TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The New Power Party criticized President Lai Ching-te’s (賴清德) housing policy on Tuesday, calling it a reversal of his campaign pledges on social housing.
Former National Land Management Agency Director-General Wu Hsin-hsiu (吳欣修) previously said in December the government would lower its social housing target to 160,000 units, per Commercial Times. The revised plan means that, in addition to the approximately 122,000 units already under construction, the government will build only about 38,000 more units.
Wu said the policy shift was driven by concerns about a potential housing oversupply by 2030 and Taiwan’s declining birthrate. He added that while the government has the capacity to meet its original construction goals, social housing built in less desirable locations could end up vacant.
Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) acknowledged Saturday that factors such as the growing scarcity of prime land have led the government to scale back social housing construction, per Storm Media. She said the administration remains committed to meeting the rental needs of 1 million households.
Liu said the government will rely on alternative measures, including rental subsidies and incentives for property owners to participate in the social housing sublease and management program. She said the government aims to serve 1 million households through social housing, subsidies and sublease arrangements.
The NPP criticized the revised target, noting that both before and after Lai took office, the government had said it could build at least 70,000 additional social housing units, per ETtoday. The NPP said social housing and the sublease-and-management program serve fundamentally different purposes.
It added that social housing provides more vulnerable residents with affordable, standardized housing, while the sublease-and-management program does not guarantee housing quality or long-term lease stability. The party called on the government to disclose the locations and assessments of the 227 sites it has previously identified as suitable for social housing development.
NPP Chair Wang Wan-yu (王婉諭) said Wednesday that even if the government cannot meet its original goal of 250,000 social housing units, the revised target should not fall below figures cited in earlier plans, per UDN.
She pointed to the estimated NT$400 billion (US$12.6 billion) cost of the proposed Yilan high-speed rail extension, arguing that directing funds toward large infrastructure projects instead of building 100,000 social housing units reflects a policy choice rather than a lack of resources.
