Taitung County Mayor candidate Chen Ying proposed five major urban forest policies and joined hands with Environment Minister Peng Qiming to plant trees to fight climate challenges

Taitung County Mayor candidate Chen Ying went to Taitung's "Green Hebei Spring Planting Camp" this afternoon with Environment Minister Peng Qiming, county councilor Jian Weiguo, citizen representative Wang Taijie and others. Under the demonstration of Green Hebei Spring CEO Chen Yuhua, they jointly planted trees and put forward five urban forestry policies of "mountains and seas sharing forests, making Taitung resilient". Chen Ying said that Taitung not only faces high temperatures, but also a special foehn climate, which has deeply affected everything from urban life to agricultural production. Therefore, in the future, tree shade cooling, foehn protection, dust suppression, farmland wind protection, and post-typhoon recovery will be incorporated into county governance, so that tree planting is not only greening, but also an infrastructure that protects residents' lives and agricultural production.

Chen Ying’s five urban forest policies include conducting a census of flatland tree canopy coverage, creating a “foehn loggia”, establishing “resilient planting standards”, promoting “orchard windbreak service teams” and tribal co-management, and establishing a “tree household register”.

Chen Ying said that foehn winds mainly occur in Taitung from March to October. Hot and dry downdrafts not only cause temperatures to rise rapidly, but also pose a direct threat to agricultural production. In particular, rice and custard apples are important industries in Taitung. When orchards face foehn winds, strong winds and typhoons, how to reduce agricultural damage through windbreaks is an aspect that cannot be ignored in urban forestry policies. Therefore, this time, Green Jiquan, a company that has been investing in tree planting and environmental sustainability for a long time, was specifically chosen to propose the policy. CEO Chen Yuhua has invested in tree planting, tree maintenance and environmental education for many years. He hopes that through actual tree planting actions, more people will rethink the relationship between trees and Taitung's life, agriculture and climate resilience.

Environment Minister Peng Qiming affirmed Chen Ying's vision of Taitung tree planting. In response to Taitung's climate challenges such as high temperatures, foehn winds, and typhoons, he emphasized that tree planting should take into account suitable site and species, wind resistance and subsequent maintenance, and promote the recycling of fallen wood. In the future, the Ministry of Environment will combine local government and corporate resources to support Taitung's greenery construction and circular economy to create a more livable living environment.

Chen Ying emphasized that in the future, tree planting should be upgraded from a one-time greening activity to Taitung's infrastructure, extending from urban areas, tribes, schools, and hospitals to Sakya and other orchards, farmland, rivers, and coasts, so that trees can not only provide shade and cooling, but also protect farmland from strong winds, improving Taitung's resilience to extreme heat and typhoons.