The Cabinet yesterday passed a proposal to promote sophisticated agriculture, with the goal of doubling the niche market’s output value to NT$158.9 billion (US$4.79 billion) and creating 31,000 jobs within four years.
The proposal suggests promoting “health agriculture,” with a view to boost the percentage of toxin and pesticide-free farming land from 3 percent of total arable land to 6 percent.
The second part of the proposal would promote Taiwan’s agricultural biotechnology on the global market. The COA said it expected the global market’s value to grow from US$37.4 billion in 2007 to US$63 billion in 2013.
Council of Agriculture (COA) Deputy Minister Hu Sing-hwa (胡新華) said Taiwan was already a global leader in the field.
Hu said the proposal reflected a shift in agricultural policy from focusing on production to promoting a high-standard of living.
“Farmers were the only focus of policies for high-quality agriculture under former administrations, but our proposal aims to benefit everyone,” Hu said.
The government would earmark NT$6.833 billion over a four-year period to establish Taiwan as a global logistics center for the orchid market, expand the overseas market for grouper fish, set up centers for incubation of livestock, aquaculture and agriculture, and create six enclosed farms for genetically modified crops.
The proposal also involves incorporating recreational activities into the sector, with a goal of attracting 30 million visits per year to rural villages by 2012.
Hu said the proposal included NT$15.908 billion to create three lowland-forest recreation areas covering more than 1,000 hectares each, to renovate more than 4,000 villages and to build two yacht harbors, two recreational fishing ports and four recreational agriculture areas.
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
POLICY UNCHANGED? Despite Trump’s remarks, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured that US policy toward Taiwan has remained consistent since the 1970s US President Donald Trump on Wednesday again refused to make clear his stance on protecting Taiwan from a hypothetical takeover by China during his presidency. Asked by a reporter during a Cabinet meeting whether it was his policy that China would never take Taiwan by force while he is president, Trump declined to give a definitive answer. “I never comment on that,” he said. “I don’t comment on it because I don’t want to ever put myself in that position.” Trump also reiterated that he has a “great relationship” with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and said that Washington welcomes good relations with
RSS