The nation’s agriculture foundations and research centers have failed to prioritize Taiwan as a locale of development, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lai Jui-lung (賴瑞隆) said yesterday, adding that their actions were tantamount to biting the hand that feeds.
At an interpellation session at the Legislative Yuan, Lai criticized Taiwan Agricultural Information Technology Association Chairman Chiu Yi-chih (邱奕志) for comments at this year’s Cross-Strait Technology Forum, held from Sept. 19 to Sept. 22 in Haikou in China’s Hainan Province.
Chiu told the forum that Taiwan has made great strides in “smart agriculture” development.
However, he added: “Taiwan suffers from insufficient land. We have considered moving entire factories to Hainan, and Hainan would be an excellent production base for smart agriculture.”
Standing at the helm of an association that has benefitted from more than NT$100 million (US$3.23 million) in public funds, it is hard to believe that Chiu could give China an opportunity to siphon off Taiwanese technical expertise, Lai said.
The government has spent a fortune subsidizing people and foundations that address agricultural matters, and yet they are not reciprocating by advancing technology in Taiwan or establishing bases in the nation, instead moving to China, Lai said.
Chiu also doubles as a board member at the Taiwan Agricultural Mechanization Research and Development Center, Lai said, adding that he has participated in the Council of Agriculture’s (COA) Agricultural Productivity 4.0 program, which oversaw the development of robotics for agricultural use.
Chiu could not be reached for comment as of press time last night.
Lai also criticized Rural Development Foundation executive director Hu Hsing-hua (胡興華).
“Hu is a high-ranking official fostered by the Taiwanese government, and any technical expertise and contacts that he has should be considered national assets,” Lai said. “As such, he, and any knowledge and contacts he possesses, should be restricted from [being transferred to] China.”
Hu previously served as a COA deputy minister and Fisheries Agency director-general.
Lai was referring to reports that Hu allegedly signed an accord with China in his capacity of executive director of the Rural Development Foundation, but failed to report it to the foundation’s board or the COA.
Hu yesterday said that his visit to China in 2016 did not have national security implications, as it was a simple trip.
COA Deputy Minister Lee Tui-chih (李退之) told lawmakers that the council would launch an investigation of all specialists cleared to access restricted information.
The council would also look into any leak of classified information at COA-funded foundations, Lee added.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai
RSS