Following overnight protests that descended into violent clashes between demonstrators and police, the Taipei City Government yesterday evicted the owners of two buildings in Shilin District (士林), demolishing their homes to make way for an urban renewal project.
The project, under which a construction firm plans to turn an old residential complex for 38 households into a 15-story high-rise apartment complex, was stalled for three years because of opposition from a family surnamed Wang (王), who had lived in two two-story apartment buildings in the area for more than a decade.
As the city government prepared to demolish the two houses, more than 300 advocates of the Wang family rushed to the site late on Tuesday evening to show their opposition to the project, blocking the entrance to the houses, with some even chaining themselves in front of the buildings to stop the demolition.
Photo: CNA
More than 1,000 police officers arrived in the morning with barricades and shields.
Met with shouts of “Taipei City Government has no right” and “Protect land justice,” the police cut the protesters’ chains and dragged several away to clear the site for demolition, while evacuating members of the Wang family.
About 10 members of the Wang family left their homes later in the morning, accusing the city government of abusing its authority by tearing down their houses and vowing to continue the fight for freedom of abode.
“We’ve lived in these homes for decades and we do not want to move,” said Wang Yao-teh (王耀德), a family member.
“It’s not about the money and we did not demand NT$200 million [US$6.7 million] from the construction firm. We never wanted to participate in the urban renewal project from the very beginning,” he said.
Wang Yao-teh and the protesters said that the city government’s razing of their homes was illegal and unconstitutional, as the Constitution states that people’s rights to own a property and move freely should be protected.
As the demolition crew started tearing down the houses, about a dozen protesters stood on the rooftops of the buildings, displaying protest signs and chanting slogans denouncing the move.
“Everyone should voice their support for the Wang family and oppose the city government’s illegal action because anyone could be the next victim of an urban renewal project,” a protester surnamed Lee (李) said.
Although the family has refused to give up its land, the construction firm has already received the consent of more than 75 percent of the landowners on the block, and according to the Urban Renewal Act (都市更新條例), the firm can ask the city government to help it evict the Wangs and demolish their home.
The Wangs have done everything they could to prevent their homes from being demolished, including suggesting that their homes be excluded from the project.
Despite the opposition, the city government completed the demolition in the afternoon, which allows the construction firm to proceed with construction.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday said the project was approved three years ago with the consent of the majority of the landowners, and it was the city government’s responsibility to enforce regulations and protect the rights of the majority.
“Only 5 percent of the landowners are against the project and 95 percent of the landowners have been waiting for more than three years in hopes of moving into a new home,” Hau said.
“It is our responsibility to project the rights of the majority of the landowners. We cannot sacrifice the rights of the majority of the landowners in this case,” the mayor said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique