Tree Conservation Groups Accuse Taisugar of Land Speculation; Taisugar Responds with 'Lease-Only, Sustainable Use' Policy

Central News Agency Report

(CNA reporters Tseng I-ning and Hsieh I-hsuan, Taipei, June 15) Environmental groups today accused Taisugar Chairman Wu Ming-chang of defending the company's land interests by falsely claiming that the century-old forest surrounding the Qiaotou Sugar Factory is not a forest. Taisugar responded that the site for the third phase of the Kaohsiung New Town development project is not forest land. The land will be used sustainably under a 'lease-only, no sale' policy, and there is no truth to claims of a NT$50 billion land profit.

Chuang Chieh-jen,理事长 of the Forest City Association, held a press conference today, stating that the 219-hectare third-phase development project in Kaohsiung New Town includes 102 hectares of Taisugar land designated for land readjustment. This, he said, will destroy the ecological, historical, cultural, and tourism value of the century-old forest around the Qiaotou Sugar Factory, converting it into residential and commercial land for speculation.

Chuang said that during a legislative session on March 25, Wu Ming-chang claimed, 'The forest (around Qiaotou Sugar Factory) is not a forest,' asserting it is expired economic forestation land planted over 20 years ago and thus eligible for harvesting. Chuang criticized this statement as defying common sense and a blatant case of 'calling a deer a horse' to protect Taisugar's land speculation interests.

Tsai Ya-ying, a full-time lawyer at the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association, stated that if the 102 hectares of Taisugar land under readjustment were valued at the nearby land transaction price of NT$180,000 per ping, the speculative profit could reach NT$55.5 billion. As Taisugar prepares to hold its shareholders' meeting tomorrow, she urged the state-owned enterprise to prioritize public interest over profit-driven land speculation.

In an afternoon press release, Taisugar stated that the development site is not forest land but was originally planted on former sugarcane farmland. It is indeed economic forestation, not natural primary forest. Timely thinning and more effective development could promote regional prosperity.

Taisugar clarified that after land readjustment, only about 40.72 hectares of buildable land will be returned as compensation, not the full 102 hectares. The company will bear high land value taxes, and the land will be used sustainably under a 'lease-only, no sale' model, denying any NT$50 billion profit.

Taisugar noted that within the cultural landscape designated as the 'Qiaotou Sugar Factory,' approximately 21.48 hectares are zoned as conservation areas, and about 6.28 hectares around it are designated as a special tourism development zone, ensuring no impact on the overall cultural and tourism value of the sugar factory.

Taisugar emphasized that the third phase of the Kaohsiung New Town development is planned and led by the Ministry of the Interior's National Land Administration, with Taisugar merely participating in accordance with government policy and holding no decision-making authority. According to a press release from the National Land Administration on May 27, no final decisions have yet been made in the procedural process for this development.

Regarding fencing around the afforestation area, Taisugar explained that this is for site security and responsible land management. Public access requires prior application and approval from Taisugar's Kaohsiung branch. (Edited by Su Chih-tsung) 1150615