The chairman of the Council of Agriculture, Chen Hsi-huang (陳希煌), yesterday announced a six-year plan to reduce the total number of betel nut trees on the island and put an end to the soil erosion caused by hillside planting.
"We have to do something because the planting of trees on mountain slopes is having a severely damaging effect on the environment. This was particularly evident after the 921 earthquake last year," Chen said during questioning at a Legislative Yuan Economic and Energy Committee meeting yesterday.
Betel nuts trees also consume large amounts of water. It is estimated that betel nut trees islandwide consume six billion tonnes of water each year.
Chen said the council's plan is to ban the planting of betel trees on mountainsides with a gradient of more than 30 degrees.
According to the council's latest survey, just over 19 percent of the 57,000 hectares of betel nut plantations are located on hillsides with slopes greater than 30 degrees, he said.
Chen said that they would help betel nut farmers switch to other occupations if the regulations forced them out of business.
As for farmers who plant betel nut trees in mountainous areas not covered by the new regulations, Chen said that officials would urge the farmers to plant some other kinds of trees.
Agricultural officials said that farmers who cooperated with the government's program would receive a subsidy for 20 years out of a pool of NT$530,000.
Legislators, however, said that this sum was only a drop in the ocean compared to the huge financial incentive behind the betel nut industry.
DPP legislator Ker Chien-ming (
"But this is not simply a health issue," Ker said. "We have to look at the issue from several angles. There are cultural, economic and agricultural aspects to the betel nut industry," he said, adding that two million consumers could not be ignored.
"How can you fight against a cash crop that generated an annual revenue of nearly NT$100 billion?" asked Ker.
He said that in all likelihood, the council's plan to crackdown on mountainside planting was an empty promise.
Chen admitted that the council faced a daunting task challenging betel nut growers -- considering that the seasonal price for a single betel nut can the same as the price of a dozen eggs.
Ironically, the high-profit industry is not limited to individual growers. The Taiwan Forestry Bureau (
DPP legislator Lin Feng-hsi (
Some legislators blamed the environmental problem on the council and its poor use of the funds it has available.
"Developing mountainous areas for tourism has done nothing to protect the environment," said KMT legislator Kao Yang-sheng (
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
SECOND SPEECH: All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist the CCP, despite their differences, the president said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday discussed how pro-Taiwan and pro-Republic of China (ROC) groups can agree to maintain solidarity on the issue of protecting Taiwan and resisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The talk, delivered last night at Taoyuan’s Hakka Youth Association, was the second in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. Citing Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui’s (蔣渭水) slogan that solidarity brings strength, Lai said it was a call for political parties to find consensus amid disagreements on behalf of bettering the nation. All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist
By refusing to agree spending increases to appease US President Donald Trump, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez threatened to derail a summit that NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte needs to run smoothly for the sake of the military alliance’s future survival. Ahead of yesterday’s gathering in The Hague, Netherlands, things were going off the rails. European officials have expressed irritation at the spoiler role that Sanchez is playing when their No. 1 task is to line up behind a pledge to raise defense spending to 5 percent of GDP. Rutte needed to keep Spain in line while preventing others such as Slovakia
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
RSS