【China Post】Activists urge people to save Taiwan's last coastal habitat 20110623

Environmentalists and other notable personalities rally against government plans to pave over Alangyi (阿塱壹) Ancient Trail. From left to right: Essayist Chang Hsiao-feng (張曉風), Green Party Spokesman Pan Han-shen (潘翰聲), Musician Matthew Lien, and Chairman Hung Hui-hsiang (洪輝祥) of Pingtung Environmental Protection Union attend the rally.(CNA)

TAIPEI--A group made of activists, celebrities and people concerned about environmental protection gathered in Taipei yesterday to encourage more people to join efforts to save the country's only remaining intact coastal ecosystem.

The group hoped to get 100,000 people to sign a petition for preserving the Alangyi (阿塱壹) Ancient Trail in the southern county of Pingtung by July 24, the date by which the historical trail will be turned into a part of Taiwan Provincial Highway No. 26.

An 8-kilometer hiking trail, the Alangyi was established in the 1870s and used primarily by indigenous tribes for travel along the coast. In recent years, it has gained popularity with nature lovers, especially because it follows the last stretch of Taiwanese coastline that is void of concrete wave breakers, dykes and blacktops.

The thousand-year-old trail not only preserves cultural heritage but also serves as an ecological corridor for scores of endangered flora and fauna species, said Hung Hui-hsiang (洪輝祥), chairman of the Pingtung Environmental Protection Union, at a press conference.

“Those who have never been there yet cannot imagine how beautiful and touching it is,” Hung said. “The nature there is well-preserved and the biodiversity is simply amazing. The significance of preserving this trail is to leave Taiwan an open lap for the ecosystem.”

The press conference was also attended by essayist Chang Hsiao-feng (張曉風) and director Chen Wen-pin (陳文彬), both of whom wrote a poem to express their affection toward that area. Musician Matthew Lien, a Canadian expatriate who just visited the trail in early June, also showed up to give his support.

The group also invited three candidates that will run in the 2012 election to pay a visit to the area in an attempt to make them experience the area's beauty and endorse their appeal.

Updated Thursday, June 23, 2011 11:18 pm TWN, CNA
原文引用：http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/2011/06/23/307216/Activists-urge.htm