President Chen Shui-bian this afternoon went to Taibao, Chiayi County, to attend the groundbreaking ceremony of the National Palace Museum in southern Taiwan. The President reassured the government's effort in promoting an industry which is culturally creative, stressing that he is convinced that this industry will receive a major boost from the building of the museum. The collections of Asian art and antiques will also become an inspiration as people invest themselves in the development of the culturally creative industry.
Excerpts from the President's remarks:
The National Palace Museum has long enjoyed its fame as the "national treasury of Chinese culture." It is one of the most significant museums of our country and possesses myriads of cultural assets that are world-class. These precious treasures have attracted some 2 million visitors each year from home and abroad to view their beauty. In October this year, the museum celebrated its 80th anniversary. It's also in this year that a southern edition of the museum started to break ground for the construction, which symbolizes the emerging of another ray of light in the cultural development of southern Taiwan.
The southern branch of the National Palace Museum is one of the items of the "Ten New Major Construction Projects." The project was conceived in 2002 and had drawn competition from Chiayi, Kaohsiung, and Taichung. Although the south branch did not settle in Kaohsiung eventually, it had not affected Premier Frank Hsieh's chances of winning the mayoral election then. By that time Taichung had decided to vie for the construction of an Asian version of the Guggenheim Museum, and Taibao, Chiayi, was chosen as home to the second National Palace Museum. The decision was made out of the Executive Yuan's concern for balancing differences of resources between the north and the south so residents in the south can appreciate cultural assets of the National Palace Museum as well.
The government has advocated a lot on the development of a culturally creative industry. I believe that the building of this second National Palace Museum would gain momentum that the industry needs. The series of collections focusing on Asian art and culture in the southern branch of the National Palace Museum would also come as an inspiration for people to really think what "cultural creativeness" can be. Construction design of the building will incorporate our concerns for the ecosystem. Experts and scholars have been invited to make the museum part of an eco-friendly cultural park that is harmonious with its natural settings with the use of lagoons and plants to go with the building's architecture style and landscapes.