Museum 207 (二0七博物館) has become one of the first private museums to receive an operation certificate under the Museum Act (博物館法), which founder and executive director Chen Kok-choo (陳國慈) hopes will help many private institutions to thrive.
The museum’s building, like those of many private institutions, has been designated a “historic building” by the Taipei City Government, Chen said, adding that the government should be commended for certifying private museums under the act.
“The act is a welcome change and crucial to the development of museums in Taiwan,” the Hong Konger said after accepting the paperwork that officially registered Museum 207 as a private museum in Taiwan.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
“This act lays out how the government will assist private museums,” she said. “Through the registration process, it will provide the resources that we need.”
The 2015 Museum Act promotes the development of public and private museums to improve people’s exposure to culture, history, science, nature, and the arts and humanities.
Museum 207, established in 2017, was the first in Taipei to apply for the official operation certificate, which gives it access to government funding and other resources.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
On June 27, 20 months after applying, the museum received the operation certificate and held an event on Monday to celebrate.
“I hope that in the future, private museums, especially those converted from old houses, will benefit from the government’s assistance, from the design stage to the renovation and construction stage, so that everything is done right,” Chen said, adding that she hopes the government would also support private museums’ operations through the program.
Being registered under the act gives the museum two main advantages: tax breaks and, more importantly, funding from either the central government or the city for exhibitions, museum head administrator Fiona Wu (吳佩郁) said.
Having just been registered, Museum 207 has yet to apply for funding, Wu said, but she estimated that the government might subsidize up to 70 percent of each exhibition.
The act makes subsidies more direct, unlike previously, when the central government would give the funds to local governments, which would then disperse the money among various community exhibitions — a “big circle” that could take a while, Wu said.
Article 7 of the Museum Act commits the government to providing professional advice, technical assistance, personnel training and financial grants to both public and private museums.
Chen said that private museums like hers are culturally important, because they hold events — such as Museum 207’s Taste of Summer exhibition — that help visitors relive the past and appreciate traditional values.
The exhibition, being held until Dec. 15, portrays how Taiwanese spent their summers when there was no air-conditioning, Chen said.
“The ice shops of the past were the predecessors of today’s Starbucks and coffee shops, but a major difference was that the ice houses were where the whole family would go — but would you go to Starbucks with your whole family?” she said. “So it also represents a social change in family relations, and we would like to take people back to that time so that they can cherish what has passed.”
At Monday’s event, Deputy Minister of Culture Kevin Peng (彭俊亨) praised Chen for getting Museum 207 registered under the Museum Act and for her commitment to promoting culture, such as founding the Taipei Story House, which curates exhibitions on Taipei history.
The Museum of World Religions in New Taipei City and the Wufeng Lin Family Mansion and Garden in Taichung are other private museums that have registered under the act, the ministry said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS