Hundreds of residents and four local self-help associations in Greater Taichung protested against the expropriation of their land in front of the Greater Taichung Government building yesterday.
Residents from Wenshan (文山) in Nantun District (南屯), Jioshe (舊社) in Beitun District (北屯), Dali District (大里), and Shinan (溪南) in Wuri Township (烏日) are facing compulsory land expropriation for the creation of industrial zones and an expansion of the Taichung MRT depot.
The organizer of the rally, Wenshan Industrial District Paoshan Self-Help Association chairperson Huang Kuo-shu (黃國書), said the government planned to seize land, farmland and houses for a price equivalent to about one-fifth of their current market value.
Photo: Chan Chao-yang, Taipei Times
The 193-hectare Wenshan Industrial District will leave farmers with no home and no jobs, Huang said.
People who own more than 1,620m2 of land are to be reimbursed with an equivalent plot of land at a separate location, while farmers are to receive about 40 percent of the size of their original land at another location, Huang said, as their original land, which is closer to the downtown area, would be seized by the government for a new residential zone, forcing them to relocate to more remote areas.
In addition, Huang said residents were worried that part of the industrial district would be designated as a Type A Industrial Zone, which could increase pollution in the area.
The government passed the responsibility of getting approval by the Environmental Protection Administration’s Environmental Impact Assessment to individual landowners, he said.
Taichung MRT Depot Expansion Zone Expropriation Self-Help Association chairperson Chao Chun-an (趙俊安) said hundreds of households would be uprooted as a result of government plans to expand the depot zone from 19 hectares to 85 hectares.
Shinan Self-Help Association chairperson Chang Huan-chang (張煥昌) said more than 10,000 people living in the 500 hectare area faced land expropriation for industrial use.
It is unfair for illegally built factories to become legal after the area is redesignated as an industrial zone, while small farmers will have no way to make a living because they have no resources or ability to establish factories, Chang said, adding that some residents who relied on loans would have no way to pay them back if they were forced to abandon their farms and houses.
The groups urged the central government to respect the residents’ rights to life and employment, as well as property protection as stipulated by the Constitution, and to amend the Land Expropriation Act (土地徵收條例) to avoid distortion of definitions of public benefit, which they say is often used as an excuse for land expropriation.
The groups also urged the city government to halt the land expropriation plans to protect agriculture in Taiwan, adding that food self-sufficiency and environmental protection are becoming increasingly important.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS