Taipei, Aug. 11 (CNA) Vice President Annette Lu said Saturday that now is the time to carry out a complete re-assessment of water and land conservation in Taiwan in order to find the best ways to protect the environment.
Speaking at a seminar organized by the presidential Technology Advisory Committee on the possible factors that led to the widespread devastation caused by the passing of last Monday's Typhoon Toraji and how post-disaster reconstruction should proceed, Lu said that seeing the verdant countryside destroyed made her feel as if "God has become angry" and as if the land is fighting back against mankind.
Lu, who serves as chairwoman of the advisory committee, pointed out that some believe the disastrous losses brought about by Toraji could be attributed to the global climate changes that have led to an increase in the number of typhoons in the region, while others say that artificial factors, including excessive development, are the major culprits.
Stressing that although she is not expressing her dissatisfaction at the nation's betel nut farmers, Lu said that the fashionable "betel nut culture" -- as evidenced by the 3 million people in Taiwan who chew them, consuming 15 million betel nuts a year, or the equivalent worth of NT$100 billion (US$2.89 billion) -- must be "re-evaluated."