The Tainan Cultural Heritage Protection Association has raised more than NT$20 million (US$671,998) from about 8,000 donors to purchase the former residence of 228 Incident victim Tang Te-chang (湯德章) from a private owner, saving it from demolition.
The civic group initiated the fundraising campaign after learning that the owner of the property planned to turn it into a private parking space.
The appeal was backed by several politicians, including Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) and former Tainan mayor George Chang (張燦鍙).
Photo: Hung Jui-chin, Taipei Times
The successful campaign was a great example of a civic group and a local government collaborating, and it helped raise awareness about the preservation of cultural assets, the association said yesterday.
Tang’s historic importance was shown by the amount raised, but hitting the target was just the beginning, the association said.
The association hopes to complete the sale of the property before the end this month, before redecorating the property. It hopes to give donors the chance to visit the property in about three months’ time.
The ultimate goal is to turn the property into a museum and open it to the public by March 13 next year, the date on which Tang was executed, to commemorate his legacy, the association said.
The purchase of the property is to cost NT16 million, with the remaining NT$4 million to be spent on fees related to the fundraising effort, decoration, memorabilia, and arranging and advertising exhibitions, it said.
The Tainan Cultural Affairs Bureau plans to hold a meeting on July 1 to determine whether the property meets the requirements to be listed as a cultural heritage site, which would encompass legal protection.
Tang, the son of a Japanese father and Taiwanese mother, was born in Tainan in 1907.
He was a lawyer and was serving as a member of the Tainan City Assembly in 1947 when he heard news of the 228 Incident — a protest in Taipei that was brutally suppressed by the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government.
Tang became a member of Tainan’s temporary committee of prominent citizens to deal with the unrest, but was arrested by KMT troops, who demanded the names of residents Tang had persuaded to lay down their arms.
He was tortured and branded the Japanese instigator of the rebellion, before being executed in a park on March 13 the same year. He was 40.
The park was renamed Tang Te-chang Memorial Park in 1997.
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