The 11th Regional Forum of the 2018 National Cultural Heritage Congress recently concluded in outlying Lienchiang County, with Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chiun calling for greater public participation in Matsu heritage preservation.
Addressing academics, officials and residents, Cheng said citizen participation will play a crucial role in helping the Ministry of Culture set up a new cultural heritage preservation system that would focus on rejuvenating entire communities. She also promised NT$500 million (US$16.2 million) for establishing arts and culture facilities in Matsu overseen by the MOC’s Department of Arts Development.
One of 12 regional meetings organized by the ministry’s Bureau of Cultural Heritage, the Aug. 4 event covered a wide range of topics including cultural heritage education, restoration of historic buildings and former battlefields.
The Matsu archipelago is famous for its rugged coastlines, old lighthouses and traditional villages as well as artillery emplacements, strongholds and tunnels that are reminders of its more modern military past.
Bureau Director Shy Gwo-long said there are plans to set up a research station in the county to study Matsu’s underwater cultural heritage like shipwrecks and a new department for training skilled workers in cultural heritage preservation.
The last regional forum is scheduled to take place Aug. 11 in New Taipei City with the 2018 National Cultural Heritage Congress timetabled for Sept. 1 in Taipei City. (CPY-E)
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