The historic Chen Tien-lai Residence (陳天來故居) — the abandoned former home of a wealthy tea merchant — is finally to be restored by the Taipei City Government after years of property disputes, the city said yesterday.
The three-story mansion in Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕) area was the home of Chen and his family during the Japanese colonial era, but went unused in the decades that followed due to property disputes among surviving family members.
Concerned about the declining condition of the building, the Taipei Department of Cultural Affairs invoked Article 28 of the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act (文化資產保存法), which allows the city to take over a historic property if it is deteriorating due to the mismanagement of its owners, the city said.
Photo: Tang Hsin-hui, Taipei Times
The city’s plan to restore the building would cost NT$200 million (US$6.9 million), and work would start by October next year, with plans to finish by 2024, it said.
The budget includes NT$130 million to restore the building itself, NT$40 million to repair the surrounding property, and NT$30 million to restore historic artifacts in and around the building, it said.
The city would provide 80 percent of the funds, while the Chen family would provide the remaining 20 percent.
The building’s decorative columns, window frames and archways — made in a Victorian architectural style — would all need to be restored to their original appearance, professor and architect Hsu Yu-chien (徐裕健) said.
The city plans to open the space to the public once the restoration is completed, Hsu said.
“What the Chen Tien-lai Residence represents is not only Chen’s prosperity, but also the prosperity of Taipei and of Dadaocheng,” department Deputy Commissioner Tien Wei (田瑋) said.
The city has targeted 2024 as the completion date to mark the 100-year anniversary of the mansion’s construction, which ended in 1924, he said.
Speaking to reporters, Chen family members said that they had always wanted to restore the property, but disagreements on how to proceed had prevented any progress.
The family is grateful for the city’s involvement and hope the building could become a public center for cultural learning, they said.
“The Chen Tien-lai Residence is the most classic piece of architecture in all of Dadaocheng. The rock installation in its garden especially must be preserved,” cultural preservationist Mi Fu-kuo (米復國) said.
During restoration it would be a good idea to install a low perimeter wall around the property to lend it an air of “mysteriousness” and attract attention from passersby, cultural preservationist Chiu Ju-hua (丘如華) said.
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
DIPLOMACY: It is Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo’s first visit to Taiwan since he took office last year, while Eswatini’s foreign minister is also paying a visit A delegation led by Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo arrived in Taiwan yesterday afternoon and is to visit President William Lai (賴清德) today. The delegation arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 4:55pm, and was greeted by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). It is Arevalo’s first trip to Taiwan since he took office last year, and following the visit, he is to travel to Japan to celebrate the 90th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Arevalo said at the airport that he is very glad to make the visit to Taiwan, adding that he brings an important message of responsibility
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a