Officials must uphold the law
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Mach Ngoc Tran (麥玉珍) said her family has a 10-hectare farm for growing coffee beans and fruit trees in her hometown in Vietnam. As Vietnam only had white dragon fruit, she only had her first taste of the red variety when she came to Taiwan decades ago.
She said she was so amazed at the time that she took seeds and cuttings of red dragon fruit and smuggled them into Vietnam to plant there. Even more shocking is that she revealed the entirety of her illegal activity at an exports-related press event.
Taiwan’s Plant Variety and Plant Seed Act (植物品種及種苗法) states that privately carrying designated goods or items — including seeds — out of the country carries a maximum penalty of NT$2.5 million (US$76,909).
She knew she was breaking the law. Her actions have only contributed to bad impressions and stereotypes of new immigrants. As a legislator, she ought to be upholding the law, but has instead become the face of a group of bad actors.
Taiwan’s red dragon fruit, which is a huge hit in the Japanese fruit import market, is the result of the efforts of countless Taiwanese farmers.
The fruit’s cultivation process is not simple. They have to be grown and painstakingly tweaked multiple times over several growing seasons to produce desired fruit qualities before they can grow robustly in Taiwan’s climate.
All of this is the shining result of long-term Taiwanese farming techniques and expertise. The end product has been exported with massive success.
Mach’s contravention harms Taiwanese agriculture. The unlawful export of seeds hurt Taiwanese farmers, leading to the nation’s agricultural industry facing increased external competition.
Each year, exports of Taiwanese agricultural products exceed NT$5 billion. They are an important pillar of Taiwan’s economy.
As a new immigrant, Mach should use her legislative influence to legally promote the excellence of Taiwan’s products to the world and bring benefits back to Taiwan. She should not be taking seeds to other countries and harming this land that gave her the opportunity to win a position in the legislature.
Chueh Li
Taipei
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