The Mainland Affairs Council is contacting the Macau government to persuade it to delist the Taiwan-owned Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Macau as a cultural heritage site.
Macau last year included the building in the phase four package of buildings awaiting approval for heritage site status, which would give it priority to obtain the building if it is sold, the council said in a report to the Legislative Yuan.
The report said Taiwan owns full rights and shares to the building, as stipulated under Macanese and Taiwanese laws, and the council’s Macau office has been tasked with managing the building and doing repairs.
Photo: screengrab from Facebook
The council said it has asked staff at the Macau office to attend three public hearings to understand the opinions of the public in Macau.
The memorial hall, the only site in Macau where the Republic of China national flag can be openly displayed, is valued at 30 million patacas (US$3.72 million). It is registered under the name of a company registered in Singapore.
There are currently no plans to put the property up for sale, the council said.
However, the council said it has not been able to appoint a director to work out of the Macau office since 2019.
Macau and Hong Kong in 2019 demanded that all Taiwanese officials stationed within their borders sign a pledge to observe or recognize the “one China” policy as the premise for continuing to issue visas.
The council said it held Taiwan-Macau Culture and Arts exhibition events at the site, adding that last year the total number of visitors attending such events was 22,279 people.
The council said that the hall helps promote Taiwan and serves as a platform that can broaden the range of interactions with Macanese.
This story has been amended since it was first published.
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