On Jan.1 , the new Chimei Museum (奇美博物館) opened its doors to the public in Greater Tainan. The sharply-dressed staff of about 100 were busy greeting guests, polishing brass railings and adding the final touches to the exhibits. Awe-struck visitors entered the grand lobby pausing to take in the splendor, which was unlike anything they had seen in Taiwan. The museum has a striking resemblance to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC.
The new museum proudly displays 10,000 pieces from its collection, much more than the 5,000 pieces once displayed in the old Chimei Museum. Visitors strolled through marbled hallways to marvel at the collection of preserved animals, classic works of Western art, cultural relics and, of course, the museum’s prized collection of violins. The new building is, in itself, a treasure, a new iconic landmark in Taiwan, providing 40,000 square meters of exhibit space.
What most visitors may not know about the museum is that this grand vision began with the childhood dream of Chi Mei Group founder Hsu Wen-long (許文龍). When he was a child from a poor family in Tainan in the early 1940s, he often visited a local Japanese museum. He did this to “escape” from the hardships of wartime and to let his imagination fly to Japan. It was incredible to him, that even during war, the poorest of people could experience the culture of a faraway place. He made a promise to himself that when he grew up, he would offer the same type of uplifting cultural experience to Taiwanese. Little did he know that he would one day establish one of the most successful companies in Asia with a private, world-class collection of fine art and artifacts.
Photo Courtesy of Michael Sidebotham
The project for building the Chimei Museum which began all the way back in 1988 almost failed to materialize. (The first museum which opened in 1997 was more of a temporary site to house their collections.) Finding affordable land in Tainan for the construction site led to a dead end. Undeterred, the Chi Mei Cultural Foundation pursued building on public land, which required them to work with the then Tainan County, Tainan City and the National Ministry of Culture government offices.
Finally, in 2006, they reached a deal at the current location. After construction began, the global financial crisis of 2008 affected the project’s available funds, almost putting it on permanent hiatus. In order to complete the museum, organizers decided to construct only one building instead of two, and combine the natural history collection with the fine arts collection in the one building.
The unexpected developments during the site acquisition, construction, budgeting and government dealings were hard lessons for the foundation. But it was choosing a business model that stayed true to the dream of Hsu that proved to be most challenging. Hsu refused to accept donations in order to not allow any outside influence on the museum. He also wanted the admission to be free, in keeping with the promise he made to himself as a child.
Photo Courtesy of Michael Sidebotham
These requirements presented a huge challenge for the organizing committee, which was responsible for creating a sustainable business model for the museum’s continued operation. Hsu finally agreed to let the museum charge a NT$200 admission fee, as long as local residents from Tainan were admitted for free — a decision which ultimately pushed the project to fruition.
Patricia Liao (廖婉如), the museum’s deputy director and longtime project organizer said, “We hope the museum can create a dialogue with Tainan as the ancient cultural capital and Tainan’s history with Western cultures.”
“I would like our museum to spark the interest of young Taiwanese to reach out to the world in order to become global citizens who are proud to share their culture and open to discovering the cultures of others,” Liao added.
■ Chimei Museum, 66, Wenhua Rd Sec 2, Greater Tainan (台南市文華路二段66號), tel: (06) 266-0808. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 9:30am to 5:30pm. Regular admission: NT$200 (free for Tainan residents)
■ Visitors can place a reservation on the Web site: www.chimeimuseum.org. Wait time might take 3-4 weeks
Even by the standards of Ukraine’s International Legion, which comprises volunteers from over 55 countries, Han has an unusual backstory. Born in Taichung, he grew up in Costa Rica — then one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — where a relative worked for the embassy. After attending an American international high school in San Jose, Costa Rica’s capital, Han — who prefers to use only his given name for OPSEC (operations security) reasons — moved to the US in his teens. He attended Penn State University before returning to Taiwan to work in the semiconductor industry in Kaohsiung, where he
On May 2, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), at a meeting in support of Taipei city councilors at party headquarters, compared President William Lai (賴清德) to Hitler. Chu claimed that unlike any other democracy worldwide in history, no other leader was rooting out opposing parties like Lai and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). That his statements are wildly inaccurate was not the point. It was a rallying cry, not a history lesson. This was intentional to provoke the international diplomatic community into a response, which was promptly provided. Both the German and Israeli offices issued statements on Facebook
May 18 to May 24 Pastor Yang Hsu’s (楊煦) congregation was shocked upon seeing the land he chose to build his orphanage. It was surrounded by mountains on three sides, and the only way to access it was to cross a river by foot. The soil was poor due to runoff, and large rocks strewn across the plot prevented much from growing. In addition, there was no running water or electricity. But it was all Yang could afford. He and his Indigenous Atayal wife Lin Feng-ying (林鳳英) had already been caring for 24 orphans in their home, and they were in
Australia’s ABC last week published a piece on the recall campaign. The article emphasized the divisions in Taiwanese society and blamed the recall for worsening them. It quotes a supporter of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) as saying “I’m 43 years old, born and raised here, and I’ve never seen the country this divided in my entire life.” Apparently, as an adult, she slept through the post-election violence in 2000 and 2004 by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the veiled coup threats by the military when Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) became president, the 2006 Red Shirt protests against him ginned up by
RSS