Changhua issues first public land titles, bringing farmers a fresh start

The Beidou Land Administration Office of Changhua County recently formally issued the first batch of land title certificates under the public land release program in the county. This milestone symbolizes the fulfillment of local farmers' long-held aspirations and marks a critical step toward the formalization of land titles and the concrete realization of substantive property rights. Deputy Director-General of the Ministry of the Interior, Dong Jianhong, traveled south to demonstrate the central government’s high level of attention to the matter. He publicly stated that President Lai Ching-tai personally visited Xizhou Township in Changhua County last November to listen to the voices of grassroots farmers. During that visit, the President announced on the spot the resumption of the public land release policy, which had been suspended for several years. In addition to representing the central government in issuing the title certificates, Dong also conveyed the most sincere gratitude and respect on behalf of President Lai and Minister of the Interior Liu Shifang to the farmers who have quietly cultivated the land and endured a prolonged wait for years.

The public land release policy has played a pivotal role in the history of land reform and agricultural development in Taiwan. In the early stages, the government sought to improve farmers' livelihoods and realize the ideal of "land to the tiller" by leasing or transferring state- or publicly owned farmland, enabling actual cultivators to gradually acquire ownership. However, due to changing times, national land planning, and heightened environmental awareness, the policy faced scrutiny and was temporarily suspended for a period. Consequently, many farmers who have resided in the area for generations and made a living through agriculture, despite consistently paying land rents and diligently managing their plots, remained unable to obtain legal land title certificates. This sense of insecurity, stemming from being the actual cultivators without substantive ownership, has been a heavy burden on the minds of many farmers for years.

To break this deadlock and respond to the earnest expectations of the grassroots public, President Lai Ching-tai specifically visited Xizhou Township, a major agricultural hub in Changhua County, during his trip to listen to public opinion last November. After holding face-to-face discussions with local farmers and gaining a deep understanding of the difficulties and helplessness they faced regarding land use, President Lai immediately made a policy declaration, deciding to restart the public land release process. This decision not only serves as a positive response to the farmers' years of contributions to Taiwan's food security and agricultural economy but also concretely demonstrates the administration's commitment to the governing philosophy of "sharing the people's hardships and resolving their grievances." It rapidly translated high-level political promises into tangible execution by local land administration agencies.

Following clear policy directives from the central government, the Ministry of the Interior immediately engaged in close cross-ministerial and cross-level coordination with local land administration agencies. As the frontline executing unit, the Beidou Land Administration Office shouldered the heavy workload of review, surveying, and registry creation. Confronted with vast amounts of historical data, complex land ownership relationships, and strict legal reviews, the land administration staff demonstrated high administrative efficiency and professional competence. They successfully completed the relevant procedures recently and issued the first batch of public land release title certificates in Changhua County. This achievement represents a significant operational breakthrough for the Beidou office and establishes a clear application model for other qualifying farmers across the county, with expectations that more land will complete the release process in the coming period.

For the farmers who received the certificates, the significance of the titles extends far beyond mere property ownership; they represent the state's formal legal recognition and protection of decades of labor. Previously, the lack of title certificates often imposed numerous restrictions and inconveniences on farmers when seeking agricultural loans, improving land conditions, or passing land down through generations. Now that they have successfully obtained the certificates, farmers' economic security has been significantly enhanced, laying a solid foundation for the revitalization and sustainable management of rural land. The Ministry of the Interior emphasized that it will continue to supervise relevant units, handling subsequent public land release cases with a proactive and rigorous attitude to ensure that every qualified farmer can successfully obtain land title certificates, thereby allowing the value of "land to the tiller" to continue in contemporary Taiwan.

(Source: CNA)