LAND SPECULATION?Allowing experts to dictate whether farmers can sell their land is unfair, a legislator said, while the premier urged more communication

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 17, 2015
By: Alison Hsiao  /  Staff reporter

Several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) legislators have blocked the implementation of an amendment to the Regulations Governing the Building of Agricultural Houses on Agricultural Land (農業用地興建農舍辦法) aimed at curbing farmland speculation by placing them under legislative review, angering both activists and KMT-friendly former officials.

The regulations, which were revised and announced by the Ministry of the Interior and the Council of Agriculture last month, would restrict farmhouse construction to farmers only.

As it is an executive order, the amendment was submitted to the legislature for reference, not review.

However, the regulations were placed on legislative review during a meeting on Wednesday of the legislature’s Procedure Committee meeting. That means implementation of the new regulations can be put off or annulled, depending on the legislature’s decision.

The change was made through the proposals of 17 KMT lawmakers and the TSU caucus. The amendments now have to be reviewed by a joint meeting of the Internal Administration Committee and the Economics Committee, but no date has been set for the meeting.     [FULL  STORY]