A cultural park on the site of the former Taichung Prison is to be transformed into a national comics museum, and is scheduled to open by the end of the year, Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) said on Saturday.
Minister of Culture Shih Che (史哲) delivered a report on the comics museum in his first Cabinet meeting after taking office on Jan. 31, Cheng said.
After years of discussion, the Natural Way Six Arts Cultural Center was chosen as the site of the planned museum, he added.
Photo: CNA
The complex houses a gym that dates back to 1937 and was used by prison officers to practice judo and kendo during the Japanese colonial era.
In 1945, when the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government took over the facility from the Japanese government, it was repurposed as Taichung Prison.
The Ministry of Culture in 2020 announced that it had selected the Empire Sugar Factory, another historic site dating back to the Japanese colonial era, as a site for the museum.
However, that plan was eventually shelved due to disputes over land ownership.
Calling comic books by local artists “part of Taiwan’s collective memory,” Cheng said the Cabinet would give the museum its full support by allocating sufficient funds for its planning and construction.
The Ministry of Culture should plan the museum to be easily accessible, allowing people to experience the magic of Taiwanese comics and giving Taichung a new cultural landmark, Cheng said.
The plan to establish the museum was unveiled in 2017 by then-Taichung mayor Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), with the objective to showcase the works of Taiwanese manga artists and to make Taichung a hub for the local comics industry.
The Ministry of Culture plans to open the museum and start holding exhibitions by the end of this year in light of popular demand, Shih said.
The museum and its surrounding area would occupy more than 2 hectares, including the plot where the former prison dormitories are, he said.
Contrary to traditional designs, the museum would not be one building, but would comprise 19 Japanese buildings and one planned building, he said.
The museum complex would serve as a venue for comic creation, markets, research, archives and exhibitions, he said.
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
RSS