Infighting among irrigation association factions is severe, and legislators have proposed changing them to government-appointed officials
Irrigation associations have repeatedly been reported to have factions meddling in vote-buying. In March, legislator Su Chih-fen proposed amending the "Organic Regulations of Irrigation Associations" to change the associations from the current public legal entities into formal government agencies, with the association heads selected by the central government. This sparked heated discussion in the industry. The Yilan, Taichung, and Hsinchu irrigation associations all supported it, saying the move would help resolve the associations' financial problems and local factional chaos. However, the Liugong Irrigation Association held that government appointment would still involve party consciousness, and that government agencies cannot match the current setup in terms of initiative and flexibility. Many irrigation associations, meanwhile, did not dare to take a position and said they would wait for the new government to take office before deciding.
Unclear positioning, severe factional infighting in irrigation associations
Taiwan's 17 irrigation associations manage 380,000 hectares of farmland waterways, which serve a major public-interest function and are "public legal entities." The Council of Agriculture must subsidize NT$5 to 6 billion in association fees each year, and some irrigation associations in urban areas can even collect over NT$100 million in rent a year, yet the flow of the money does not have to be disclosed, so they have repeatedly been suspected of black-box operations and factional interference in elections.
Because irrigation association heads are directly elected by members, and anyone who holds farmland is a member regardless of age or area, "infant members" and A4-sized-farmland members have actually appeared. Only the day before yesterday did the Legislative Yuan complete a preliminary review amending the regulations, requiring land area to reach 0.01 hectares and voters to be 20 years or older.
In addition to amending the election system at the tail end, both the new government and legislators intend to carry out fundamental reform, discussing government appointment of association heads, or even directly converting the associations into government agencies under the Council of Agriculture. The Taiwan Rural Economics Society held the "Symposium on the Organizational Positioning and Social Functions of Irrigation Associations" on Friday afternoon last week, inviting seven irrigation associations - Liugong, Qixing, Beiji, Yilan, Hsinchu, Taichung, and Chianan - as well as scholars to participate. Some irrigation associations fired off heavy criticism, saying outright that reform was absolutely necessary, but others said frankly that the pressure was very great and it was inconvenient to express opinions, creating an eerie atmosphere on site.
Hsu Yuan-tung, head of the Hsinchu Irrigation Association, opened fire as soon as he took the floor, saying outright that in some irrigation associations the association affairs committee members pull in one generation after another, "like a family business." Association heads, in order to win elections, have to attend weddings, funerals, celebrations, and community temple fairs, making it hard to concentrate on association affairs. Only through government appointment can personnel and finances be stabilized, and employees would not need to take part in factions, allowing them to focus on association affairs.
Hsu Nan-shan, head of the Yilan Irrigation Association, who has strongly blocked the development of farmhouses, also said that factional struggles caused by irrigation association elections have already affected association affairs. "When the association head is elected, the employees below are panic-stricken, worried about who will be cut."
