Residents of Taipei’s Dazhi District (大直) expressed concerns about the National Palace Museum’s expansion project during an information session on Friday evening.
The project, dubbed the Grand National Palace Museum Project (大故宮計畫), plans to expand the current 15.8 hectare total museum area by adding a new exhibition hall of about 2.2 hectares and an arts and performance area of about 4.8 hectares. The project was commissioned to CECI Engineering Consultants Inc in 2011.
At the session on its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report, Museum Director Feng Ming-chu (馮明珠) said the rapidly growing numbers of visitors to the museum in recent years has led to insufficient public reception space, and that the repository and exhibition room is also not enough to hold the museum’s expanding collections.
The facilities, height and breadth of the exhibition rooms are also not up to modern standards, as the main hall was built in 1965 and cannot display the grandeur expected of one of the top museums in the world, she said, adding that therefore the expansion project is urgent and necessary.
Yet an alliance of residents in the nearby area, questioned why the new planned exhibition space of 6,600 ping (21,700m2) is only about 14.7 percent of the total planned expansion, while the 4.8 hectare arts and performance area is more than twice as large as the 2.2 hectare exhibition hall.
They added that they fear the main purpose of the expansion is in fact to benefit companies by allowing them to establish a cultural shopping center in the arts and performance area, and also fear that expanded exhibition space cannot resolve the true cause of crowding problems and poor visitor circulation.
The residents also raised questions about how the museum will deal with air pollution from the arts and performance area that the museum claims can support 220 parked buses at once, and whether the museum can guarantee that no flooding problems will be caused by the project.
The museum, in response, said the consultant company will take on board the residents concerns and further discuss the issues and solutions, to provide the best practical proposal for EIA review.
Taipei and Kaohsiung have extended an open invitation to Japanese pop star Ayumi Hamasaki after Chinese authorities abruptly canceled her scheduled concert in Shanghai. Hamasaki, 47, had been slated to perform on Saturday before organizers pulled the show at the last minute, citing “force majeure,” a move widely viewed as retaliation for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could draw a military response from Tokyo. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) yesterday said the city “very much welcomes” Hamasaki’s return and would continue to “surprise” her. Hamasaki, who has a large global fan base, including
‘REGRETTABLE’: Travelers reported that Seoul’s online arrival card system lists Taiwan as ‘China (Taiwan),’ the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday urged South Korea to correct the way Taiwan is listed in its newly launched e-Arrival card system, saying the current designation downgrades the nation’s status. South Korea rolled out the online system on Feb. 24 to gradually replace paper arrival cards, which it plans to phase out by next year. Travelers must complete the electronic form up to 72 hours before entering the country. The ministry said it has received multiple complaints from Taiwanese travelers saying that the system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in dropdown menus for both “place of departure” and “next
Starting next month, people who signed up for the TPass 2.0 program can receive a 15 percent rebate for trips on mid to long-distance freeway buses or on buses headed to the east coast twice every month, the Highway Bureau said. Bureau Director-General Lin Fu-shan (林福山) said the government started TPass 2.0 to offer rebates to frequent riders of public transportation, or people who use city buses, highway buses, trains or MRTs at least 11 times per month. As of Nov. 12, 265,000 people have registered for TPass 2.0, and about 16.56 million trips between February and September qualified for
HOW RUDE: Joe Biden’s Indo-Pacific defense chief condemned China’s response to Takaichi’s remarks as inappropriate and heavy-handed, while praising Japan’s nerve A former US defense official under former US president Joe Biden has voiced support for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi for her remarks suggesting that Japan could help defend Taiwan, while describing Beijing’s response as “inappropriate.” Ely Ratner, who served as assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs from 2021 to this year, said in a CNA interview that Takaichi’s comments on Taiwan simply reflected Japan’s position and stance on Taiwan. On Nov. 7, the Japanese prime minister commented in a parliamentary session that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute “a situation threatening Japan’s survival” that could trigger a military
RSS