President Ma Ying-jeou traveled on the morning of July 16 to Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan to attend the opening ceremonies of a bowling tournament sponsored by the Syin-Lu Social Welfare Foundation. The president also attended a forum where he listened to concerns voiced by local farmers, and in the afternoon paid a visit to Mr. She Cheng-xi (佘振喜), the owner of a manufacturing company, whose home he previously stayed at while campaigning for presidency. During his visit, the president also exchanged opinions with local residents.
At the opening ceremonies of the Syin-Lu Social Welfare Foundation's bowling tournament, the president remarked that currently Taiwan is home to over 1.07 million physically and mentally disabled individuals. The central and local governments each year allocate NT$30.8 billion to provide assistance to these individuals, he said, which includes funding for healthcare, education, rehabilitation, living expenses, creation of barrier-free environments, and welfare services. Despite the government's best efforts, however, there are areas of these people's lives where the government is unable to help, and a variety of social service organizations have stepped in to fill the gap. These organizations are both professional and caring, and the services they provide surpass those of the government in terms of both breadth and depth.
The president noted that the Syin-Lu Social Welfare Foundation was founded 24 years ago at a time when no other organization of its kind existed here. In those days, the president said, many families that had a mentally or physically handicapped family member frequently experienced a sense of despair. Consequently, the parents of the mentally or physically disabled sought ways to share their experiences and seek out persons with professional training for assistance. This is what provided the basis for the establishment of many social service organizations, he remarked. Syin-Lu has faced difficulties over the years, but has proven to be an invaluable lifesaver for many households. The president encouraged mentally and physically disabled people to get out and about, and to involve themselves in athletic activities. President Ma explained that athletics not only strengthen one's physique, but also help to put people in a better mood and create a better outlook on life.
Following this event, President Ma then attended a forum where he listened to the concerns and suggestions voiced by flower farmers in the Kaohsiung and Pingtung areas. The president exchanged opinions on a broad range of topics with these individuals.
The president expressed his admiration for the hard work of farmers in the course of Taiwan's agricultural development, and pointed out that the latest edition of Time magazine includes an article entitled, "Want to Make More Money than a Banker? Become a Farmer!" The article mentioned that more and more resources have been poured into agriculture in recent years, primarily because the value of grain output has been comparable to the output of the financial industry, and this trend remains in place. President Ma encouraged people involved in agriculture to continue to do their best.
President Ma stated that young people are starting to return to farming villages, and pointed out that more and more young people are participating in programs operated by the Executive Yuan's Council of Agriculture to provide training, allow for more efficient use of farmland, and foster the recovery of farming villages. The government is pleased to see this trend, he said, and will continue to promote it.
The president listened to suggestions made by farmers that government scholarships should be provided for farmers to encourage them to attend school. The farmers also voiced concerns about overly high costs for air cargo. President Ma responded by asking the Council of Agriculture to further look into the issues and draft response measures. In response to calls by farmers for access to better data on production and sales, the president stated that investors in stocks are able to use smart phones to obtain the latest information on the equities market, and expressed his hope that farmers could also have access to the latest data to help them in their operations. He said that mobile phones could be used to display the latest data on output, sales, and market prices for various crops, and could even provide farmers with a longer-term platform via which they could exchange information that would enable them to plan their crops in advance. Consequently, the focus of government efforts in this regard in the future will be to provide ample production and sales data to help farmers make the best decisions, he explained.
President Ma commented that quality and brand names are important for agricultural products, to be sure, but farmers also need to be treated fairly, and people should not be continually talking down the prices of Taiwan's farm products. For instance, recent news reports have said that bananas are being sold at a price of only NT$2 per catty, which is prompting wholesalers to ask why many farmers are selling their crops at prices exceeding that level. Many banana and papaya farmers asked if he could prevent this style of reporting, since it causes difficulties for farmers when they are trying to sell their crops. President Ma responded that reports should focus on the price for Grade A products and not the prices of lower grade produce. Reports should accurately reflect the prices of various goods and refrain from exaggeration, he said.
Quite a few farmers expressed their approval of the government's "small landowner, big tenant farmer" policy. The president said he was extremely pleased that this policy has been well-received, adding that the initiative includes four objectives, namely, to more efficiently use agricultural land, provide for the retirement of elderly farmers, create farms that yield economies of scale, and boost incomes. The president mentioned that when he took office in May 2008 some 220,000 hectares of farming land in Taiwan lay fallow. This number has been reduced by over 10,000 hectares, he said, adding that the "small landowner, big tenant farmer" policy has increased the use of land by 5,700 hectares.
President Ma furthermore stated that the government will fully take into consideration the opinions of farmers as it addresses the issue of agricultural reform. In the coming several weeks, the president said that he and the Council of Agriculture will carefully formulate measures to address various issues. The president commented that authorities must look into problems facing the agricultural community on a regular basis each year, rather than trying to deal with issues on an ad hoc basis when they arise. Creating concrete responses to various issues at an early date helps to resolve problems in a timely manner, he said.
In the afternoon, President Ma paid a visit to Mr. She Cheng-xi, a factory owner who hosted him for an overnight stay while Mr. Ma was campaigning for the presidency in 2007. In addition to sharing his experiences and reminiscing with local residents about that stay, the president also exchanged opinions with the townsfolk and listened to their thoughts on a variety of topics.