ROC Interior Minister Lee Hong-yuan called March 28 for a review of the Urban Renewal Act, as part of a move to achieve greater justice in housing policies.
His comments came amid controversy over the eviction of a family in Shilin District a day before by the Taipei City Government on behalf of a construction company, claiming that the URA gives local authorities the power to carry out demolition operations.
“We will look closely at the procedures to make sure the property owners were thoroughly informed of their rights and responsibilities in the process,” Lee said.
Members of the Wang family, along with hundreds of protesters, were forcibly removed by police early in the morning to make way for the demolition of the remaining two houses on the planned site for a condo project, local media reported.
Le Young Construction Co. Ltd. has been working on an urban renewal project on the 1,750-square-meter site for over three years. The company obtained written consent from 95 percent of the homeowners on the site, but the Wangs never expressed the wish to participate, sources said.
The Taipei City Government has maintained the position that as the majority of the residents have agreed to the project, the eviction and demolition were carried out in accordance with law.
According to Hsu Shih-jung, a professor of land economics at Taipei’s National Chengchi University, the escalating controversy reflects a conflict between the ROC Constitution, which guarantees the right to property, and the Urban Renewal Act, which states that the renewal of a site only requires the consent of more than 60 percent of the landowners.
“The seizure of property from people’s hands, if it ever happens at all, should be aimed at maximizing the public good, not removing obstacles for construction companies,” he said. (THN)
Write to Kwangyin Liu at kwangyin.liu@mail.gio.gov.tw