The Tainan Cultural Heritage Protection Association has raised more than NT$20 million (US$671,998) from about 8,000 donors to purchase the former residence of 228 Incident victim Tang Te-chang (湯德章) from a private owner, saving it from demolition.
The civic group initiated the fundraising campaign after learning that the owner of the property planned to turn it into a private parking space.
The appeal was backed by several politicians, including Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) and former Tainan mayor George Chang (張燦鍙).
Photo: Hung Jui-chin, Taipei Times
The successful campaign was a great example of a civic group and a local government collaborating, and it helped raise awareness about the preservation of cultural assets, the association said yesterday.
Tang’s historic importance was shown by the amount raised, but hitting the target was just the beginning, the association said.
The association hopes to complete the sale of the property before the end this month, before redecorating the property. It hopes to give donors the chance to visit the property in about three months’ time.
The ultimate goal is to turn the property into a museum and open it to the public by March 13 next year, the date on which Tang was executed, to commemorate his legacy, the association said.
The purchase of the property is to cost NT16 million, with the remaining NT$4 million to be spent on fees related to the fundraising effort, decoration, memorabilia, and arranging and advertising exhibitions, it said.
The Tainan Cultural Affairs Bureau plans to hold a meeting on July 1 to determine whether the property meets the requirements to be listed as a cultural heritage site, which would encompass legal protection.
Tang, the son of a Japanese father and Taiwanese mother, was born in Tainan in 1907.
He was a lawyer and was serving as a member of the Tainan City Assembly in 1947 when he heard news of the 228 Incident — a protest in Taipei that was brutally suppressed by the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government.
Tang became a member of Tainan’s temporary committee of prominent citizens to deal with the unrest, but was arrested by KMT troops, who demanded the names of residents Tang had persuaded to lay down their arms.
He was tortured and branded the Japanese instigator of the rebellion, before being executed in a park on March 13 the same year. He was 40.
The park was renamed Tang Te-chang Memorial Park in 1997.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
RSS