A book recording the saving of one of the nation's major heritage sites -- the Lin Family home in Wu-feng -- from having its heritage status taken away will be published by the Control Yuan tomorrow.
The book, The Lins of Wu-feng Waiting for a New Tomorrow, came from the investigation papers of two Control Yuan members fighting the Ministry of Interior's handling of the heritage, is the fourth book in a Control Yuan series advocating human rights.
Control Yuan member Huang Huang-hsiung (
The Control Yuan investigation was initiated after an interior ministry official hinted that his ministry might consider annulling the heritage status of the compound after the earthquake hit the country.
The MOI official claimed that it might be difficult to restore the historic site after the disaster devastated 99 percent of the compound, a typical Ching-dynasty construction.
He disclosed that an estimate revealed it would cost NT$1 billion to repair the compound.
The estimate shocked Huang and Ma, who believed that the compound meant a lot to local history and was a symbol of Taiwanese culture.
The perception earned the endorsement of Huang Fu-san (黃富三), a leading Taiwanese historian. Huang said that "the family history of the Lins of Wu-feng was typical of Taiwanese history, since the clan's path synchronized with the development of Taiwanese society."
Historic-site expert Lee Chian-lang (
Lee said the compound's history represented an encyclopedia of Taiwanese architecture that illustrate the luxurious world the Ching elite lived in.
The first Control Yuan investigation ended with a reminder to the interior ministry months after the 9-21 earthquake that heritage conservation officials must improve their protection and restoration of the compound from.
The investigation also reminded the MOI to look out for changes to the architecture.
The MOI was urged by Control Yuan members to safeguard the well-being of the clan's descendents, since they had donated the property to the public.
The second investigation started in September, after the two members received a complaint from the clan descendents that an expected government fund contributing to the reconstruction was missing from the Cabinet's budgetary aids for 921 victims.
The problem emanated from the disunited jurisdiction of ministries for the restoration plan.
The special fund, when it was confirmed by the MOI, shrunk to NT$90 million from a promised NT$114 million.
The Control Yuan issued an official censure of such misconduct to conclude its second investigation. But the war between the Control Yuan and the ministry continued after a MOI announcement last April that struck part of the compound building from the heritage list.
The ministry annulled the decision due to enormous protests from clan offspring and the Control Yuan members.
A NT$650 million restoration project was ultimately settled for the compound's fate last year.
Huang was confident that the control power realized the preservation of the compound.
"We did safeguard one of the most treasurable cultural assets for Taiwan while we safeguard the clan's property rights in the meantime," he said.
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