Brandishing rice stems, guavas, cucumbers and other crops, close to 100 farmers from Changhua County yesterday gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei to protest against a water diversion construction project in the fourth-phase expansion of the Central Taiwan Science Park.
“The science park is robbing us of water. Stop the construction at once,” the farmers shouted.
“We cannot stand the increase in electricity prices. We are very hungry,” they said, adding that as irrigation water is diverted from farmers to supply the science park, farmers would face even more difficult conditions.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
“We are not against the science park per se. We are against the water being stolen from us,” farmers from the county’s Sijhou Township (溪洲) said.
“How are we farmers supposed to survive if the science park steals our irrigation water?” they said.
Some artists and writers also joined the farmers to express their support, including folk singer Chen Ming-chang (陳明章) and writers Chu Tien-hsin (朱天心) and Wu Yin-ning (吳音寧).
“Sorry we are a little late, but I believe you [farmers] will not have to fight alone anymore,” Chu said, adding that even the Water Resources Agency knows it is inappropriate to divert agricultural-use water for industrial usage.
It did not make sense for the National Science Council to continue insisting on taking water from farmers, Chu said.
Wu said irrigation water in the nearby towns has been insufficient for more than 10 years, so the decisionmakers in government should stop bullying farmers and undervaluing the importance of water to farming, and refrain from robbing them of water.
A self-help association against the construction project said more than 100 artists and writers had signed a petition in just a few days in support of stopping the water supply diversion at the science park.
The association also urged the government to halt construction at the park and to re-evaluate the country’s agricultural policies to protect farmland and water resources.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
An inauguration ceremony was held yesterday for the Danjiang Bridge, the world’s longest single-mast asymmetric cable-stayed bridge, ahead of its official opening to traffic on Tuesday, marking a major milestone after nearly three decades of planning and construction. At the ceremony in New Taipei City attended by President William Lai (賴清德), Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) and New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜), the bridge was hailed as both an engineering landmark and a long-awaited regional transport link connecting Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里)
RSS