While some academics support the planned establishment of a NT$6.4 billion branch of the Gug-genheim Museum in Taichung, others expressed strong objections at a symposium held at Tunghai University yesterday.
Those who object are mostly worried about a cultural invasion and the danger of an American cultural hegemony taking root.
Wu Chin-tao (
Wu said that Taiwan had long been a cultural colony and this time the country was once again accepting the US export of elitist culture.
"But if Taiwan's modern art is not good enough, Guggenheim won't rescue it," Wu said.
Wu also expressed concern about the activities of the Solomon Guggenheim Foundation's other museums and urged the public to carefully consider whether the museum would really benefit the city, as the city government promised it would.
She said that the number of visitors at the foundation's most successful branch, in Bilbao, had been decreasing every year since its opening, and that the New York museum was laying off employees amid deteriorating financial conditions.
Associate professor Li Yeh-cheng (
"Moreover, Taichung is not ready to receive the numerous international and local visitors the museum is expected to bring due to its lack of an international airport, a mass rail system and other infrastructure," Li said.
On the other hand, Ni Tsai-chin (倪再沁), the dean of Tunghai University's Department of Fine Arts, who wrote Taichung Mayor Jason Hu's (胡志強) culture white paper, said that the Guggenheim Foundation should not be forced to shoulder the huge responsibility of promoting and rescuing Taiwan's modern arts.
"Taiwan spends thousands of millions of dollars every year on military purchases and diplomacy, and compared to that the budget for the museum is very small," Ni said.
He said that Taichung should take advantage of the opportunity of opening the museum, and that the public should remember that Bilbao would have been nothing if it had not had a Guggenheim museum.
Shih Chan-an (施長安), a lecturer from Huafan University's Department of Architecture, supported Ni.
He said that the museum would offer Taichung economic and cultural benefits and that people should not worry about the number of visitors the museum would attract.
"The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao had 130,000 visitors in its first year, but Taichung will definitely exceed that number. The number of visitors to the pottery museum in Sanhsia (
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS