Following the Taichung City Government's decision to deny a historical designation for the decades-old Tianwaitian Theater (天外天劇場), the Bureau of Cultural Heritage submitted an official request on March 10 to the city government for information pertaining to the local authority's administrative procedures for heritage buildings and sites evaluation, while ensuring the immense building remains as intact as possible.
Upon receiving said information, a review will be conducted to determine if the Taichung City Government complied with the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act (文化資產保存法), Regulations Governing the Review for Designation and Revocation of Monuments (古蹟指定及廢止審查辦法), Regulations Governing the Registration, Revocation, and Assistance Granting Regarding Historic Buildings and Commemorative Buildings (歷史建築紀念建築登錄廢止審查及輔助辦法相關辦法), and other related provisions.
The Taichung-based Bureau's move to preserve the historic building came after the city government released its heritage assessment on Tianwaitian Theater on March 6, which is not consistent with the conclusion of another Taichung City Government-conducted evaluation on the theater.
The city government's decision to not designate heritage status for the theater has sparked some opposition, and as such, as part of its effort to prevent the former beacon of culture from suffering any immediate damage, the Bureau has employed security personnel to ensure no demolition is carried out.
The discussion surrounding whether Tianwaitian Theater meets the heritage criteria goes back to February 2015, when Taichung City's Cultural Heritage Review Committee decided the theater was not to be added to the list of historical heritage sites. The decision was followed by a series of meetings at which new evidence was presented underscoring the theater's heritage characteristics. However, the committee upheld its 2015 decision.
To re-examine the historic value of the theater and determine whether it meets the heritage criteria, an assessment subsidized by the Bureau was conducted by Taichung City Government in January 2018. The results of this assessment were presented in November 2019.
Taichung's Cultural Heritage Review Committee convened on March 6, 2020 and decided not to list Tianwaitian Theater as a historic site or a commemorative building. To prevent the historic building from suffering immediate damage, the Bureau said the theater will be listed as interim monument in accordance with the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act and the Regulations Governing the Conditions and Implementation Procedures for Interim Monuments (暫定古蹟條件及程序辦法) once the theater is condemned for authorized demolition.
Read the original press release here.
April Update:
Upon receiving a notice saying the theater was to be torn down on April 2, staff from the Bureau were sent to intervene out of an abundance of caution. That same day, the theater was made an interim monument in accordance with Paragraph 2, Article 20 of the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act and the Regulations Governing the Conditions and Implementation Procedures for Interim Monuments.
After coordination across different local administrative departments, the owner of Tianwaitian Theater complied with the Act and related regulations and suspended the demolition. As the Act stipulates that interim monuments shall be considered monuments and be managed and preserved accordingly, the owner is required to set up a fence for security and protection of the property.
Read the original press release here.