Upset about Miaoli County’s renewed demolition order for the last four households in the farming village of Dapu (大埔) in Jhunan Township (竹南), affected residents and their supporters yesterday protested outside the Executive Yuan, calling on Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) to intervene on their behalf.
Holding up a large banner that read “The Dapu dispute is not solved yet” and placards that read “Save Dapu on July 5,” dozens of people — including affected Dapu residents and supporters — rallied outside the Executive Yuan ahead of the self-demolition deadline set for Friday next week.
“The government is no different from a robber. The land on which our family house was built is for residential use, but the county government wants to flatten our home to make way for a science park,” said Ko Chih-chuan (柯智傳), one of the affected residents. “Does this make any sense to any of you?”
Photo: Taipei Times
Taiwan Rural Front chairman Hsu Shih-jung (徐世榮) said that, amid protests three years ago against land seizure by the government in Dapu to make way for a science park, Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), who was premier at the time, called a meeting attended by Miaoli County Commissioner Liu Cheng-hung (劉政鴻), Straits Exchange Foundation Secretary-General Lin Join-sane (林中森), who was the Cabinet secretary-general at the time, and Jiang, who was minister of the interior.
The meeting reached a conclusion to preserve the remaining four houses, while finding a plot of land where the affected families could relocate their houses and farms.
However, the Ministry of the Interior later decided to flatten the houses anyway and, while Dapu residents are still in the middle of an administrative lawsuit against the county government and the ministry, they received a renewed demolition order last week, asking them to demolish their own houses by July 5 or face forced demolition by the county.
“We are here because Jiang, as interior minister at the time, also made the promise along with Wu, and in fact, Wu came to the conclusion to preserve the remaining houses because the ministry said there would be no problem after an assessment,” said Liao Pen-chuan (廖本全), an associate professor at National Taipei University’s Department of Real Estate and Built Environment.
“Jiang is a liar,” he added.
Acting Construction and Planning Agency director-general Hsu Wen-lung (許文龍), who received the protesters, said that the agency would try its best to help.
“However, ultimately it is the county government that has final say,” Hsu said.
BRIBERY CASE: President Tsai Ing-wen accepted Su Jia-chyuan’s resignation as he said that he deeply regretted causing trouble for the president due to the investigation Presidential Office Secretary-General Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) yesterday resigned after his nephew, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Su Chen-ching (蘇震清), was implicated in a bribery case related to a dispute over the ownership of Pacific Sogo Department Store (太平洋崇光百貨). “I resigned from the post so that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) would not be bothered by it anymore, and the prosecutors can investigate the case in a fair and just manner. I thank President Tsai once again for supporting me. May the country continue to prosper under her leadership,” Su Jia-chyuan said in a statement. The Presidential Office said that Tsai has accepted
ALEX AZAR: The first visit by a head of the Department of Health and Human Services would strictly observe the CECC’s special regulations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said US Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar is to lead a delegation to Taiwan — the highest-level visit by a US Cabinet official since the two sides cut formal relations in 1979. The plan was announced yesterday morning by the US Department of Health and Human Services and confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). Beijing has expressed its concerns to Washington, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) said later yesterday. Taiwan and the US only issued statements saying that the visit would happen “in the coming days.” MOFA said that due to security concerns, it would
‘CROSS-STRAIT CONSIDERATIONS’: Groups said that the Ministry of Education’s policies excluded Chinese and students should not be blocked over political issues The Taiwan International Student Movement yesterday said it would protest today outside the Ministry of Education in Taipei against a policy that excludes some Chinese students from returning to Taiwan amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Since June 17, the ministry has allowed foreign students from 19 “low risk” and “medium-low risk” countries and regions to enter Taiwan. On July 22, it announced that it was relaxing restrictions to include students from all countries and regions who are graduating this semester and on Wednesday it further expanded entry to students enrolled in degree programs. A letter sent by the ministry on Wednesday to universities did
The military last week sent “no small number” of Marine Corps officers to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) following reports of a Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) drill targeting the islands scheduled for this month. In an interview with Hong Kong’s Bauhinia Magazine published on Saturday last week, PLA National Defense University professor Li Daguang (李大光) confirmed that the Chinese army was planning to stage a simulated invasion of the Pratas Islands in the South China Sea this month. The islands comprise three atolls, with Pratas Island, at 1.74km2, being the largest. They lie southwest of Taiwan proper in the South
RSS