Every country wants Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) to build a fab on its territory and every local government in Taiwan wants the same thing.
However, TSMC last week announced that it had abandoned a plan to set up a fab in Taoyuan. Everyone was shocked.
To solve the problem and let TSMC resume the plan, the key would be to settle compensation for land expropriations and improvements.
Hundreds of land expropriation cases await the Executive Yuan’s decision. The cases that I have dealt with all involve landowners who would not accept the compensation amount.
For years, these owners have brought their cases to court. Some of them would take administrative action, petitioning or appealing to legislators, local governments or even the Presidential Office. If both parties agree on a compensation amount, problems can be solved almost immediately.
To bring it back to TSMC, the Taoyuan City Government should initiate negotiations between the Hsinchu Science Park — the land use applicant — and the landowners. These two parties should try to agree upon a reasonable amount of compensation according to Article 11 of the Land Expropriation Act (土地徵收條例), which says that to reach a compromise, the applicant should negotiate with the owners based on market value.
If the landowners find new housing arranged by the Hsinchu Science Park satisfactory, perhaps the problems can be solved.
According to the expansion plan of the Hsinchu Science Park in Taoyuan, the land would not be expropriated until 2027, which means that there is time for all parties to work things out.
To protect the rights of the landowners, Hsinchu Science Park might need to offer an updated comprehensive plan for the proposed undertaking that has been approved by its superior authority. It might also need to put money into an investment trust and have the landowners be the trust beneficiaries.
To demonstrate its sincerity, Hsinchu Science Park should allow the landowners to select the trust supervisors.
However, all that might cost Hsinchu Science Park a substantial amount, so the entire project should be discussed further in detail.
Yu Ying-fu is a lawyer.
Translated by Emma Liu
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