The Taipei City Government’s decision to legalize 1,678 residential units that were built illegally on land designated for commercial and recreational use was “undoubtedly unfair,” but something had to be done to settle the problem, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday.
An area of about 105 hectares in Zhongshan District (中山) near Miramar Entertainment Park (美麗華百樂園), commonly known as Dawan north section (大彎北段), in 1992 was designated as a commercial and recreational zone by the Taipei City Government.
Despite the city in 2003 stating that the area was not for residential use, many apartments were built in the area.
The city in 2017 said it had identified 1,678 illegal residential units in the area and that fines would be issued for breaches of the Urban Planning Act (都市計畫法).
However, city councilors and residents argued that such a move would be unfair and the units should be legalized.
A meeting of the Taipei Urban Planning Commission on Thursday approved a proposal to conditionally loosening the regulations on residential use in the area by allowing residential use permits to be issued, with fees cut from NT$60,800 per ping (3.306m2) to NT$52,000 per ping and a five-year deadline.
Reporters asked Ko whether the policy is because he is seeking support for a possible presidential bid.
“It is not about an election, but because the solution has been stalled for more than two years on a problem — caused by collective wrongdoing — that is more than a decade old,” Ko said.
“It is undoubtedly unfair, but people have already taken advantage of the situation, so continuing to insist that the zoning regulations be respected while residents stall is not a solution,” he said.
“The construction companies have already earned the money and only 16 percent of owners have only one home and are living in the area, so those getting the special pardon are not poor,” Ko said. “They do not have to pretend that they are helpless.”
“We have to face the fact that Taiwan has not respected the law,” he said, adding that hopefully once problems like these are solved, the nation would be governed by the rule of law without ambiguity.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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