The campaign to save a 100-year-old railway park near Kaohsiung Port is set to culminate in an Aug. 22 event, at which hundreds of kites are to be flown in an effort to persuade the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) not to sell the land.
“We are determined to preserve this site of cultural value, and we will fly 822 white kites at the event to highlight our demand that the TRA abandon its bid to sell the nation’s cultural and historical assets,” event organizer the Go Hamasen Alliance said.
The park was built on the site of what was the Kaohsiung Port railway station, Go Hamasen said.
Photo: Chang Chung-i, Taipei Times
It has received numerous awards, including the LivCom award in 2013 and the national public landscaping award this year, it said.
It has become a place for people to fly kites and it reminds residents of the history of the city when the port and the railway formed the city’s main commercial artery, the alliance said.
This public space is in danger of being sold to corporations by the TRA to be used to build corporate offices, the alliance said.
At a time when Taipei’s TRA engineering bay, built in 1935, is officially recognized by the Ministry of Culture as a national heritage site, the Kaohsiung park, built in 1900 is being listed as for sale by the Ministry of Transportation and Communication as part of its urban renewal initiative, the alliance said.
The park features 38 preserved sections of railway track, the alliance said.
Kaohsiung City Government Municipal Urban Regeneration Office Secretary-General Kao Chen-yuan (高鎮遠) said that the proposed railway park development had been criticized by conservation groups, and that the intended buildings — hotels and malls — might not be compatible with the area’s unique cultural landscape.
The bidding process for the project is unlikely to be completed by its due date at the end of this year, Kao said, adding that the city has asked the TRA to discuss the project with conservation groups and not focus entirely on reaping the maximum profits from the land.
The TRA said that the Urban Planning Act (都市計畫法) clearly regulates that “cultural relics” cannot be destroyed, adding that it would ensure the conservation of the railway tracks through ongoing negotiations with the Kaohsiung City Government and residents.
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