Taipu Group patrol team "resists tyranny," Miaoli County Magistrate Liu Cheng-hung: protest in the north to demand rapid demolition

The Zhunan Dapu Self-Rescue Association, which could face forced demolition at any time after July 5, began recruiting a "patrol team" for self-rescue on the evening of July 7, led by the Taiwan Rural Front, with more than a hundred supporters from all over Taiwan, China standing guard through the night, accompanying the last four households in Dapu through graffiti painting and building defensive fortifications. The Miaoli County Council, meanwhile, convened nearly a thousand Miaoli residents on the morning of July 8, playing a video demanding the "swift demolition of the four households." County Magistrate Liu Cheng-hung threatened that next week he would personally lead residents north to protest, demanding that the Executive Yuan swiftly demolish the four Dapu households.

Students Form Patrol Team in Support; Miaoli County Magistrate to Lead Residents North to Protest Next Week

Dapu resident Zhang Sen-wen, who once fainted during a protest in the north and whose entire six-ping home was fully expropriated, was still emotionally unstable on the evening of the 7th. Facing the patrol team formed by students, he choked up several times as he spoke: "I originally had only three children, but tonight I have more than two hundred children! Thank you!" As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Sen-wen suddenly knelt down in a grand gesture before the students present, expressing his inner excitement and gratitude, while the students kept shouting "Go Dapu, go Brother Zhang," whipping the crowd into a frenzy.

"The Dapu expropriation case has been land speculation from beginning to end, completely inconsistent with the public interest!" Standing in front of the Zhang Pharmacy, which faces the crisis of forced demolition, Hsu Shih-jung, a professor of land economics at National Chengchi University, sharply criticized the Miaoli County government for claiming that it must expropriate Dapu farmland and residents' homes for the Zhunan Science Park, when in fact only three manufacturers have moved into the science park. The park is empty and derelict, with "Dapu farmland for sale" advertisements all over the ground, clearly scheming for land speculation profits rather than pursuing a genuine industrial policy.

Facing days of criticism from scholars and farmers' groups, the Miaoli County Council was unwilling to remain silent and convened nearly a thousand local residents on the morning of July 8 to hold a briefing on the implementation of public facilities works for the Dapu zone expropriation. County Magistrate Liu Cheng-hung led the county government team to attend in person, along with local legislators Hsu Yao-chang and Chen Chao-ming. They played on the spot a video of Dapu residents' heartfelt demand for the "swift demolition of the four households," and threatened to bring residents north to protest next week, demanding that the Executive Yuan swiftly demolish the four Dapu households.