Civil rights groups from East Asian nations participated in a regional session of the International Tribunal on Eviction yesterday as part of efforts to encourage international dialogue and raise awareness of housing rights.
About 100 people gathered for a presentation of eight forced displacement cases before a panel of five jurors at the former site of Taipei’s Huaguang Community (華光社區) — which was demolished in 2013 in controversial circumstances — with tents for different groups erected across the plot.
The tribunal is an opinion court organized by campaigners which seeks to raise awareness of housing rights, with yesterday’s jurors including Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Frida Tsai (蔡培慧) and Taoyuan District Court judge Sun Kian-Ti (孫建智), along with three jurors from international rights groups.
Jurors asked questions and made suggestions to the campaigners representing cases ranging from Hong Kong’s rooftop tenants to Bangkok’s Pom Mahakan community case to Taiwan’s land development plans connected with a proposed expansion of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
“We express our solidarity with people who have lost their houses and might lose them in the future. We are here to give them a voice, not to talk on their behalf, but to have them talk about themselves,” said Soha Ben Slama, one of the international jurors and the Tunisian coordinator for the International Alliance of Inhabitants, a social movement network.
“Even though the tribunal does not have any legal effect, it can help people see the seriousness of the problem, because these kind of cases do not just occur domestically,” Sun said, adding that local judges have often avoided using international treaties, such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which was passed by the Legislative Yuan in 2009.
“These kinds of event help us see that violations of housing rights are everywhere and are more serious than we imagine. This is an international human rights issue and we all can do something to address it,” Sun said.
OFFLINE: People who do not wish to register can get the money from select ATMs using their bank card, ID number and National Health Insurance card number Online registration for NT$6,000 (US$196.32) cash payments drawn from last year’s tax surplus is to open today for eligible people whose national ID or permanent residency number ends in either a zero or a one, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday. Officials from the ministry revealed which days Taiwanese and eligible foreigners would be able to register for the cash payments at a joint news conference with the Ministry of Digital Affairs. Online registration is to open tomorrow for those whose number ends in a two or three; on Friday for those that end in a four or five: on Saturday
Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) officials are investigating why a Starlux Airlines flight to Penang, Malaysia, returned to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport nearly two hours after takeoff yesterday morning. The airline said in a statement that Flight JX721 to Penang took off from Taoyuan airport at 9:20am. “After the dashboard showed a signal of an abnormality in the hydraulic system, the captain followed standard operating procedures and returned the flight to Taoyuan airport for safety precautions,” the airline said, adding that the flight landed safely at the airport at 11:04am. The airline arranged for the passengers to have lunch after the flight landed and
TECH PROGRAM: A US official said that an important part of the delegation’s trip would be to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co executives The US is to send officials in charge of chip development to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea to promote cooperation in the global semiconductor supply chain, the US Department of Commerce said on Tuesday. Chips Program Office Director Michael Schmidt announced the visit, which marks the first time officials from the office are to visit the three nations since it was set up in September last year. “As semiconductors and technologies continue to evolve, the United States will keep working with allies and partners to develop coordinated strategies to ensure that malign actors cannot use the latest technologies to undermine our collective
WORKING UP AN APPETITE: Sales at the Rueifong Night Market surged 20 to 30 percent, while seats at Liouhe Night Market were packed until 1am, market officials said South Korean pop band Blackpink’s concerts over the weekend in Kaohsiung helped draw large crowds to local night markets, the Kaohsiung City Government said yesterday. The two concerts on Saturday and Sunday at Kaohsiung National Stadium drew more than 90,000 people. The city government offered NT$50 vouchers to spend locally to concertgoers who showed their ticket stubs. Liouhe Night Market (六合夜市) management committee head Chuang Chi-chang (莊其章) said that crowds over the weekend surged at about 10pm and the market remained packed until 1:30am. “Almost all the seats were filled,” Chuang said. Night market stall owners had stocked up in expectation of an increased number
RSS