In response to questions from Taipei Mayor Chiang Wanan's campaign team and members of the Blue Camp, the "unlimited changes" proposed by the Democratic Progressive Party's Taipei mayoral candidate Shen Boyang are unreasonable and "no stuffing". Former Executive Yuan Political Affairs Councilor Zhang Jingsen said bluntly today (3rd), There is no need to doubt the feasibility of Wudu City. The Ministry of National Defense has already completed the reconstruction and resettlement of nearly 70,000 old military dependents' villages in the past. He also proposed "10 major implementation steps for Wudu City" based on his practical experience in the reconstruction of military military villages and cross-regional land integration.
Zhang Jingsen posted a post on Facebook today with the title "Is Shen Boyang's "infinite urban renewal" proposed by Shen Boyang feasible? There is no need to doubt it!" He said that the reconstruction of military dependent villages is essentially a large-scale cross-regional relocation and renovation of old houses led by the government: breaking away from the quagmire of integrating single bases and finding builders, the government will include old settlements scattered in various places into the overall plan, and implement "build first, relocate later, cross-regional integration, and land recycling." This mechanism has resettled nearly 70,000 households and released a large amount of land for revitalization. It has long proven that government-led cross-base residential renewal is completely feasible in practice.
Zhang Jingsen bluntly said that the "small government policy" that relied on volume incentives and allowed individual competition between landlords and builders over the past 20 years has proven to be far less efficient than the aging of old housing. Therefore, he proposed an improved version of "Infinite Update" and "10 specific implementation steps" for Shen Boyang, Jiang Wanan and the central government to refer to:
The first step: establishing a city-wide urban renewal and housing exchange platform. The government should integrate old communities that need to be updated into the city's unified update platform, instead of letting each base find its own builder, negotiate terms, and raise funds. The city government is responsible for taking stock of renewal needs, residents’ wishes, as well as Taipei City’s housing supply and developable land, and coordinating the renewal schedule and housing exchanges.
Step 2: First find land to build "relocation housing", not interim housing. The government first searches for a suitable base and obtains the first batch of relocation houses through public investment invitations, private cooperation or the purchase of existing houses. Zhang Jingsen emphasized that this is "relocation housing", not "intermediate housing".
Intermediate housing is temporarily moved out, and then moved back after the reconstruction of the original site is completed. He believes that there is no need to tie residents to their original addresses, and he does not believe that most Taipei residents must insist on living with their original neighbors; people who originally lived in the same apartment building may not necessarily continue to be neighbors in the future. Some people want to be close to their workplace, some want to be close to their children, some want to change to a bigger house, and some want to change to a smaller house. The government should provide housing with different locations, square footage and prices, allowing residents to choose freely. Moving into a new home means moving permanently, completing the resettlement, replacing the old house with a new one, and there is no need to move again.
Step 3: Exchange a house for a house, exchange rights for a house, and pay back more and make up less. Residents exchanged their original housing and land rights for new housing provided by the government. Both parties have undergone fair valuation and will refund more or make up less according to the difference in value. For example, if the original house is worth 15 million yuan, if you choose a new residence of 12 million yuan, you can get back 3 million yuan; if you choose a new residence of 18 million yuan, you will have to make up 3 million yuan. This is not about the government giving away houses, but about people exchanging their own properties for new homes.
Step 4: Those who agree will change first, and those who disagree will continue to live. Suppose there are 100 households in a community, 75 households are willing to change their houses, and 25 households are not. Then let 75 households move into the new homes first, and the other 25 households continue to live in the same place. There is no need to wait for all residents to agree before they can start improving residents' living conditions, and there is no need to rush to demolish old houses. After completing the exchange, the government obtained 75 old houses and corresponding land rights, and began to become an important landowner in the old community. The 75 households here are a voluntary exchange ratio and do not mean that the legal consent threshold for urban renewal has been reached. House exchange and demolition and reconstruction are two different stages. The former can be done first, while the latter must still be handled in accordance with the law.
Step 5: The acquired old houses will first be used as social housing and public service spaces. After the government acquires the old house, it does not have to be demolished immediately. As long as the building safety, fire protection and use conditions permit, it can be appropriately renovated and used as social housing, youth rental housing, day care for the elderly, community daycare or other public service spaces. This is equivalent to converting part of the funds that were originally intended to be invested in building social housing into existing housing through house replacement, and then renovating and utilizing it. While the old houses are waiting for integration, they can also generate rental income and reduce the government's financial burden.
