Nearly 1,000 of Taiwanese human rights activist and author Bo Yang's (
The Council for Cultural Affairs (
Bo signed an agreement with the Chinese museum at the beginning of this year agreeing to provide it with some of his manuscripts, letters, writing desks, chairs, pens and paper weights, as well as taped interviews from his time in prison on Green Island so that they could be stored in Beijing.
Because Bo's manuscripts are related to the history of modern Taiwanese literature and Taiwan's democratic development, they are important to researchers for their historic value. If these items are sent to China, Taiwanese researchers would have to travel thousands of kilometers to read them. This makes a mockery of Taiwan's efforts to preserve its cultural relics.
The manuscripts of Chen Ying-zhen (
The council, which is in charge of these matters, should think long and hard about this question.
Taiwan is overcrowded with independent organizations collecting and compiling literary works. Although the council has its National Museum of Taiwanese Literature (國家臺灣文學館), there are also other organizations actively gathering authors' manuscripts, such as the National Central Library (國家圖書館), the National Tsing Hua University Library (清華大學圖書館) and the National Taiwan University Library (臺灣大學圖書館).
Although the National Central Library and the National Museum of Taiwanese Literature fought to win Bo's manuscripts, both efforts ended in failure.
The National Museum of Taiwanese Literature was established in 2003, becoming the first national repository for literary works. It now holds more than 3,000 manuscripts and more than 7,000 audiovisual items.
The museum has research, development, preservation and administrative departments, but strangely lacks the most important division of all -- a collections department. Just imagine, the museum, which has the important mandate of gathering Taiwanese authors' original documents, hasn't established a department responsible for that mission. It's as if it is passively waiting for authors to bring their manuscripts right to its front door.
The museum should re-examine how its divisions are made up and establish that all-important collection department. Its members should get out of the museum and take the initiative to gather documents from authors both at home and abroad.
In addition, this museum should be the leader among Taiwanese institutions involved in preserving important literary materials.
It should actively seek to cooperate with the other Taiwanese organizations to prevent harmful competition that could end up scattering Taiwan's important documents to the winds.
Let us hope that Bo's manuscripts will be the last ones to leave Taiwan.
Hsueh Li-kui is a professor at the Graduate Institute of Library, Information and Archival Studies at National Chengchi University.
Translated by Marc Langer
In an article published in Newsweek on Monday last week, President William Lai (賴清德) challenged China to retake territories it lost to Russia in the 19th century rather than invade Taiwan. “If it is really for the sake of territorial integrity, why doesn’t China take back Russia?” Lai asked, referring to territories lost in 1858 and 1860. The territories once made up the two flanks of northern Manchuria. Once ceded to Russia, they became part of the Russian far east. Claims since then have been made that China and Russia settled the disputes in the 1990s through the 2000s and that “China
Trips to the Kenting Peninsula in Pingtung County have dredged up a lot of public debate and furor, with many complaints about how expensive and unreasonable lodging is. Some people even call it a tourist “butchering ground.” Many local business owners stake claims to beach areas by setting up parasols and driving away people who do not rent them. The managing authority for the area — Kenting National Park — has long ignored the issue. Ultimately, this has affected the willingness of domestic travelers to go there, causing tourist numbers to plummet. In 2008, Taiwan opened the door to Chinese tourists and in
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on Thursday was handcuffed and escorted by police to the Taipei Detention Center, after the Taipei District Court ordered that he be detained and held incommunicado for suspected corruption during his tenure as Taipei mayor. The ruling reversed an earlier decision by the same court on Monday last week that ordered Ko’s release without bail. That decision was appealed by prosecutors on Wednesday, leading the High Court to conclude that Ko had been “actively involved” in the alleged corruption and it ordered the district court to hold a second detention hearing. Video clips
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) arrest is a significant development. He could have become president or vice president on a shared TPP-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) ticket and could have stood again in 2028. If he is found guilty, there would be little chance of that, but what of his party? What about the third force in Taiwanese politics? What does this mean for the disenfranchised young people who he attracted, and what does it mean for his ambitious and ideologically fickle right-hand man, TPP caucus leader Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌)? Ko and Huang have been appealing to that
RSS