A city councilor yesterday condemned the Taipei City Government for abusing two gibbons that have remained caged in the Chang Ta-chien (張大千) museum for 19 years since the artist passed away.
The two gibbons, which were gifts to the museum in 1991, have been kept in a cage measuring 3m long, 1m wide and 3m high for 19 years, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Chou Wei-you (周威佑) said.
“The museum nurtured the gibbons to represent Chang’s love for the animal, but kept them in the small cage. It’s animal abuse, and the city government has a responsibility to solve the problem,” he said.
PHOTO: CNA
The former residence of Chang was declared a municipal monument in 2008 by the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs for its cultural and historical significance in representing the painter’s taste and lifestyle.
Chang raised three gibbons during his lifetime. Museum manager Tu Lu-rong (杜祿榮) said the museum kept the two gibbons in the residence to represent the late painter’s love for gibbons.
He acknowledged that the cage was too cramped for the gibbons and said the museum was willing to move them to Taipei Zoo so they could enjoy a better environment as space at the museum was limited.
Chao Ming-chieh (趙明杰), a division chief at the zoo, said it would be better to improve the living quarters for the animals at the museum as the two gibbons, both 25 years old, were too old to adapt to a new environment.
Tu said the museum was a municipal monument, and any reconstruction would have to be approved by the department.
The department said it would hold a meeting and discuss the issue with the museum and the zoo before finalizing a plan for the animals within two weeks.
The two-story residence, also known as “the Abode of Maya,” was designed by Chang and completed in 1978. Chang’s family donated the residence on Zhi-shan Road to the National Palace Museum following his death in 1983.
The museum converted it into a memorial to the artist, with everything in the residence preserved as it was during his lifetime.
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