Hsieh-Li Wang pointed out that [zh] the current Act allows construction companies to put forward an urban renewal plan even when the majority of the residents refuse to join this project:
Wang's house before demolition. Photo by Flickr User munch999 (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).
Here is the trap of the Act: according to Article 10 second clause ‘When 10% of the homeowners who together occupy more than 10% of the land agree to join the project, they can apply for urban renewal.’ What does it mean? Chao-Wen Lee, a victim of urban renewal in Wufenpu, said, ‘that means when some wealthy people or a construction company wants to put forward an urban renewal plan, they can buy some apartments or houses in that area and arrange many people to become the shared owners; when these people become the majority of the residents, the door of urban renewal would be opened.’ In Chao-Wen Lee’s community, more than 70 new residents were listed as owners of some apartments.
Based on Article 25 of the Urban Renewal Act, the government is allowed to approve an urban renewal project when 80% of the involved residents agree to join the project [zh]. For those who refuse to join the project, they will be punished with forced eviction executed by the government. Yo-Yu Hsih, a law student criticized [zh] the tyranny of the majority which violates the rights of a minority.
The original goal of majority decision is to use the limited land resources efficiently. It also prevents cases when the will of the majority is kidnapped by a minority of people who want to obstruct the proceeding of urban renewal and development of a city.
(However) Majority decision may result in tyranny that sacrifices the minority's interest… Currently Article 22, clause 1 of the Urban Renewal Act endorses majority decision without any protection for the minority. This will put the minority in a vulnerable situation and jeopardize their rights. I am afraid this Act has violated the legal principle of minimum encroachment.
A poster outside Wang's houses. It says ‘my house was bought when I was 40, and it was torn down when I was 70.’ Photo by Flickr User munch999 (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).
Government involvement
Hsieh-Li Wang questioned [zh] why the Act allows the government to use police force to serve the interest of developers:
Article 36 of the Act is most controversial: the construction company can appeal to the government to demolish the houses by force when the residents refuse to be evicted. Many experts believe that the Act, which justifies use of the majority decision mechanism and government's involvement in supporting the developers, has violated the Constitutional protection of citizens’ property rights.
The Taiwan Association for Human Rights demanded a thorough revision of the Urban Renewal Act in accordance with the Constitution. In the Yuan Legislature, legislator Mei-Nyu You urged [zh] the Minister of Interior to revise the current Urban Renewal Act:
Today if you have an apartment leased to a renter who refuses to move out, can you appeal to the public authority to evict the renter?v…You need to sue this renter. If the court rules in your favor, you can apply for a court order. Usually, the court will give this renter a grace period to relocate, and this is how our Constitution protects citizens’ right of residence.
Today my house is in good condition and does not obstruct my neighbors, traffic nor public security. However, once a developer fancies my land and its floor space index, it can force me out of my house (giving me no choice). It can even get around the judiciary and appeal to the public authority to tear down my house. Is there any procedural justice here?
Chapter two of our Constitution defines the rights and responsibilities of citizens, which have been turned into empty slogans through different political campaigns… Our society has connived with these politicians’ lies for too long. They told us we can eventually enjoy all the rights described in Chapter two of our Constitution after they [win the election and] become the president based on Chapter four of our Constitution and after they control the majority seats in the Legislature based on Chapter six in our Constitution. Nevertheless, they always have excuses to defer their promise.
This is why we ask to revise the unjust Urban Renewal Act, to protect every citizen’s right of residence. We should take control of our Constitution away from all the lies and write the history of Taiwanese people.