Over 10,000 farmers from around Taiwan gathered in front of the Legislative Yuan yesterday to protest against a reform package on farmland that they claimed was too restrictive and to lobby for an alternative proposal supported by the KMT.
The protest came just two days after the formal resignation of Council of Agriculture (COA) chairman Peng Tso-kwei (
Last week, a COA version of the agricultural land reform measures, passed by the cabinet, was overshadowed by the new package -- promoted by KMT lawmakers from rural constituencies -- that promises to open up land for development to a greater extent than that of the COA proposal.
PHOTO: CHU YO-PING, LIBERTY TIMES
Yesterday -- one day before the legislature was to review a set of amendments to the Agricultural Development Act (
Tsai Pi-chan (
"Over the past 40 years, only 390,000 hectares of farmland have been included in farmland development schemes," he said. "We would like to see another 400,000 hectares included over the next five years," he said.
"This would provide us with better irrigation, drainage and traffic systems. Now we are forced to obtain underground water for irrigation, which costs a lot of money; and we must carry farming tools and equipment ourselves because roads are not allowed to be built," he said.
Tsai said they would also like to see an abolition on limitations to the sub-division of farmland.
"Current law stipulates that only land larger than 10 hectares can be divided into five-hectare plots. The KMT proposal will allow land larger than 0.5 hectare to be divided into 0.25 hectares plots. But we don't want limitations at all," he said.
Tsai added that one of Peng's main policy contentions -- that houses on farmland be built only in communities, leaving greater areas of farmland intact, made no sense to him.
"I would like to live on my own land where I can go to work right after getting up and go right back home after finishing my job," he said.
Showing their support for the farmers, about 30 KMT and DPP lawmakers and government officials showed up at the scene.
While COA interim chairman Lin Shiang-nung (
"The KMT's version is a comprehensive proposal," he said. "We include the construction of groups of houses and the construction of farm houses on individually owned farmland if the construction does not affect the farming environment and the development of farming villages, and we also propose to provide incentives to encourage farmers to do so," he said.
International relations graduate research fellow at National Cheng-chi University, Hung Mao-hsiung (
"It was staged by political farmers," he said. "The only thing they want is to serve their own interests."
Hung, who himself comes from a farming family in Chiayi County, said allowing the construction of farm houses on newly sold farmland is a bad idea.
"It poses a threat to the health of the farmers because they spray pesticide often, and the air is always dusty," he said.
CLASH OF WORDS: While China’s foreign minister insisted the US play a constructive role with China, Rubio stressed Washington’s commitment to its allies in the region The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday affirmed and welcomed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio statements expressing the US’ “serious concern over China’s coercive actions against Taiwan” and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea, in a telephone call with his Chinese counterpart. The ministry in a news release yesterday also said that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had stated many fallacies about Taiwan in the call. “We solemnly emphasize again that our country and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other, and it has been an objective fact for a long time, as well as
‘CHARM OFFENSIVE’: Beijing has been sending senior Chinese officials to Okinawa as part of efforts to influence public opinion against the US, the ‘Telegraph’ reported Beijing is believed to be sowing divisions in Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture to better facilitate an invasion of Taiwan, British newspaper the Telegraph reported on Saturday. Less than 750km from Taiwan, Okinawa hosts nearly 30,000 US troops who would likely “play a pivotal role should Beijing order the invasion of Taiwan,” it wrote. To prevent US intervention in an invasion, China is carrying out a “silent invasion” of Okinawa by stoking the flames of discontent among locals toward the US presence in the prefecture, it said. Beijing is also allegedly funding separatists in the region, including Chosuke Yara, the head of the Ryukyu Independence
‘ARMED GROUP’: Two defendants used Chinese funds to form the ‘Republic of China Taiwan Military Government,’ posing a threat to national security, prosecutors said A retired lieutenant general has been charged after using funds from China to recruit military personnel for an “armed” group that would assist invading Chinese forces, prosecutors said yesterday. The retired officer, Kao An-kuo (高安國), was among six people indicted for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法), the High Prosecutors’ Office said in a statement. The group visited China multiple times, separately and together, from 2018 to last year, where they met Chinese military intelligence personnel for instructions and funding “to initiate and develop organizations for China,” prosecutors said. Their actions posed a “serious threat” to “national security and social stability,” the statement
‘INDISCRIMINATE’: The drastic changes would delay many national projects as well as undermine global confidence in Taiwan’s resolve to defend itself, the premier said The Legislative Yuan yesterday on third reading passed the central government budget for this year, cutting 6.6 percent from the Executive Yuan’s proposed expenditure — the largest in history. The budget proposal, which the Cabinet approved in August last year, set government spending at NT$3.1325 trillion (US$95.6 billion), with projected revenues of NT$3.1534 trillion — both record highs — working out to a surplus of NT$20.9 billion. On Friday last week, the opposition-led legislature voted to cut NT$93.98 billion from the budget’s general provisions. During a 20-hour continuous session from Monday until yesterday morning, they continued to slash the budgets of government agencies,
RSS