The Taichung City Government last week requested NT$100 million (US$3.2 million) from the central government to host next year’s Taiwan Lantern Festival, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ Tourism Bureau said.
Changhua County had originally been selected by the bureau to host the festival next year, but after the nine-in-one election on Nov. 24 last year, new Changhua County Commissioner Wang Hui-mei (王惠美) forfeited the county’s right to host, citing financial difficulty and a short preparation time.
Wang’s decision drew criticism from residents at the time.
On Jan. 31, the bureau announced the right to host the event would be passed on to Taichung.
The city government’s ability to shoulder the financial burden of hosting the festival was a major consideration when the bureau selected Taichung as the host, the ministry said.
The city government should be responsible for the money it promised to provide to host the festival, it said, adding that if the central government were to subsidize the costs, it would be to make the event better rather than to close the city’s funding gap.
Taichung Tourism and Travel Bureau Director Lin Hsiao-chi (林筱淇) has denied that the city government had promised that it would be able to budget NT$400 million for the event when it was in the running to host the festival.
It only stated at the time that the total estimated cost of hosting the festival — to be funded by the city with subsidies from the central government — would be about NT$400 million, she said.
The city government now estimates that next year’s Taiwan Lantern Festival would cost about NT$500 million and is seeking to finance the event through the city’s budget, subsidies from the central government, private sponsorships and other sources, Lin said, adding that the city government would not be able to draft a budget for the event until it receives confirmation on how much the central government would be contributing.
As the central government provided a lot of funding for this year’s Taiwan Lantern Festival in Pingtung County, Lin said that she hopes the ministry would do the same for Taichung.
When Taichung hosted the event in 2015, the central government subsidized NT$30 million of the total NT$500 million spent, with the remaining coming from the city government and private donations, the Taichung City Government said.
This year’s Taiwan Lantern Festival differed from previous editions, because it was partially hosted at the Dapeng Bay National Scenic Area (大鵬灣國家風景區), which is administered by the Tourism Bureau, the bureau said.
The amount of subsidies the central government gives to a host depends on the location and scale of the festival, it said, adding that it cannot completely base its decision on what the previous host received.
Tourism Bureau Director-General Chou Yung-hui (周永暉) confirmed that the Taichung City Government wants the ministry to subsidize the event.
The bureau would likely be responsible for the main venue and the main lantern, he said.
If the city government is unable to raise enough funds, it needs to find a solution on its own, he added, encouraging it to seek corporate contributions.
Democratic Progressive Party Taichung City councilors Yang Tien-chung (楊典忠) and Shih Chih-chang (施志昌) have expressed concern that without a finalized financing plan halfway into the year, the quality of next year’s festival would be affected.
The city government should not “let its guard down” or leave the problem for the central government to handle, as it did with the city’s air pollution, they said.
Hosting the Taiwan Lantern Festival is a huge endeavor and the city government should take it seriously and make sure it goes well, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taichung City Councilor Chen Pen-tien (陳本添) said.
The bureau said that it is scheduled to review the city government’s proposal this month.
Additional reporting by Cheng Wei-chi
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