The Taipei City Government’s Cultural Assets Review Committee on Monday designated the Hung Lu (虹廬) building a cultural asset, despite objections from the building’s residents.
Thirteen committee members voted 9-4 to list the building as a cultural asset.
The residents said they would contest the decision via legal means.
Photo: Yang Hsin-hui, Taipei Times
Architect Wang Da-hong (王大閎) designed the building in 1984 and oversaw its construction.
The residents raised their objections to the building being designated a cultural asset when the Taipei Department of Culture and the committee inspected it in July last year.
They said that once the building is listed, they could face difficulties when applying for an urban renewal project, adding that they have handed the forms for an application to department officials during the inspection.
Resident Lee Chih-fu (李志甫) said that he was sorry to hear the decision.
The decision contravenes residents’ right to property, as it would make it nearly impossible to sell their apartments, Lee added.
The residents’ wishes should be respected, said Lin Yi-chen (林宜蓁), who represents people who own properties in the building.
The decision contravenes residents’ constitutionally guaranteed right to own property, Lin said, adding that the building’s age and renovations have greatly altered its original design.
The building is representative of Wang’s work, committee member Kuo Chiung-ying (郭瓊瑩) said, adding that its aura of mystery and quality of a quiet haven in a metropolis are reasons to preserve the building as a cultural asset, despite alterations to its original design.
Committee member Hsueh Chin (薛琴) said that negotiating with the residents was important and the city would compensate them with apartments of the same size as their current residences.
The right to property must be protected and it is possible for other organizations, including the city government, to purchase the building and repurpose it into a public area, Kuo added.
The Wang Da-hong Architectural Research and Preservation Association had said it was willing to purchase the building, but balked at its price of more than NT$100 million (US$3.24 million).
The residents said they were willing to sell their properties at market prices to interested parties.
Wang’s more famous public works in the city are the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building.
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