Life

Experts call for new approach to Taiwan heritage

MOC Minister Lung Ying-tai opens a forum Aug. 9 on cultural preservation efforts in Taiwan over the past 30 years. (Courtesy of MOC)

• Publication Date：08/10/2012
• Source： Taiwan Today
• By  June Tsai

New ideas, clearer guidelines and consistent practices are needed to better protect and revitalize Taiwan’s cultural heritage, academics and experts said at an ROC Ministry of Culture forum Aug. 9 in Taipei City.

Although the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act, first promulgated in 1982 and revised six times, has helped save a significant amount of the country’s cultural legacy and raised public awareness, the lack of accompanying enforcement rules has caused a number of problems, experts told the forum, part of MOC efforts to review the cultural situation in Taiwan.

“Implementation of the law tends to focus on the material aspects of cultural heritage and ignore living, intangible heritage,” said Fu Chao-ching, distinguished professor of architecture at National Cheng Kung University.

The result is that funding has gone to restoring buildings or repairing objects, while the roles of such material heritage in the life of a city, the society or general cultural development have been ignored, he said.

Hsia Chu-joe, a professor at National Taiwan University’s Graduate Institute of Building and Planning, agreed. “The cultural heritage registration system, an important part of the act, has been ridiculed by frontline preservationists as a tiger with no teeth.

“The real enemy of conservation efforts has been the prevalent developmentcentric mentality,” he argued.

Hsia advised that the law be further amended to encourage the participation of citizens and local communities when attempting to preserve collective memories, manifestations of indigenous territories, grassroots identities, living craftsmanship and even sites marking the dark side of history.

Regarding archeological sites, Liu Yi-chang, a research fellow at Academia Sinica, said the 2,500 archeological sites found on Taiwan covering 50,000 years and relating to Austronesian and Han peoples are a treasure trove for understanding human history in this part of the world.

However, “lack of professionals, funds and integrity in enforcement of the law has left these sites vulnerable to the threat of development projects,” he said, adding that only 42 of all the sites have been officially recognized, and 95 percent of them relate to Han Chinese culture.

The act should be refined so that guidelines are provided to bring the preservation measures of local governments and individuals in line with international standards, he stressed.

Culture Minister Lung Ying-tai concluded that the MOC will refer to opinions expressed at the forum to strengthen implementation of the act and turn all forms of heritage into cultural capital for the nation. (THN)