Control Yuan member Kao Yung-cheng (高涌誠) yesterday proposed that the Taipei City Government undergo corrective measures, because the city was inconsistent in determining the housing type of the Da Chiun Building (大群館) and whether it was a legal structure.
The Da Chiun Building (大群館), operated by Yoyu Co Ltd (又昱實業有限公司) — which is largely owned by the wife of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) New Taipei City mayoral candidate Hou You-yi (侯友宜) and has been used as a student dorm by Chinese Culture University since 1997 — was reported by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilors in June for alleged tax evasion and illegal land use.
The Taipei Department of Urban Development in July announced that the building contravened local zoning laws because student dorms are categorized as boarding houses, but the land on which the building sits is zoned as a Type 2 residential area.
The Control Yuan yesterday issued a news release saying that several of its committees have approved Kao’s proposal to correct the Taipei City Government in its handling of controversial issues concerning the Da Chiun Building.
Kao said the city government had inspected the building with a Taipei city councilor in 2012 and discovered that it was being used as a university dorm, but it only asked that the building conform to the public and fire safety standards for student dorms and did not call out the illegal land use.
Wu said that Yoyu has questioned the city government regarding the legality of the building and received a response in which the city said that, according to local regulations, determining the building’s legality fell outside of its authority.
The building’s owner reported it as “congregate housing” when applying for a building use permit in 1997, but the building does not have kitchens, so the city department is also at fault for issuing the construction permit, he said.
Wu proposed that the Taipei City Government should undergo corrective measures, because it was inconsistent in identifying whether the building was a legal structure, adding that the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education should handle issues related to managing tax and student dorm matters.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said he performs administrative duties according to the law, but that there were many ambiguous regulations in the past and that the city government would sort out these matters and discuss whether the regulations need to be amended.
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