Ming-Chiang Lin - Land Development and Urban Renewal in Taiwan
Conflict Resolution by Law?
At first, the issue is presented in two major cases: the Taiwan University Roosevelt Road hostel urban renewal project and, especially, the 2014 Wenlin urban renewal project in Taipei's Shilin district. In this case a home owner's opposition stirred land owners across Taiwan. Were big corporations or urban renewal enterprises able to forcibly demolish the legally owned homes of others without the consent of the owners? And could they go as far as demanding that the city government send a sizable number of police to execute the demolitions? What and where is the law in this case? How did peoples' right to privacy, ownership and personal property rights disappear without a trace?
The presentation will address questions including:
- the origin of the Taiwanese – actually Republican Chinese - urban renewal regulations;
- how the Taiwanese consider the revision of these regulations;
- if a private enterprise can be the implementing agency of urban renewal;
- whether or not a land owner is entitled not to participate in urban renewal;
- whether or not the courts fulfilled their duty to protect people's (human) rights;
- and if there is a minimum area for urban renewal.
Taiwan is a small island: space is limited, and while Taiwan is still urbanizing there is growing pressure on limited land available in Taiwanese cities and towns. Therefore, the right to personal land ownership is a habitat justice and human rights issue that Taiwan will increasingly confront in the coming 30 years. Revision of the legal text(s) is only part of the solution. The background of (local) government policies under still ongoing democratization needs to be addressed, as well as the government's duty to provide social housing. A comparison with Wien seems to commend itself.
Completing his undergraduate and postgraduate studies at NTU and receiving his Juris Doctor cum laude at the University of Heidelberg, Professor Ming-Chiang Lin served as an Assistant Research Fellow at Academia Sinica. Professor Lin joined the faculty of NTU College of Law as a full-time professor in 1994 and specializes in administrative law, public service law, planning law, building law and police law. He has authored The Study of Administrative Contract Law and Public Service Law and published over a hundred articles in law journals, while also co-authoring many other books.. Professor Lin is a regular speaker at conferences and forums related to Administrative Law, and he often gives public lectures. In addition to his roles as a law professor, a writer and a lecturer, Professor Lin serves on several appeal committees.