Over 400 hectares of prime farmland: the Taiwan Knowledge Economy Flagship Park (Puyu) plan faces another hurdle as 10,000-signature petition urges the Ministry of the Interior to reject it

The development plan for the Taiwan Knowledge Economy Flagship Park in Hsinchu County (abbreviated as the TKEP plan, formerly known as the Puyu plan), which would expropriate over 400 hectares of prime farmland, is about to go before the 12th specialized task force meeting of the Ministry of the Interior's Urban Planning Committee on August 28. Today (8/24), the Puyu Self-Rescue Association, which opposes the development, along with Hsinchu City residents and supporting groups, went to the Ministry of the Interior to submit a 10,000-signature petition, appealing to the central government not to be held hostage by local development plans and demanding that the Ministry of the Interior's Urban Planning Committee uphold professional conscience and immediately reject the case.

The Self-Rescue Association and Hsinchu City residents also used a street theater performance to accuse the Hsinchu County Government's development plan of "a fake park and real real-estate speculation," "excessive expropriation of 400 hectares of prime farmland in a special agricultural zone," and "destroying the last piece of Hakka rural culture in Zhubei" and other development abuses. Environmental groups and the Self-Rescue Association declared through the street theater performance that they will unite residents and environmental forces to protect the prime farmland and overturn this excessive development plan.

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

Chen Yi-hsu, vice chairman of the Puyu Self-Rescue Association, accused the case of having changed its contents many times since it was first proposed in 2004, with the expropriation area continuously expanding from 80 hectares for the industrial park, plus an additional 40 hectares for the NCTU Zhubei campus and 20 hectares for an international village, swelling the expropriation area to over 400 hectares of prime farmland in a special agricultural zone. Chen sharply criticized: "The specialized task force of the Ministry of the Interior's Urban Planning Committee knows full well that this case involves serious excessive expropriation and dares not approve it; it has conducted over 12 specialized reviews so far, repeatedly demanding revisions while refusing to reject it. The reason is that it dares not offend the local government, the conglomerates behind the speculation, and the investors. This is truly disappointing."

Landowner Fan Chun-yuan, who attended the event, 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 strip people of their livelihood. He stressed that many families within the expropriation area have lived there for generations, forming communities with deep emotional ties, and that no amount of money could buy such an environment. He believes that "to break up and move families away, no amount of compensation can buy this kind of human tradition; losing the land will tear apart even the emotional bonds. These lands are the heritage left by our ancestors and cannot be measured in money."

Small farmer: Hsinchu's CSA agriculture is competitive; hopes 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 is nearly being crushed, yet the Zhubei countryside is one of the few agricultural environments that can develop competitively. Because the countryside is very close to the city, the Touqian River watershed is suitable for developing Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), allowing city residents to come to the countryside on holidays to experience it. 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 bridged. He hopes the government will preserve this piece of countryside.

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