The Changhua County Cultural Affairs Bureau has saved two top-heavy Japanese-era safes from being thrown out by the county government.
The safes originally stood in the Changhua County Government’s offices, bureau Director Chen Wen-pin (陳文彬) said, adding that they are huge and were of no use, so they were going to be removed and sold to a used goods business.
Fortunately, the county’s Department of General affairs notified the bureau, and after an inspection, the bureau immediately “rescued” the safes and moved them back to its offices, Chen said, adding that each weighs more than 1 tonne.
Photo: Lin Liang-che, Taipei Times
Their exteriors are completely intact and their interiors have been kept in good condition, Chen said, adding that even the cabinets’ copper keys were kept.
According to trademarks on the exterior, the safes were manufactured in Tokyo in the 1930s, Chen said.
Printed on the interior doors are also the words “Changhua County Rice Control System” (彰化郡米穀統制組合), the name of a semi-public organization established in the 1930s, Chen said.
During the Japanese colonial era, the office of the governor-general of Taiwan set up rice-control systems in different administrative regions. The systems were all led by large local rice suppliers.
The office hoped to use the organizations to gain a grasp of rice production and output, but during the war period, the organization became an institution for governmental control of rice production, sales and rationing.
The regional rice control systems were canceled after the war, Chen said, adding that their assets were absorbed by the different local governments and the Changhua County Government might have acquired the two safes in this way.
As the objects are old, symbolic of their time and well-preserved, they could be transferred to the Institute of Changhua County History as treasured pieces, Chen added.
The safes have been temporarily placed in the sixth-floor lobby of the bureau’s offices.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS