Today is Sunday, July 16, the day of the rally for housing justice along Ketagalan Boulevard, and I am walking with the other marchers, chatting with an elderly lady walking by my side.
She says to me: “The area that collapsed along Alley 110, Shueiyuan Road Sec 2 in Sijhih District (汐止) in 2017 is just behind the parking lot constructed on land owned by former legislator Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌). I remember him posting on Facebook that that section of road, together with Dongshih Street in the hills around New Taipei City, was in danger of collapse after days of heavy rainfall, saying how this shows the importance of maintaining proper soil conservation along slopes.”
She then asks how it was that Huang had leased his land out for the construction of a parking lot. “Had he forgotten what he had written in that post?” she said.
I nodded, adding: “The land that the parking lot is built on was originally a Grade 2 Environmentally Sensitive Area on a slope, and according to New Taipei City urban planning guidelines developments in these areas must prepare a soil conservation plan to be sent for approval to the local authorities, otherwise it would be in contravention of the Urban Planning Act (都市計畫法) and the Soil and Water Conservation Act (水土保持法).”
The lady said: “Making a parking lot requires laying down non-porous concrete, which would mean the rainwater is unable to permeate the ground. Surely, this would increase the surface runoff and the burden on the drainage system, jeopardizing the safety of local residents, perhaps even leading to subsidence or collapse. Would Huang not have been aware of this?”
I sighed.
“The march is about fairness and justice, as well as judicial reform and housing justice, but the usage of land Huang owns is actually illegal. If he is unaware of this, is he really qualified to speak on judicial reform? Leasing land for the construction of a parking lot and thereby endangering soil conservation in the area, as well as jeopardizing the safety of local residents, surely runs counter to the spirit of promoting housing justice,” I said.
The lady said: “You know what? The more I think about it, today’s march is not really offering much in terms of vision or solutions to the problem, and is beginning to look increasingly like a political event designed to bolster certain people’s agendas in the ongoing presidential election campaign. I’m off.”
As she said that, I woke from my dream. When I reflected on it, I thought she had a point.
Yeh Yu-cheng is a secretary at the Pingtung Public Health Bureau.
Translated by Paul Cooper
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