City and county councilors do have a job to do in ensuring the public’s money is well spent. However, in picking their battles, they should consider the overall goals of a project as well as the bottom line.
Taipei City Councilor Chou Po-ya (周柏雅) of the Democratic Progressive Party took issue this week with the income reported by eight city-owned cultural properties that are under the supervision of the Taipei Department of Cultural Affairs, but run by non-government organizations. A recent department report showed that five of the eight are operating in the red, and those that are making money are largely doing so on food and beverage sales, Chou said.
While the losses have raised concerns about the city’s management of cultural sites and whether it should look to other groups to manage the properties, the questions raised by Chou and others make one wonder whether they have even visited the properties in question.
Several are small buildings that date back to the Japanese colonial era, giving them a historic value that led to their preservation in the first place. Two were considered so historically valuable that they were rebuilt by the city after major fires. They also have limited space for displays, exhibitions or performances, which means their options for charging more in fees or producing more revenue are limited.
The Tsai Jui-yueh Dance Research Institute (蔡瑞月舞蹈研究社) was built in the 1920s as a dormitory for Japanese officials. Tsai, considered the “mother of modern dance” in Taiwan, bought the building in 1952 and later converted it into a dance studio. She would have been remembered for her contributions to dance alone, but she also became a political prisoner during the White Terror era and the studio served as salon for writers, playwrights and others for decades under martial law. It continues to serve as a dance studio and a performance space for local and international dancers and choreographers.
The Guling Street Avant-garde Theatre (牯嶺街小劇場) was built in 1916 as a military police station and became a Taipei City Police Department station after World War II. It served as a police station until the early 1990s, when the city’s Department of Information turned it into a small theater and rehearsal space that has been a godsend for fledgling dance and theater troupes.
Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) former residence on Yangmingshan, the Grass Mountain Chateau (草山行館), which, according to Chou has been the biggest money loser, has been turned into an art gallery, and a restaurant that serves “Chiang Kai-shek’s private set” meals for NT$588 per person accounts for 82 percent of the chateau’s revenue. The chateau was built by Taiwan Sugar Corp early in the 20th century to serve as a guest house and hosted Japanese Emperor Hirohito when he was crown prince.
The Taipei Story House (台北故事館), a small Tudor-style building, was built by a wealthy tea merchant in 1913. The Landis Taipei Hotel Group took over the building in 2003 and renovated it as a mini-museum to showcase Taiwanese historical culture. However, it is now closed and the city is looking for someone to take it over.
The area that is now the Zhishan Cultural and Ecological Garden (芝山文化生態綠園) in Shihlin was once an ammunition depot. The city took it over in 2002 and turned it into a key educational resource for young students as well as residents seeking a bit of nature amid the concrete urban jungle.
None of these places is ever going to be a big moneymaker, but they were not rescued for their monetary potential. These sites offer Taipei residents spaces for relaxation, cultural education and performances and an insight into the city’s and the nation’s past. They improve the city’s quality of life — and that is a price the city government should be willing to pay.
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