Taipei City Government’s domain claims in connection to the Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda Line extension were unlawful, the Taipei High Administrative Court ruled yesterday.
The verdict could be appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court.
The city government promulgated the MRT Wanda-Zhonghe-Shulin rezoning plan in 2015 and its implementation plan in the following year, the court said in the verdict.
Photo: CNA
A 693m2 property was to be appropriated to allow the construction of emergency exits, ventilation shafts, office space and other facilities for the engineering site to build the MRT LG04 station in Wanhua District, it said.
The Taipei City Government apparently intended to use a 260m2 portion of the property for the MRT system, while a 433m2 portion was to be rezoned as a residential area, the court said.
The property’s owner, a British Virgin Islands-based corporation named Sheng Feng Investments, refused to sell it to the government, it said.
The Taipei City Government sought to solve the issue by asking the Ministry of the Interior to authorize the compulsory requisition of the properties, which was granted in March 2019, it said.
Sheng Feng Investments sued the municipality and the ministry, it said.
The court found the government’s actions regarding the properties to be unlawful due to a failure to comply with the balance of interests, it said, adding that urban planning should consider interests of the involved parties.
Taipei City Government owned a property abutting Sheng Feng Investment’s lands, but officials should have attempted to use that property more efficiently, instead of conducting the takeover of a private property, the court said.
The municipality also failed to take into account that its plans deprived people already living on that property of their homes, it said.
The court found the plans to be in contravention of the regulations established under the Urban Planning Act (都市計畫法), it said.
The Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems said it has not received the verdict yet and reserves its right to respond at a later time.
Taiwan's Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said Saturday that she would not be intimidated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), following reports that Chinese agents planned to ram her car during a visit to the Czech Republic last year. "I had a great visit to Prague & thank the Czech authorities for their hospitality & ensuring my safety," Hsiao said on social media platform X. "The CCP's unlawful activities will NOT intimidate me from voicing Taiwan's interests in the international community," she wrote. Hsiao visited the Czech Republic on March 18 last year as vice president-elect and met with Czech Senate leadership, including
There have been clear signs of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attempts to interfere in the nationwide recall vote on July 26 in support of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators facing recall, an unnamed government official said, warning about possible further actions. The CCP is actively involved in Taiwanese politics, and interference in the recall vote is to be expected, with multiple Chinese state media and TAO attempts to discredit the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and undermine public support of their recall movement, the official said. This interference includes a smear campaign initiated this month by a pro-Beijing Hong Kong news outlet against
A week-long exhibition on modern Tibetan history and the Dalai Lama’s global advocacy opened yesterday in Taipei, featuring quotes and artworks highlighting human rights and China’s ongoing repression of Tibetans, Hong Kongers and Uighurs. The exhibition, the first organized by the Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan (HRNTT), is titled “From the Snowy Ridges to the Ocean of Wisdom.” “It would be impossible for Tibetans inside Tibet to hold an exhibition like this — we can do it. because we live in a free and democratic country,” HRNTT secretary-general Tashi Tsering said. Tashi Tsering, a Taiwan-based Tibetan who has never
A first shipment of five tons of Taiwan tilapia was sent from Tainan to Singapore on Wednesday, following an order valued at NT$600,000 (US$20,500) placed with a company in the city. The products, including frozen whole fish and pre- cooked fish belly, were dispatched from Jiangjun Fishing Harbor, where a new aquatic processing and logistics center is under construction. At the launch, Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) called the move a “breakthrough,” marking Taiwan’s expansion into the Singaporean tilapia market. Taiwan’s tilapia exports have traditionally focused on the United States, Canada, and the Middle East, Huang said, adding that the new foothold in
RSS