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
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
RSS