The umbrella group representing the farmers' and fishermen's associations yesterday said that the government "need not worry" about the demonstration it plans to hold on Saturday, emphasizing that the protest would be "rational, peaceful and nonpolitical."
"Taiwan's agriculture has been ignored by the government for a long time. The government need not worry about it. Farmers need a way to vent their anger," said Yan Jian-sian (
Yan added that the government "should welcome farmers and fishermen's marches, since they could help to support the government's case in negotiations with other countries on related issues under the WTO."
The Cabinet and legislators from the DPP and TSU have tried to persuade the TAFU to call off the march.
Premier Yu Shyi-kun issued an appeal to them in his Tuesday press conference, saying the protest would waste public resources.
In the Legislative Yuan last week, DPP legislators including Chiu Chuang-chin (
DPP county commissioners of Tainan, Changhua, Kaohsiung, Chiayi and Ilan have all tried to convince the farmers and fishermen in their areas not to attend the march.
TSU lawmaker Lo Chih-ming (
Yen argued yesterday, "The DPP won its power by marching on the streets. Have they thought about the social resources they wasted in the past?"
TAFU also said that no "political forces" have been involved.
In a press release issued yesterday, the organization said it maintains the same distance between itself and all political parties.
"We appreciate any political party leader's good wishes, but we are not allowing political leaders to attend this march," it added.
Seeking to quell the strong opposition, the Cabinet announced on Sunday that it will suspend the three-tiered risk-control mechanism aimed at overhauling the cooperatives.
The government's goodwill gesture, however, failed to win the praise of farmers and fishermen who said their plan to take to the streets remains unchanged.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
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