The Taipei City Government’s forceful demolition of two homes in Shilin District (士林) on Wednesday has drawn indignation from a number of movie directors, with some calling for the impeachment of Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌).
The controversy erupted when the city government ordered two buildings owned by a family named Wang (王) to be torn down to clear land for an urban development project that had been stalled for over two years.
The Wang family resisted moving from the homes in which it had lived for six generations, but their forced eviction was allowed to proceed because more than 90 percent of households in the area had already agreed to the move.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Before the Wang family was forced to vacate its two homes on Wednesday, about 300 supporters and members of rights group had gathered around the buildings, with some chained together and others standing hand-in-hand to block the move.
However, police began forcing them off the site at 7am, dragging some of the protesters onto a bus, and the demolition proceeded later in the day after the site had been cleared of demonstrators.
Critics say the forcible eviction of the Wang family was a violation of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to property.
Film director Chen Yu-hsun (陳玉勳) blasted the city government with a post on his Facebook page in which he said: “Hau Lung-bin, if I ever run into you on any occasion, I will curse you out loud!”
Another movie director, Yang Ya-che, chose to express his discontent with actions on Thursday, by relocating his meeting with movie-poster designers to Ketagalan Boulevard, where a protest was staged in support of the Wang family.
Chen said he has paid close attention to the developments of the Wang incident since Friday last week, adding that as the city government began its foreceful demolition on Wedneday, he could no longer sit and watch.
Following the demolition of the Wangs’ house on Wednesday, Chen slammed the controversial handling by the city government with a post on his Facebook page threatening to “unfriend” those who uttered remarks in favor of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) or Hau.
“Government should minister to the disadvantaged … it takes a lot of effort to build a home. Who can ever place their trust in government?” Chen wrote, adding that even “God will not forgive” the incident.
Film director Leon Dai (戴立忍), who was among the more than 300 activists who rushed to the demolition site on Wednesday to show their opposition, also voiced his opinions on Facebook.
“Rightfulness has gone backward, humanity has gone backward, civil rights have gone backward, the law has gone backward, justice has gone backward and Taiwan has gone backward,” he said.
The voices of indignation continued to pervade the filmmaking industry, with director Wang Yu-lin (王育麟) calling for Hau’s impeachment, and director Doze Niu (鈕承澤), who was on a trip to southern Taiwan, expressing regret over the incident.
Some netizens, meanwhile, have launched a campaign called “Midnight city attack,” calling for other netizens to stage protests in front of Hau’s residence at 11pm last night as a way to show their anger over the case, which they said infringed upon people’s constitutionally protected property rights and freedom of habitation.
Weighing in on the issue, former Democratic Progressive Party chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday the controversy could have been avoided if officials who handled the project communicated proactively with the parties concerned.
A mechanism should be established to help economically disadvantaged groups voice their needs, she added.
Separately yesterday, Hau called for more understanding of the city government’s duty in exercising its authority for an urban renewal project. He also blamed the controversy surrounding the case on a lack of communication with the Ministry of the Interior.
Hau reiterated the legality of the demolition and called on the public to show more sympathy for civil servants.
“I know the decision [to demolish the houses] would please no one, but the city government had discussed the case with the ministry before taking the action, and it is our duty to implement the laws as a local government,” he said at Taipei City Hall.
On Thursday, Minister of the Interior Lee Hong-yuan (李鴻源), grilled by lawmakers on the case, said there were “elements of injustice” involved in the dispute.
Hau yesterday insisted the city government had discussed the case with the ministry during the past two years in seeking solutions to the issue, but the ministry’s Construction and Planning Agency suggested the city government should exercise its authority.
Lin Chung-chieh (林崇傑), director of Taipei City’s Urban Renewal Office, said the office had discussed the context of the Urban Renewal Act (都市更新條例) in hoping to find alternative solutions other than tearing down the Wang family’s homes, but the agency insisted it is the city government’s obligation to facilitate the approved urban renewal project.
The city government also issued a document to the agency in 2008 and asked whether the act violated the Constitution. The agency said it did not, Lin added.
“If the city government failed to exercise its authority, we could face lawsuits from the construction firm and landowners who agreed to the project, as they can sue the city government for malpractice,” he said.
The act stipulates that, as long as the construction firm has obtained the consent of 75 percent of the landowners on a project site, it can ask the government to demolish the rest of the buildings by force.
However, some advocates of land justice continued to condemn the city government’s move and protested in front of Hau’s residence in Shilin.
Hau said he respected the protests, but called on the protesters not to disturb his family.
In light of the controversy, Premier Sean Chen (陳冲) yesterday called for a review of the Urban Renewal Act.
An overall review of the law is needed because it has been through numerous legislative revisions over the years, each time influenced by different motives and logic, Chen said prior to a legislative hearing.
Translated by Stacy Hsu, Staff Writer
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
Authorities yesterday elaborated on the rules governing Employment Gold Cards after a US cardholder was barred from entering Taiwan for six years after working without a permit during a 2023 visit. American YouTuber LeLe Farley was barred after already being approved for an Employment Gold Card, he said in a video published on his channel on Saturday. Farley, who has more than 420,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, was approved for his Gold Card last month, but was told at a check-in counter at the Los Angeles International Airport that he could not enter Taiwan. That was because he previously participated in two
RSS