Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Arthur Chen (陳宜民) yesterday accused Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu’s (陳菊) administration of using litigation to deter its critics — such as himself — while the head of a self-help association for residents of the Dagouding (大溝頂) neighborhood, where a city government plan to demolish houses has been thwarted, accused the mayor of unfairly pitting protesters against public interests.
Arthur Chen was taken to court by the city government over his accusations in July that the municipality’s plan to demolish a row of houses in Qishan District (旗山) — called the Taiping Marketplace (太平商場) — as part of efforts to improve a drainage canal was designed to benefit a corporation with ties to relatives of the mayor.
The lawmaker said Chen Chu’s demand that he pay compensation and make a public apology in a newspaper was “an attempt to threaten by lawsuit a democratically elected representative.”
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
He accused the Kaohsiung City Government of absurdity, as the newspaper apology he was asked to publish was signed “Chiu Yi” (邱毅) instead of “Arthur Chen.”
Arthur Chen said the mistake showed that Chen Chu’s attorneys have been “copying and pasting” legal documents that it uses to sue anyone who questions the city government.
Cheng Yuan-wen (鄭淵文), head of a self-help association for Dagouding residents, said the city government’s reason for the demolition — to alleviate flooding in Qishan — was unjustified, adding that there were no public hearings held and no communication of the plan.
He asked the mayor not to falsely pit residents against the demolition against public interest.
“There was flooding around the FE21 Mega department store recently too. Are you going to tear the mall down as well?” Cheng said.
The Kaohsiung City Government said that the lawmaker should not “mingle the issue of political mudslinging with that of Dagouding, which is an attempt to smuggle the Chinese Nationalist Party’s infamous political manipulation into the discussion of public issues.”
It added that it respects city residents’ freedom to voice different opinions and would continue to strive for a consensus through communication.
Additional reporting by CNA
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