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Public land belongs to the people, not the state

The controversy over the government's sale of state-owned land has begun to fade. This does not mean, however, that the government will not hold a clearance sale again. In fact, the pace at which it has been selling national land has not let up. In the near future, we should expect to see a string of large national assets sold -- including the land on which the Bank of Taiwan's dormitory on Yangde Boulevard (仰德大道) is situated in Taipei City's Yangmingshan.

According to statistics from the Public Assets Saving Front (國家資產搶救連線), former premier Yu Shyi-kun's Cabinet sold 1,242 hectares of land in the space of three years; former premier Frank Hsieh's (謝長廷) Cabinet sold 310 hectares of land in a year; and Premier Su Tseng-chang's (蘇貞昌) Cabinet sold the Combined Logistics Command's (聯合後勤司令部) land on Xinyi Road (信義路) in downtown Taipei -- although the decision to sell that property was made by Hsieh.

The problem is that property of the state belongs to the general public, and the government is entrusted by the people to manage it. To fail to manage these assets responsibly is to betray the people's trust. In response to this issue, Su stated on March 8 that the "public interest" was the fundamental principle governing the government's sale of national land. Public interest, he added, requires that the government manage state-owned property in such a way as to maximize the benefit to the public, and that this should not include selling land to conglomerates for building expensive mansions, broadening the wealth gap in the process.

A positive interpretation of Su's message is that the government will no longer seek to sell national land merely to improve its own fiscal health; it will instead ensure that the public gets the most bang for its buck. Assuming this is an accurate interpretation, I would like to recommend to Su that the Cabinet do the following:

First, order the Ministry of Finance to immediately cease selling national land, and clarify which parcels of land are used for private purposes.

Second, order the Council of Economic Planning and Development, the finance ministry, and the Ministry of the Interior to put their heads together and propose a plan for managing national land in a manner that best serves the public's interests.

Third, redefine the functions of the National Assets Operation and Management Committee (國家資產經營管理委員會) -- established in April 2001 under the finance ministry -- and write these functions into law.

Fourth, drastically lower the government's revenues related to the sale of national land in the annual budget.

Fifth, set aside large parcels of land for preservation or other purposes. For example, designate land to be used for public facilities, protected areas, historical spots and sensitive areas, so as to secure both the development and easement rights for such land.

Sixth, when national land must be sold as a result of government policy, priority should be given to awarding superficies registration -- or the right to construct and keep a building on third-party land -- as well as trust development and joint development.

Seven, accelerate the reclaiming of unused or hardly used property from state-owned businesses.

Eight, review whether the sale of national land by the National Property Bureau (國有財產局) under the finance ministry in recent years has been at deflated prices, or aimed at benefitting certain persons or organizations. For such estimates, the government can refer to the loan amounts banks are willing to approve with the land in question as security.

Yang Chung-hsin is a professor in the Graduate Institute of Landscape Architecture at Chinese Culture University.

Translated by Eddy Chang
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