The National Palace Museum in Taipei is planning to close for renovations for three years beginning at the end of 2020, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko Chih-en (柯志恩) said yesterday.
Museum Director Chen Chi-nan (陳其南) delivered a report to the Education and Culture Committee at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei and Ko said that documents given to her during a question-and-answer session by museum staff showed that the museum’s library would close on July 1 following an exhibition featuring works by artist Chang Dai-chien (張大千).
The museum’s main building is expected to close at the end of 2020 and be cleared out starting in 2021, with renovation work to take place in 2022 and 2023, she said.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
The museum, which houses a wide collection and attracts nearly 5 million visitors each year — the majority of them foreign tourists — has not closed since it was founded, she said.
Ko expressed concern over whether the museum had measures in place for a closure of such magnitude.
The New National Palace Museum Plan documents that the Taipei branch would undergo renovation and expansion work, Chen said, adding, however, that the document did not outline the schedule, as it was not ready when the document was written.
Almost all of the museum’s buildings are to be renovated, he said.
He said museum staff have experience hosting exhibitions and operating amid construction and the consensus was that they would not repeat that experience.
Asked by Ko to clarify whether artifacts at the Taipei branch would be moved to the National Palace Museum Southern Branch in Taibao City (太保), Chiayi County, during the three-year closure, Chen said the museum considers both branches to be part of the museum, so regardless of the duration of renovations — be it three years or five — it would not be a closure, but rather a change of venues.
The museum hopes to attract more foreign visitors to the southern branch, Chen said, adding that while three-quarters of visitors to the Taipei museum are foreigners, the southern branch struggles in this regard.
Separately yesterday, Chiayi County Commissioner Helen Chang (張花冠) said she proposed years ago that the museum’s items be exhibited at the southern branch.
The Chiayi City Government welcomes this move, she said, adding that it would bring more tourists to Chiayi and spur national development.
However, Democratic Progressive Party Taipei mayoral candidate Pasuya Yao (姚文智) yesterday echoed concerns that renovation work at the Taipei branch would affect tourism in the capital.
Yao said the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall should be converted into the museum’s second venue in Taipei.
Then it could be used to exhibit the museum’s most popular artifacts, he said.
Additional reporting by Chou Yan-yu
In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) quoted the Taiwanese song One Small Umbrella (一支小雨傘) to describe his nation’s situation. Wong’s use of such a song shows Singapore’s familiarity with Taiwan’s culture and is a perfect reflection of exchanges between the two nations, Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said yesterday in a post on Facebook. Wong quoted the song, saying: “As the rain gets heavier, I will take care of you, and you,” in Mandarin, using it as a metaphor for Singaporeans coming together to face challenges. Other Singaporean politicians have also used Taiwanese songs
NORTHERN STRIKE: Taiwanese military personnel have been training ‘in strategic and tactical battle operations’ in Michigan, a former US diplomat said More than 500 Taiwanese troops participated in this year’s Northern Strike military exercise held at Lake Michigan by the US, a Pentagon-run news outlet reported yesterday. The Michigan National Guard-sponsored drill involved 7,500 military personnel from 36 nations and territories around the world, the Stars and Stripes said. This year’s edition of Northern Strike, which concluded on Sunday, simulated a war in the Indo-Pacific region in a departure from its traditional European focus, it said. The change indicated a greater shift in the US armed forces’ attention to a potential conflict in Asia, it added. Citing a briefing by a Michigan National Guard senior
CHIPMAKING INVESTMENT: J.W. Kuo told legislators that Department of Investment Review approval would be needed were Washington to seek a TSMC board seat Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said he received information about a possible US government investment in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and an assessment of the possible effect on the firm requires further discussion. If the US were to invest in TSMC, the plan would need to be reviewed by the Department of Investment Review, Kuo told reporters ahead of a hearing of the legislature’s Economics Committee. Kuo’s remarks came after US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday said that the US government is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that
CLAMPING DOWN: At the preliminary stage on Jan. 1 next year, only core personnel of the military, the civil service and public schools would be subject to inspections Regular checks are to be conducted from next year to clamp down on military personnel, civil servants and public-school teachers with Chinese citizenship or Chinese household registration, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Article 9-1 of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) stipulates that Taiwanese who obtain Chinese household registration or a Chinese passport would be deprived of their Taiwanese citizenship and lose their right to work in the military, public service or public schools, it said. To identify and prevent the illegal employment of holders of Chinese ID cards or