Taipei: Lawmakers from Taiwan’s three major parties have agreed on a draft special bill for reconstruction in areas impacted by flooding caused by a barrier lake that formed in eastern Taiwan in late September, though local Indigenous residents are calling for an alternative solution. The approved version earmarks NT$30 billion (US$977 million) to assist residents of Hualien County’s Guangfu Township rebuild and restore their lives, with work expected to be mostly completed by April 2027, the opposition Kuomintang (KMT), which proposed the draft, said in a press release Thursday.

According to Focus Taiwan, the banks of the Matai’an Barrier Lake in Hualien County burst on Sept. 23 after record rainfall brought by Typhoon Ragasa, sending 60 million tons of water and debris through Guangfu Township within two hours, killing at least 19 people. The KMT’s proposed bill met no objection during cross-party negotiations held Thursday afternoon, which were also attended by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP).

The KMT’s statement highlighted that the special bill, once passed on Friday, would be Taiwan’s first to address a barrier lake-related disaster, which left more than 600 hectares of land in Guangfu, Fonglin, and Wanrung townships buried under mud. However, before the negotiations, youth representatives from local Amis (or Pangcah) villages gathered outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei to voice their opposition to the KMT proposal.

Namoh Nofu, one of the demonstrators, expressed opposition to relocating communities elsewhere and preferred to rebuild homes on the original site while temporarily living in transitional shelters. This sentiment stems from a past tragedy in Siaolin Village in Kaohsiung, where a landslide during Typhoon Morakot in 2009 displaced residents across three separate locations.

Another demonstrator, Lisin, criticized the lack of community involvement in a meeting held by KMT lawmakers Fu Kun-chi and Sra Kacaw, stating that they were initially barred from attending and that the meeting did not focus on the bill. The KMT emphasized in its statement that the bill must comply with the Indigenous Peoples Basic Law by fully consulting with local communities, pledging to respect residents’ wishes in relocation and shelter arrangements.

Huang Shu-mei, an associate professor at National Taiwan University’s Graduate Institute of Building and Planning, warned against the villagers losing land ownership if moved to permanent housing and cautioned the KMT against repeating past mistakes. Chang Yu-chuan, a professor at National Taitung University, added that forcing the Amis people to relocate permanently would sever their deep ties to their land, community, and culture.