Don't let over 400 hectares of good farmland be destroyed in one fell swoop! The Taiwan Knowledge Economic City "Puyu" (Rough Jade) project is pushing for approval again, and the self-rescue association is calling for a petition of ten thousand people

The Hsinchu County Taiwan Knowledge Economic Flagship Park plan (abbreviated as the Taizhi plan, formerly known as the Puyu plan), which would expropriate over 400 hectares of prime farmland, is about to have its 12th special task force meeting of the Ministry of the Interior's Urban Planning Committee on August 28. Residents' self-rescue associations opposing the development, along with Hsinchu City residents and supporting groups, went to the Ministry of the Interior today (8/24) to submit a 10,000-person petition, appealing that the central government should not be held hostage by local development projects, and demanding that the Ministry of the Interior's Urban Planning Committee uphold professional conscience and immediately reject this case.

The self-rescue association and Hsinchu City residents also used a street performance to accuse the Hsinchu County Government's development plan of being "a fake park, real real-estate speculation," "excessive expropriation of 400 hectares of prime farmland in a specially designated agricultural zone," and "destroying Zhubei's last rural Hakka culture," among other development abuses. Environmental groups and the self-rescue association used the performance to declare that they will unite citizens and environmental forces to protect the prime farmland and overturn the excessive development plan.

Puyu residents: Excessive land development should be sent back directly; no amount of monetary compensation can buy the emotional bond to the land and good neighbors

Chen Yi-hsu, vice chairman of the Puyu Self-Rescue Association, accused that since this case was established in 2004, its content has been changed many times, and the expropriation scope has continuously expanded from 80 hectares for an industrial park, adding 40 hectares for the NCTU Zhubei campus and 20 hectares for an international village, swelling the expropriation scope to more than 400 hectares of prime farmland in a specially designated agricultural zone. Chen harshly criticized: "The Ministry of the Interior's Urban Planning Committee special task force clearly knows that this case involves serious excessive expropriation and does not dare approve it. So far there have been more than 12 special reviews, repeatedly demanding revisions yet unwilling to reject it. The reason is that they do not dare offend the local government, the consortiums speculating behind the scenes, and investors. It is truly disappointing."

Landowner Fan Chun-yuan, who attended, has farmed and lived in Zhubei his whole life. He said he has made a living by farming all his life, and the government cannot forcibly deprive people of their livelihood. He emphasized that within the expropriation area, many families have lived for generations, and these are settlements full of emotional ties; even with money, such an environment cannot be bought. He believes: "To tear families apart and make them move away, no amount of compensation can buy this kind of human tradition. Losing the land will tear apart even emotional ties. These lands are the heritage left by our ancestors and cannot be measured by money."

Small farmers: Hsinchu CSA agriculture is competitive, and they hope the government will not erase the possibility of urban-rural mutual benefit

Chan Wu-lung, founder of the Natural Farming Club who has farmed in Zhubei for 13 years, said that because of the opening of imports of agricultural products, local agriculture has been nearly beaten down; however, rural Zhubei is one of the few agricultural environments that can develop competitively. Because the countryside is very close to the city, the rural area in the Touqian River basin is very suitable for developing community-supported agriculture (CSA), allowing city residents to come to the countryside on holidays for experiences. Friendly small farmers can easily find their own consumers, and through local production and local consumption, the long-standing gap between urban and rural areas can be repaired. He hopes the government can preserve this rural area.

Lin Chin-pao, chairman of the Taiwan Friendly Rice Promotion Association, said that after the COVID-19 pandemic, the public has realized that a food crisis is not impossible, and if an emergency ever occurs, ensuring food security is the top priority. Today, 10,000 citizens are paying attention to the future development of Puyu's prime farmland, and they expect the government to respond to citizens' demands, protect farmland, and allow urban development and rural areas to coexist and prosper together, so that rice produced in Puyu can continue to be the pride of Hsinchu residents.