A petition to recognize Yilan County’s Turtle Island (Gueishan Island, 龜山島) as a county-level cultural heritage site was turned down by a review committee on Friday.
Chien Ying-chun (簡英俊), who lived on Turtle Island for 23 years before the government relocated the island’s residents in 1974, submitted the petition in October last year.
The Yilan County Cultural Affairs Bureau that month visited the island for a preliminary investigation.
Photo: Chang Yi-chen, Taipei Times
After reviewing the petition, the committee said that as the island no longer has permanent residents, and the lifestyle of its former residents is already long gone, it does not meet the requirements to be listed as a heritage site.
The earliest records of people living on Turtle Island date to the early 1800s, when a community of fishers lived there. At its peak there were 700 people living on the island, but because of poor living conditions, the Yilan County Government relocated its residents to the county’s Toucheng Township (頭城).
Three years later, the Ministry of National Defense took over Turtle Island and closed it to visitors, installing artillery and building tunnels there. It was reopened for tourism in 2000.
Chien said the former islanders’ folk stories, kites that were unique to the island and other cultural elements represented a heritage that should be preserved.
Turtle Island is emotionally and historically important to its former residents and the county’s residents, and its environment should be protected, he said.
According to regulations a cultural heritage site must demonstrate human interaction with the environment, unique and sustainable techniques in the use of land, and special lifestyle patterns of those living at the site, among other requirements, the committee said, adding that this was not possible in the case of Turtle Island as its original residents were relocated decades ago.
The application has been closed, but could be reopened if an applicant is able to present new evidence, Yilan County Cultural Affairs Bureau Director Sung Lung-chuan (宋隆全) said.
Upon hearing the committee’s decision Chien said he felt that he had been misunderstood by officials who were worried about the effect that heritage status would have on tourism to the island, adding that he would not apply again.
In response, Northeast and Yilan Coast National Scenic Area official Chen Mei-hsiu (陳美秀) said that her office had always respected Turtle Island’s environment and ecology, and would continue to do so whether it gained heritage status or not.
Separately, a Toucheng Township fisheries’ official, Chen Hsiu-nuan (陳秀暖), said that Turtle Island already has certain protections that limit development on the island.
Increased protections would only place unnecessary restrictions on local fishers, he said.
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