Residents of Miaoli County’s Dapu Borough (大埔) erupted in tears yesterday after the Taichung High Administrative Court ruled that the county government had illegally destroyed houses belonging to four families last year.
The court said the Ministry of the Interior had failed to conduct a review of a project submitted by the Miaoli County Government to demolish the private homes in Dapu to make way for a science park before approving the project.
The partial or complete demolition of homes belonging to the Chang (張), Chu (朱), Ko (柯) and Huang (黃) families was therefore unlawful, the court said.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
The very emotional Dapu residents and their supporters were quick to demand apologies from the government, reconstruction of their homes and revision of laws governing land expropriation.
“Miaoli County Commissioner Liu Cheng-hung (劉政鴻), as well as every official in the county and central governments who made the decision to flatten our houses, should apologize to us, not only through the media, but by making house-to-house apologies in person,” said Peng Hsiu-chun (彭秀春), the wife of Chang Sen-wen (張森文), who committed suicide last year after their home was demolished.
“Liu should return our land to us and rebuild our homes to their original state, but even that is not enough, because he can never bring my husband back to life,” Peng told a press conference in Taipei.
Photo: Peng Chian-lee, Taipei Times
Huang Chiu-hung (黃秋紅) tearfully recounted how her family suffered over the past few years, and how she has lived in fear that her mother might carry out her comments about committing suicide.
“The county government has destroyed the front yard of our house, and dumped rocks and debris on our farmland. I want it to rebuild everything and restore everything to its original state,” she said.
Ko Chih-chuan (柯智傳) said he appreciated the verdict, but was not happy.
“I feel no joy in winning the lawsuit, because we have a long way to go in our struggle to amend the Land Expropriation Act (土地徵收條例),” Ko said. “If the law is not revised, there will be more tragedies like the one we have suffered. We must stand up against the evil law.”
Even Liao Pen-chuan (廖本全), an associate professor at National Taipei University’s real estate and built environment department, who had appeared so strong in previous public appearances, started to cry as he talked during the press conference.
“It is hard not to be emotional if you have been following the issue for a long time,” he said. “Besides asking the government to restore everything to its original state, we should also pursue efforts to change the system and pursue the county commissioner, the ministry and the Executive Yuan who were responsible [for the destruction].”
Asked if they would seek compensation from the government, Thomas Chan (詹順貴), an attorney representing the residents, said his clients were unlikely to do so unless the money came directly from the pockets of the officials involved.
“If the compensation will come from taxpayers’ pockets, we would rather not ask for it,” he said.
At a separate press conference later in day, Deputy Minister of the Interior Hsiao Chia-chi (蕭家淇) insisted the ministry had conducted thorough reviews of the project numerous times before approving it, “but we would respect the different view of the judge.”
“The fact that the court ruled in favor of nine plaintiffs belonging to four families, but rejected the lawsuit filed by 19 others, shows that overall the project is necessary and beneficial to the public,” Hsiao said.
He said the ministry would wait until it receives the verdict in writing and discusses it with the Miaoli County Government before deciding whether to file an appeal.
Activists demonstrating in the lobby of the ministry said Hsiao was trying to confuse the public.
“The court rejected the other lawsuits not because the judge believed that the project is necessary and beneficial to the public, but, as the court statement indicated, the 19 other plaintiffs agreed to compensation measures proposed by the county government,” Taiwan Rural Front member Lin Le-xin (林樂昕) said.
QUIET START: Nearly a week after applications opened, agencies did not announce or promote the program, nor did they explain how it differed from other visitor visas Taiwan has launched a six-month “digital nomad visitor visa” program for foreign nationals from its list of visa-exempt countries who meet financial eligibility criteria and provide proof of work contracts. To apply, foreign nationals must either provide proof that they have obtained a digital nomad visa issued by another country or demonstrate earnings based on age brackets, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said. Applicants aged 20 to 29 must show they earned an annual salary of at least US$20,000 or its equivalent in one of the past two years, while those aged 30 or older must provide proof they earned US$40,000 in
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS: The suspects formed spy networks and paramilitary groups to kill government officials during a possible Chinese invasion, prosecutors said Prosecutors have indicted seven retired military officers, members of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, for allegedly obtaining funds from China, and forming paramilitary groups and assassination squads in Taiwan to collaborate with Chinese troops in a possible war. The suspects contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法) by taking photos and drawing maps of key radar stations, missile installations and the American Institute in Taiwan’s headquarters in Taipei, prosecutors said. They allegedly prepared to collaborate with China during a possible invasion of Taiwan, prosecutors said. Retired military officer Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), 62, a Republic of China Army Academy graduate, went to China
AIR DEFENSE: The Norwegian missile system has proved highly effective in Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the US has recommended it for Taiwan, an expert said The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) Taiwan ordered from the US would be installed in strategically important positions in Taipei and New Taipei City to guard the region, the Ministry of National Defense said in statement yesterday. The air defense system would be deployed in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) and New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), the ministry said, adding that the systems could be delivered as soon as the end of this year. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency has previously said that three NASAMS would be sold to Taiwan. The weapons are part of the 17th US arms sale to
UNITY MESSAGE: Rather than focusing on what Trump said on the campaign trail about Taiwan, Taipei should be willing to engage with the US, Pompeo said Taiwan plays a key role in Washington’s model of deterrence against China, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said in a speech in Taipei yesterday. During US president-elect Donald Trump’s first term, “we had developed what we believe was a pretty effective model of deterrence against adversaries who wanted to undermine the set of rules and values that the people of Taiwan and the people of the US hold dear,” Pompeo said at a forum organized by the Formosa Republican Association. “Succeeding in continuing to build this model will not solely rest at the feet of president Trump and his team,
RSS