The Taipei City Government’s Cultural Heritage Evaluation Committee on Thursday designated a memorial cemetery in Liuzhangli (六張犁) as a municipal cultural landmark, overriding the recommendation of its parent organization, Taipei’s Department of Cultural Affairs.
Built in 2003 by Taipei’s Department of Social Welfare, the Memorial Cemetery for Victims of Political Persecution during the Martial Law Period (戒嚴時期政治受難者墓園) is the final resting place for many people killed during the White Terror era, when the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government implemented martial law, purging dissidents and suspected communists.
The graves of at least 200 people killed during the White Terror era are in the memorial cemetery, including that of Huang Jung-tsan (黃榮燦), the artist that carved the famous Horrifying Inspection (恐怖的檢查) depicting the 228 Incident that took place in 1947.
In July, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City councilors Lee Chien-chang (李建昌) and Chien Shu-pei (簡舒培) slammed the city government for neglecting to designate the cemetery as a cultural landmark, in spite of a pledge from the municipal administration to do so 14 years ago.
Warning that the cemetery was at risk from soil erosion, the councilors also criticized the city government over failing to maintain the site or provide guided tours.
Pursuant to Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) promise to make policymaking processes more transparent, the committee meeting was open to the media and a video record of its proceedings was made available to the general public.
Representatives from the Department of Cultural Affairs resisted the motion, saying that the cemetery lacked cultural value.
Instead, they suggested that a mortuary tower “museum” be built over the site.
Civic group representatives contested the department’s claims, arguing that the cemetery is a unique historical site.
They said that building a mortuary tower would negatively affect the cemetery by altering its features.
Committee member Hsia Chu-chiu (夏鑄九), an urban-planning professor emeritus at National Taiwan University, said the cemetery’s historical value is “beyond doubt” and that technical difficulties should not exclude it being designated a cultural landmark.
Additional Reporting by Yu Pei-ju
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