Taipei, Oct. 6 (CNA) The Taiwan government needs a new mentality to tackle the vital issue of spatial planning in a challenging time of climate change and financial crisis, Interior Minister Jiang Yi-huah said Wednesday.
"Taiwan, like any other country in the world, is now at the juncture of having to deal with extreme weather caused by climate change and the task of boosting its economy after the financial crisis, " Jiang said in a speech at Shih Hsin University.
It is a massive challenge from which Taiwan cannot shy away, he told around 200 university students, especially after a series of recent disasters caused huge damages to Taiwanese people, including Typhoon Morakot, the deadliest typhoon in the country's history, widespread flooding caused by torrential rains in southern Taiwan last month.
The cases of controversial farmland expropriation in the central town of Dapu, Miaoli and disputed land takeover in the Central Taiwan Science Park this year have both brought nationwide discontent, the minister said.
"That's why we have to embrace the future with a brand new mentality. It will be difficult, but we have to get it done, " he stressed.
After the disasters and incidents, Taiwan's government has taken a step back to review its national spatial planning policy, which in the past was doomed by administrative failure, systematic errors and negligence, according to Jiang.
To avoid the same mistakes, the ministry has laid out priorities. Jiang said the first priority would be to protect farmers and agriculture with measures such as requiring agricultural agencies to give approval before farmland can be developed for commercial use.
One of the new mentalities also includes more civic participation in the policy-making process, which would ensure all policies are well thought-out before being implemented, he said.
"National spatial planning is important because it always involves people's lives and property, " he said, but lamented that the National Spatial Planning Act has not been screened by the Legislative Yuan.
Government officials will have to make things happen even without the appropriate legislation, he said.
"If we think it's the right thing to do, we will do it and we should do it within our administrative power."
In the future, land development and land expropriation plans will all be reviewed on the basis of fairness, justice and public interest, he said. (By Chris Wang) enditem/bc