Premier Jiang Yi-huah today led a group of government officials to visit southern Taiwan, where he exchanged opinions with representatives of the farming, livestock and fishing industries and expressed the government's support for them.
On the first leg of his tour, Premier Jiang visited Kaohsiung City's Chienchen Fishing Port to learn about the unloading of fishing boats and Soon Yi Superfrozen Co.'s super-low temperature freezing operation. After a briefing, the premier indicated that Taiwan occupies a leading position in deep-sea fishing, with its catch of tuna and Pacific saury ranking No. 1 and No. 2 respectively in the world. "After years of efforts, the deep-sea fishing industry now accounts for 60 percent of Taiwan's total fishing volume, which is a remarkable achievement," he said.
"Deep-sea fishing is a major foundation of Taiwan's development," continued the premier. "Its entire production system—from shipbuilding, fishing, processing to marketing—needs to be well-maintained. The government's investment in super-low temperature freezing companies in recent years serves as a model for public-private cooperation. Hopefully such cooperation between the government and local industries will continue unabated."
The second leg of the tour took Premier Jiang to Kaohsiung's Shih An Farm, where he visited modernized henhouses and chicken egg washing and grading facilities. "Taiwan has many good traditional industries. However, if these industries cling to outdated production and marketing models, their production value and social responsibility will be restricted," noted Jiang.
"Shih An Farm's successful transformation is amazing. Its business model is practical, scientific and environmentally friendly, and its employee benefits amply fulfill the company's social responsibility."
Shih An Farm is the first business in Taiwan to use fully enclosed, environmentally friendly automated henhouses, which it introduced from abroad. Premier Jiang encouraged other livestock businesses to learn from Shih An's concepts and methods so that Taiwan's traditional farming industry can be upgraded into a model for foreign businesses to follow themselves.
Premier Jiang also went to Pingtung County's Zhutian Township to visit Sunny Rich Agric Biotech (SRAB), the first business in Taiwan to develop photovoltaic (PV) greenhouses, which is involved in solar power generation, water and soil conservation and agricultural production.
"When Typhoon Morakot struck Pingtung four years ago, it caused serious flooding in the areas of Jiadong and Linbian. Afterward, the idea of conserving water and soil while generating solar power in those areas was broached. I am very glad to see SRAB successfully implementing this plan," he said.
SRAB has drained and rehabilitated these seriously salinated areas, set up PV panels in the fields to generate solar power, and planted organic vegetables under the panels. "The government has always wanted to do this, but it also requires cooperation from aspiring private businesses," said the premier. He commended SRAB Chairman Chen Kuei-kuang for investing greatly in the project, saying Taiwan needs such persons of lofty ideals to take the lead in these causes to bring more hope for the island.
Premier Jiang was accompanied by Minister without Portfolio Yang Chiu-hsing, Executive Yuan Deputy Secretary-General Chien Tai-lang and Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Bao-ji.