Orchid Island

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Old photo of the people of Orchid Island, near Taiwan published in a Japanese colonial government publication, ca. 1931.

An Orchid Island native with a canoe (1960s)

An Orchid Island native in her house

Orchid Island (Traditional Chinese: 蘭嶼; pinyin: Lán Yǔ; POJ: Lân-sū) is a 45-km² volcanic island off the eastern coast of Taiwan in the Pacific. It is governed as Lanyu Township of Taitung County of the Republic of China. The island is the homeland to the Tao Taiwanese aborigines (also known as the Yami people), who call the island Ponso no Tao ("the island where we live"; also spelt Pongso no Tao). The island is also known as Botel Tobago.

Since 1982, Taipower Company has been dumping nuclear waste on this island and surrounding sea.

In January 19, 1946, the island was designated as Hongtouyu Township (紅頭嶼鄉 "Red-headed Island") of Taitung County. November 24 of that year, it was renamed to Lan Yu, or Orchid Island, after the local Phalaenopsis orchids. From 1958 to 1972, thousands of convicts were sent to a prison on this island.

The village communities (社) are: (The asterisks indicate the four current administrative villages (村)

Yami name	Chinese	Note
Yayu	Yeyou (椰油)	*
Iraralay	Langdou (朗島)	*
Iranumilk	Dongqing (東清)	*
Ivarinu	Yeyin (野銀)	not an administrative village
Imourud	Hongtou (紅頭)	* Redhead Village, township seat
Iratai	Yuren (漁人)	incorporated into Imourud Village since 1946
Iwatas	伊瓦達斯	incorporated into Yayu since 1940

The islanders are mostly fishermen-farmers.

Lesser Orchid Island (Hsiao Lan Yü; Pinyin: Xiao Lanyu), an uninhabited volcanic islet near the main Orchid Island, is the southernmost point of Taitung County. It has been the target of military airplane's target practice. It is home to a crticially endangered endemic orchid, Phalaenopsis equestris f. aurea.