Conservationists and officials are bewildered after Taipei City's Bureau of Cultural Affairs (文化局) decided to designate the Four Four South Village -- Taiwan's first military residential compound -- as "historic architecture" instead of as a "historic relic" as originally requested by conservationists.
A researcher at the cultural affairs bureau, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the designation did little to protect the village.
"It's like giving candy to a crying baby, because it doesn't have any substantial meaning," he said. "If the designation has any power at all, it's that the Bureau of Civil Affairs (民政局) must obtain approval from us before it carries out demolition or reconstruction work."
Yang Chang-chen (楊長鎮), a member of the Alliance to Preserve Four Four South Village as a National Relic (四四南村國家古蹟促進聯盟), said that the bureau's decision sounded like a political compromise.
"I think that they're just so sick and tired of our protests that they've come to this compromise," he said. "We feel sorry about the decision, and we will proceed by seeking help from the Cabinet's Council for Cultural Affairs (文建會)."
Curtis Smith, a Canadian living in the vicinity of the village and an avid supporter of the conservation idea, said that he was completely confused by the differences between a historic relic and historic architecture.
"I'm trying to find out what protection historic architecture has. That's the key. The other question which I don't understand yet is whether the designation will make for a raise in the 15 percent building restriction," he said.
Urban planning regulations stipulate that the maximum area of any building or facility erected within a park should not exceed 15 percent of the park's total area.
The city has planned to make the village into a community park, leaving only four buildings to be used as a community center, a museum and an education center. Over half of the village has been reduced to rubble and only about 70 buildings remain.
In January this year, conservationists filed a petition with the city's cultural affairs bureau requesting that it designate the village a historic relic, in a bid to stop the demolition.
"It would be a disaster for the village if the description of historic architecture still means what it meant two years ago," Smith added.
"It would just give the owner [the city government] total freedom to do what it wants. They might end up with some token buildings and put up a sign or something like that," he said
The legislature passed an amendment to the Cultural Heritage Preservation Law (文化資產保存法) last year to protect historic architecture. No specific procedures or criteria, however, are stipulated in the measure for local governments to follow.
Lu Chun-che (
"In short, no one can touch any part of a historic relic, while it is permissible to alter historic architecture," he said.
Yeh Nai-chi (葉乃齊), an urban planning professor at National Taiwan University (台灣大學), said that although he approves of the bureau's decision, it is important that the bureau ensures the best possible development of the village.
"The city would be breaking the law and discriminating against working class culture if it allowed any development project sabotaging the essence of the village to take place," he said.
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
INFLATION UP? The IMF said CPI would increase to 1.5 percent this year, while the DGBAS projected it would rise to 1.68 percent, with GDP per capita of US$44,181 The IMF projected Taiwan’s real GDP would grow 5.2 percent this year, up from its 2.1 percent outlook in January, despite fears of global economic disruptions sparked by the US-Iran conflict. Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) is projected to increase to 1.5 percent, while unemployment would be 3.4 percent, roughly in line with estimates for Asia as a whole, the international body wrote in its Global Economic Outlook Report published in the US on Monday. The figures are comparatively better than the IMF outlook for the rest of the world, which pegged real GDP growth at 3.1 percent, down from 3.3 percent
RSS