Dozens of farmers from Hsinchu County’s Jhubei Township (竹北) yesterday rallied in front of the Council of Agriculture in Taipei, urging the council to reject the planned Taiwan Knowledge-Based Economy Park (臺灣知識經濟旗艦園區), as it would deprive them of their farmland.
Previously named the Puyu (璞玉) Development Project, the renamed economy park project was approved by the Ministry of the Interior in 2009 and would cover an area of about 447 hectares — nearly 400 hectares of which will be acquired through expropriation.
The self-help association consisting of residents that are facing possible loss of their lands said that based on the council’s data, more than 80 percent of the land that would be expropriated is in a special agricultural district, and good quality farmland should be protected.
Photo: CNA
The farmers held a hand-written banner that read: “Robbing the people of their land. Being oppressed by government officials, the public is forced to revolt against them.”
They questioned the project’s necessity and asked the council to reject the project, saying it would not benefit public interests.
They said that under the plan, 33 hectares of the expropriated land would become a part of National Chiao Tung University, but the Ministry of Education had announced in 2011 that it was postponing development due to financial problems.
In addition, they said that the amended Land Expropriation Act (土地徵收條例) stipulates that state construction projects must gain the Cabinet’s approval to expropriate lands in special agricultural districts, but the review process for the project has been made only at the local government level.
“The farmlands in the area are all of good quality, without pollution. If the council is not the voice of the farmers, shouldn’t it be dissolved?” association chairman Chiu Hung-chun (邱鴻鈞) asked.
“We don’t want our lands to be confiscated. We cannot endure having land that has been passed down from our ancestors sold for no reason,” association vice chairman Chen Yi-hsu (陳義旭) said.
With his farmland now facing potential expropriation for a second time, Tien Shou-shi (田守喜), whose rice crop just won the silver medal for quality last year, said the council should be responsible for protecting good farmlands.
While the council says it wants to improve the nation’s food self-sufficiency rate, it is not willing to stand on the farmers’ side and help them protect their land, Tien added.
In response, Chuang Yu-wen (莊玉雯) of the council’s planning department, said that the council would convey the farmers’ opinions to the review committee in future meetings.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS