A recently launched theater in the Confucius Temple in Taipei that shows the history of the temple in a “4D” film format is poorly operated and attracts a low number of visitors, two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City councilors said yesterday, urging the Taipei City Government to stop wasting its money on the theater.
The temple’s 4D theater, built with a budget of NT$21 million (US$ 710,000), was opened in March. It shows two 15-minute films in a 4D format that highlight Confucius’ philosophy on music and courtesy, combining visual content with special physical effects such as falling snow, wind and vibrations.
DPP Taipei City councilors Wu Su-yao (吳思瑤) and Liang Wen-jie (梁文傑) said yesterday that the theater has an attendance rate of 30 percent, with each showing attracting about 30 viewers on average. The number of viewers who have seen the two films is only about 15,000, which led the councilors to question the city government over the lack of promotion for the theater.
“The 4D theater is poorly operated because of the city government and temples’ terrible management. However, the city government has not tried to examine its management skills. Instead, it has listed a budget of NT$13 million next year to improve the theater’s infrastructure,” Wu said.
Describing the theater as another “mosquito facility” in the city, with a low useage rate and poor operations, Liang urged the city government to focus its efforts on improving management and strengthening promotion.
In response, the temple’s executive secretary Chen Tsai-hung (陳彩虹) said the theater began a trial run in March before formally opening in July.
Entrance to the temple is free and the number of visitors reached 10,102 in July.
Chen said the budget listed for next year is to be used on maintenance of theater facilities, new films promoting the temple and Confucian culture, promotional events and traditional costumes for staff.
“The temple attracts a great number of local and foreign visitors each year, and the theater is part of our efforts to present Confucian culture in a modern way. We believe that the theater will gain popularity once more visitors learn about it,” she said.
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