Concerned that further liberalization could have a catastrophic effect on the agricultural sector, farming activists called on the government to halt a plan to create “free economic pilot zones” (FEPZs).
While government officials, including Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) and Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Pao-chi (陳保基), promised that FEPZs would prove beneficial to farmers, farming activists called the promises lies.
“Trade is already very liberal in this country. What Taiwan needs at the moment is the transformation of the agricultural sector, not further liberalization,” Taiwan Rural Front spokeswoman Tsai Pei-hui (蔡培慧) told a news conference at the Legislative Yuan yesterday.
“Experiments with free trade zones in countries such as India and South Korea have proven that it would only lead to a dead end,” she said.
Farmers and farming activists are worried about the idea of establish processing centers for agricultural products in FEPZs, which, according to the plan that has been drawn up, would “process and export agricultural products using raw materials with a competitive advantage.”
“In the world of free trade, ‘products with competitive advantage’ usually refers to ‘products that cost less,’ Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Liu Chien-kuo (劉建國) said.
“Thus we can almost be certain that it would be agricultural products from China that would be processed and exported in the FEPZs,” said Liu, who represents the predominantly agricultural constituency of Yunlin County.
Several farmers at the press conference agreed with Liu.
“We’re quite worried that foreign agricultural products will benefit from the FEPZs,” said Chiu Hsien-hui (邱顯輝), a farmer from New Taipei City (新北市).
Rice farmer Chen Shou-chin (陳守欽) from Changhua County’s Sihu Township (溪湖) said the government would win 100 percent support from farmers were it to draft a plan that would benefit farmers.
“But it doesn’t seem to be the case with the FEPZ plan,” Chen said.
Peng Ming-hwei (彭明輝), a retired National Tsing Hua University professor, pointed out that trade liberalization usually benefits large corporations at the expense of farmers and workers.
“Since Taiwan’s admission to the World Trade Organization, people’s real income has dropped and the unemployment rate has gone up, but GPD has increased,” Perng said.
“This indicates that wealth is flowing toward big corporations and capitalists, and away from ordinary citizens,” he said.
“The government should refrain from further liberalization of trade,” he added.
Police have issued warnings against traveling to Cambodia or Thailand when others have paid for the travel fare in light of increasing cases of teenagers, middle-aged and elderly people being tricked into traveling to these countries and then being held for ransom. Recounting their ordeal, one victim on Monday said she was asked by a friend to visit Thailand and help set up a bank account there, for which they would be paid NT$70,000 to NT$100,000 (US$2,136 to US$3,051). The victim said she had not found it strange that her friend was not coming along on the trip, adding that when she
INFRASTRUCTURE: Work on the second segment, from Kaohsiung to Pingtung, is expected to begin in 2028 and be completed by 2039, the railway bureau said Planned high-speed rail (HSR) extensions would blanket Taiwan proper in four 90-minute commute blocs to facilitate regional economic and livelihood integration, Railway Bureau Deputy Director-General Yang Cheng-chun (楊正君) said in an interview published yesterday. A project to extend the high-speed rail from Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung to Pingtung County’s Lioukuaicuo Township (六塊厝) is the first part of the bureau’s greater plan to expand rail coverage, he told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). The bureau’s long-term plan is to build a loop to circle Taiwan proper that would consist of four sections running from Taipei to Hualien, Hualien to
The Civil Aviation Administration yesterday said that it is considering punishments for China Airlines (CAL) and Starlux Airlines for making hard landings and overworking their cabin crew when the nation was hit by Typhoon Kong-rey in October last year. The civil aviation authority launched an investigation after media reported that many airlines were forced to divert their flights to different airports or go around after failing to land when the typhoon affected the nation on Oct. 30 and 31 last year. The agency reviewed 503 flights dispatched by Taiwanese airlines during those two days, as well as weather data, flight hours
Three people have had their citizenship revoked after authorities confirmed that they hold Chinese ID cards, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said yesterday. Two of the three people were featured in a recent video about Beijing’s “united front” tactics by YouTuber Pa Chiung (八炯) and Taiwanese rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源), including Su Shi-en (蘇士恩), who displayed a Chinese ID card in the video, and taekwondo athlete Lee Tung-hsien (李東憲), who mentioned he had obtained a Chinese ID card in a telephone call with Chen, Liang told the council’s weekly news conference. Lee, who reportedly worked in
RSS