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Cultural minister hopes to turn former military frontline into artist village |
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05 July 2012 |
Culture Minister Lung Ying-tai recently expressed her hope to build an artist village on the offshore island of Matsu, a former heavily fortified frontline position against a possible Chinese invasion.
Making a visit to Qinbi village in Matsu in early July, Lung said Taiwan is in debt to Matsu and Kinmen, another offshore frontline county, as they stalled the development of these two islands for 40 years for the sake of Taiwan's security.
At the same time, military control helped preserve many cultural assets, she said.
The cultural minister said that if an artist village is properly managed in Qinbi, it can help facilitate interaction between local artists and artists from other parts of Taiwan and from Southeast Asia, Latin America and Europe.
Matsu artists can be promoted around the world and people around the globe can get to know Taiwan better through Matsu, she said.
Qinbi, a possible location for future artistic village, is noted for its well-kept Eastern Min style buildings and natural scenery.
Kinmen and Matsu, located closer to China than to Taiwan, served as Taiwan's military front line against the communists for decades, but Taiwan has drastically reduced its military presence on the islands in recent years and has sought to transform them into tourist hot spots.
Meanwhile, during her trip to Matsu, Lung also visited an archaeology site on a Taiwan-controlled islet, Liang Island near Matsu, where an archaeology team announced in April the discovery of Taiwan's oldest human remains dating back to around 8,300 years ago.
Lung said she planned to meet with Defense Minister Kao Hua-chu in the future to discuss possible cooperation between her ministry and Kao's on cultural issues.
Lung is the first cultural minister to visit the islet that is even now still heavily guarded by Taiwanese soldiers and restricted to tourists.
Written by Jonathan Yeh / culture.tw
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