Over 10,000 farmers from around Taiwan gathered in front of the Legislative Yuan yesterday to protest against a reform package on farmland that they claimed was too restrictive and to lobby for an alternative proposal supported by the KMT.
The protest came just two days after the formal resignation of Council of Agriculture (COA) chairman Peng Tso-kwei (
Last week, a COA version of the agricultural land reform measures, passed by the cabinet, was overshadowed by the new package -- promoted by KMT lawmakers from rural constituencies -- that promises to open up land for development to a greater extent than that of the COA proposal.
PHOTO: CHU YO-PING, LIBERTY TIMES
Yesterday -- one day before the legislature was to review a set of amendments to the Agricultural Development Act (
Tsai Pi-chan (
"Over the past 40 years, only 390,000 hectares of farmland have been included in farmland development schemes," he said. "We would like to see another 400,000 hectares included over the next five years," he said.
"This would provide us with better irrigation, drainage and traffic systems. Now we are forced to obtain underground water for irrigation, which costs a lot of money; and we must carry farming tools and equipment ourselves because roads are not allowed to be built," he said.
Tsai said they would also like to see an abolition on limitations to the sub-division of farmland.
"Current law stipulates that only land larger than 10 hectares can be divided into five-hectare plots. The KMT proposal will allow land larger than 0.5 hectare to be divided into 0.25 hectares plots. But we don't want limitations at all," he said.
Tsai added that one of Peng's main policy contentions -- that houses on farmland be built only in communities, leaving greater areas of farmland intact, made no sense to him.
"I would like to live on my own land where I can go to work right after getting up and go right back home after finishing my job," he said.
Showing their support for the farmers, about 30 KMT and DPP lawmakers and government officials showed up at the scene.
While COA interim chairman Lin Shiang-nung (
"The KMT's version is a comprehensive proposal," he said. "We include the construction of groups of houses and the construction of farm houses on individually owned farmland if the construction does not affect the farming environment and the development of farming villages, and we also propose to provide incentives to encourage farmers to do so," he said.
International relations graduate research fellow at National Cheng-chi University, Hung Mao-hsiung (
"It was staged by political farmers," he said. "The only thing they want is to serve their own interests."
Hung, who himself comes from a farming family in Chiayi County, said allowing the construction of farm houses on newly sold farmland is a bad idea.
"It poses a threat to the health of the farmers because they spray pesticide often, and the air is always dusty," he said.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source