A cultural park on the site of the former Taichung Prison is to be transformed into a national comics museum, and is scheduled to open by the end of the year, Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) said on Saturday.
Minister of Culture Shih Che (史哲) delivered a report on the comics museum in his first Cabinet meeting after taking office on Jan. 31, Cheng said.
After years of discussion, the Natural Way Six Arts Cultural Center was chosen as the site of the planned museum, he added.
Photo: CNA
The complex houses a gym that dates back to 1937 and was used by prison officers to practice judo and kendo during the Japanese colonial era.
In 1945, when the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government took over the facility from the Japanese government, it was repurposed as Taichung Prison.
The Ministry of Culture in 2020 announced that it had selected the Empire Sugar Factory, another historic site dating back to the Japanese colonial era, as a site for the museum.
However, that plan was eventually shelved due to disputes over land ownership.
Calling comic books by local artists “part of Taiwan’s collective memory,” Cheng said the Cabinet would give the museum its full support by allocating sufficient funds for its planning and construction.
The Ministry of Culture should plan the museum to be easily accessible, allowing people to experience the magic of Taiwanese comics and giving Taichung a new cultural landmark, Cheng said.
The plan to establish the museum was unveiled in 2017 by then-Taichung mayor Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), with the objective to showcase the works of Taiwanese manga artists and to make Taichung a hub for the local comics industry.
The Ministry of Culture plans to open the museum and start holding exhibitions by the end of this year in light of popular demand, Shih said.
The museum and its surrounding area would occupy more than 2 hectares, including the plot where the former prison dormitories are, he said.
Contrary to traditional designs, the museum would not be one building, but would comprise 19 Japanese buildings and one planned building, he said.
The museum complex would serve as a venue for comic creation, markets, research, archives and exhibitions, he said.
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