Two conflicting voices from Hualian made their way to Taipei on Thursday, with a group of around 30 youths expressing strong opposition to the construction of the Suao-Hualian Expressway, and an estimated 4,000 Hualian residents rallying in support of the expressway.
The latter group, led by legislators and the Hualian County Council Speaker Yang Wen-chih, crowded onto Ketagalan Boulevard while chanting "Give us back the expressway," and urging the government to listen to "the real voice" of Hualian residents.

Participants of the rally, most of them middle-aged and elderly citizens from Hualian County and Hualian City, piled out of tour buses wearing bamboo hats and holding banners that read "A roar from Hualian people: we want the Suao-Hualian Expressway!"

After staging a rally in front of the Presidential Office, the crowd made its way down Zhongshan South Road and temporarily interrupting traffic in the area. The police estimated 4,000 people took part in the march.

Kuomintang Legislator Fu Kun-chi （傅崑萁）, who jointly launched the rally with Yang, urged the government to immediately begin construction of the expressway and promised that otherwise the group would stage more rallies in the future.

President Chen Shui-bian （陳水扁） said last month that the 86-kilometer expressway connecting Suao and Hualian is necessary but that a prerequisite for its construction is that the project has to pass an Environmental Protection Administration assessment. Chens remark has sparked heated debate between people who support and oppose the construction work.

Tien Hsuan-chih, governor of Ji-an Township in Hualian County, noted that the project had already been delayed for more than three years.

"The government is using the excuse of the EPAs environmental impact assessment committee to delay the construction. It is not fair for the local people," Tien said.

A Ji-an Townshipresident agreed.

"All we want is an expressway so that our farm produce can be delivered to other places of Taiwan more conveniently," said Huang Ai-ling. "The current Suao-Hualian highway is too winding and heavy traffic has caused local people great trouble for many decades."

Another resident stressed that the expressway is needed to boost the economy for local residents.

"Hualian is a place without development. The construction of the expressway will certainly bring prosperity and more business opportunity to the region," said Vala Woten, an aboriginal from the Amis tribe.

When asked about activist complaints that construction of the expressway would confiscate lands from indigenous residents and might be ecologically and culturally damaging to eastern Taiwan, Vala said that "it has to be, so the region can have more development."

But groups of youths from Hualian did not share the same opinion.

They jointly held a press conference in Taipei on Thursday morning to oppose the construction project, presenting the media with a petition protesting the expressway project that had gained 25,000 signatures island-wide.

Tsai Chung-yueh, a graduate from National Hualien High School, told reporters that many of the youths in Hualian support better development for their hometown, but they do not think an expressway is the way to economic improvement.

Ciwang Teyra, another student and a member of the Truku tribe, said that the planned route of the expressway would pass through many of the tribes traditional territories.

According to Article 21 of the Aboriginal Law, the government has to gain approval from the tribes before opening up development in projects involving aboriginal lands.

"The government has never established a platform to consult and open a dialogue with the Truku tribe. The behavior not only ignores the tribe, but also violates the spirit of the law," said Ciwang.

Responding to the two young voices, Executive Yuan Spokeswoman Chen Mei-ling later noted that the ruling government leans toward going ahead with construction of the expressway, but that the EPAs assessment is key to the issue.

According to media reports, agencies responsible for assessing the potential environmental impact of the project are still researching the issue.

Chen said that the assessment committee scheduled to convene at the end of May will not include the discussion of the expressway construction.

As for environmental groups calling for a public debate on the issue, Chen said she has asked for the EPA to negotiate directly with the groups.