A water deal signed with China will help stabilize water supply on Kinmen and does not pose a national security risk, Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Yang Wei-fu (楊偉甫) said yesterday.
“In terms of national security, there are no concerns,” Yang said in response to reporters’ questions about the landmark agreement to channel water from China’s Fujian Province to Kinmen to meet its water needs.
The pact, drawn up after nearly 20 years of negotiation, was signed yesterday between Kinmen County Waterworks Director Weng Wen-kuei (翁文貴) and Fujian Water Supply Co chairman Zhu Jinliang (朱金良) in Kinmen, witnessed by Kinmen County Commissioner Chen Fu-hai (陳福海) and Fujian Provincial Governor Su Shulin (蘇樹林).
Shu traveled from Xiamen to Kinmen by ferry earlier in the day for the signing ceremony, which he described as a “landmark” in the development of cross-strait relations.
“This is an important breakthrough for cross-strait collaboration on the needs of people’s livelihoods. It has great historic significance for the path toward peaceful development between Taiwan and China,” Chen said.
Commenting on the deal, under which an undersea pipeline is to be built to connect reservoirs in Kinmen and Fujian, Yang said Kinmen has been trying to transport water from China for nearly two decades and that he expects the agreement to facilitate the water supply and stabilize water quality in the outlying county.
Many issues have been discussed during the lengthy talks to settle concerns over the stability of the water supply, water quality and the safety of water transportation, Yang said.
Asked about concern over potential water disruptions from China, Yang said that Kinmen currently relies on the county itself for all its water supply, so it would always have water even if supply from Fujian is halted because of accidents.
Local supply should be able to meet “at least 70 percent of the demand,” he said.
In addition, water from Fujian’s Longhu Reservoir is to be tested for safety before shipment and more tests are to be conducted in Kinmen to ensure that the water meets Taiwan’s tap water quality standards before being delivered to households, Yang said.
The water deal, valued at NT$1.35 billion (US$43.07 million), is a far cry from Cold War-era hostilities that saw Kinmen endure shelling by China that lasted until the late 1970s.
According to Kinmen’s water statistics, the island group consumes about 42,000 tonnes per day, with agriculture accounting for 15,000 tonnes.
With its primary source in groundwater only covering 8,000 tonnes per day and 17,000 tonnes coming from reservoirs, supplies for Kinmen’s population of just under 130,000 are barely enough during droughts and dry seasons.
An extrapolation of current population trends and economic growth projects a water shortfall of 20,000 tonne per day by the end of the year if the deal did not go through.
Under the water purchase deal, 15,000 tonnes of water per day is to be delivered to Kinmen to begin with, increasing over time to 34,000 tonnes per day after the 10th year of the agreement.
The agreement stipulates that Taiwan is to build an undersea pipeline from Kinmen to the Chinese coast, with China constructing the extension leading to Longhu Reservoir. In total, the water pipeline will be 27.67km long, with Taiwan in charge of the construction of a 16.67km section.
Construction is expected to be completed by the end of next year at the earliest.
Yang said that once the water arrives, it would help cut water costs in Kinmen by NT$12 to NT$13 per 1,000 liters.
Tap water currently costs NT$58.60 per 1,000 liters — far higher than the NT$11 on Taiwan proper.
Fujian is to sell water to Kinmen for NT$9.86 per 1,000 liters, which should allow a cut in water costs in Kinmen, Yang said.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
Taiwan is awaiting official notification from the US regarding the status of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) after the US Supreme Court ruled US President Donald Trump's global tariffs unconstitutional. Speaking to reporters before a legislative hearing today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan's negotiation team remains focused on ensuring that the bilateral trade deal remains intact despite the legal challenge to Trump's tariff policy. "The US has pledged to notify its trade partners once the subsequent administrative and legal processes are finalized, and that certainly includes Taiwan," Cho said when asked about opposition parties’ doubts that the ART was
If China chose to invade Taiwan tomorrow, it would only have to sever three undersea fiber-optic cable clusters to cause a data blackout, Jason Hsu (許毓仁), a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, told a US security panel yesterday. In a Taiwan contingency, cable disruption would be one of the earliest preinvasion actions and the signal that escalation had begun, he said, adding that Taiwan’s current cable repair capabilities are insufficient. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) yesterday held a hearing on US-China Competition Under the Sea, with Hsu speaking on
RSS