Recent repairs made to the old city wall in Hengchun (恆春) Pingtung County, a recognized national heritage site, have been criticized by local residents because of the construction company’s decision to cement over a section of the bullet-hole-ridden wall that many believe to be of particular historical significance
The cemented over section of wall located near the south gate on Guangming Road, has been dubbed the “Crying Wall” as the original bullet holes were made by machinegun fire from US air raids during World War II.
The “Crying Wall” is one of the must-visit places for academics interested in Taiwanese history as it offers a concrete indication of the difficulties experienced by Taiwanese during the war, caught between the Imperial Japanese army and the Allied Forces.
Photo: Tsai Tsung-wen, Taipei Times
It was only recently that residents noticed that many of the bullet holes had been filled in with cement by the company in charge of the repairs, causing some to bring up the matter with their local elected representatives.
Hengchun Township councilor Chen Chin-yi (陳進義) said people were extremely unhappy that the county government was trying to “destroy” such an important historical site.
“It’s a good thing that we found out what was happening early on, or else the whole wall might have been cemented over,” Chen said.
Hengchun historical expert Nian Chi-cheng (念吉成) said that he had just led a tour group of foreign tourists to the site after the county government held a training program for tour guides.
“I didn’t expect that the repairs undertaken by the county government’s Cultural Affairs Bureau would have done so much damage to the site,” Nian said, adding that he hoped the government would take better care of the undamaged section of the wall that remained.
A manager surnamed Lee (李) from Chen Yung-an Architectural Firm, which won the bid to repair the wall, said that some of the bullet holes were filled in because they went so deep into the wall that “there were concerns that long-term rainwater seepage could damage the interior structure, which is why workers were instructed to make the repairs.”
“We did not expected them to completely fill in the bullet holes,” he added. “We have now stopped work and are doing what we can to restore the filled-in bullet holes to their original condition.”
Pingtung County Government cultural heritage section chief Tseng Lung-yang (曾龍陽) said the company knew that the bullet holes were supposed to be preserved when it bid for the project.
In light of such an egregious error on the part of the company, officials plan to invite experts from the Council for Cultural Affairs and professionals who have worked at heritage sites, to inspect the wall, Tseng said.
“We want the experts to see the current situation and hope that a thorough inspection will turn up any other areas the construction company needs to focus on when effecting repairs to ensure there is no reoccurrence,” Tseng said.
Translated by Jake Chung, Staff Writer
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