The German Institute Taipei yesterday unveiled a memorial plaque on the former site of the Imperial German Consulate in Taiwan in Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕) area, as it celebrated more than 100 years of ties between the two nations.
The plaque was installed on the wall surrounding Taipei Municipal Zhongxiao Junior High School and features a brief introduction to the consulate’s history in German, Chinese and English.
It also depicts a hand-drawn sketch by a Taiwanese designer of what the consulate looked like in the 19th century.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Due to increasing trade activities between Germany and Taiwan in the 1890s, the two-story consulate building was constructed in 1895 on the banks of the Tamsui River (淡水河) by Taiwan-based German businessman Arthur von Butler on behalf of the then-German Foreign Office, the institute said.
Two German consuls and four interim consuls were stationed at the consulate before it was closed and sold to the Japanese colonial administration in 1908 and torn down, the institute said, adding that the official seal of the consulate used “Formosa” rather than “Taiwan” to refer to the island at the time.
“About 120 years ago, what stood in front of the school’s main gate was the Imperial German Consulate. On the right was the then-US embassy and behind the consulate stood the then-Dutch embassy,” school principal Chen Tse-min (陳澤民) said.
After the institute posted a message on Facebook in October 2016 inquiring about the exact location of the consulate, a few of the school’s history teachers used a digital historical map to try to locate it, only to realize it was located where the faculty office is today, he said.
The discovery motivated the school’s teachers to design a series of teaching materials that seek to take students back to 1895 through a historical tour of Dadaocheng that begins at the site of the former consulate, he added.
Several students have expressed interest in studying in Germany due to the school’s connection with the nation, Chen said.
Institute Director-General Thomas Prinz said that his office started studying the history behind the former consulate as early as 2015.
“Thanks to information provided by the German Federal Foreign Office and the help of many Taiwanese friends, we were able to find the old site of what was known at the time as the ‘most beautiful and magnificent building along the Tamsui River,’” Prinz said.
The school is the “most ideal successor” to the former consulate, he said, expressing the hope that the school and the institute could cooperate to jointly hold events.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest foundry service provider, yesterday said that global semiconductor revenue is projected to hit US$1.5 trillion in 2030, after the figure exceeds US$1 trillion this year, as artificial intelligence (AI) demand boosts consumption of token and compute power. “We are still at the beginning of the AI revolution, but we already see a significant impact across the whole semiconductor ecosystem,” TSMC deputy cochief operating officer Kevin Zhang (張曉強) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Hsinchu City. “It is fair to say that in the past decade, smartphones and other mobile devices were
US-CHINA SUMMIT: MOFA welcomed US reassurance of no change in its Taiwan policy; Trump said he did not comment when Xi talked of opposing independence US President Donald Trump yesterday said he has not made a decision on whether to move forward with a major arms package for Taiwan after hearing concerns about it from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Trump’s comments on Taiwan came as he flew back to Washington after wrapping up critical talks in which both leaders said important progress was made in stabilizing US-China relations even as deep differences persist between the world’s two biggest powers on Iran and Taiwan. “I will make a determination,” Trump said, adding: “I’ll be making decisions. But, you know, I think the last thing we need right
TAIWAN ISSUE: US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on the first day of meetings that ‘it wouldn’t be a US-China summit without the Taiwan issue coming up’ There were no surprises on the first day of the summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday, as the government reiterated that cross-strait stability is crucial to the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the world. As the two presidents met for a highly anticipated summit yesterday, Chinese state media reported that Xi warned Trump that missteps regarding Taiwan could push their two countries into “conflict.” Trump arrived in China with accolades for his host, calling Xi a “great leader” and “friend,” and extending an invitation to visit the White House
SECURITY: Taipei presses the US for arms supplies, saying the arms sales are not only a reflection of the US security commitment to Taiwan but also serve as a mutual deterrent against regional threats Taiwan is committed to preserving the cross-strait “status quo” and contributing to regional peace and stability, the Presidential Office said yesterday. “It is an undeniable fact that the Republic of China is a sovereign and independent democratic nation,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) reiterated, adding that Beijing has no right to claim sovereignty over Taiwan. The statements came after US President Donald Trump warned against Taiwanese independence. Trump wrapped up a state visit to Beijing on Friday, during which Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had pressed him not to support Taiwan. Taiwan depends heavily on US security backing to deter China from carrying
RSS