As of press time last night, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers were filibustering the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) proposed amendments to the Organic Regulations for Irrigation and Water Conservancy Associations (農田水利會組織通則). However, it was expected that the amendments would pass last night.
According to the draft amendments, the Council of Agriculture would appoint association presidents and officials, while elections of association heads and officials are to be abolished.
Association officials would be governed by the Civil Service Administrative Neutrality Act (公務人員行政中立法), the proposals said.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
The draft amendments also proposed that the term of all association presidents be extended from May 31 to Sept. 30, 2020, in line with the Taipei-based Chi-Sing Irrigation Association and Liugong Irrigation Association.
Establishing a unified water management agency would mean that it facilitates water distribution in times of extreme weather, Council of Agriculture Minister Lin Tsung-hsien (林聰賢) said.
It would add 360,000 hectares to the irrigation zones nationwide formerly covered by the 17 associations, allowing the agency to serve more farmers, he said.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
As yesterday’s was the first of a two-stage legislation, the concerns expressed by people opposed to the amendments — including the disposition of association assets and job placement plans for association employees — would be addressed in the next phase, Liu said, adding that association workers’ rights would not be affected.
The amendments would ensure fairer distribution of water resources and help to stabilize the nation’s water supplies, he said.
Lin rejected criticism that the government is planning to prioritize the water needs of the industrial sector over that of agriculture, saying that the water needed for farming has always been prioritized by law.
Touting the amendments as “progressive legislation,” DPP Legislator Liu Shih-fang (劉世芳) said that the amendments would include farmland that had been excluded from the associations’ areas of irrigation, while ensuring farmers not affiliated with the associations fair access to water.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a cross-caucus negotiation, DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) rejected the KMT’s allegation that the amendments were aimed at helping the DPP gain an advantage in elections.
The draft amendments propose extending the term of 15 association presidents to Sept. 30, 2020, by which time both the local elections in November, and presidential and legislative elections in 2020 would all have ended, he said.
Then-president Lee Teng-hui’s (李登輝) administration in 1993 proposed changing the associations into government agencies, but the bill was defeated by the KMT, which wanted the government to have the right to appoint association heads.
By the time former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) of the DPP took office, then-KMT lawmakers again changed the regulations, allowing association members to elect their presidents, Ker said, adding that this was meant to prevent Chen from making appointments.
“The irrigation associations have long been the KMT’s army. The DPP, which has the legislative majority, should shoulder the responsibility of carrying through a historic reform,” Ker said.
KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) questioned the amendments’ ability to ensure fair distribution of water and prevent waterway contamination.
He also questioned why after the DPP said the associations needed reform, it had proposed extending the term of 15 current association heads until 2020.
As for vote-buying in association elections, Lin said that this problem could be solved by adding a special chapter to the regulations that would bring candidates distributing bribes under the jurisdiction of the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法).
The proposed amendments were sent to a plenary session to be further discussed and voted on after the cross-party negotiations broke down.
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