Former premier Chiou I-jen (邱義仁), who bowed out of the political scene after a diplomatic bungle last May, said he would go into farming, starting with growing papaya and guava.
“It was all by chance,” Chiou said when asked why he decided on farming.
“I wanted to get a job and asked my friends to keep an eye out for suitable opportunities for me, but they asked what kind of job I would be able to get since I don’t have much work experience [other than politics] and am 60 years old,” Chiou said.
But then former Council of Agriculture (COA) vice minister Tai Cheng-yao (戴振耀), in a phone call a few months ago to wish him well at the Lunar New Year, suggested the two of them go into farming together, Chiou said.
Chiou and Tai then made several trips to southern Taiwan to visit friends who operate farms.
“I found out that farming today doesn’t require much physical strength, contrary to what I had imagined,” Chiou said. “Despite my age, I think I can manage farming work.”
Tai said he and Chiou had rented 2,200 ping (7,270m²) of land in Kaohsiung County, but wished to keep the location private to avoid publicity.
“I was once vice minister of the COA. I would feel embarrassed if my friends found out that the plants I’m cultivating aren’t growing well,” Tai joked.
Tai was a farmer during the Martial Law era before becoming involved in politics.
Since leaving politics, Tai said he had spent eight months working at his brother’s organic farm growing cucumbers, snake melons, balsam pears and papayas.
He said the land he and Chiou had rented was being prepared.
Chiou left the Democratic Progressive Party in May last year and retired from politics to shoulder responsibility following a diplomatic scandal in which US$30 million in funds intended for the establishment of diplomatic relations with Papua New Guinea disappeared.
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