A book recording the saving of one of the nation's major heritage sites -- the Lin Family home in Wu-feng -- from having its heritage status taken away will be published by the Control Yuan tomorrow.
The book, The Lins of Wu-feng Waiting for a New Tomorrow, came from the investigation papers of two Control Yuan members fighting the Ministry of Interior's handling of the heritage, is the fourth book in a Control Yuan series advocating human rights.
Control Yuan member Huang Huang-hsiung (
The Control Yuan investigation was initiated after an interior ministry official hinted that his ministry might consider annulling the heritage status of the compound after the earthquake hit the country.
The MOI official claimed that it might be difficult to restore the historic site after the disaster devastated 99 percent of the compound, a typical Ching-dynasty construction.
He disclosed that an estimate revealed it would cost NT$1 billion to repair the compound.
The estimate shocked Huang and Ma, who believed that the compound meant a lot to local history and was a symbol of Taiwanese culture.
The perception earned the endorsement of Huang Fu-san (黃富三), a leading Taiwanese historian. Huang said that "the family history of the Lins of Wu-feng was typical of Taiwanese history, since the clan's path synchronized with the development of Taiwanese society."
Historic-site expert Lee Chian-lang (
Lee said the compound's history represented an encyclopedia of Taiwanese architecture that illustrate the luxurious world the Ching elite lived in.
The first Control Yuan investigation ended with a reminder to the interior ministry months after the 9-21 earthquake that heritage conservation officials must improve their protection and restoration of the compound from.
The investigation also reminded the MOI to look out for changes to the architecture.
The MOI was urged by Control Yuan members to safeguard the well-being of the clan's descendents, since they had donated the property to the public.
The second investigation started in September, after the two members received a complaint from the clan descendents that an expected government fund contributing to the reconstruction was missing from the Cabinet's budgetary aids for 921 victims.
The problem emanated from the disunited jurisdiction of ministries for the restoration plan.
The special fund, when it was confirmed by the MOI, shrunk to NT$90 million from a promised NT$114 million.
The Control Yuan issued an official censure of such misconduct to conclude its second investigation. But the war between the Control Yuan and the ministry continued after a MOI announcement last April that struck part of the compound building from the heritage list.
The ministry annulled the decision due to enormous protests from clan offspring and the Control Yuan members.
A NT$650 million restoration project was ultimately settled for the compound's fate last year.
Huang was confident that the control power realized the preservation of the compound.
"We did safeguard one of the most treasurable cultural assets for Taiwan while we safeguard the clan's property rights in the meantime," he said.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
Advocates of the rights of motorcycle and scooter riders yesterday protested in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei, making three demands. They were joined by 30 passenger vehicles, which surrounded the ministry to make three demands related to traffic regulations — that motorcycles and scooters above 250cc be allowed on highways, that all motorcycles and scooters be allowed on inside lanes, and that driver and rider training programs be reformed. The ministry said that it has no plans to allow motorcycles on national highways for the time being, and said that motorcycles would be allowed on the inner
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition