Cultural workers and students yesterday condemned National Taiwan University (NTU) for demolishing the former residence of late historian Tsao Yung-ho (曹永和) on Wednesday without prior notice to residents.
The university rushed the razing of the first batch of dormitories built in 1928, cultural assets preservation worker Chen Chin-chung (陳勤忠) told a news conference in Taipei, adding that the demolition occurred ahead of National Cultural Heritage Day at the weekend and after Minister of Culture Li Yuan (李遠) recently said that “preserving ancient monuments is more important than building mansions.”
NTU Graduate Student Association academic affairs director Chuang Yung-chu (莊詠竹) said the demolition involved the Nos. 2, 4 and 6 properties on Lane 52 of Wenzhou Street.
Photo: CNA
House No. 6 was Tsao’s former residence, Chuang said.
A widow of a deceased former professor of the university, surnamed Ho (何), resides in house No. 8, a townhouse adjoining Tsao’s former residence and the only surviving residence among the dormitories, she said.
The teardown of Tsao’s former residence might have caused structural damages to her house, she added.
Chuang quoted local residents as saying that they had not received any notice about the demolition until personnel from the university’s General Affairs Office and demolition workers arrived at Ho’s house at about 7am on Wednesday.
The workers told the residents they would raze the neighboring buildings shortly before cutting power to Ho’s house the same day, she quoted the residents as saying.
The university said that residents had been informed of the demolition.
The four houses were culturally significant because their construction marked the beginning of Wenzhou Street, which features numerous old houses and trees, Chen said.
He questioned the city government’s review process of the demolotion project.
None of the 20 members of the Taipei Cultural Assets Review Committee entered Ho’s residence to evaluate the houses’ cultural assets, and in their review meetings, no one addressed that Tsao had lived at house No. 6 for 42 years, he said.
Although the academic and his residence is spiritually interconnected, the committee decided in May that Tsao’s former home “had no value as a cultural asset,” as it had been renovated many times, former NTU Graduate Student Association vice president Kao Cheng-yung (高鉦詠) said.
An administrative appeal of the demolition of Tsao’s former residence has been filed, Chuang said, adding that NTU must propose solutions to preserve cultural assets.
NTU said in a statement yesterday that the demolition notice had been pasted on the doors of the houses before Wednesday.
During an on-site inspection, university personnel had also informed the resident living in house No. 8 about the razing of the three houses and the plan to reinforce the walls between houses Nos. 6 and 8 in mid-July ahead of the demolition, it said.
The resident thanked the university for carefully carrying out the demolition work without affecting her residential rights, the university said, adding that the resident had been fully informed of the project.
Communications about the demolition were made in compliance with Article 15 of the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act (文化資產保存法) with residents and cultural assets preservation groups, who had voiced their opinions on the issue multiple times until the committee decided the houses “had no value as cultural assets,” it said.
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
RSS