Of the 399 local culture museums in the nation, 41 are located in Tainan, the greatest concentration of any locality nationwide, statistics showed.
Locals’ cultural awareness, the city government’s drive to establish museums and contributions from the private sector are cited among the reasons behind the prevalence of museums in Tainan — the city that has a reputation as the cultural capital of the nation.
Since the Ministry of Culture began promoting its “Local Cultural Museums Project” in 2002, Tainan has seen the establishment of 26 publicly funded and 15 privately funded museums, compared with the number of museums established in Kaohsiung (28), Taichung (22) and Yilan County (20).
Photo: Liu Wan-chun, Taipei Times
“As the public gains greater awareness of the uniqueness of their local culture, we are also seeing an increase in the number of folk museums,” Tainan Bureau of Cultural Affairs Director Yeh Tse-shan (葉澤山) said.
Tainan’s museums include the Taiwan Blackfoot Disease Socio-Medical Service Memorial House, on the site of a former clinic in Beimen District (北門) run by Wang King-ho (王金河), a doctor popularly known as the “Father of Blackfoot Disease.”
As the first medical-themed museum in Taiwan, it commemorates the introduction of podiatric medicine to Chiayi and Tainan counties in 1957. Its operation is supported by the Wang King-ho Culture and Arts Foundation.
Established by Kang Wun-rong (康文榮) and the Tainan Sinhua District Office, the Yang Kuei Culture Memorial Hall celebrates the literary works of prominent novelist Yang Kui (楊逵), who lived during the Japanese colonial period.
Yang’s most famous work, The Newspaper Man (新聞配達夫), was first written in Japanese. The hall also features a special exhibit to commemorate actor Ou Wei (歐威), a two-time recipient of the Golden Horse Best Actor award.
Meanwhile, the Collapsed-Style Inner Sea Story House in the Madou Old Harbor Cultural and Creative Park has a unique facade that gives first-time visitors the impression that it is ready to topple over.
The style combines the use of red bricks found in Han and Hokkien architecture with bamboo pipes used in traditional Siraya structures. The visual effect is reminiscent of a boat entering or leaving the harbor.
The story house is operated by the Yeh Arts Center and houses cultural relics excavated from the area, putting locals in touch with the cultures of those who lived there before them.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
RSS