President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has on several occasions pledged to transform Taiwan into a “human rights-oriented nation.” However, what transpired in the streets of Taipei City yesterday was certainly not indicative of government officials respecting people’s rights.
A crowd gathered to watch in disbelief as police, taking their orders from the Taipei City Government, barged their way into a 135-year-old two-story building in Shilin District (士林) belonging to a family named Wang, to evict residents and make way for an urban renewal project.
People were left wondering what kind of government it is that not only fails to protect people’s property, but also evicts owners from their ancestral home.
Saying that more than 75 percent of the landowners on the block had agreed to the terms of the renewal project, the city government yesterday said that forceful eviction was a last resort and implemented it in line with the Urban Renewal Act (都市更新條例), adding that in doing so it was merely enforcing the rights of the majority.
Although “majority rule” is often touted as a democratic practice, whatever happened to the rights enshrined in the Republic of China Constitution, which were yesterday trampled on by the city government?
As the excavators banged on the walls of the house, the Wang family’s 82-year-old matriarch allegedly suffered a heart attack and was rushed to hospital. How is she supposed to take seriously Article 10 of the Constitution, which states: “The people shall have freedom of residence and of change of residence”?
About 1,000 police were involved in the eviction, which resulted in broken windows and damage to furniture. It is unlikely that the Wangs still believe in Article 15 of the Constitution, which guarantees regular people’s right to own property.
If the Urban Renewal Act is truly fair and in the public interest as the city government claims, why have more than 200 complaints against it been filed in Taipei and New Taipei City (新北市)?
The Wangs’ case shows how government agencies are sometimes reduced to the role of hired thugs for construction firms when the latter refuse to negotiate any further with residents and instead ask the city government to evict those who have refused to sign on the dotted line and have their home demolished.
What happened to the Wangs’ family home is not an isolated incident. Many will recall how in 2010 the Miaoli County Government, without notifying residents of Dapu Village (大埔), simply drove excavators onto their land and dug up rice paddies to make room for a science park expansion project.
The truth is that the current Urban Renewal Act is fatally flawed, as demonstrated by the suffering of ordinary people.
The Wangs were yesterday forced out of their ancestral home, along with their ancestors' pai wei (牌位) — a piece of wood on which the names of their ancestors are inscribed — to become the latest victims of the Urban Renewal Act.
Many more can be expected to join them before the act is amended.
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