A private museum in Taichung dedicated to Lin Hsien-tang (林獻堂), a politician and activist who advocated self-rule, is to have its grand opening today, the city’s Cultural Affairs Bureau said.
Experts have vetted the Lin Hsien-tang Museum’s substantial collection of artifacts for authenticity and historical value according to the Museum Act (博物館法), the bureau said on Tuesday.
The private museum is the first of its kind in the city and the second in the nation, it added.
Photo: Chen Chien-chih, Taipei Times
As a leading voice in petitioning the former Japanese empire to establish a Taiwanese parliament, Lin earned the nicknames “Father of the Taiwanese Parliament” and “Taiwan’s First Citizen,” said Lin Fang-ying, chairwoman of Ming Tai High School, which founded the museum.
A descendent of Lin Hsien-tang, she had collected more than 10,000 objects linked to him and the Lin clan, she said, adding that she donated them to the memorial wing the school had dedicated to him.
The museum’s opening would coincide with the 70th anniversary of the high school, which Lin Hsien-tang cofounded with other gentry from Taichung, she said.
For the past two years, the school has planned to upgrade the Lin Hsien-tang memorial wing into a proper museum, increasing its floorspace from 100 ping (331m2) to 250 ping and tripling the collection of artifacts, she said.
The collection contains items such as Lin Hsien-tang’s diary, manuscripts and other historical documents of note, including calligraphy by renowned Chinese philosopher Liang Qichao (梁啟超) created in 1911 to mark his visit to the Lin residence, she said.
Other antiques — such as a 150-year-old camphor cabinet, chairs with shell inlays, a redwood bed, utensils and deeds belonging to the Lin clan — deal broadly with the material culture of the late Qing Dynasty and Japanese colonial eras, she said.
The museum is awaiting several explanatory labels for the artifacts, she said, adding that the school’s board of trustees hopes they will provide young Taiwanese with insight into the history that forms their shared heritage.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan