The Taipei City Government yesterday said it was pushing through with an urban renewal project despite repeated protests from a family who has refused to moved.
The Wang family’s two apartments in Shilin District (士林) are scheduled for demolition, as their location forms part of an urban renewal project called Wenlin Yuan (文林苑), with construction company Le Young building a 15-story apartment complex in the area.
Several Wang family members staged a protest again yesterday in front of Taipei City Hall, accusing the city government of ignoring their rights to profit the construction company.
“Our family homes are our family treasures, and we expect our children to continue living in these homes,” Wang Yao-teh (王耀德) said.
“We never agreed to the urban renewal project and we need to defend our rights,” he said.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said the construction company had received the consent of more than 95 percent of the landowners on the block, and the city government would proceed with the project in the interests of the majority of the landowners.
“Only 5 percent of the landowners are against the project. We cannot sacrifice the rights of the majority of the landowners in this case,” he said.
Taipei City Urban Redevelopment Office director Lin Chong-jie (林崇傑) said the Wang family had agreed with the project before it was approved by the city government, but changed their mind later on and demanded more subsidies.
The city government will have to help the urban renewal project move forward in accordance with the Urban Renewal Act (都市更新條例) and help the firm take action, city officials said.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
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