Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Miaoli are experiencing a glaring shortage of water. Although the government decided to handle the problem by making emergency appropriations of water intended for agricultural use, the threat of a water shortage is still very serious. Water policy could very well be the first challenge for the new Cabinet and the new century. A strategy should be devised as quickly as possible to counter the problem.
The variance in the periods of wet and dry seasons is growing, displaying greater and greater uncertainty. Thus the management of water resources must be considered a vitally important national policy. In the management of water usage as well as the response to droughts and floods, Taiwan must have a basic, long-term strategy characterized by foresight and overall understanding. Problems should not be handled on a case-by-case basis after they have already arisen.
Taiwan's mountainous geography makes it difficult to conserve water resources. We should do our utmost to protect mountain forests, streams and wetlands, letting water naturally seep down to replenish water resources both above and below ground.
But the irony is that on Tai-wan proper, as well as on the nation's offshore islands, streams have been incessantly dredged for years. Waterways have been straightened by truncating the curves and even riverbeds that are the nesting grounds for a variety of wildlife have been lined with cement. The result is that runoff from rainstorms reaches the ocean even more quickly. How can Taiwan do anything but resign itself to fate with such a contradictory concept of water management?
Mayors and county commissioners frequently put on a great show of fighting for water soon after taking office, but I haven't seen anyone take the initiative to establish laws for conserving, protecting, or actively developing water resources. Along the same lines, if the government's administrative apparatus is unable to proactively mobilize people and integrate resources, and if politicians merely hurl accusations back and forth after each disaster, then the water shortage problem will only become more severe.
Since the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park is so important, it can't go without either water or electricity. This is basic common sense. Can it be that the authorities responsible for managing the park have no emergency response mechanism in place?
Since 1996 the park has suffered three periods of water shortages. Why has our response been such that we still don't have a comprehensive response strategy in place?
Careful consideration should certainly be given to adjusting the orientation of the industrial park, based on new developments in the cross-strait relationship and WTO membership. The government must take precautions before it is too late, devising a complete strategy to provide the crucially important industrial park with water resources and creating guidelines for manufacturers to conserve water. Otherwise, no matter how much rain falls or how many reservoirs are built, sooner or later water supplies will not be able to keep up with the ever increasing demand.
Household and agricultural water use in surrounding areas must also be considered together with the future development of the industrial park. Having entered the WTO, Taiwan's agricultural development will undoubtedly need to be adjusted. The government should seize this critical moment to outline a new vision for water resources, industry and the people's livelihood on this "green silicon island."
Chiau Wen-yan heads the legal and policy studies group at the Center for Water Resources Studies at National Sun Yat-sen University.
Translated by Ethan Harkness
Could Asia be on the verge of a new wave of nuclear proliferation? A look back at the early history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which recently celebrated its 75th anniversary, illuminates some reasons for concern in the Indo-Pacific today. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin recently described NATO as “the most powerful and successful alliance in history,” but the organization’s early years were not without challenges. At its inception, the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty marked a sea change in American strategic thinking. The United States had been intent on withdrawing from Europe in the years following
My wife and I spent the week in the interior of Taiwan where Shuyuan spent her childhood. In that town there is a street that functions as an open farmer’s market. Walk along that street, as Shuyuan did yesterday, and it is next to impossible to come home empty-handed. Some mangoes that looked vaguely like others we had seen around here ended up on our table. Shuyuan told how she had bought them from a little old farmer woman from the countryside who said the mangoes were from a very old tree she had on her property. The big surprise
The issue of China’s overcapacity has drawn greater global attention recently, with US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen urging Beijing to address its excess production in key industries during her visit to China last week. Meanwhile in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week said that Europe must have a tough talk with China on its perceived overcapacity and unfair trade practices. The remarks by Yellen and Von der Leyen come as China’s economy is undergoing a painful transition. Beijing is trying to steer the world’s second-largest economy out of a COVID-19 slump, the property crisis and
As former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrapped up his visit to the People’s Republic of China, he received his share of attention. Certainly, the trip must be seen within the full context of Ma’s life, that is, his eight-year presidency, the Sunflower movement and his failed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, as well as his eight years as Taipei mayor with its posturing, accusations of money laundering, and ups and downs. Through all that, basic questions stand out: “What drives Ma? What is his end game?” Having observed and commented on Ma for decades, it is all ironically reminiscent of former US president Harry