[From Food Safety to Agricultural Safety, County and City Mayors Asked]Lianjiang County: School lunches non-GMO, development cannot rely entirely on casinos, severe sea drift garbage needs solving
The Beihai Tunnel on Nangan Island in Matsu was originally built for military use, a passage dug out by hand so that vessels could come ashore along the channel and evade enemy artillery fire. It was only opened to the public in recent years.
A: Matsu has long suffered from inconvenient transportation. In addition, after the termination of military administration, the number of national troops dropped sharply, and developing the tourism industry became a clear direction for the local economy. But this is a slow, long-term process, and since sea and land transportation to Matsu is not very convenient at present, tourist numbers cannot be increased further. Many local residents hope Matsu will build casinos and international resort villages, hoping to trade casinos for an airport.
In 2012, Lienchiang County held a gaming referendum: 1,795 votes in favor of gaming and 1,341 against. In percentage terms, supporters made up 57.24% and opponents 42.76%. The number of supporters exceeded one half of the valid votes, passing the opening of tourist casinos in Matsu. However, the gaming law still has to pass before the investment solicitation process can proceed. For now we are waiting on the Legislative Yuan's progress. If the Legislative Yuan passes the gaming law, we will handle investment solicitation in accordance with the relevant statutes.
I am an elected local leader, and I cannot say whether I support or oppose gaming. Since the referendum has already passed, we will act according to law. In the future, when developers are evaluated and selected, issues such as public security and ecology will all be included in the selection criteria, so as to maximize the overall benefits developers bring to Matsu and minimize the negative effects.
However, procedures such as developing casinos and international resort villages all require the gaming law to pass before they can be pushed forward. I think whether the gaming law can pass and whether it will pass are not things I can control. Matsu still has to move forward and cannot just sit and wait for casinos to arrive. The things we can control ourselves, such as making Matsu's external sea and land transportation more convenient, and the need for Matsu to develop local industries, all need to be done at a faster pace.
Industry is the foundation of Matsu's sustainable development. The county government's job is to build infrastructure and guide local industries toward sustainable development. As for local industries, Matsu has not yet developed aquaculture. I hope that during my term as county magistrate, I can bring in private capital, manpower and technology from Taiwan to develop Matsu's aquaculture, such as abalone, sea cucumber, kelp, yellow croaker, mussels and so on.
Q: What plans does the county magistrate have for Matsu's future development?
During the era of KMT-CCP confrontation, Matsu was the front line and a battlefield. Now that cross-strait tensions have eased, Matsu's geopolitical position has changed, turning from Taiwan's periphery into a relay station between the two sides of the strait. I believe Matsu should make good use of this geopolitical change, use Taiwan's resources and the mainland market, and create progress and prosperity for Matsu.
On May 1 this year, Matsu will open a route to Huangqi in Fuzhou. From Matsu to Huangqi in Fuzhou on the other side takes only 25 minutes, which can form a one-day life circle between Matsu and the other side. Fuzhou is a very large market for Matsu.
At present, the cross-strait trade in services agreement is beset with difficulties and is not easy to pass. I think Matsu can be made a pilot free trade zone for the two sides of the strait, trying things out first. On the one hand, the barrier of the Taiwan Strait means it will not affect the development of Taiwan proper; on the other hand, we can observe how the pilot zone operates.
However, cross-strait exchanges involve not only the flow of people, goods and money, but also drifting garbage. A lot of garbage drifts from mainland China to Matsu. We estimate that 800 tons of marine debris accumulate along Matsu's coast each year. This number is astonishing, already more than half of Matsu's total annual garbage volume, far beyond the scope of what we can handle.
The Lienchiang County Government hopes the Environmental Protection Administration will include Matsu's marine debris in a special project to help solve the problem, and also hopes the Mainland Affairs Council will include marine debris in cross-strait negotiations, bringing mainland China in to face it together.
We also very much welcome cooperation with civil groups that study marine debris, to further research the quantity, content and distribution range of marine debris, so that we have better knowledge to handle it, as the basis for cross-strait negotiations and the grounds for solving the problem. The better our knowledge of marine debris, the better we know what methods will handle it more efficiently.