Two newly passed amendments that would allow directors of farmers and fishermen' associations to stay in their posts indefinitely have shown that the organizations -- meant to be dedicated to the service of farmers and fishermen -- still have strong political overtones.
"I actually disapprove of the changes contained in the two amendments because they are regressive policies," a member of a farmers' association in Taipei County told the Taipei Times on the sidelines of a meeting on Friday.
He gave his surname as Lin, but refused to reveal which association he works for because his view differs from that of his director.
The amendments canceled the three-term limits for the associations' directors and lowered the requirement for renewal of their employment.
The meeting, attended by approximately 200 directors of the associations across the country, was called by a group of pan-blue lawmakers in a bid to discourage the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) plan to reconsider the approved bills.
Hsiao Han-chun (
"A professor can teach in a college for 20 to 30 years, and a manager can run a company for a long time if they do their job well. Why can't we have an indefinite term?" Hsiao said.
Upon hearing what Hsiao said, Lin said that "if [Hsiao's] analogy is right, then what's the point of the Constitution setting term limits for the president?"
In accordance with the Farmers' Association Law (農會法) and the Fishermen's Association Law (漁會法), association directors have a major say in personnel appointments and managing the associations' business activities, including economic assistance, credit and insurance services.
Under the old law, the directors may have their term of office extended once. To qualify for a second renewal, they would have to earn a performance rating of "excellent." This requirement has been lowered to a rating of "good" -- the second-highest level in a scale of five -- under the amendment.
The previous law also stipulated that association staffers who have been indicted and convicted during a second trial should be fired from their posts. This has been changed to not relieving association staffers who are standing trial until a final verdict is rendered.
"As a result of the revisions, about 90 percent of directors who earned ratings of `good' would be able to hold on their position in the association indefinitely," said Woo Rhung-jieh (
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers, who strongly supported the amendments, had argued that the bills aim to retain valuable talent in the associations.
The DPP, however, said that the KMT was only interested in raising its electoral profile at the expense of farmers' and fishermen's interests.
"I couldn't agree with the DPP more. It's not an exaggeration to say that the ratio of KMT supporters to DPP supporters within the associations is nine to one," Lin said.
Commenting on the link between the associations and the KMT, Tsai Hong-chin (蔡宏進), a professor at Asia University, said that the relationship had its roots in more than 50 years of KMT rule.
Under the law, the associations are classified as civic organizations that assume sole responsibility for their profits and losses.
Despite the regulations, the main source of their funding is the government while they assist the government in implementing its agricultural policies, Tsai said.
"Before financial liberalization [beginning in the 1980s], the associations derived most of their funding through deposit taking and extending agricultural loans, but their credit business has declined [after the liberalization]," he said.
The personal connections built through these credit departments, however, remain a strong political force, as evidenced by an organized protest on Nov. 23, 2002, against the government's financial reform plan that would take over the credit departments of the 36 associations.
The protest, led by the Taiwan Provincial Farmers' Association, fishermen's associations and pan-blue politicians, drew more than 100,000 people.
"The take-over plan was proposed to resolve [the associations' credit departments'] bad-loan problems. Instead of being hailed, it incurred opposition from the directors of the associations and the pan-blue camp, reflecting the fact that their interests were closely linked to the credit departments," Woo said.
To make the associations more "neutral" on politics, Woo suggested that the associations be transformed into cooperatives, with their funding coming frommembers, who would also directly elect the directors.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS