Liu Family Petitions to Rebuild 170-year-old Ancestral Home|劉家古厝會勘前被拆 家屬下跪陳情

The Liu family residence in Kaohsiung's Renwu District was built over 170 years ago. It was torn down by several family members one day before it was to be examined for inclusion on a list of historic monuments. On May 27, family members opposed to the demolition headed to the Kaohsiung City Council to complain about omissions in the Bureau of Cultural Affairs' preservation procedures. The bureau admitted its mistakes and said it would rebuild the complex at its original location.


These protesters gathered in front of Kaohsiung City Council are members of the Liu family in favor of preserving their 170-year-old ancestral home in the city's Renwu District. The Bureau of Cultural Affairs recently began the procedure to evaluate the residence for inclusion on its list of historic monuments. One day before the residence was to be examined, other Liu family members tore down four-fifths of the complex.

I hope this can be the last case of its kind in Taiwan or Kaohsiung, and there won't be any more similar cases in the future.

The protesters also kneeled in front of Mayor Han Kuo-yu and presented their petition. One city councilor used this opportunity to criticize the bureau, claiming several members of the family had demolished the residence because the bureau had failed to fully inform of the rights and obligations of inclusion on the list.

They thought this (historic monument announcement) was a land tax, and the government was going to tax their land. So, they rushed to tear it down before that to guarantee the land of all the property right holders.

The bureau admitted it had heard that some family members were moving in the direction of demolition in the course of its investigation, but it didn't designate it as a provisional historic monument, giving it no authority to block the demolition.

After we include it on the list, we should regard it as already having been reviewed, giving it a provisional historic monument status. In other words, once it is on the list, it has the effective status of a provisional historic monument.

The bureau added it aims to preserve the remaining structure and rebuild the residence on the original land. For future cases, it will first invite property rights holders in to provide explanations and launch protection patrols. Once a site is listed, it will be designated as a provisional historic monument without needing to undergo a review.



到高雄市議會拉布條抗議，他們是希望保存170多年祖厝的仁武劉家成員，但祖厝因為文化局剛啟動古蹟審查列冊程序，在上週會勘前一天，被其它家屬拆到只剩五分之一。

高雄市仁武劉家成員 劉順隆表示：「（希望)我們台灣或是高雄，都是最後一場的案例，不要繼續以後還有文化再有這種事件。」

劉家成員也趁議會休息空檔，向市長韓國瑜下跪陳情。有議員指出，造成部分家屬搶拆，是因為文化局未充分告知列入古蹟的權利義務。

高雄市議員 林于凱表示：「他們認為這個(公告古蹟)，是一個土地徵收，政府要徵收他們的土地，所以在這之前，他們用強拆的動作，去確保他們所有權人的土地。」

文化局坦承，事前訪查曾聽說家屬傾向拆屋，但時間上不強迫，因此未先暫定古厝為古蹟，也造成拆除當天無公權力阻止。

高雄市文化局副局長 林尚瑛表示：「（應該)決定列冊了之後，只要一旦列冊我們就視同已經提大會審議，它變成是一個已經有暫定古蹟效力，也就是說一旦列冊，就可以取得暫定古蹟這樣效力的資格。」

文化局強調，全案會朝原地保存重建方向補救，未來面對其它古蹟保存提報，將先找所有權人協商，充分說明討論，也啟動保護巡查，並在列冊時，不經審議先暫定為古蹟。