The former residence of dictator Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), the Grass Mountain Chateau, will be restored according to its original design within two years, at a cost of more than NT$30 million (US$900,000), the Taipei City Department of Cultural Affairs said yesterday.
Some of the fire-damaged debris from the chateau, which was partially burned down in a blaze on April 7, will be kept for future display. A documentary will chronicle the destruction and restoration of the monument, the department said after its first inspection of the site with cultural and historical academics and architects yesterday.
The department formed an team of experts to inspect the damage and discuss detailed plans in an effort to restore the 87-year-old municipal monument after the fire burned down the main exhibition hall and destroyed its exhibits.
Lee Chung-yao (
"There should be no problem restoring the chateau after its original design. Obtaining the materials, such as the woods and tiles, is the issue," he said yesterday after the inspection.
The tiles of the chateau were made in Japan and Chinese cypress was used for the wooden structure. Purchasing cypress in Taiwan would cost the city government three times as much as importing it, he said.
Tsai Der-shih (蔡得時), an architecture professor at China University of Technology, said a fire protection system and earthquake resistant design would be incorporated into the chateau.
Department director Lee Yong-ping (李永萍) said that the department would also make a documentary that would chronicle the restoration process and call on future generations to appreciate the nation's historical monuments.
The chateau was built in 1920 as a vacation home for Japanese Prince Hirohito and later became a summer retreat and the first of 27 residences in Taiwan for Chiang.
The Taipei City Government took over administration of the chateau after Chiang died in 1975 and registered it as a historical monument.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
RSS