Controversy over the relaxation of farmhouse construction rules in Yilan: The Council of Agriculture says local regulations that conflict with the central government are invalid.
Text / Liu Yixin, Lai Yuwei
The issue of the Yilan County Government's intention to relax controls on farmhouse construction continues to spread! A few days ago, Yilan County Acting Magistrate Chen Chin-te announced that the "increased house tax on farmhouses" would be refunded with interest; there were even reports that the rule that "farmhouse locations must be adjacent to a road and adjacent to the side" would be relaxed, triggering strong backlash from local groups. Exactly what is the Yilan County Government's position? And when autonomy is devolved to the local level, how can the central government still hold its ground?
As rumors kept circulating that the Yilan County Government wanted to relax the rule that "farmhouse locations must be adjacent to a road and adjacent to the side," the Yilan County Government today stressed, "We have never said that farmhouses can be built in the middle of a field." Rather, it is discussing the different types of agricultural use of farmland, such as farmers engaged in afforestation or chicken raising; requiring that their farmhouses must be adjacent to a road and adjacent to the side would create problems at the enforcement level, so the county government wanted to study corresponding measures, "but we absolutely do not intend to let farmland become fragmented, or to carry out large-scale development."
Exactly what is the Yilan County Government's position? And when autonomy is devolved to the local level, how can the central government still hold its ground? Today (the 13th), the Council of Agriculture held a press conference, insisting that its position of safeguarding agricultural use of farmland remains unchanged. The Council of Agriculture respects the spirit of autonomy, but local autonomy must not conflict with central regulations, "and any conflict is directly invalid."
