[CPProt.net] Archive's storage facility is a threat to cultural heritage

[MSN CPPnet (Ton Cremers)]

Published on TaipeiTimes
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2005/10/12/2003275454

Archive's storage facility is a threat to cultural heritage

MOVE THE MOVIES: According to a DPP lawmaker, the building housing the
nation's archives is a disgrace and is causing untold damage to antique
films inside
BY JENNY CHOU
STAFF REPORTER


Pointing out the rundown state of the National Film Archive, which has been
described as "obsolete" and a threat to an important part of Taiwan's
national heritage, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Shu-fen
(林淑芬) yesterday urged that the archive be moved to a new site as soon as
possible.

Situated in an industrial site in Shulin (樹林) city, Taipei County, the
National Film Archive does not stand on its own as a separate building but
shares the block with a variety of industries, including a bread factory and
a lunchbox manufacturer.

"The wall of the bread factory is directly next to where the film reels are
stored. This can cause the temperature in the archive to rise, which is very
bad for the stored films," Lin said, adding that if a fire broke out in any
of the neighboring factories, there would be no way of saving the films.

"The accumulation of culture is not something we can start over and the
protection of it is not something we can afford to risk," she said at a
press conference held to address the issue.

Lin further pointed to pictures showing posters on the floor, equipment
overflowing onto a patio area, and material categorized using cardboard
boxes.

DPP Legislator, Lin Cho-shui (林濁水), also present at the press conference,
described the storage building as "an office about to close down."

Compared to China, which spends the equivalent of over NT$80.5 million
(US$2.4 million) on film archive expenses, and Japan, which spends over
NT$176 million, Taiwan only has a budget of NT$30 million per year, said Lin
Co-shui.

Although a rough draft of a bill for the budgeting of the national archive
has been in place since 1991, the Government Information Office (GIO) has
yet to deal with it further, drastically reducing the annual budget for the
archive.

Lin Shu-fen revealed that a documentary showing the surrender of Japanese
soldiers in 1945 had already been lost.

"Once you have lost something, that piece of the puzzle will forever be
missing from a country's history," she said, reiterating her request for the
GIO to find a new home for these documentaries.