The chairman of the Council of Agriculture, Chen Hsi-huang (陳希煌), yesterday announced a six-year plan to reduce the total number of betel nut trees on the island and put an end to the soil erosion caused by hillside planting.
"We have to do something because the planting of trees on mountain slopes is having a severely damaging effect on the environment. This was particularly evident after the 921 earthquake last year," Chen said during questioning at a Legislative Yuan Economic and Energy Committee meeting yesterday.
Betel nuts trees also consume large amounts of water. It is estimated that betel nut trees islandwide consume six billion tonnes of water each year.
Chen said the council's plan is to ban the planting of betel trees on mountainsides with a gradient of more than 30 degrees.
According to the council's latest survey, just over 19 percent of the 57,000 hectares of betel nut plantations are located on hillsides with slopes greater than 30 degrees, he said.
Chen said that they would help betel nut farmers switch to other occupations if the regulations forced them out of business.
As for farmers who plant betel nut trees in mountainous areas not covered by the new regulations, Chen said that officials would urge the farmers to plant some other kinds of trees.
Agricultural officials said that farmers who cooperated with the government's program would receive a subsidy for 20 years out of a pool of NT$530,000.
Legislators, however, said that this sum was only a drop in the ocean compared to the huge financial incentive behind the betel nut industry.
DPP legislator Ker Chien-ming (
"But this is not simply a health issue," Ker said. "We have to look at the issue from several angles. There are cultural, economic and agricultural aspects to the betel nut industry," he said, adding that two million consumers could not be ignored.
"How can you fight against a cash crop that generated an annual revenue of nearly NT$100 billion?" asked Ker.
He said that in all likelihood, the council's plan to crackdown on mountainside planting was an empty promise.
Chen admitted that the council faced a daunting task challenging betel nut growers -- considering that the seasonal price for a single betel nut can the same as the price of a dozen eggs.
Ironically, the high-profit industry is not limited to individual growers. The Taiwan Forestry Bureau (
DPP legislator Lin Feng-hsi (
Some legislators blamed the environmental problem on the council and its poor use of the funds it has available.
"Developing mountainous areas for tourism has done nothing to protect the environment," said KMT legislator Kao Yang-sheng (
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
PEACE AND STABILITY: Maintaining the cross-strait ‘status quo’ has long been the government’s position, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan is committed to maintaining the cross-strait “status quo” and seeks no escalation of tensions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, rebutting a Time magazine opinion piece that described President William Lai (賴清德) as a “reckless leader.” The article, titled “The US Must Beware of Taiwan’s Reckless Leader,” was written by Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Defense Priorities think tank. Goldstein wrote that Taiwan is “the world’s most dangerous flashpoint” amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that the situation in the Taiwan Strait has become less stable
REASSURANCE: The US said Taiwan’s interests would not be harmed during the talk and that it remains steadfast in its support for the nation, the foreign minister said US President Donald Trump on Friday said he would bring up Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) during a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in South Korea this week. “I will be talking about Taiwan [with Xi],” Trump told reporters before he departed for his trip to Asia, adding that he had “a lot of respect for Taiwan.” “We have a lot to talk about with President Xi, and he has a lot to talk about with us. I think we’ll have a good meeting,” Trump said. Taiwan has long been a contentious issue between the US and China.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
RSS