The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday staged a protest against a draft amendment that would transform irrigation associations into government entities, with thousands of farmers shouting objections outside the Legislative Yuan.
The Legislative Yuan yesterday reviewed a Council of Agriculture draft amendment to the Organic Regulations for Irrigation and Water Conservancy Associations (農田水利會組織通則) which seeks to convert the associations into official agencies and abolish the election of association heads.
Standing with KMT lawmakers on a stage on Jinan Road outside the Legislative Yuan, KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government plans to expropriate the 17 associations’ private property by force and trickery.
Photo: CNA
The associations were founded with private donations, but the DPP is attempting to take them away, he said.
Defined as a “public legal person” in the regulations, the associations are subject to the council’s supervision, he said, adding that they have also observed legal procedures to invite public bids for construction projects.
If the DPP government aims to make beneficial reform, it should have invited people with different opinions to discuss the plan, but it chose to push the bill to a second reading last month, he said.
Photo: CNA
The DPP only has its own political interests in mind, KMT Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said, adding that people should oust the party with their votes.
The argument that the move would enable the council to crack down on factories polluting water on agricultural land is not convincing, as it should be the responsibility of the environmental agencies, former Taiwan Joint Irrigation Association chairperson Lee Yuan-chuan (李源泉) said.
Two farmers from the Taichung Irrigation Association, surnamed Lin (林) and Tsai (蔡), said they are more concerned about their access to water and the maintenance of irrigation facilities.
“The associations have operated efficiently,” while the council’s promise to protect irrigation water is not reliable, said Lin, who said he is nonpartisan.
It would make it more difficult for farmers to report problems with irrigation facilities if the council becomes the supervising agency, Tsai said.
Separately yesterday, DPP caucus chief executive Liu Chao-hao (劉櫂豪) said that farmers and irrigation association members across the nation support the initiative to nationalize associations and abolish association leadership elections in favor of government appointments.
Chianan Irrigation Association director Yang Ming-feng (楊明風), a member of the KMT, said he supports the change in status, as it would give associations the legal authority to crack down on pollution and illegal development in water conservation areas.
An association member was attacked and severely injured when investigating illegal farming activities in a protected area, but since the members were not part of a government agency, the attackers were charged with assault, not obstruction of official business, Yang said.
Additional reporting by Chen Wei-han
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS