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Cultural Heritage Preservation in Taiwan and Matsu

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Cultural Heritage Preservation in Taiwan and Matsu DIVERSE HERITAGE IN THE MATSU ISLANDS, TAIWAN: LINKING A FRAGMENTED MANAGEMENT By Tingchao Chang Submitted to Central European University Cultural Heritage Studies Program In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in “Cultural Heritage Studies: Academic Research, Policy, Management” Supervisor: Alice M. Choyke CEU eTD Collection Budapest, Hungary June 2020 Diverse Heritage in the Matsu Islands, Taiwan: Linking a Fragmented Management By Tingchao Chang (Taiwan) Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University (Budapest), in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of the Master of Arts in “Cultural Heritage Studies: Academic Research, Policy, Management” Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU ________________________________ Chair, Examination Committee ________________________________ Thesis Supervisor ________________________________ Examiner ________________________________ Examiner CEU eTD Collection Diverse Heritage in the Matsu Islands, Taiwan: Linking a Fragmented Management By Tingchao Chang (Taiwan) Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University (Budapest), in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of the Master of Arts in “Cultural Heritage Studies: Academic Research, Policy, Management” Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU ________________________________ External Reader CEU eTD Collection Diverse Heritage in the Matsu Islands, Taiwan: Linking a Fragmented Management By Tingchao Chang (Taiwan) Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University (Budapest), in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of the Master of Arts in “Cultural Heritage Studies: Academic Research, Policy, Management” Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU ________________________________ External Reader CEU eTD Collection ABSTRACT In this thesis, I show the way fragmented heritage management can occur because of particular geographic characteristics, historic contexts, and institutional factors. The Matsu Islands in Taiwan, close to mainland China, was chosen as an example of such fragmentation. It is shown that heritage matters play an important role in the place-making processes and local development of the community in Matsu. I propose several measures to help the population of Matsu reach a compromise concerning shared heritage and a more consolidated cultural identity. In order to figure out the core of the problem, I adopted participatory observation in heritage affairs on the spot and conducted semi-structured interviews with critical stakeholders within the community. My results show that facilitating information integration and internal communication would be a priority for improving the fragmented way heritage is approached on the islands based on models of heritage practices inside and outside the islands. CEU eTD Collection i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The first person I should thank for is my thesis supervisor, Alice, who checked the grammar of this thesis very patiently (now it looks like an English work rather than a Chinglish one) and always knew more about what I was actually thinking about and wishing to do. Other professors of this program and external readers of this work also helped me a lot on my way to a heritage specialist. All teachers and professors once taught me beforehand are as important in realizing this thesis. Another group of people which I have to present my enormous gratitude is the fascinated islanders I met in Matsu, including Hua-Di 花哥, Ting-Hao 廷豪, Ya-Ping 雅評, Kai-Yang 開洋, and so on. All of you were so generous in assisting me with different kinds of resources. It is you who make this research and Matsu fascinating. Taking this opportunity, I would like to thank other interviewees and contacts involved in this research. During these two years of study, all of my friends are also indispensable in collaborating with each other and amusing ourselves. Thank you, Chanda, Daniel, Adina, Eszter, Zsuzsi, Jika, Dina, Nadin, and Melissa. It is a pity that I am not in Budapest with you at this moment because of the pandemic. We will have chances to meet together in the future. Also thanks to my Taiwanese buddies, especially those who come to visit Budapest, including Chen-Yi 貞懿, Ming-Lun 明倫, Tai-Wei 泰維, Yi-Hsin 亦心, Dawn, Alvacil, Lindsy, Molly, etc. My family members of course deserve my thanks in supporting my study and providing a beloved CEU eTD Collection environment throughout my research. It is so lucky of me to be born in this family. ii Table of contents ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................ ii Table of contents ............................................................................................................................ iii List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. v List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. vi Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Research Question ...................................................................................................................... 1 Methodology ............................................................................................................................... 4 Introduction to the Field.............................................................................................................. 7 Literature Review.......................................................................................................................... 12 Heritage, Community and Place-making .................................................................................. 12 Cultural Heritage Preservation in Taiwan and Matsu ............................................................... 15 Chapter 1 – History ....................................................................................................................... 18 1.1 History of the Islands .................................................................................................... 18 1.2 Identification of Cultural Heritage ................................................................................ 22 1.3 Establishment of Heritage Preservation ........................................................................ 29 Chapter 2 – Stakeholders .............................................................................................................. 33 2.1 Overview of Stakeholders ............................................................................................. 33 2.1.1 Different government agencies ............................................................................. 34 2.1.2 Outside stakeholders and their attitudes ............................................................... 35 2.1.3 Landowners and traditional local representatives ................................................. 36 2.1.4 Heritage activists and the community network ..................................................... 37 2.1.5 External academic and professional groups .......................................................... 37 CEU eTD Collection 2.2 Ongoing Heritage Projects ............................................................................................ 38 2.2.1 Government-owned cultural heritage properties .................................................. 38 2.2.2 Private properties and government subsidies ........................................................ 40 2.2.3 Revitalization projects and the Operate-Transfer model ...................................... 42 iii 2.2.4 Village-based community empowerment ............................................................. 42 2.2.5 Promotion of war heritage as World Heritage ...................................................... 44 2.2.6 Local-inherited intangible cultural heritage .......................................................... 45 2.3 Disagreements between Stakeholders ........................................................................... 47 2.3.1 Overview of the community network in heritage preservation ............................ 47 2.3.2 Disagreements across government agencies ......................................................... 49 2.3.3 Disagreements between residents and the government ........................................ 51 2.3.4 Disagreements between internal and external experts .......................................... 53 2.3.5 The unstable social structure of the islands .......................................................... 54 2.3.6 Tensions between Mainland China and Taiwan ................................................... 56 Chapter 3 – Fragmented Management .......................................................................................... 57 3.1 Heritage Interpretation .................................................................................................. 57 3.2 Heritage Value .............................................................................................................
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