The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday chastised the Executive Yuan for submitting proposals to change the Spatial Planning Act (國土計畫法) amid a global outbreak of COVID-19, saying that the move was aimed at helping corporations secure development projects while evading public scrutiny.
The KMT caucus on Friday last week struck down a motion by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus to advance the proposals to committee review, because it found two planned amendments unacceptable, KMT caucus secretary-general Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) told a news conference in Taipei.
One proposed amendment would allow national spatial plans to be revised if the Cabinet approves “major construction projects,” which Chiang said would open up a back door for developers to secure tenders, rendering the act an empty gesture.
The other amendment would indefinitely postpone an April 30 deadline for local governments to submit spatial plans, he said.
Both proposals would encourage unrestrained development of public land under the pretext of major construction projects, which contradicts the spirit of the act, he added.
When the act was passed in 2015, it was hailed as a milestone in environmental protection for classifying land rezoning into national reserves, marine resource areas, agricultural development zones and urban development areas.
It is expected to take effect in 2022, when complementary central and local government plans are completed.
However, many environmentalists were unnerved after the Cabinet last month proposed the amendments.
Former KMT legislator Chiau Wen-yan (邱文彥), who was instrumental in pushing the legislation, said that the act was the culmination of more than two decades of work.
At the time of its passage, lawmakers across party lines agreed that there should not be any clauses that would allow backroom deals, as unlike any previous development-oriented spatial plans, the act approaches spatial planning through an assessment of nature’s capacity, he said.
The proposed amendments represent a step backward, as they ignore the conservation of state-owned land and cannot ensure sufficient farmland for food security, he added.
KMT caucus vice secretary-general Lin Yi-hua (林奕華) criticized the proposal on major construction projects, saying that it would give the Executive Yuan a “blank check” and would allow developers to benefit via speculative land development.
KMT Legislator Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) raised doubts about the Executive Yuan’s intentions behind the proposals, saying that they would greatly relax development rules and could be aimed at benefiting interested parties.
The timing of the proposals was likely aimed at avoiding public scrutiny, as the public’s focus is on preventing the spread of COVID-19, he said.
The KMT caucus would resolutely reject any further attempts to schedule a review of the controversial proposals, he added.
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