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Hau meets owners of
torn down homes
INCONCLUSIVE: Confronted by about 100 protesters
at the city council, the Taipei mayor agreed to talk to the owners of the
demolished homes, but made no promises
By Mo Yan-chih / Staff reporter
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin,
center, is intercepted on arrival at the Taipei City Council yesterday by Wang
Kuang-shu, right, and Wang’s wife, second left, who owned two buildings in
Taipei’s Shilin District that were forcibly demolished on March 28.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) met
members of the Wang family for the first time yesterday after the Taipei City
Government demolished the two stand-alone apartment blocks the family owned two
weeks ago to make way for an urban renewal project in Shilin District (士林).
“Mr and Mrs Wang wanted me to understand their stance and concern. I told them
that as Taipei mayor, they are my residents, and I will listen and try my best
to help them,” he said after a brief meeting with Wang Kuang-shu (王廣樹) and his
wife.
Hau agreed to meet the couple after the family and about 100 supporters staged a
protest in front of the Taipei City Council and confronted the mayor as he
entered the building to prepare for a policy report at the council.
Shouting “Mayor of construction firms! Step down!” the protesters clashed with
police as they tried to block Hau’s way.
Wang Kuang-shu shouted at Hau: “Why did you tear down our houses?” as his wife
burst into tears and begged the mayor to help them.
Swamped by protesters, police and reporters, the mayor patted the couple on the
shoulders and invited them to a private meeting in his lounge. However, the
mayor left a few minutes later to present his policy report at the council,
promising to organize another meeting and communicate with the Wang family soon.
Wang Kuang-shu said he recognized the mayor’s efforts to communicate with them
face to face, but added that it was not enough.
“There were no answers or conclusions from the meeting. We expect Mayor Hau and
the city government to address our concerns, but so far, we have not received
any promise from them,” he said.
The city government tore down two buildings owned by the Wang family last month
to make way for a construction project that will turn 38 homes into a 15-story
apartment complex.
Although the family had refused to give up its land, the construction firm had
received the -consent of more than 75 percent of -neighboring landowners at the
time of the demolition.
Citing the Urban Renewal Act (都市更新條例), the construction firm asked the city
government to help it evict the Wangs and -demolish their buildings.
The demolition sparked waves of protest against the city government’s handling
of the issue. The Wang family and their supporters are demanding that the city
government review the case and rebuild the Wangs’ buildings.
Hau yesterday declined to discuss whether the city government would agree to
rebuild the homes, but promised to listen to different opinions in addressing
the issue.
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