Liaw points out that the law creates other problems as well. "The Government Procurement Law favors architectural firms. Architects are usually people trained to build new buildings, not repair old ones." Referring to the Bao-an Temple restoration, he says "these historical monuments were built without the benefit of architects. It was just the craftsman, the temple manager and possibly a feng shui master. If they weren't well built, these historical monuments would not still be standing. But these traditional craftsmen cannot compete against architectural firms in government tenders. Their skills go to waste, and in the long term they will be lost."
POINTING THE FINGER
Wang of the MOI insists that the government is providing a high level of support, "but it is necessary to make it a matter of community concern." This, with a few notable exceptions, has so far failed to happen. "People are not interested in preserving these monuments," he says.
Ruizendaal agrees, saying: "There simply isn't the environment. It goes against the whole current of Taiwan's culture in which most people still don't care about their history."
Despite acknowledging public indifference, the government still holds back from a more proactive stance on heritage sites. Since the Cultural Heritage Law was promulgated in 1982, a lot of talk has flowed under the bridge, but the buzz on the street suggests that it lacks what it takes to restore and maintain buildings of historical or artistic importance.
This failure has been highlighted by the most recent controversy over the preservation of an old granary in Taipei's Peitou district. The owners of the building, the Peitou Farmers Association, sought to demolish the building the day before it was declared a heritage site. With the preservation order approved, the Taipei City government has ordered the association to rebuild sections that had just been demolished and have also ordered the association to pay for the heritage site's future maintenance. Given the association's manifest hostility to the granary's preservation -- an agricultural produce marketing center having greater appeal -- the government's decision would not seem to have the best interests of heritage preservation at heart because the association will still be in charge of the site.
In other words, men with the vision and the boldness to find their own way, men such as Liao and Chiang, are still necessary to get things done properly. Choosing to be unconventional, they take full responsibility for both the quality and the eventual cost of their restoration projects. Even Father Martinez, battling the heat of Pingtung's scorching summer, has taken flak for his vision of a Spanish colonial basilica -- but he knows what he wants and is willing to take responsibility for it.
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