Twelve farmers' associations in southern Taiwan signed an agreement with Taiwan NJC Corp yesterday to assist owners of fallow farmland to produce crops with which the company can produce biodiesel.
The signing ceremony in Hsuehchia Township (
Su said that Taiwan has 220,000 hectares of fallow farmland, which could be used to grow enough crops to produce 110,000 kiloliters of biodiesel per year. This in turn could reduce the nation's annual emissions of carbon dioxide by 330,000 tonnes, he said.
Su said that many advanced countries have been developing biodiesel as an alternative energy source, and that Taiwan should follow suit to not only increase energy self-sufficiency, but also to promote environmental protection and economic and agricultural development.
Under the agreement, a farmer will be entitled to a guaranteed price plus a subsidy if the crops supplied are up to required standards.
According to Council of Agriculture estimates, about 2,000 hectares of fallow farmland will be included in the initial production plan this year to grow soybeans, sunflowers and rape, and that the scope of the plan will be expanded if everything goes smoothly.
Biodiesel is a clean-burning alternative fuel which is non-toxic and virtually free of harmful sulfur and aromatics. It can be mixed at any level with diesel to create a biodiesel blend.
The Chiayi-based Taiwan NJC Corp began manufacturing biodiesel in October 2004.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
REWRITING HISTORY: China has been advocating a ‘correct’ interpretation of the victory over Japan that brings the CCP’s contributions to the forefront, an expert said An elderly Chinese war veteran’s shin still bears the mark of a bullet wound he sustained when fighting the Japanese as a teenager, a year before the end of World War II. Eighty years on, Li Jinshui’s scar remains as testimony to the bravery of Chinese troops in a conflict that killed millions of their people. However, the story behind China’s overthrow of the brutal Japanese occupation is deeply contested. Historians broadly agree that credit for victory lies primarily with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-led Republic of China (ROC) Army. Its leader, Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a
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