Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) made his first trip to inspect the flood-hit south yesterday and promised to subsidize farmers who have suffered losses.
Liu had faced heavy criticism in recent days for ignoring the damage to crops and farmland by flooding that hit on Wednesday.
Liu’s inspection tour of Pingtung County was met by a small protest, with several farmers and local councilors wielding banners accused the Cabinet of putting farmers in a desperate state amid flooding and rising fertilizer prices.
“The crops are rotten from the flood and we are starting to plow the field. It’s too late for him to see any damage now,” a farmer said.
Standing before a damaged rice paddy in Wandan (萬丹) Township, Liu promised to ask the Council of Agriculture (COA) to come up with a plan to subsidize the farmers even if the total damage caused by the floods failed to meet the threshold for government subsidies.
Facing criticism of slow government response and its failure to inspect the flood-hit areas earlier, Liu said he had to attend a question-and-answer session at the legislature last week and that he had organized the trip as quickly as possible.
Accompanied by Kaohisung County Commissioner Yang Chiu-hsing (楊秋興), Liu promised to invite local governments to participate in the decision-making process on agricultural matters.
“We are not making empty promises. The government will take care of the people,” he said.
The council said agricultural losses from heavy rains in central and southern Taiwan in recent days amounted to more than NT$50 million (US$1.65 million).
Pingtung County has been hit the hardest, suffering losses totaling NT$17.92 million, followed by Changhua at NT$11.52 million, Yunlin at NT$10.18 million, Kaohsiung at NT$8.61 million, Hsinchu at NT$1.95 million and Tainan at NT$510,000.
Yang said the government should increase the subsidies on fertilizers and attempt to stabilize commodity prices to prevent any unreasonable price increases for fruits and vegetables in the wake of typhoons and other natural disasters.
Aside from fertilizers, the price of pork has also increased to more than NT$100 per kilogram in Hsinchu City. Pork prices in other parts of the country, including Ilan and Kaohsiung County, had gone from NT$80 to about NT$100 per kilogram, the ROC Livestock Association said.
In response to continuous price increases, COA Chairman Chen Wu-hsiung (陳武雄) said the council was helping farmers with farm rehabilitation after the flood, while increasing the quantity of pigs it would allow on the market from 20,000 to 30,000 per day to stabilize prices.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS