The International Council of Museums (ICOM) held its annual conference in Taipei yesterday, bringing together curators and other museum professionals from around the world to discuss how to keep museums relevant and interesting in the age of globalization.
The conference, titled "New Roles and Missions of Museums," was hosted by the Council for Cultural Affairs at the Taipei International Convention Center.
The conference sought to "increase [Taiwanese] museums' self-consciousness and the concept of product management, so that the quality of the museum industry in Taiwan can be raised," Minister of Cultural Affairs Chiu Kun-liang (
Chinese Association of Museums Chairwoman Lin Mun-lee (林曼麗) told the participants that Taiwanese museums' task in the new millennium was to "preserve the distinctive features of local cultures [in Taiwan] in an increasingly globalized Internet-reliant world."
Academic exchanges like the conference were helpful to Taiwan in fulfilling such a task, she added.
What specific challenges do Taiwanese museums face? Meredith Blake, Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Museums Association, said that a lack of funding was a common theme among museums in the Asia-Pacific region.
"Governments love to pay lip service to the preservation and celebration of culture, but are not so keen to put up the cash to those ends," Blake said.
"Also, Asia-Pacific cultures are `living cultures,' meaning that their artifacts tend to be organic and practical and are not easily preserved, especially in a tropical environment," Blake said.
Gary Edson, Director for Advanced Study of Museum Science and Heritage Management, said that the region was experiencing "rapid social change and development," which pose unique challenges to museums as they must keep up with the pace of development to remain relevant.
"Museums in this region are trying to hold on to what makes the cultures that they reflect so unique, while the cultures themselves are changing," Edson said.
In a pamphlet entitled Old is New, the National Palace Museum advertised its Internet services at the conference, boasting an online presence that allows users to view images of museum collections in cyberspace.
Lin touted the museum's digital interface at the conference as a reflection of new aesthetic sensibilities in an increasingly digital era.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all