1.Does Chairman Zhou have any background and experience related to irrigation? What impresses Chairman Zhou about Pingding Ancient Channel?

It takes administrative management experience for one to become a chairman and does not require irrigation related background. However he was very fortunate to have background in agriculture engineering and civil engineering. Chairman Zhou studied agricultural engineering at the 3-year junior college and studied civil engineering when he was attending Tamkang University and the graduate school in Chung Hua University.

2.Under what circumstance did Chairman Zhou come to the Chi-Sing Irrigation Association? How was he elected as the chairman?

The Chairman started off as an employee at in Chi-Sing Irrigation Association in 1983 and he was coincidentally in charge of duties for Pingdeng Village. After he was promoted to the director-general, he soon became the chairman under the circumstance that the former chairman retired. Later Chairman Zhou told us that it requires at least 10 years of administrative experience to become a chairman. He was referred by a teacher to work in the Irrigation Association while the Association did not require any tests for employment. 

3.What kind of criteria do the three channels of Pngding and region need to have in order to be registered as the first official cultural assets for “cultural landscape” in Taipei City?

The Ministry of Culture has regulations governing the registration as Taipei City cultural landscape, as this region must contain commemorative meaning for nature and humanistic integration. For example, Pingding Ancient Channel offers livelihood water and farmers. Chairman Zhou also mentioned that the channel ran under public field system and the users must pay for water renal with the excess money used for developing land and land re-planning, as well as the maintenance fees for the common belief of Hecheng Temple and renovation of channel. The government does not provide funding for maintenance if listed in Taipei City monument or cultural asset.

4.Does the Irrigation Association need to play the development of tourism industry in Pingding Ancient Channel and which activities are planned?

To develop tourism industry in Pingding Ancient channel, the irrigation association organizes annual ecology guide. Although the guide could attract many people, it also creates much garbage and noises on contrary. In the future, the association expects to accomplish equilibrium in production and tourism. Additionally the association holds channel guide and ecology experience (such as bamboo shoot picking and producing Chinese yam bun) in cooperation with the season for agricultural crops every July and August. During raining days, there are supporting solutions (i.e. blue die and picking peanuts). Information on these activities can be found on the website of Irrigation Association. Many people are participating with enthusiasm and usually the opening for registration is full in just half day of time.

5.Chi-Sing Irrigation Association has some foundations establishment. Which foundation was founded with purpose or activities related to Pingding Ancient Channel?

The reason for the Irrigation to found the foundation was not for Pingding Ancient Channel but mainly for the entire ecology of the environment. Irrigation Association is a public sector and is therefore more limited. It is limited to assisting with agricultural irrigation and drainage. However the service scope of foundation is broader. In particular, Chi-Sing Ecology Foundation and Field Foundation are related to Pingding Ancient Channel. Chi-Sing Ecology Foundation often holds natural and humanistic guide activities as well as firefly introduction and other Ancient Channel related activities. The Field Cultural Foundation is intended to acquaint people with the early lifestyle of farmers and their routine activities in blue dyes, Nanguan, and Beiguan.

6.Does Chi-Sing Irrigation Association have any new plan for the channel in the future?

The Irrigation Association does not really have any new plan for the local area mainly because we want to maintain the original look of the channel. Maybe the teachers will perceive that the Ancient Channel has been preserved with it original look when they return in the future. The real purpose is to maintain natural ecology. For example, the Ancient Channel is located on top and any water leaked will nourish our soil. Such leaked water will then flow into the New Channel and Dengfong Channel under while nourishing the soil of other areas, helping with the growth and ecology of other places. We think that maintaining the best of it will help us maintain the status of the communities.

Since the New Channel and Dengfong Channel are not used for irrigation as often, part of the New Channel and Dengfong Channel are changed into U-Shaped ditch to make it porous. The survival of fish and shrimp requires many pores. Actually when they build the channel, many sections are excavated deep so that the pits will serve as pond for shrimp and fish to live for about one week and avoid crisis in times of draught. If the tunnel is all flat and in times of typhoon, once the water source is shut, there will not be any water and will cause fish and shrimp in the channel to die in massive quantity. Hence the Irrigation Association would apply the most natural means to maintain the local ecology so that they public will be able to see the ancient style and look of original channel ecology.

7.What is the reason for not opening Dengfong Channel Tunnel? Is it because of the bats? Because of danger or other considerations?

Because of the bats and ecology in Dengfong Channel tunnel. We do not want to disturb them and there are also bats of special species and length of tunnel is really long. Dengfong Channel was built with upstream and downstream concurrently, the instrument used was not as accurate and hence some parts of the channel are higher and some lower after the opening.

8.Did Pingdeng Elementary School receive consent from the Irrigation Association for the micro hydroelectric power station built? Did you provide any funding to them?

The micro hydroelectric power station built by Pingdeng Elementary School requires water from Dengfong Channel and so they did apply to the Irrigation Association. Moreover, the Rotary Club sponsored Pingdeng Elementary School with NT200,000 to NT300,000 for building the micro hydroelectric power station in order to develop ecology instruction. The lighting equipment only requires 10~20 watts of power and hence they could use the water flow from Dengfong Channel so they ould produce simple low-watt lights for bathroom.