The Taichung City Government on Monday sent officials to inspect an alleged illegal building in the city’s Longjing District (龍井) registered in the name of the wife of Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恒), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) candidate in a Jan. 9 by-election for Taichung’s second electoral district.
Inspectors from the Taichung Land Administration Office were refused entry at the front gate and could only take photographs of the site, a mansion and gardens in a rural setting, from the outside.
Taichung City Councilor Cho Kuan-ting (卓冠廷) said he has obtained records from National Property Administration that show that it is an illegal structure as it was built on public land, portions of which are a protected area.
Photo: CNA
Construction of the mansion began in 2012 and it was registered in the name of Yen’s wife, Chen Li-ling (陳麗凌).
The inspectors said that they had been turned away, as the people inside, reportedly Yen’s family members, had refused to open the gate.
They said that official notification had been sent to the address, mandating that the local government inspection has a 14-day deadline and after that the Taichung Urban Renewal Bureau would have another 14 days to delineate the boundaries of the public land and protected area.
After that, notification could be sent to order the demolition of structures which are illegally occupying public land and the protected area.
Critics have said that would be after the by-election and it is too easy for Yen to drag the process out even longer.
Cho and other councilors have alleged that the Yen is being protected by Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) of the KMT, who is said to have good relationship with the family.
Yen has also been resisting demolishing another building, already deemed an illegal construction, in Nantun District (南屯), a private resort owned by the Yen family which covers more than 2,000m2.
The land is owned by the local government and is reserved for developing a children’s recreational park.
The city government had issued a Dec. 13 deadline for the Nantun building to be demolished, but Yen had only partially demolished an exterior wall and small sections of the main structure.
Taichung City Councilor Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) said that Yen is using the same delaying tactics at both properties, but the city government has not taken action and it is shielding the Yen family’s illegal acquisition and occupation of public land.
Former legislator Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟) and Taichung City councilors have circulated a map of the city with more than 70 red dots, which they say are properties reportedly owned by the Yen family.
They allege that the Yen family has used illegal means, such as unpaid bank loans, illegal takeover of public land and rezoning to seize the properties, while most people cannot afford to buy just one property in most cities in Taiwan.
The Jan. 9 by-election was a result of Chen Po-wei being recalled in an Oct. 23 vote, when the KMT joined forces with the Yen family and other pan-blue groups to oust the former legislator.
Yen has disclosed his personal assets ahead of the election — 67 plots of land and 10 buildings, mainly in the Taichung area, bank deposits of NT$27 million (US$975,257) and stock valued at NT$13.84 million.
Financial expert Hsu Chin-huang (徐嶔煌) estimated Yen’s net worth at more than NT$1 billion.
A study published by online booking platform Expedia revealed searches for travel to Taipei have ballooned 2,786 percent following the lifting of COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions due to the city being a “designation dupe” for Seoul. The TikTok trend for duping — referring to substituting a designation for a more inexpensive alternative — helped propel interest in Taipei, it said in a consumer survey titled “Unpack ‘24,” which was conducted from September to October in 14 countries. Location dupes are “every bit as delightful as the tried-and-true places travelers love,” Expedia trend tracker Melanie Fish said of the year’s popular alternatives, which
SAFETY IN REGULATION: The proposal states that Chiayi should assess whether it is viable to establish such a district and draft rules to protect clients and sex workers The Chiayi City Council passed a motion yesterday to assess the viability of establishing a regulated red-light district. The council yesterday held its last session of the year, at which its fiscal 2024 budget was approved, along with 61 other proposals. The proposal to assess the viability of establishing a red-light district was put forward by independent Chiayi City Councilor Molly Yen (顏色不分藍綠支持性專區顏色田慎節). The proposal cited 2011 amendments to the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法), which stipulate that city and county governments can pass autonomous regulations on the sex trade to manage the industry and guarantee industry workers’ rights. A ban on the
A small-scale protest that called on the government to cancel its plan to welcome Indian migrant workers in a bid to tackle Taiwan’s labor shortage was held in Taipei yesterday. During the protest, comprised of a few dozen people staged in front of the Presidential Office on Ketagalan Boulevard, the protest’s chief initiator, a woman identified only as “Yuna” said they wanted the central government to reconsider allowing migrant workers from India to enter Taiwan. Most people in Taiwan had little knowledge about the potential plan to allow in Indian migrant workers until a report in the media last month, she
STABILITY AND CHANGE: Flagging in recent polls, Ko this week pledged to maintain President Tsai’s foreign policy, with an emphasis on improving China relations Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday reiterated that he is “deep-green at heart” in response to accusations that he is pivoting his campaign to align closer with the ideology of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the face of flagging polls. Ko made the remark at an agricultural policy conference in Taipei, repeating his comments from an interview with CTS News a day earlier. Ko told the CTS host that he would continue to pursue President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) national defense and foreign policy in general, but with an emphasis on establishing a rapport with
RSS