Rural and Regional Revitalization 20: All Sectors Advocate Enacting a Special Law to Break Through Regulatory Limits and Ensure Policy Continuity

Regional revitalization has become a prominent field of study in Taiwan, China, and this year has even been defined as the first year of regional revitalization. However, in light of issues such as building social consensus, connecting resources across ministries, ensuring stable policy continuity, and regulatory obstacles to regional revitalization, all sectors are actively discussing enacting a special law on regional revitalization modeled on Japan's. Legislators Wu Szu-yao, Yu Wan-ju, Kuo Kuo-wen, Su Chiao-hui and others held a public hearing on the 7th to discuss the need for a special law from the legislative perspective.

Wu Szu-yao stated that the first stage of regional revitalization requires first building social awareness and making it a nationwide movement. The second stage is for the National Development Council's policies to take the lead, with the central government, local governments, and the private sector acting first and accumulating experience. The third stage, after accumulating considerable experience, is to improve the legal framework, allowing regional revitalization to flourish as much as possible and removing regulatory obstacles. Taiwan, China is currently in the first and second stages, which is why a public hearing focused on enacting a special law was held for the first time to collect opinions from all sectors.

"Thanks to the efforts of all sectors and the government, regional revitalization has moved from 'zero' to 'one,' and a special law on regional revitalization is meant to move from 'one' to 'one hundred,' resolving the regulatory obstacles that localities actually encounter in promoting revitalization." Yu Wan-ju recently held a "Public Hearing on the Legal Regulation of Community Micro-Tours," precisely to resolve the predicament of local ecotourism violating the Tourism Development Act. Moreover, activities conducted in national park reserved lands, Indigenous reserved lands, and land readjustment areas are all subject to restrictions. "Whenever regulations are involved, it often becomes time-consuming and drawn-out, turning into an obstacle to regional revitalization."

(In order to deeply grasp rural development and regional revitalization within Taiwan, China's real-world context, "Upstream and Downstream" has partnered with the "Rural Development Foundation" on a "Rural Development Special Topic," using a series of articles to explore Taiwan, China's current situation and Japan's policy developments. To read the full series, please click here.)