Interpellation hearings at the Legislative Yuan are quite often pretty stormy affairs. Politicians from opposing parties trade verbal jabs and disagreement is rife. When Minister of Education Ovid Tzeng (曾志朗) informed his colleagues in December last year that three national museums and one educational center would be asked to increase the number of visitors by 20 percent annually, things proved a little different, however. Members of the house put political wrangling aside and were in total agreement.
According to Tzeng, the need for four national institutes to increase the number of visitors per-annum is two-fold. First, it is hoped that such a mandate will mean the institutes will better fulfill their educational missions. And second, because of the rise in visitor traffic, the institutes' annual revenues will grow and the environments afforded by museums will improve as a result.
Instead of aiming their verbal barrage at Tzeng, it was national museum management who bore the brunt of legislators' ire -- all of which was negative and little of which gave museum management any indication as to how they might boost the number of visitors.
PHOTO:CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
DPP lawmaker Wang Tuoh (王拓) piled the blame on the management of Taiwan's prestigious museums for the lack of popular interest in their institutions of science and the arts. The DPP lawmaker went on to compare museum management with lowly civil servants who care little about their work and don't take full responsibility for the establishments they oversee. According to more than one legislator, the lack of interest in the country's 20 national museums is partly caused by the indifference of museum staff towards both exhibits and visitors alike. The four museums at the center of the debate are the National Museum of History (國立歷史博物館) and the National Taiwan Science Education Center (台灣科學教育館) in Taipei, the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Taichung (自然科學博物館) and the National Science and Technology Museum in Kaohsiung (國立科學工藝博物館). There are 300 museums and social-education centers in Taiwan at present and the majority of these are privately owned and funded. Only 20 of the total number are classified as national institutes and receive annual government funding.
If the four museums manage to boost the number of visitors, then the nation's remaining national museums and social-education centers managed by the Ministry of Education will be asked to do the same.
Huang Kuang-nan (黃光男), director of the National Museum of History and chairman of the Chinese Association of Museums (中華民國博物館學會) feels that while the plan is a positive move, he finds the government's finger pointing totally unfounded.
PHOTOS: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
"I'll admit that once upon a time national museum staff did have a reputation for taking a lax attitude towards their work. But this has changed over the past decade," Huang said. "We've long had a policy of ensuring that we employ both qualified and enthusiastic people rather than nine-to-five card punchers."
As of last year, the National Museum of History had 55 officers and research staff. Of them only five didn't hold at least a bachelor of arts. Huang stressed that, regardless of education backgrounds, however, all are fully qualified in their own fields of expertise and are also trained to work with the general public.
"The image of museums like ours has changed, but it seems people haven't realized this and are still of the opinion that such establishments are boring and staffed by the wrong type of people," Huang said. "They aren't. Instead of criticizing us for an image we once had, people should come look at how we've changed."
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF HISTORY
A 23-year veteran of the National Taiwan Science Education Center, Amy Chen (陳香微) has witnessed this gradual change first hand. According to Chen, not only do the national institutes now ensure that staff are all fully qualified, but they have a policy of employing their own teaching staff and taking exhibits on the road -- something that has made a huge difference to the drab image that once loomed over such institutes.
"The museum has emphasized education over the past decade. Instead of simply providing visitors with an array of exhibits to explore, we aim to teach them," Chen said. "Both at the museum and when we take an exhibition on the road, we ensure that qualified teaching staff are on hand to give a human element to the exhibits."
While it is the smallest of the museums chosen by the ministry, with an area of only 400 pings, the National Taiwan Science Education Center is one of the most popular of the institutes. It boasts an annual visitor headcount exceeding two million.
Although the methods the individual institutes will use to attract more visitors will differ, it is thought that the National Taiwan Science Education Center will have no problem attracting the required 20 percent extra, especially after it relocates to its new 3,025-ping center in Taipei's Shihlin district early next year.
KMT lawmaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) put forward another proposal following Tzeng's address in the Legislature. She suggested that legislators should somehow pressure the management of such institutes to make the relevant changes. While museum directors agree there is a need for their institutions to attract more visitors, they are wary of increased government intervention. The Chinese Association of Museums' Huang is of the opinion that such an ultimatum could have a reverse effect on the popularity of national museums.
"It's OK telling us to increase the number of visitors. After all, that's what we all want. But to say that they are somehow going to get involved is not a good sign," Huang said earlier this week. "National museums have only recently shed their stodgy, government-run image. ... We are still national museums, but now we're accountable to the people and not to the changing whims of politicians. Obviously being accountable means that we're going to take flack from more than one side. You can never please everybody," Huang added.
Pleasing everybody could prove one of the most difficult challenges demanded by the legislature. With this year's funding for national museums yet to be debated -- which is itself a thorny issue -- there have been calls for museums to be more accountable for their finances. According to Huang, a very fine line exists between what a national museum should be and what it could inadvertently become if not governed correctly.
"National museums are institutes for the public and not private establishments. Although there is a need to run such establishments in a manner in keeping with a well-run business, they should remain non-profit institutes," Huang said. "With rising overhead and an increasing need for bigger and better exhibits, this is one of the biggest dilemmas presently faced by national museums."
Marianne Fung Chiu (憑桂莊), an instructor at the National Taiwan Science Education Center, shares Huang's concern. While realizing the need for the expansion and modernization of the capital's sole science museum, Fung is afraid that the expansion of the museum will see it turned into a national showpiece rather than simply a part of the neighborhood.
"The idea that museums should be more functional, offer a wide range of exhibits and ensure education is great. But we must always seek to give something to the community rather than feed off it," Fung said. "Of course I hope it works. Otherwise we'll be in trouble!"
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