Taipei, May 29 (CNA) Farmers and members of
the arts and cultural community gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard Tuesday to urge
the government to protect water used for irrigation and not to allow the
Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP) to "steal water" from Changhua
County farmers.
It was the 13th time members of the Alliance Against Water-Jacking by the CTSP had asked the government to stop phase four development construction of the park's water engineering project in Changhua County that diverts water from the main water source relied upon by the area's farmers.
Tuesday's protest garnered support from members of the cultural community for the first time, with more than 100 people signing a petition to support farmers, including film directors Leon Lai and Chen Wen-bin.
Other artists who attended the protest included writers Chu Tien-hsin, Chen Hsueh, Luo Yi-chun, Tsai Yi-chun, and musician Chen Ming-chang.
Alliance representative Wu Yin-ning said the Water Resource Agency estimates that the park's water demand will drop dramatically from 16 tonnes per day to 2 tonnes per day in 2020 as the park shifts its focus away from the photovoltaic industry, but will not readjust water allocations for agricultural purposes.
Construction that diverts agricultural water to the park should be stopped, according to the protesters. However, the National Science Council (NSC) has made no promises to discontinue channeling of water away from agriculture.
The government has refused to stop water engineering construction and has even extended its plans by six months. It has also continued to "steal agricultural water" by only providing farmers with four days of water out of every 10 days.
Wu also said she was "baffled" by charges she is facing after she threw herself in front of a backhoe in an attempt to prevent construction.
Tsai Li-yue, a farmers' representative, said the farmers just want to keep the water they need to irrigate their crops and asked: "Is that really asking too much?"
In response, Hu Chung-i, the deputy head of the Council of Agriculture's Department of Irrigation and Engineering, said any termination of construction will require government approval.
The council's deputy minister, Chen Wen-deh, said any readjustments in water allocation will depend on NSC evaluations, but he added that priority should be given to agriculture.
(By Chen Shun-hsieh, Yang Su-min and C.J. Lin)
It was the 13th time members of the Alliance Against Water-Jacking by the CTSP had asked the government to stop phase four development construction of the park's water engineering project in Changhua County that diverts water from the main water source relied upon by the area's farmers.
Tuesday's protest garnered support from members of the cultural community for the first time, with more than 100 people signing a petition to support farmers, including film directors Leon Lai and Chen Wen-bin.
Other artists who attended the protest included writers Chu Tien-hsin, Chen Hsueh, Luo Yi-chun, Tsai Yi-chun, and musician Chen Ming-chang.
Alliance representative Wu Yin-ning said the Water Resource Agency estimates that the park's water demand will drop dramatically from 16 tonnes per day to 2 tonnes per day in 2020 as the park shifts its focus away from the photovoltaic industry, but will not readjust water allocations for agricultural purposes.
Construction that diverts agricultural water to the park should be stopped, according to the protesters. However, the National Science Council (NSC) has made no promises to discontinue channeling of water away from agriculture.
The government has refused to stop water engineering construction and has even extended its plans by six months. It has also continued to "steal agricultural water" by only providing farmers with four days of water out of every 10 days.
Wu also said she was "baffled" by charges she is facing after she threw herself in front of a backhoe in an attempt to prevent construction.
Tsai Li-yue, a farmers' representative, said the farmers just want to keep the water they need to irrigate their crops and asked: "Is that really asking too much?"
In response, Hu Chung-i, the deputy head of the Council of Agriculture's Department of Irrigation and Engineering, said any termination of construction will require government approval.
The council's deputy minister, Chen Wen-deh, said any readjustments in water allocation will depend on NSC evaluations, but he added that priority should be given to agriculture.
(By Chen Shun-hsieh, Yang Su-min and C.J. Lin)
Original Article Here
No comments:
Post a Comment