The Taipei City Government yesterday said it regretted a Supreme Administrative Court ruling allowing the construction of a gas station near the National Palace Museum, saying it would call on the central government to protect national treasures and residents from pollution that would be caused by the planned gas station.
The gas station project on Zhishan Road, which is about 400m away from the museum, was suspended in 2007 after the city government revoked the construction license of the builder, Gsharp Corp.
The builder later filed a lawsuit against the city government for “illegitimate obstruction” of the project, with a court ruling earlier this month that the project should proceed. The ruling cannot be appealed.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday defended the city government’s opposition to the project and said it would take action against the ruling by seeking assistance from the Ministry of Finance’s National Property Administration, which owns 86.3 percent of the land.
“The city government acted against the project in response to a request from the museum. Local residents also opposed the gas station. It is my obligation as Taipei mayor to protect national treasures and we will not give up the battle,” Hau said at Taipei City Hall.
Gsharp Corp first applied to build a gas station in 2001, but its plan was rejected by the museum. The company then acquired a construction license from the city’s Department of Urban Development in February 2007 after several rounds of negotiations with the National Property Administration.
The city government revoked the company’s construction license in November 2007 by zoning the land as a park and banning any construction projects.
The company filed a lawsuit against the city government seeking recovery of the construction license and NT$100 million (US$3 million) in compensation, both of which it obtained after the ruling earlier this month.
Commissioner of Taipei City’s Law and Regulations Commission Yeh Ching-yuan (葉慶元) yesterday accused the museum of failing to provide enough evidence to defend its rights.
“The museum representative said the museum didn’t have an opinion on whether the gas station should be built ... The museum’s inconsistent position and its passive attitude toward the issue are unfortunate,” he said.
Hau denied any mistakes or negligence in the decision-making process, but declined to comment on whether the city government would pay the compensation.
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