With the full support given by President Tsai Ying-wen, the assistance of the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Culture, and the endeavor of Magistrate Wei Ming-ku and Director Chou Ching-yu of the Preparatory Office of Taiwanese Creative Cultural Park, the former Magistrate of Changhua County, and the President of Taiwan Care Center, the first “Taiwanese Creative Cultural Park” came into being in Changhua County. This morning (the 5th), the opening ceremony of Taiwanese Creative Cultural Park and other activities were launched. President Tsai, Magistrate Wei, Former Magistrate Chou, and other guests participated in the announcement of its opening. In the ceremony, many honorable guests also participated, including Secretary-General Chen Chu of the President Office, National Policy Advisor Yao Chia-wen, Wu Mao-kun, the Minister of Education, Cheng Li-chun, the Minister of Culture, and other guests, who gathered to witness this historic moment.
President Tsai expressed that Ex-Magistrate Chou endeavored to promote Taiwanese culture by establishing this Taiwanese Park. It had been her long-time effort. She expects the younger generation to be able to speak Taiwanese and understand their mother tongue. Changhua is rich in Taiwanese culture, and has produced many well-known Taiwanese songs. This month’s President Office Concert will be held in Yuanlin, Changhua. The president invites everyone to join in this big event. Attending the President Office Concert, audiences will have the opportunity to hear songs composed in Changhua. Of course, there will be Taiwanese songs performed that were composed in Changhua. For the Taiwanese language and the subjectivity of Taiwanese culture, we should all work together to make it survive.
Magistrate Wei expressed that this is the first Taiwanese Creative Cultural Park. It was formerly an army base. The Ex-Magistrate Chou worked actively to secure this land from the Ministry of National Defense. Now, it has been transformed into a Taiwanese Creative Cultural Park. On the original army camp site, six halls are now established, including the Culture Hall, Theater, Parent-child Hall, and Art Hall. It has not only collected many data from Taiwanese operas and plays but also is open to people interested in the studies of Taiwanese language. With the efforts of the county government team and local folks, Changhua has not only places that preserve the traditional culture, such as Lukang National Historic and Scenic Area and Taiwanese Creative Cultural Park, but also the green industry clusters funded by the Forward-Looking Infrastructure Plan. With all these establishments, Changhua will become better.
This activity was carried out by about twenty elementary schools in Changhua, National Taichung University of Education, Taiwan Care Foundation, Taiwan Care Radio Station, and more. The major appeal of this activity was the announcement of the opening of the “Taiwanese Creative Cultural Park”. In addition, a series of performances and exhibitions were presented. In the climax of the activity, the guests in the ceremony and the Taiwan Care Choir, Changhua City Kindergarten, Thousand-year Old Choir and the participants sang the song “Our Changhua – A Thousand People’s Melody.” With this song, Taiwanese Creative Cultural Park was announced to be officially open to the public. It’s hoped that Taiwanese Creative Cultural Park will become part of our daily life.
Reviving the mother tongue (Taiwanese) has become a major feature of creative cultural industry and tourism. More importantly, it has become a modern trend. The Changhua County Government understands the importance of reviving the mother tongue; it chose to establish the first and only “Taiwanese Creative Cultural Park” in the green environment and learning camp of Chenggong barracks. In addition to the arranged performances, including mother speaks mother tongue hiking, thousand-year old choir, creative fair, Taiwanese families gathering, let’s learn Taiwanese parent-child challenge, Taiwanese opera, and popular Taiwanese songs. There were also exhibitions in six different places, including the Culture Hall, Multifunction Hall, Arts Hall, Parent-child Hall, Concert Hall, and Theater. In addition, representatives from different counties and cities were invited to observe and discuss related issues. It is expected that with these activities, the environment for the Taiwanese language will become mature, friendlier, and improved, making Taiwanese close and natural to our daily life.
The “Taiwanese Creative Cultural Park” was proposed and established by Chou Ching-yu, the Ex-Magistrate of Changhua County and the President of Taiwan Care Foundation. Magistrate Wei Ming-ku understands that Taiwanese culture needs protecting and passing down. Therefore, he gives full support to establishing this, the first “Taiwanese Creative Cultural Park” in Taiwan, and constructing Changhua County into a base for inheriting Taiwanese culture.
We welcome all folks to come and visit the “Taiwanese Creative Cultural Park” and experience all the valuable Taiwanese resources. In addition to visiting the exhibition halls, visitors can also take a look at the creative fair and Taiwanese challenge activities. We’re looking forward to your visiting.
In the ceremony many honorable guests attended, including the legislators Hung Tsung-yi, Chen Su-yueh, and Huang Hsiu-fang; county councilors Lai An-chang, Ouyang Chen-chu, and Yu Jui-chun; Director Chen Wen-pin of the Department of Cultural Affairs, Director Teng Chin-chuan of the Department of Education, Director Huang Shu-chuan of the Department of Social Affairs, Mayor Li Cheng-chi of Huatan Township, senior high school principals, university presidents, legislators, councilors, and local esquires.