Step 6: The government gradually becomes the main landowner and then promotes overall renewal. As more and more residents change their homes, the government's rights to real estate have gradually increased. In an original community of 100 households, 75 households may change their houses at first, and then the number may increase to 85 or 90 households. Now that the government has become an important landowner, it can proactively attract investment and plan overall renewal. The remaining residents can participate in the transformation of rights in accordance with the law and obtain updated housing or other statutory compensation. When the renewal plan meets the legal conditions for urban renewal and the necessary consent, review, rights transfer and demolition procedures are completed, demolition and reconstruction can be carried out in accordance with the law.
Step 7: The government will participate in the update based on capacity and will no longer give out capacity rewards in vain. This is the most important reform proposal of my entire system. The land belongs to the people and the houses belong to the people, but the new capacity is the public value created by the government through urban planning. In the past, the government mainly provided area incentives to landowners and builders in the hope that they would be willing to renew. I advocate changing it to: the government participates in updates based on volume, rather than just rewarding updates based on volume.
In addition to participating in the updated rights distribution as a landowner, the government should also establish a public interest recovery system for newly added capacity through legislative amendments. The main public benefits created by the new capacity should be returned to the urban renewal revolving fund to support the next round of residential relocation and cross-district renewal. Of course, volume is not property that can be sold at will under current government laws. This public feedback system must be clearly authorized by law, must also protect the rights and interests of the original landowners, and must take into account the carrying capacity of transportation, public facilities and the urban environment.
Step 8: Introduce construction companies, banks and life insurance funds. The government doesn’t have to build all the houses itself, nor does it have to finance all of them on its own. Builders can be responsible for building and relocating housing, or they can participate in the development and renewal of bases. Banks can provide financing, and life insurance companies can invest in long-term rental housing, social housing, or provide long-term funds under the conditions that comply with laws and regulations. The government is responsible for overall planning, establishing transaction systems, protecting residents’ rights and interests, and recovering public benefits. The private sector is responsible for funding, construction, management and operation.
Step 9: After the update is completed, dispose of some residences and recover funds. After the old base is rebuilt, the government will allocate updated residences and other assets based on the original land rights, capital investment and public feedback obtained in accordance with the law. Part of it is sold to recover the initial capital; part is retained as social housing or rental housing; and the other part can be used as a resource for the next round of housing exchange. This eliminates the need to reinvest the same size of the government budget every time a batch of updates is completed.
Step 10: Establish an urban renewal revolving fund to continue promoting the next round of renewal. The government includes income from the sale of residential buildings, rental income and public space feedback obtained in accordance with the law into the urban renewal revolving fund. Then use these resources to obtain the next batch of relocation housing and allow more old communities to join the exchange. The whole system forms a cycle: construction of relocation housing → residents exchange houses for housing → government acquisition of old houses → temporary revitalization of old houses → integration of old bases → renewal and reconstruction → recovery of funds → construction of the next batch of relocation housing. This does not guarantee that every update project will make money, but through cross-base integration, capacity public feedback and asset recycling, it can reduce reliance on continued government subsidies.
Zhang Jingsen said that what needs to be updated most in urban renewal is the system itself. The reconstruction of the military dependent villages has proved that the government can coordinate the old residential buildings scattered in various places, build them first and then relocate them, resettle them across districts, and then gradually dispose of the original land. Today we have a more mature financial market, larger private funds, and more complete urban planning and housing policy tools. We should have hope to make this system better. I hope that Shen Boyang’s “Infinite Updates” can trigger real policy discussions, and that Jiang Wanan and the central government can seriously study it.
Zhang Jingsen emphasized that urban renewal should not be the exclusive preserve of any one politician, nor should it be just an electoral policy. Build first and move later, house-for-house; cross-district integration, volume shareholding; public-private cooperation, capital circulation. These are the 10 specific steps for the implementation of the "infinite urban renewal" he conceived. "Don't say it is not feasible anymore! Through the reconstruction of military dependents' villages, the Ministry of National Defense has completed the resettlement of nearly 70,000 dependent households and built a large number of new residences! You are still saying it is not feasible!"
