Property bureau censured for failing to protect land

The government's top supervisory arm said in a statement that a total of 111 parcels of public land covering a combined acreage of 16.67 hectares had been illegally used by 15 golf courses until early this year, when a Control Yuan team stepped in to investigate the situation.

The team was assembled after the Control Yuan received an appeal saying that the First Golf Course in Lujhu Township, in northern Taiwan's Taoyuan County, had broken land use laws.

After a thorough inspection, the team headed by Control Yuan member Chou Yang-shan discovered that illegal land occupation is rampant among local golf courses. Not only the First Golf Course but also 14 others throughout the country, including the Tashee Golf and Country Club, the Pei Tou Kuo Hua Golf and Country Club and the Linkuo International Golf and Country Club — some of the most prestigious clubs in Taiwan — have illegally occupied national land.

“Some of the land parcels have been occupied since prior to January 1978, with the latest case dating back to July 1998,” said Chou.

The National Property Bureau did not address the issue until April this year, and only when it found out that the Control Yuan had begun investigating, Chou said.

“The bureau finally directed its branch offices in various parts of Taiwan in April to check the use of public land lots under their jurisdiction and has since been taking rent for the land from the golf courses in question,” Chou said.

It is regrettable that the bureau failed to fulfill its official duty of protecting national property and sat on its hands by allowing golf course operators to use public land for free for such a long time, he added.

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