Both China and Taiwan have experienced impressive economic growth through rapid industrialization that has resulted in a higher standard of living for citizens on the one hand, but has come at the cost of severe environmental degradation on the other. One of the byproducts of this economic growth and accompanying environmental stress has been an increased awareness among citizens of their living environment. And this newfound environmental consciousness can be manifested through various forms of protest when concerned citizens feel that their rights have been infringed upon by either the government or an offending industry. This thesis is concerned chiefly with the evolution of environmental protests in China and Taiwan, and explores two specific cases that are examples of a classic NIMBY-style (not-in-my-back-yard) protest: the anti-DuPont movement in Lukang, Taiwan from 1986-87 and the anti-PX movement in Xiamen, China from 2006-07. Both events have been hailed as watersheds in their respective polities’ environmental movements because they represent improved public participation in environmental protection activities. Whereas reactive protests had been the norm before, the events in Lukang and Xiamen showed that preventive measures, taken before citizens’ environmental rights can be potentially violated, was and still is possible. What make these NIMBY protests all the more fascinating and worthy of further exploration are the respective political backdrops during which they occurred—in Taiwan before the lifting of martial law, and in China when mass demonstrations are seldom allowed to proceed. This thesis will explore the main components of the Lukang and Xiamen protests and conduct a comparative analysis of their organizations, the events that transpired, as well as the official responses with which they were met. It is hoped that this thesis shows how the events in Xiamen echo those from Lukang some twenty years before, and that it provides some insight into the expanding role of citizens in environmental protection activities in both China and Taiwan.

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