Increasing attention from the international community is being given to cultural sites across Taiwan, with the most recent being the inclusion of an abandoned Rukai village on next year’s world monuments watchlist run by the New York-based World Monument Fund.
It is the second nomination of a Taiwanese sites to be included on the list, which was first published in 1996 and is released once every two years, seeking to draw attention to threatened cultural heritages around the world.
The first Taiwanese site on the list was the Wangan community building in Penghu County in 2004.
Photo courtesy of the Pingtung County Government
Next year’s list features 50 sites in 36 nations, dating from ancient history to the 20th century.
A World Monument Fund report released on Thursday in New York City said the “sites on the 2016 watch are emblematic of preservation issues that are prevalent around the globe ... a call to action that brings the fragility of these sites and the dangers they face to international attention.”
Next year’s list includes the Palace of Justice in Brussels, the Wentworth Woodhouse in England, Albania’s Spac Prison and the almost entirely abandoned Rukai village in Wutai Township (霧台), Pingtung, it said.
The village is inhabited by only one couple, who are hunters by profession, according to the Pingtung County government.
Commonly known as the Haocha community (好茶), or Kucapungane, the site is where legend has it that the people’s ancestors built a village where a Formosan clouded leopard had led them.
The village is 1,000m above sea level and has more than 600 years of history.
The Rukai relocated to Sinhaocha (新好茶) in 1974 to be closer to modern infrastructure, leaving behind more than 100 buildings built from stone plates.
The World Monument Fund, which was founded in 1965, said the unique skill used to construct the houses, built from hand-cut black and gray shale slabs, and the rich cultural history of the people were reasons for its inclusion of the village on the list.
Despite designation by the government as a national monument, the village deteriorated over four decades of disuse, with frequent typhoons exacerbating the problem, the non-profit organization said.
It said it hopes the listing highlights “the importance of the fragile physical remains of Kucapungane as well as the associated intangible Rukai heritage,” adding that local government and private organizations should strive to protect the site.
Kucapungane leader Ko Kuang-hui (柯光輝) said he cried tears of joy after hearing of the listing.
Ko said he hopes the move would also prompt society to help preserve the site.
He said that after two moves, the second in 2009 following Typhoon Morakot, many Rukai cultural relics had been lost.
The people consider the village their spiritual homeland, he added.
Members of the Kucapungane Rukai make periodic visits to the village and Ko said they hope the local government would help repair the Haocha Bridge to facilitate our way home, adding that one day they hoped to move back to Kucapungane.
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
RSS