MOA Defends Slow Approval of Huwei Industrial Park Farmland Conversion Plan
Taiwan's Ministry of Agriculture defended its handling of the Huwei Industrial Park farmland conversion proposal, saying it followed the law and requested additional documents from Yunlin County Government. The county government criticised the ministry for repeated skepticism, noting other similar p
Taiwan's Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) on Friday defended its handling of a farmland conversion proposal for the Huwei Industrial Park development project, saying it had reviewed the plan in accordance with the law and asked the Yunlin County Government to provide additional documents. The ministry made the remarks after the county government criticised it for repeatedly questioning the project.
The county government proposed the project in 2024, aiming to construct an industrial park in Huwei Township (虎尾). The 29.75-hectare site is located 300 metres south of the Central Taiwan Science Park's Huwei Science Park, near the Taiwan High Speed Rail's Yunlin Station.
The county government on Thursday issued a press release saying it had sent the project to central authorities for review seven times from March 2024 to last month. The proposal was "repeatedly met with skepticism from the agriculture ministry," which has yet to approve its proposed conversion of agricultural land, it said.
The county government also questioned the ministry's demand made last month for prior approval from the Executive Yuan to recognise the project as a major investment or major infrastructure project. Without the Executive Yuan's approval, the ministry would deny the project's necessity of development — a stricter standard compared with other proposed industrial park construction plans, the county government said.
The MOA on Friday rebutted claims that it "deliberately made things difficult" for the project, adding that it reviews land use change proposals based on the principle of safeguarding the agricultural production environment and agricultural workers' welfare. The project not only covers about 29 hectares for the industrial park, but also plans to expand into a 250-hectare science park in the future, the MOA said.
The MOA also cited the National Science and Technology Council as saying that the Central Taiwan Science Park's Huwei Science Park currently does not need to be expanded. The Huwei Industrial Park project proposed by the county government includes farmland designated as part of the local specific agricultural zone, which provides a good agricultural production environment near the Maguang Organic Group Cultivation Area (馬光有機集團栽培區), the MOA said.
The MOA said it reviewed the proposal in accordance with Article 10 of the Agricultural Development Act (農業發展條例) and relevant regulations. It has asked the county government multiple times to submit supplementary documents addressing concerns over the project's farmland conversion proposal, including unclear industrial positioning, water conflicts between industry and agriculture, insufficient groundwater monitoring, low water reuse rates, local residential and transportation safety, and existing backlash from local farmers and residents, the MOA said.
