Accompanied by supporters from across the country, the Wang (王) family from Taipei’s Shihlin District (士林) yesterday protested the city government’s deadline of Sunday for the family to raze its home to make way for a urban renewal project, calling the city government action illegal and unconstitutional.
“Over the past few years, we’ve had countless negotiations with the Taipei City Government, but it has not once been able to tell us what public interest is involved in the urban renewal case that concerns our family,” Wang Yao-teh (王耀德) told a news conference.
“Apparently, the government is working to defend the interests of the construction firm, not us ordinary citizens — unless the city government can tell us what the public interest of the project is, our struggle will continue,” he added.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The Wang family lives in a -decades-old two-story building that it built on a plot of land it owns in a block along Wenlin Road (文林路) in Shilin, next to Wenlin Bridge.
The block where the Wang Family House was located was chosen by Le Young, a construction company, to build a 15-story high-rise apartment building as an urban renewal project.
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 now ask the city government to help it evict the Wangs and demolish their home.
The city government set Thursday last week as the deadline for the family to demolish the buildings, adding that failure to do so would force the city government to take action itself.
“Article 1 of the Urban Renewal Act states that urban renewal projects are meant to promote the planned redevelopment of land and revitalize urban areas for the purpose of enhancing the public interest,” said Chen Hung-ying (陳虹穎), a member of the Taiwan Alliance for the Victims of Urban Renewal.
“However, in this case, we do not see how allowing a construction firm to tear down houses already in existence and build a high-rise apartment building constitutes a public good,” Chen added.
“The government should not be hired thugs for construction firms, the law needs to be revised,” Chen added. “What is happening to the Wangs is not an isolated case. If we allow such a terrible law to exist without revision, any one of us could be its next victims.”
Activists also questioned the legality of the city government’s decision, because the Fire Services Act (消防法) stipulates that buildings over five stories tall can only be built on a street that is at least 4m in width to provide access to fire fighters, but the street in front of the planned construction site is less than 4m in width.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) said the Ministry of the Interior’s Construction and Planning Agency (CPA) has informed the Taipei City Government via an official letter that, according inspections of the area conducted by the agency, there could be genuine fire safety concerns regarding the -construction site because of the narrowness of the of streets surrounding it.
“The city government should not ignore the opinions of a central government agency,” she said, showing a copy of the letter.
However, a CPA official, who attended the press conference, said that the final say on the case belongs to the local government.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS