Brandishing rice stems, guavas, cucumbers and other crops, close to 100 farmers from Changhua County yesterday gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei to protest against a water diversion construction project in the fourth-phase expansion of the Central Taiwan Science Park.
“The science park is robbing us of water. Stop the construction at once,” the farmers shouted.
“We cannot stand the increase in electricity prices. We are very hungry,” they said, adding that as irrigation water is diverted from farmers to supply the science park, farmers would face even more difficult conditions.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
“We are not against the science park per se. We are against the water being stolen from us,” farmers from the county’s Sijhou Township (溪洲) said.
“How are we farmers supposed to survive if the science park steals our irrigation water?” they said.
Some artists and writers also joined the farmers to express their support, including folk singer Chen Ming-chang (陳明章) and writers Chu Tien-hsin (朱天心) and Wu Yin-ning (吳音寧).
“Sorry we are a little late, but I believe you [farmers] will not have to fight alone anymore,” Chu said, adding that even the Water Resources Agency knows it is inappropriate to divert agricultural-use water for industrial usage.
It did not make sense for the National Science Council to continue insisting on taking water from farmers, Chu said.
Wu said irrigation water in the nearby towns has been insufficient for more than 10 years, so the decisionmakers in government should stop bullying farmers and undervaluing the importance of water to farming, and refrain from robbing them of water.
A self-help association against the construction project said more than 100 artists and writers had signed a petition in just a few days in support of stopping the water supply diversion at the science park.
The association also urged the government to halt construction at the park and to re-evaluate the country’s agricultural policies to protect farmland and water resources.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
RSS