Farmers from Siangsihliao (相思寮) in Changhua County’s Erlin Township (二林) yesterday urged the government to preserve the farming community within the planned Erlin section of the Central Taiwan Science Park.
The farmers said they refuse to be removed from their homes and farmland to make way for the science park even though the Changhua County Government had proposed accommodating them in a housing complex next to the park.
“Losing the farmland means losing our jobs. Even though we will receive cash compensation, what are we going to do after we use up the money?” one farmer, surnamed Hung (洪), asked at a press conference at the legislature.
The farmers said an evaluation report provided by the Central Taiwan Science Park Administration on Feb. 8 showed it was possible to preserve the farming community if the administration adjusts the construction plan of the Erlin section’s roads and sewage system.
However, the government still rejected the farmers’ suggestion to preserve their community, saying that changing the plan would affect the timetable for companies to set up factories in the Erlin section, the farmers said.
John Liu (劉可強), a professor at National Taiwan University’s Graduate Institute of Building and Planning, said the government and the farmers could reach a mutually beneficial solution if the government keeps the Siangsiliao community intact.
In response to Changhua farmers’ petition, however, Yang Wen-ke (楊文科), director-general of the central science park administration, dismissed the possibility of preserving the community, saying that Siangsiliao’s farmland was located in the center of the planned Erlin section of the park.
Yang said the government would have to submit the development project for another environmental impact review if the government revises the project.
The farmers’ campaign against land expropriation has made headlines after footage and photographs of the land seizure at Miaoli County’s Dapu Borough (大埔) attracted millions of hits on the Internet.
The Executive Yuan tried to resolve the controversy on Thursday by promising the farmers farmland equal to their original land off the Jhunan Science Park. Although Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said the government would not take changing the status of specific agricultural areas for granted when drawing up policy, a number of land seizure projects, including Siangsihliao’s, remain under way.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
RSS