Cultural workers and students yesterday condemned National Taiwan University (NTU) for demolishing the former residence of late historian Tsao Yung-ho (曹永和) on Wednesday without prior notice to residents.
The university rushed the razing of the first batch of dormitories built in 1928, cultural assets preservation worker Chen Chin-chung (陳勤忠) told a news conference in Taipei, adding that the demolition occurred ahead of National Cultural Heritage Day at the weekend and after Minister of Culture Li Yuan (李遠) recently said that “preserving ancient monuments is more important than building mansions.”
NTU Graduate Student Association academic affairs director Chuang Yung-chu (莊詠竹) said the demolition involved the Nos. 2, 4 and 6 properties on Lane 52 of Wenzhou Street.
Photo: CNA
House No. 6 was Tsao’s former residence, Chuang said.
A widow of a deceased former professor of the university, surnamed Ho (何), resides in house No. 8, a townhouse adjoining Tsao’s former residence and the only surviving residence among the dormitories, she said.
The teardown of Tsao’s former residence might have caused structural damages to her house, she added.
Chuang quoted local residents as saying that they had not received any notice about the demolition until personnel from the university’s General Affairs Office and demolition workers arrived at Ho’s house at about 7am on Wednesday.
The workers told the residents they would raze the neighboring buildings shortly before cutting power to Ho’s house the same day, she quoted the residents as saying.
The university said that residents had been informed of the demolition.
The four houses were culturally significant because their construction marked the beginning of Wenzhou Street, which features numerous old houses and trees, Chen said.
He questioned the city government’s review process of the demolotion project.
None of the 20 members of the Taipei Cultural Assets Review Committee entered Ho’s residence to evaluate the houses’ cultural assets, and in their review meetings, no one addressed that Tsao had lived at house No. 6 for 42 years, he said.
Although the academic and his residence is spiritually interconnected, the committee decided in May that Tsao’s former home “had no value as a cultural asset,” as it had been renovated many times, former NTU Graduate Student Association vice president Kao Cheng-yung (高鉦詠) said.
An administrative appeal of the demolition of Tsao’s former residence has been filed, Chuang said, adding that NTU must propose solutions to preserve cultural assets.
NTU said in a statement yesterday that the demolition notice had been pasted on the doors of the houses before Wednesday.
During an on-site inspection, university personnel had also informed the resident living in house No. 8 about the razing of the three houses and the plan to reinforce the walls between houses Nos. 6 and 8 in mid-July ahead of the demolition, it said.
The resident thanked the university for carefully carrying out the demolition work without affecting her residential rights, the university said, adding that the resident had been fully informed of the project.
Communications about the demolition were made in compliance with Article 15 of the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act (文化資產保存法) with residents and cultural assets preservation groups, who had voiced their opinions on the issue multiple times until the committee decided the houses “had no value as cultural assets,” it 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