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）
Historians are rethinking the way the Holocaust is being presented in museums as the world marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the last Nazi concentration camps this month. Shocking images of the mass killings of Jews were “used massively at the end of World War II to show the violence of the Nazis,” historian Tal Bruttmann, a specialist on the Holocaust, told AFP. But in doing so “we kind of lost sight of the fact that is not normal to show” such graphic scenes of mass murder, of people being humiliated and dehumanized, he said. Up to this
When people listen to music today, they typically use streaming services like YouTube or Spotify. However, traditional formats like vinyl records have regained popularity in recent times. Vinyl records are circular discs that store music in grooves on their surfaces and are played on a turntable. As the turntable’s needle runs along these grooves, it picks up vibrations and translates them into sound. The history of vinyl records dates back to the late 1800s, but material and technological challenges delayed mass production until the 1950s. Despite early versions having short playtimes and poor sound quality, vinyl records introduced a new era
A: Brazilian jiu-jitsu, known as “BJJ,” has become more and more popular. Even Hollywood stars like Halle Berry and Tom Hardy are obsessed with it. B: Some Asian stars, such as Taiwanese actor Eddie Peng and South Korean actor Lee Joon-gi, have also practiced this martial art. A: BJJ is not just a martial art, but also a combat sport. B: I’ve always wanted to try it, but I’m worried about getting injured. A: Diana Wang, a US doctor of physical therapy, is holding a BJJ seminar at PMA Brazilian Jiu-jitsu in Taipei Friday night. Let’s go check out how we
Dos & Don’ts — 想想看，這句話英語該怎麼說？ 1. 能做的事都做了。 ˇ All that could be done has been done. χ All that could be done have been done. 註︰all 指事情或抽象概念時當作單數。例如： All is well that ends well. （結果好就是好。） All is over with him. （他已經沒希望了。） That’s all for today. （今天到此為止。） all 指人時應當作複數。例如： All of us are interested in his proposal. All of us are doing our best. 2. 我們這麼做有益於我們的健康。 ˇ What we are doing is good for our health. χ What we are doing are good for our health. 註︰以關係代名詞 what 引導的作為主詞的子句，動詞用單數。如： What he said is true. 3. 大家都沿著步道跑。 ˇ Everybody runs along the trail. χ Everybody run along the trail. 註︰everyone 是指一大群人，但在文法上一般用單數。 4. 桌上有一本筆記本和兩支筆。 ˇ There were two
RSS