The government should help betel nut farmers find new work before cutting down their illegal crops, DPP members said yesterday.
Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) on Friday announced a plan to rid Taiwan of illegal betel nut plantations, which he said had caused the soil erosion behind last week's deadly mudslides. The premier also said the government would plant 10 million trees on 5,600 hectares of mudslide-prone areas by 2004.
Tsai Huang-lang (蔡煌瑯), chief executive of the DPP's legislative caucus, said the government should develop programs to help betel nut farmers find new careers.
Tsai accused the Forestry Bureau and the Council of Agriculture of turning a blind eye to illegal betel nut farms for decades.
The DPP lawmaker said the agencies have adopted a "three no's policy" when it comes to illegal betel nut farming -- no encouragement, no guidance and no crackdown. It would be unfair to put all the blame on farmers now, he said.
DPP caucus convener Lin Feng-hsi (
DPP Secretary-General Wu Nai-jen (
Wu said there was plenty of scientific support to back the claim that betel nut trees are detrimental to soil preservation. The destruction of illegal betel nut farms is inevitable, he said.
Still, Wu asked the Cabinet to develop a detailed eradication plan that would also win support in the year-end elections.
Premier Chang invited DPP, KMT and PFP caucus leaders to a meeting yesterday to discuss disaster relief measures, including cutting down illegal betel nut trees.
Much of the damage left by Typhoon Toraji last week has been blamed on deforestation caused by rampant hillside development.
Hillside betel nut farms have been blamed for soil erosion because the roots of the trees do not reach deeply into the soil.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique