As soon as Minister without Portfolio Chen Chi-nan (陳其南) was appointed as Chairman of the Council for Cultural Affairs, he pledged to implement the idea of "establishing the nation with culture" and to advance the Council to Ministry of Cultural Affairs.
"Cultural policies do not only deal with the issues of how to allot budgets and resources but to find out a guiding principle to establish platforms for diverse ethnic groups' development," Chen said when he started in his new position on Thursday.
"It is also urgent to reconcile the social confrontations caused by the election with stressing civic, community and ethnic consciousness," Chen said.
TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO
Perhaps no one was more proficient in the administrative affairs and practices of the council than Chen, who served as its vice chairman from 1994 to 1997.
Since 1994, Chen has been noted for his efforts to promote the policy of "Holistic Community Building," a policy dedicated to creating unique local community cultures around the nation by arousing the residents' communal and civic consciousness. It also seeks to create a new society and culture that contains the different cultures of diverse ethnic groups in Taiwan.
He has promoted the idea of "decentralization," stressing that to reshape the images of Taiwan's cultures, quality of life must be raised and environmental transformation must be based on the autonomy of local communities and grassroots groups.
"What is most lacking in Taiwan society is a common consensus about the basic-level structure of the land," Chen said.
"If we establish a common consciousness from the level of community, then whether to unify with China or be independent from China will not be a problem for Taiwan."
Chen's ideas were highly valued by then president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), who later interpreted Chen's discourse into the so-called "life community," an idea that called on the people of Taiwan to build a strong sense of common destiny and identity, as everyone has roots here.
Chen also contributed many ideas in the Creativity and Culture Industry Development Project and New Homeland Movement carried out by outgoing Council chairwoman Tchen Yu-chiou (
It is said that Chen's appointment also breaks the unwritten rule that a woman should head the council, as in the past 10 years. Since 1993, the heads were Sheng Hsueh-yung (申學庸); Cheng Su-ming (鄭淑敏), now chairwoman of the China Television Company; Helen Lin (林澄枝), vice chairwoman of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT); and outgoing council chairwoman Tchen Yu-chiou.
With a master's degree in anthropology from the National Taiwan University and a doctorate of anthropology from Yale, Chen first devoted himself to academic research at Academia Sinica's Institute of Ethnology and has taught anthropology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the University of Virginia in the US and the college of humanities and social sciences at National Chiao-tung University (
Chen later held offices in governmental departments and was praised by the public for his "outstanding" performances. He worked as a consultant to Premier Yu Shyi-kun on cultural affairs when Yu served as Ilan County Commissioner in 1997 and 1998.
He was appointed as a national policy advisor in 1999 by President Chen Shui-bian (
Hu Tai-li (
"Chen could often carve out many refreshing ideas and terms that affect and stimulated people." Hu said.
"I expect him to contribute his creativity and energy to his new job and find a balance between practice and theory by fine-tuning his measures."
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS