The Cabinet yesterday proposed revised rules on farmland expropriation with a view to preventing indiscriminate development of arable land by turning it into non-agricultural use and ensuring the rights of displaced farmers.
Minister of the Interior Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺), who presented an amendment to the Land Expropriation Act (土地徵收條例) for discussion at a Cabinet meeting, said the government aimed to push the bill through before the legislature goes into recess in mid-December.
Jiang said the amendment by and large sought to answer public concerns over the expropriation of farmland in the wake of several controversial conversion projects in recent years.
The government proposed introducing an article to “preserve arable farmland” which stipulates that certain areas designated for agricultural and pasture uses cannot be targeted for conversion by land developers.
EXCEPTION
However, a long list of exception are to be made in the case of use by the military, transportation, public utilities, irrigation, sanitation and environmental protection or major construction projects approved by the Executive Yuan, Jiang said.
If the legislature passes the bill, land developers would be required to evaluate how their projects would impact an area in terms of economics, social-cultural effects, bio-diversity and the environment before a comprehensive assessment could be made as to whether a project is necessary and whether it brings with it countervailing public benefits.
The bill would also require that land developers negotiate prices with land owners facing expropriation based on market price, thereby addressing one of the major criticisms at present, that -government-declared valuations have been too low.
HELPING HAND
An additional article says that land developers are required to accommodate displaced low and middle-income families until they are able to find a place to settle down permanently either by providing them with temporarily accommodation, or rent and mortgage assistance.
The amendment would also allow land owners to opt for compensation in the form of land if they later decide that is preferable to any cash compensation.
To ensure and respect the wishes of farmers who want to continue farming after their farmland is expropriated, the bill said land developers should designate an area specifically for agriculture use in any expropriation project.
In related news, Jiang said that the Cabinet was also deliberating amendments to the Real Estate Broking Management Act (不動產經紀業管理條例) and the Statute for Equalization of Land Rights (平均地權條例), both of which would soon be referred to the legislature for review.
If passed, the two amendments and an amendment to the Land Administration Agent Act (地政士法), which is undergoing legislative review, could help establish a database of real-estate transaction prices that would serve as basis when determining a fair price for land subject to expropriation, Jiang said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS