The long-stalled Wenlin Yuan (文林苑) urban renewal project in Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) was partially resumed on Monday, after the Supreme Administrative Court rejected an appeal by the Wang (王) family claiming that their two houses were illegally included in the project.
The July 5 ruling affirmed the legality of the developer’s inclusion of the disputed houses and dismissed the Wangs’ argument that their homes — which were demolished by the Taipei City Government to push the project forward — sat on a building line and can be rebuilt separately from the apartment complex. The ruling said that a building line is not the only factor in determining whether units should be included in a project.
The court also ruled that the Taipei City Government’s review of the project was based on correct information and that it has adhered to the law in its handling of the development.
Taipei Deputy Mayor Chang Chin-oh (張金鶚) yesterday applauded the ruling for affirming the legality of the urban renewal project and the city government’s handling of the project, and expected the ruling to facilitate the stalled construction.
“The ruling carries significance for us because it proves that negotiations over the project were not in vain. The project will proceed after we present an evaluation report,” he said at Taipei City Hall.
Taipei’s Construction Management Office on Monday approved the construction of diaphragm walls for the planned apartment complex, but still excluded the area where the Wangs’ houses used to be.
The houses’ forced demolition in March last year sparked waves of protest from the Wang family and their supporters.
The family has built a container house on the site to hinder construction and has filed a lawsuit against the project developer for damaging it. Taipei City Urban Redevelopment Office Director Lin Chung-chieh (林崇傑) said any further construction of the apartment complex will only be approved after the court makes a ruling on the disputes over the container house.
The city government approved the Wenlin Yuan project in 1999 and the construction firm planned to complete the high-rise apartment complex in 2015.
The Wang family is the only household out of the 36 affected households that refused to take part in the project.
Disputes between the Wang family, the 36 households and the construction firm over the project have generated debate on the city’s urban renewal developments and the rights of residents who do not want to be part of them.
After failed efforts to help the opposing sides find common ground, the city government launched a negotiation platform in April with the aim of restarting the project. The attempt failed again, with the Wang family insisting on rebuilding their houses on the original location and refusing to make concessions.
The city’s negotiation team suggested in an evaluation report released last month that the construction firm offer several apartment units on the first floor to the Wangs as an alternative solution, since rebuilding the demolished houses on their original sites is against urban renewal regulations and too time-consuming.
Chang said the developer’s offer still stands and called on the family to negotiate with the construction firm and seek a consensus.
The 36 households that took part in the project yesterday thanked the city government for approving partial construction and said they hoped the longstanding dispute would finally be resolved.
“We’ve been waiting too long to go home. Some of the elderly residents have passed away while waiting for their new homes and we hope the city government will speed up the construction,” the households said in a joint statement.
The Wangs’ lawyer, Chan Shun-kuei (詹順貴), said the family respected the court ruling, but accused the city government of seeking to mislead the court.
There are several legal cases pending between the Wangs and the construction firm, and the family will continue to strive for its rights, he said.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from