Former premier Chiou I-jen (邱義仁), who bowed out of the political scene after a diplomatic bungle last May, said he would go into farming, starting with growing papaya and guava.
“It was all by chance,” Chiou said when asked why he decided on farming.
“I wanted to get a job and asked my friends to keep an eye out for suitable opportunities for me, but they asked what kind of job I would be able to get since I don’t have much work experience [other than politics] and am 60 years old,” Chiou said.
But then former Council of Agriculture (COA) vice minister Tai Cheng-yao (戴振耀), in a phone call a few months ago to wish him well at the Lunar New Year, suggested the two of them go into farming together, Chiou said.
Chiou and Tai then made several trips to southern Taiwan to visit friends who operate farms.
“I found out that farming today doesn’t require much physical strength, contrary to what I had imagined,” Chiou said. “Despite my age, I think I can manage farming work.”
Tai said he and Chiou had rented 2,200 ping (7,270m²) of land in Kaohsiung County, but wished to keep the location private to avoid publicity.
“I was once vice minister of the COA. I would feel embarrassed if my friends found out that the plants I’m cultivating aren’t growing well,” Tai joked.
Tai was a farmer during the Martial Law era before becoming involved in politics.
Since leaving politics, Tai said he had spent eight months working at his brother’s organic farm growing cucumbers, snake melons, balsam pears and papayas.
He said the land he and Chiou had rented was being prepared.
Chiou left the Democratic Progressive Party in May last year and retired from politics to shoulder responsibility following a diplomatic scandal in which US$30 million in funds intended for the establishment of diplomatic relations with Papua New Guinea disappeared.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
RSS