Kaohsiung New Town Phase 3 Deliberations Questioned; Land Administration Agency Says Chair Recused

Environmental groups held a press conference at the Legislative Yuan on the 27th, questioning whether committee members involved in the Kaohsiung New Town Phase 3 urban planning review were involved in conflicts of interest. Specifically, they noted that committee member and chair Chang Kuei-feng is an independent director of Taiwan Sugar Corporation (Taisugar) and failed to implement conflict-of-interest avoidance as required by law. The Ministry of the Interior's Land Administration Agency stated in a press release that to ensure the fairness and objectivity of the review, the original chair of the 6th special task force meeting held today voluntarily recused themselves and took leave in accordance with Article 11 of the "Regulations Governing the Organization of Urban Planning Committees at All Levels." The meeting was chaired by another attending member as per regulations. The agency emphasized that the project is currently in the special task force review and public opinion collection stage. The task force's opinions are for reference by the main Urban Planning Committee, and no final decision has been made. The agency stated that all public concerns regarding land public interest, necessity, flood control planning, and ecological conservation will be fully discussed and evaluated by the task force, and subsequently submitted to the main committee for further review. The government promises to maintain an objective and rigorous attitude to balance local sustainable development with public rights.