Environmental campaigner and attorney Thomas Chan (詹順貴) yesterday criticized the Taipei City Government’s handling of the forced demolition of a home and called on Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) to mete out punishment to the developer for its “blatant” disregard of procedure.
In a Facebook post, Chan denounced Pacific Construction Co (太平洋建設) for tearing down a building on Friday owned by a man named Luo Chin-kuang (羅進光) without his consent.
The demolition was carried out “in a stealthy manner” shortly before the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is an important holiday on which people get together with their families, he said.
Citing Article 36 of the Urban Renewal Act (都市更新條例), Chan said that not only had Pacific Construction not informed Luo in advance of the date of the demolition, it also failed to inform the city government, “demonstrating that the firm had disrespected Ko prior to its actions.”
According to the article, project contractors are required to notify property owners whose deeds have been changed in an urban renewal project before demolishing or relocating their buildings. Should the property owners fail to have the buildings torn down or moved after 30 days of being notified, contractors are to request local governments to carry out the demolition.
Such blatant disregard for procedure in a demolition was unheard of even during the tenure of former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), who had good rapport with construction firms, Chan said, adding that it was ironic that such a thing would occur during Ko’s term as mayor.
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