Chen Chin-te rebuts the Council of Agriculture: farmhouse fronting a road and side fronting a road is not law, farmers do not need to comply
Preface: Yilan acting county magistrate Chen Chin-te had been in office less than a full month when he set off a frenzy in Yilan. To curb farmland speculation, the previous county magistrate required that farm houses be built "adjacent to the side and adjacent to the road." That policy had already been incorporated by the Council of Agriculture into nationwide regulations, and at the same time, owners of illegally non-agricultural farmland were assessed additional land value tax and house tax. Immediately after taking office, Chen reversed the case, including refunding the additional house tax to the landowners and arguing that requiring farm houses to be adjacent to the road and the side is "illegal and unconstitutional," with separate regulations to be set. This triggered outside commentary that Yilan would once again see a frenzy of farmland speculation.
On November 23, News&Market conducted an exclusive interview with Chen Chin-te, seeking his views on the above issues. The following text and video content are Chen Chin-te's oral account, summarized and organized by the News&Market editorial office. For outside responses to Chen Chin-te's statements, please click here.
A farm house is a house on farmland, not a farmer's house
Before the Agricultural Development Act was amended in the 89th year of the Republic of China (2000), the buying, selling, and transfer of farmland was limited to owner-farmers. After the law was amended in the 89th year, natural persons (without farmer status) could buy farmland. Should the goal be to ensure food security and protect farmland, or to avoid bankruptcy of rural areas upon joining the WTO and give farmers a chance to turn their fortunes around? These two camps had a very fierce debate, and later the Legislative Yuan passed the amended Agricultural Development Act, allowing farmland to be purchased by natural persons. At that time, Peng Tso-kwei (chairman of the Council of Agriculture) resigned, and today's debate over farmland was all debated back then.
After the Agricultural Development Act was amended, houses could originally be built on farmland, so the more accurate definition of a farm house is a house on farmland, a "farm house on farmland," not a "farmer's farm house." It is a "house on the land," not limited to being called a "farmer's house."
The Ministry of the Interior did not require farm houses to have a "rectangular configuration"; the Council of Agriculture pulled a fast one
According to the law, Article 18, Paragraph 1 and Paragraph 2 of the Agricultural Development Act provide that when local agencies and local competent authorities are to approve a farmer's construction of a farm house, there are two principles: the first principle is not to affect the agricultural production environment, and the second is not to affect rural development. Then, without violating these two principles, the local competent authority approves the farm house.
The first approval authority is the local government. Second, it authorizes the Ministry of the Interior, and the Ministry of the Interior, together with the Council of Agriculture, formulates a "Regulations for the Construction of Farm Houses on Agricultural Land," which set out certain qualifications for building a farm house, for example, that one must have acquired the farmland for at least two years or more and obtained certain proof that agricultural use is indeed being carried out. Based on these conditions, you can go build a farm house.
By the 104th year of the Republic of China (2015), the Yilan County Government enacted a "Yilan County Review Regulations for the Construction of Agricultural Land," stipulating that when building a farm house, it must be "adjacent to the boundary line and adjacent to the road," and then must have a "rectangular configuration." Later, the central government also made amendments based on Yilan County's approach. The Ministry of the Interior revised the "Regulations for the New Construction of Farm Houses on Agricultural Land," authorizing the Council of Agriculture to formulate the format for the agricultural operation plan. Applicants must fill it out in accordance with the Council of Agriculture's format and then submit it to the local government for review.
So what format did the Council of Agriculture formulate under this authorization? It formulated a format called Point 4.2 of the operation plan. It originally referred to the configuration of "agricultural land," but it (the Council of Agriculture) secretly changed it to "farm house configuration." What is the difference between the two? "Agricultural land" refers to 100 percent of this plot of land, but the Council of Agriculture refers to the configuration of "farm house land," which narrows the scope to the farm house. However, the Ministry of the Interior did not authorize requiring farmers to necessarily have a rectangular configuration or to place it on the boundary line and boundary road; in fact, there was none of that.
Then, the Council of Agriculture sent a letter to each county and city government: "Please, your office, review and refer to the individual case circumstances under the local agricultural production self-governance regulations." That is to say, this thing that the Council of Agriculture sent to each county and city government is only for your reference. But now, in implementation, it has become the sole basis, and one cannot fail to comply?
Requiring farm houses to be adjacent to the road and the side is illegal and unconstitutional
Why do I say that it (the requirement that farm houses be adjacent to the road and the side) is illegal and unconstitutional? If this thing is binding and mandatory, then I believe it violates the constitutional protection of the people's property rights. Without legal basis, it cannot be deprived or infringed upon. That plot of land is the farmer's, and it is the disposal of his property rights, unless you stipulate it in the "Agricultural Development Act."
Then why not stipulate it in the Agricultural Development Act? Because the Agricultural Development Act is a law, and a law is passed by the Legislative Yuan and promulgated by the president. The Legislative Yuan could not possibly pass such a provision as "restricting farmers from building farm houses in the corners and edges."
