More than 1,000 residents, along with several legislators, gathered to voice their discontent over government relocation policies for the Taoyuan Aerotropolis project, the largest land expropriation case in Taiwan.
The protest took place on 13th October 2023, after continued public appeals over the high cost of resettlement housing had gone unheeded. Huang Shih-chieh, the Democratic Progressive Party legislator, said the government should adjust relocation compensation in line with the price index and that the high cost of resettlement housing should be absorbed by the government, not shifted onto the affected people. In response, the Taoyuan City Government stated that the compensation budget had been increased by 20% but affected households said they have never felt adequately compensated. Kuomintang (KMT) Councillor Hsu Chi-wan said the government had repeatedly given the same resonse to appeals from households whose property was expropriated and suggested that compensation measures executed by Taoyuan’s Land Administration Department should be expedited.
Taoyuan Aerotropolis is the largest zone expropriation case in Taiwan. The plan for development centred around Taoyuan Airport, the largest and busiest in Taiwan located 40km west of Taipei, encompasses over 4,500 hectares. The megaproject is fraught with controversies, not least because it is estimated that at least 6,000 households will be impacted by land expropriation for the first phase, covering an area of 2,599 hectares. But expropriation for Taoyouan Aerotropolis will be constrained by a June 2023 ruling from the Taipei High Administrative Court. The Taiwan Association for Human Rights reported that a lawsuit calling for cancellation of Taoyuan Aerotropolis land expropriation obtained a favourable ruling with most of the plaintiffs winning their cases.
The 4,500 hectare Taoyuan Aerotropolis plan is centred around Taoyuan Airport and includes a third runwayto the north
The lawsuit discussed issues of public interest, necessity and proportionality principles regarding land expropriation. Representing the legal team, Xiong Yiling (熊依翎) expressed gratitude for the court’s judgement which allows for preservation of the plaintiffs’ land and homes. In this case it was found that clients’ land was not expropriated for public interest or necessity. Lu Xueshin (呂學信), representing plaintiffs from both sides of Yugang Road, north of Taoyuan Airport where a third runway is planned, said that their community was not within the scope of Taoyuan Aerotropolis for many years. But they were forcibly included after residents in a neighbouring area petitioned for their inclusion. Lu Xueshin said the land is not needed to construct a third runway and was expropriated due to others’ private interests. Wu Mingzhe (吳明哲), representing Ziqiang Community plaintiffs located near the airport entrance, stated that the area was supposed to remain residential. However, without the knowledge of residents, a large group of other residents expressed their wishes to be included in expropriation plans. As a result a large area of the community was included in expropriation plans, in spite of a 2019 plan for preserving the Ziqiang community and a public hearing establishing that those who refuse to be expropriated can be excluded.
Yu Yicha (余宜家), Deputy Secretary-General of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, said that the locations of the plaintiffs were excluded from the expropriation plan for many years, or neighboured almost identical lands not requiring expropriation, demonstrating that these areas do not need to be expropriated and keeping their land does not hinder construction of Taoyuan Aerotropolis. Futhermore, Taiwan’s land expropriation system, a system rarely seen in democratic countries, has been heavily criticised becasue of the large areas and numbers of households affected and violation of people’s housing and property rights. The Taiwan Association for Human Rights welcomed the Taipei High Administrative Court’s careful consideration of the serious infringement of people’s basic rights and a verdict marking a significant milestone in Taiwan’s land expropriation system. They urged the relevant authorities to review the Taoyuan Aerotropolis plan as a whole and negotiate with residents to return expropriated land.
The land expropriation case is one of five lawsuits relating to Taoyuan Aerotropolis, assisted by non-governmental organisations including Taiwan Association for Human Rights, Taoyuan Aerotropolis Anti-Forced Eviction, the Environmental Jurists Assoication and the Environmental Rights Foundation.
This paper for the 2016 HDCA (Human Development and Capability Association) conference documents the public hearings for land expropriation for Taoyuan Aerotropolis. The 4,771 hectare aerotropolis is the biggest megaproject planned by the Taiwan government, threatening to displace 46,000 people from their homes and farmland. It is part of wider picture of ‘Development-Induced Displacement’ – eviction, often forcible, for infrastructure projects. Following revision of the Land Acquisition Act in 2012, the Taoyuan Aerotropolis case is the first in Taiwan history to hold public hearings on land expropriation.
The paper argues that land expropriation must serve the community – evaluated on social, economic, cultural and ecological aspects – and be fully compensated, and considers the potential for these public hearings to bring deliberative democracy to the land expropriation policy and ensure that people who are, actually or potentially, displaced genuinely own development rights in the process. With the interpretation of public interest still controlled by the state and its allies, the authors conclude that, in their current form, the public hearings cannot achieve these goals.
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