Apparently inspired by the ancient Chinese proverb about an old man moving a mountain, for more than a year a group of elderly miners have been weeding, moving stones and paving roads to uncover an old mine railway, which was buried for the past 26 years in the former gold mining town of Jinguashih in New Taipei City’s Ruifang District. The group is urging the government to classify the area as an official historic site or historic building under the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act. The government is currently in the middle of the review process.
Cheng Chun-shan, an old Jinguashih miner, says that Taiwan Metals Mining Co shut down operations in 1987, and the railway fell into disuse, while the mine trolleys were auctioned off for scrap metal and the abandoned tracks were gradually overtaken by weeds and the wilderness.
Starting in October last year, four seniors — Cheng Chun-shan, Chen Shih-cheng, Lin Cheng-hsiung and Chang A-hui — along with dozens of other septuagenarians, commenced their project of “finding the road they once traversed.” With sickles and hoes in hand, they have walked the desolate hillside, chopping down weeds taller than themselves and clearing away boulders that fell down the hillside during typhoons. “We don’t have any particular agenda. We just want to locate the road again, which is part of Jinguashih residents’ collective memory,” Cheng says.
Photo: Yu Chao-fu, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者俞肇福
The hard work of the seniors has gradually received recognition from the government. Culture Minister Lung Ying-tai organized a team to survey the area on April 9, the New Taipei City Culture Affairs Department invited experts and academics to survey the area at the end of July, and an evaluation meeting was held on Dec. 6. A decision is expected to be made in the coming days as to whether the Jinguashih mine railway will be protected under the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act.
(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
金瓜石一群老礦工,用愚公移山的精神,歷經一年多的除草、清石、鋪路,讓消失廿六年的索道重見天日,呼籲官方依據文化資產保存法公告為「古蹟」或「歷史建築」保存,官方也進入審查程序。
金瓜石老礦工鄭春山說,一九八七年台金公司歇業,索道停止使用,台車被當廢鐵拍賣,而索道逐漸被荒煙蔓草覆蓋。
Photo courtesy of Cheng Chun-shan
照片由鄭春山提供
自去年十月開始,鄭春山、陳石成、林政雄、張阿輝四位及其他數十位平均年齡逾七十歲的老礦工,開始發起「把路走回來」行動,挽袖拿起鐮刀和鋤頭,走在荒煙蔓草的斜坡索道上,沿途割除比人還高的芒草,並整理因為颱風崩塌的土石;鄭春山說:「我們沒有甚麼特別的目的,只是想要找回這條路,找回屬於金瓜石人的記憶。」
老礦工的努力,逐漸被官方看見,今年四月九日,文化部部長龍應台率員探勘,七月下旬,新北市文化局也邀請專家學者實勘,本月六日召開評估會議,預計近日公告金水台車道是否納入文化資產保護範圍。
(自由時報記者李雅雯、俞肇福、賴筱桐)
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
It’s another school day with the same ritual. You wake up to your smartphone’s alarm, scroll through messages during your commute, and listen to your favorite playlist with your wireless earbuds between classes. These devices, integrated smoothly into your daily routine, certainly make life more convenient. However, where do these devices end up after you replace them? In fact, the issue of electronic waste is a growing global concern. According to the United Nations, in 2019 alone, we generated an astonishing 53.6 million tons of e-waste—an average of 7.3kg per person. Projections hint at the figure soaring to 110
It’s no secret that Japanese people have a deep affection for noodles. Like in the rest of East Asia, noodles are an important staple food, second only to rice. Japanese people have enjoyed noodles for over 1,000 years. The first noodles came from China and were introduced around 800 CE. As time passed, noodles in Japan not only became widespread but also developed some unique Japanese characteristics. The three most popular types of noodles in Japan are ramen, soba, and udon. Ramen, typically made from wheat flour, is usually thin and firm. The dough is kneaded and left to
Rice is an essential ingredient in Taiwanese cuisine. Many foods are made of rice, adding more variety to our cooking, such as rice cake, or “gui.” Wagui is made by steaming rice flour batter in a bowl. The term “gui” refers to a type of food made from rice, while “wa” refers to a bowl. The pronunciation of “gui” in Taiwanese Hokkien is similar to the word for “nobility” in Chinese, so it is common for people to prepare various types of gui, including wagui, as offerings to the gods or ancestors,. 米是台灣重要的主食,用米製成的食品十分多元,豐富我們的飲食,如米做成的「粿」。粿的意思是米做成的糕點,碗粿是將在來米漿倒入碗中蒸熟,因而得名。粿因為音同「貴」,因此碗粿等粿食常用作供品祭拜神明和祖先。 nobility (n.) 高貴,高尚;貴族 offering (n.) 供品 While Taiwan may not be