A Japanese colonial-era building in Taipei that has been repurposed as a museum was among the recipients of this year’s National Cultural Heritage Preservation Awards on Saturday.
The recipients included both tangible and intangible cultural assets, said the ministry, which held the award ceremony at the Cultural Heritage Park in Taichung.
The building, which used to house the railway department of the Office of the Governor-General of Taiwan’s Bureau of Transportation, was in 2007 granted national monument status under the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act (文化資產保存法) and was reopened as part of the National Taiwan Museum in July, becoming one of the museum’s four branches.
Photo: CNA
The site was once the administrative hub of Taiwan’s railways, the ministry said.
The restoration of the site was a rigorous process, and might serve as a model for other restoration and preservation projects, it said.
Two other national monuments — the water resources site of the Old Tainan Watercourse (原臺南水道), and the British Consulate and Consular Residence at Takow (打狗英國領事館及官邸) in Kaohsiung — also received awards, it said.
The former, constructed during the Japanese colonial period, represented the achievements of Tainan’s drinking water and sanitation projects, the ministry said.
The site, which has been kept intact, is historically significant as a symbol of Taiwan’s modernization, it said.
Since its restoration, it has functioned as a space for historical displays and cultural education, the ministry said, adding that the extension of its outdoor area as a space for leisurely activities has also encouraged more people to visit.
The Tainan Shan-Shang Garden and Old Waterworks Museum (臺南山上花園水道博物館), where the site is located, opened in October last year.
The other honorees were the National Archives Administration for its preservation of railways documents deemed significant antiquities, Lead Jade Life & Culture (立偕生活文化), and Hsu Han-chen (許漢珍), the ministry said.
Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te (李永得) thanked central and local governments, as well as private companies and institutions, for their efforts in preserving the nation’s cultural assets.
The Nantou-based Seediq’s Traditional Culture and Arts Troupe and the Tang Mei Yun Taiwanese Opera Company performed at the ceremony.
A free exhibition is to be held at the Cultural Heritage Park through Sunday next week in honor of the six recipients, the ministry’s Bureau of Cultural Heritage said.
NEW AGREEMENT: Malaysia approved imports last year after nearly two years of negotiations and inspections to meet quarantine requirements, officials said Up to 3.6 tonnes of pomeloes from Taiwan cleared Malaysian customs on Friday, in the first shipment of Taiwanese pomeloes to Malaysia. Taiwan-grown pomeloes are popular in domestic and overseas markets for their tender and juicy taste, the Ministry of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency said. The fruit is already exported to Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines, it added. The agency began applying for access to the Malaysian market in 2023, compiling data on climate suitability, pests and diseases, and post-harvest handling, while also engaging in nearly two years of negotiations with Malaysian authorities and submitting supplementary
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
Tigerair Taiwan and China Airlines (CAL) today announced that several international flights were canceled or rescheduled due to Typhoon Ragasa. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) has maintained sea and land warnings for the typhoon. Its storm circle reached the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) on Taiwan's southern tip at 11am today. Tigerair Taiwan said it canceled Monday's IT551/IT552 Taoyuan-Da Nang, IT606/IT607 Taoyuan-Busan and IT602 Taoyuan-Seoul Incheon flights. Tomorrow, cancelations include IT603 Seoul Incheon-Taoyuan, as well as flights between Taoyuan and Sapporo, Osaka, Tokyo Narita, Okinawa, Fukuoka, Saga, Tokyo Haneda, Nagoya, Asahikawa and Jeju. On Wednesday, the IT321/IT322 Kaohsiung-Macau round-trip would also be canceled. CAL announced that today's
About nine Taiwanese are “disappeared,” detained, or otherwise deprived of freedom of movement in China each month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Between Jan. 1 last year and Aug. 31 this year, 188 Taiwanese travelers went missing, were detained and interrogated, or had their personal freedom restricted, with some questioned in airports or hotel lobbies, the council said. In a statement ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the council urged people visiting China for any reason to be highly vigilant and aware of the risks. Of the reported cases, 50 people were “disappeared” after entering China, 19 were detained and 119 had
RSS