from the main office in Taipei was on background, and the firm will issue a press release on the incident later today (pasted below, which basically claims that the residents surrounded the equipment and refused to leave after being told to do so). I can nevertheless reproduce the gist of our exchange.

I first asked if they understood that the behavior of the private security firm was undermining the company’s reputation. The company source replied that the firm had no choice, as it cannot ask local police to provide such services. She nevertheless admitted that the series of incidents earlier this had given InfraVest a bad reputation and that they had subsequently ordered that the guards henceforth refrain from engaging in verbal or physical clashes with protesters. Since then, she said, there had been not reports of incidents. This morning’s clash, she added, had come as a surprise to them. The source said InfraVest had requested a formal report from the security firm, adding that while it was difficult for them to know exactly what had happened, some protesters had reportedly uttered “bad words” at the security guards.

When I shared with her my impressions of the guards, especially the fact that some of them showed all the symptoms of being high on betel nut — including the guard who this morning used a stone to smash the protester in the fact — the company source expressed surprise and thanked me for the information.

None of this was unavoidable, if only the firm and the government agencies that have facilitated its operations had abided by democratic rules and treated the collateral to green energy with respect and humanity. Instead, the parties harden, and individuals get hurt. Sometimes, as in next-door Dapu, the outcome isn’t crushed cheekbones, but rather lives lost. (Photos by the author).

InfraVest press release:

通威公司針對苑裡工地衝突事件之聲明

對於10月23日凌晨在苗栗苑裡海堤，通威公司進行管線施工時，保全公司與現場抗議民眾肢體衝突造成民眾及保全人員受傷一事，通威公司對此鄭重表示歉意與遺憾。本公司也已經要求保全公司就事發的過程提出完整說明及報告，並將負起該有的責任。

通威公司在苗栗苑裡已裝設完成共四支的風機，現正進行第24、25、26號纜線施工，過去一段時間，不論是基礎工程、風機吊裝工程，屢屢遭受自救會的阻擋，嚴重影響工程進度，造成極大的損失。而6月底在風機吊裝工程完成後，自救會仍不斷的阻擋管線施工，迫使本公司自7/28後暫時停工。因自救會民眾在工地入口處搭帳蓬聚集，放置於現場的怪手在白天施工啟動即會遭到民眾圍堵，承包商為避免及擔心白天施工會引起衝突，才會選擇在凌晨施工。

 根據本公司初步了解，今天凌晨當自救會民眾在得知本公司工程人員進場後，抗議民眾隨即衝入到工地現場，並包圍怪手、車輛。現場的保全人員為避免民眾受傷，先於口頭上呼籲自救會民眾勿進入工地，惟民眾仍直接衝到怪手前面，保全人員則隨即站在自救會成員與怪手之間，避免可能的危險，這亦可從自救會提出的照片證明。 

據保全人員轉述，因為有抗議民眾在現場以言語挑釁，保全人員上前欲以身體將民眾與現場工程機具隔開，以確保民眾之安全。但在過程中，該名保全人員遭到另一位民眾撲倒在地，另名保全人員見狀隨即上前欲維護其同事安全，在一片混亂中，保全人員及該名民眾皆受到身體上的傷害，造成該名民眾送醫治療。這樣的結果讓本公司十分震驚，亦絕非本公司所樂見，本公司也已要求保全公司提出完整的報告經過，希望釐清事實。惟無論如何，此次衝突係發生在本公司之工地，本公司仍要在此表達最鄭重的歉意。 

台灣是個法治的國家，本公司及自救會雙方的權利都應平等地受到憲法的保障並相互尊重。自救會近月來對於制訂風力發電機與民宅距離的行動與努力，本公司也相當感佩，但政策上不完備的結果實不應由本公司單獨承擔，自救會也不應再繼續針對本公司合法通過申請的工程進行非法的抗爭。沒有任何人樂見衝突的發生，本公司還是期待自救會能回歸理性討論，讓再生能源能夠在台灣有發展的空間。