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Changhua farmers protest CTSP
irrigation water plans
By Loa Iok-sin / Staff Reporter in Changhua County
Hundreds of farmers and farmers’
rights activists gather at a water gate of an irrigation channel in Changhua
County’s Sijhou Township yesterday to protest the Central Taiwan Science Park’s
plans to divert water from the irrigation system.
Photo: Liu Hsiao-hsin, Taipei Times
Standing in front of a giant banner
hanging from a water gate and emblazoned with the words “protect the water,”
hundreds of farmers and farmers’ rights activists yesterday protested at the
source of an irrigation channel in Changhua County’s Sijhou Township (溪州) over
the Central Taiwan Science Park’s (CTSP) plans to divert water from the
irrigation system.
“Water is already scarce and [the Changhua County Irrigation Association] only
supplies water through irrigation channels four out of every 10 days,” Hsieh
Pao-yuan (謝寶元), a farmer and president of the Alliance Against Water-Jacking by
the CTSP, told the crowd. “With the CTSP planning to take more water from the
irrigation channel, we Chang-hua farmers are going to be left with nothing —
that is why we have to stand united and protect the water.”
Hsieh’s remarks drew a round of applause and cheers.
The farmers are worried because the association plans to build an underground
aqueduct to supply more than 65,000 tonnes of water from the main Cizaipijun
(莿仔埤圳) aqueduct to the latest campus in Erlin Township (二林).
The water in Cizaipijun comes from the Jhuoshui River (濁水溪) and is controlled by
the water gate where yesterday’s rally was held.
Hsieh and other farmers are worried that the park’s diversion of the water could
have a huge impact on farming families that depend on the irrigation channel to
make a living.
“The Cizaipijun irrigation system supplies water to 180,000 hectares of farmland
in southern Changhua County, including Sijhou, Erlin, Jhutang [竹塘], Dacheng [大城]
and Fangyuan [芳苑] townships, which feed more than 30,000 farming families or
more than 100,000 people,” Hsieh said. “The park said it would hire tens of
thousands of people locally, but do they plan to feed so many people?”
The participants then performed a rite of worship to the river god, praying for
him to protect the water.
Farming activist Yang Ju-men (楊儒門) questioned the legality of the plan to divert
water from farms to industrial uses.
“Article 18 of the Water Act [水利法] stipulates that the allocation of water
should follow the following order: first, family use; second, agricultural use;
third, hydroelectric power plant use; and only then industrial and
transportation use,” Yang said. “So it’s illegal to divert water from farms to
the science park, especially when there is already insufficient water for
irrigation.”
Sijhou Mayor Huang Sheng-lu (黃盛祿) accused the Irrigation Association of not
informing residents before contracting out the aqueduct project.
He said, although the project was contracted out in December, the association
only contacted the township office four months ago to ask if it could provide a
venue for a public hearing.
Pointing to earlier comments by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) that “if you care
about the agricultural sector, you should not harm the farmers,” Taiwan Rural
Front spokeswoman Tsai Pei-hui (蔡培慧) said that the lack of water was the most
serious issue for farmers.
“The problem is not how much 1kg of bananas sells for, the real problem is that
the government is trying to rob farmers of their land and water,” Tsai said.
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