[kalifese]

i cant believe the govt. has allowed this to get dragged on for 3 years now. all because of 3 families want to keep their old run down homes. they were offered brand new homes and/or compensation for their old homes. this really shows the bureaucracy and inefficiency in taiwanese govt. even in the u.s. where it's a democracy, there is still a law called imminent domain where govt. or private enterprise has the right to take over property if it's for the good of the public as long as the owners are fairly compensated. if owners dont move out then the law allows forced removal. and in urban renewal projects it is for the good of the public. without urban renewal, taiwan will continue to look like a third world country. the buildings knocked down were not historical in any way and has no worthy architectural value. they were old ugly dirty cement blocks which dominate most of taiwan's landscape. this it totally the govt's fault. all parties suffered - the homeowners for the renewal, the homeowners against the renewal, and the developers.