The Yilan County Government has applied to the Ministry of Culture for NT$100 million (US$3.3 million) in subsidies to restore World War II-era Japanese fortifications as cultural heritage and tourism sites, it said.
If the project is approved, it would be funded by the tourism component of the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program, the Yilan Cultural Affairs Bureau said.
During WWII, the Japanese military saw Yilan as a potential landing site for an Allied invasion of Taiwan.
Photo: Lin Ching-lun, Taipei Times
During the final years of the war, kamikaze pilots used Yilan air fields, which spurred the building of fortifications.
Many of the Japanese empire’s wartime military facilities still stand in Yilan, including coastal fortifications between Jhuan Creek (竹安溪) and Yilan River (宜蘭溪), protected hangars in Yilan City, Luodong (羅東) and Suao (蘇澳), and underground command centers dug into the mountains overlooking the Yilan Plain.
The Cultural Affairs Bureau said the restoration program would involve surveys of the nation’s WWII military installations in various states of repair, as well as historical research and engineering projects.
The nation has many WWII military installations and only those that are certified heritage sites and are in dire need of repair are to be listed for the restoration program, Yilan Cultural Affairs Commissioner Lee Chih-yung (李志勇) said.
“WWII military sites in Yilan have deep historical and cultural value and the bureau’s proposed program would help their conservation and restoration, and maximize their tourism potential,” Lee said.
Meanwhile, historical conservationists recently accused Jhuangwei Township (壯圍) of damaging a WWII-era bunker by building a scenic observation platform over the structure, but the bunker was not listed for conservation, Lee said, adding that the revitalization project was carried out under the condition that its reversible.
The bunker did not have any heritage status and many local residents complained that it was ugly and should be put to use, Jhuangwei Mayor Chien Wen-kuei (簡文魁) said, adding that the platform has not damaged the bunker, but it would attract tourists.
Since the bunker is untouched, the platform could be removed if the bunker were granted heritage status, he said.
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