The Land God (土地公) is the biggest “landowner” in New Taipei City, with 312 properties worth NT$1.3 billion (US$40.64 million) registered under the deity’s name, the New Taipei City Government said today.
The city government has been in the process of reviewing land titles in the vast municipality, about which Land Administration Department Director-General Wang Li-kuo (汪禮國) gave a report to the city council today.
Its investigation has found many properties registered under the names of deities, especially the Land God, Wang said.
Photo: Lai Hsiao-tung, Taipei Times
A total of 29.6 hectares of land in the municipality are registered under the god’s various names, larger than Daan Forest Park (大安森林公園) in Taipei, he said.
However, the department reminded residents that a god is not a legal entity, and advised the owners to register their properties through the proper channels as soon as possible.
One columbarium in Sanjhih District (三芝) has 65,397 landowners, the highest density of any parcel of land in Taiwan, Wang said.
Foreigners prefer Tamsui District (淡水), with 26 percent of all foreign nationals who own land in New Taipei City choosing the northern region, he said.
Meanwhile, younger people prefer Banciao District (板橋), he said, adding that 11 percent of the city’s property owners under 30 chose the district.
The only property market that remains “immature” is Linkou District (林口), where the average age of buildings is only 16.6 years old, Wang said.
The oldest is Pingsi District (平溪) with buildings 37 years old on average, he added.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by