Plans to hold a housing rights opinion court with international activists were announced yesterday by local civic groups as part of efforts to spur implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).
A consortium of civic groups including the Taiwan Alliance Against Forced Evictions, the Environmental Jurists Association, the Taiwan Association for Human Rights and the Taiwan Rural Front said that they would host an East Asia panel of the International Tribunal on Evictions as part of a series of events, starting on Saturday with a tribunal at Taipei’s former Huaguang (華光) community site, which was demolished in 2013.
Housing rights are enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which was passed by the Legislative Yuan in 2009.
Saturday’s tribunal panel is to include Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Frida Tsai (蔡培慧), Taoyuan District Court Judge Sun Kian-ti (孫建智) and three international activists from Italy, Tunisia and Indonesia.
The group is to review eight eviction cases from across East Asia, including evictions of allegedly illegal residents on government-owned land in Taipei and land repartition for development associated with the Taoyuan Aerotropolis development project.
“This tribunal is important because the many eviction cases under [former president] Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had common legal roots, but we have not seen any timetable for reform since [President] Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has come to power,” tribunal preparation committee member Yen-Tung Lin (林彥彤) said, adding that there are few legal options for those facing eviction.
“Administrative courts only review whether administrative process was followed — not the quality of the process, so it does not matter how many people attended hearings or whether residents feel they were consulted — as long as hearings were completed, the case is closed,” he said, adding that the Legislative Yuan has failed to pass legislation implementing a 2013 Council of Grand Justices ruling that struck down portions of the Urban Renewal Act (都市更新條例) as unconstitutional.
The ruling found that current laws breach procedural justice by failing to establish an appropriate body for conducting reviews of urban renewal plans, while also failing to guarantee that those affected are notified and provided with an opportunity to voice their opinions.
“The national government has not had the motivation to push major reforms because it wants to minimize civic participation for the sake of administrative convenience,” he said, adding that the nation has failed to implement ICESCR housing rights, particularly in cases where residents are forced off government-owned land.
“The situation is even worse if you do not have property rights, because there is no consideration of housing rights,” he said, adding that there is typically no legal relief available for those evicted from government-owned land, with the government under no obligation to provide alternate housing.
Chen Chih-hsiao (陳致曉), spokesman for a self-help association of residents affected by plans to appropriate land to move Tainan’s railway line underground, said that resident’s believed that city plans sought to use developments on appropriated land to offset construction costs, raising questions on the objectivity of a city review.
“All the members of the city planning committee were selected by the city government, but today it is the city government itself that is seeking to appropriate land and evict residents,” he said, adding that government meetings related to the project were often closed, with residents receiving only retrospective notifications.
In addition to Saturday’s tribunal, activists also plan to hold a round table on related issues, followed on Monday by a march to present their demands to Tsai’s administration.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
Democratic Progressive Party caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu, front, grabs the pennant in a dragon boat race hosted by Qu Yuan Temple in the Shuanghsi River in Taipei’s Beitou District yesterday.
RSS