A letter I wrote to the Taipei Times was published today:

Here’s a story I wrote about the issues:

Penghu: Cultural Heritage Tourism vs Casino Tourism

Kinmen National Park 金門國家公園

In 1995, three years after the ending of the military administration of the island, Kinmen National Park was opened. It was Taiwan’s sixth national park and the first to have the primary aim of protecting historical and cultural heritage, and serve as a war memorial. Kinmen Island today is still a military stronghold on the front line between Taiwan and Mainland China.

It is located approximately 225 kilometers from Taiwan and just two kilometers from Mainland China, and covers an area of 13,425 hectares. The park is spread out over 3,780 hectares, or about one quarter of the area of Kinmen and Little Kinmen islands.

Chinmencheng means Kinmen City and refers to a strategic impregnable city that is the gateway to the sea. Taken literally Kinmen (金門) means golden gate.

There are traces of human habitation dating back 5000 to 6000 years. Historical records show that people began coming to Kinmen from China’s central plains over 1,600 years ago. Most of the early inhabitants came from certain areas of Fujian Province. The architectural style of the dwellings follows these old traditions. Due to 40 years of military control the pace of development was slowed and as a result numerous well preserved examples of traditional architecture have survived. Eleven have been registered, within the park, as historical monuments but the park and the islands are littered with entire living villages that have retained their southern Fujian architecture. This is in stark contrast to the main island of Taiwan.

In addition to the examples of Fujian architecture there are many so-called ‘Western-style’ houses, which are a combination of Western and Chinese architecture. They date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries and were built by local merchants who traded overseas.

Other Important structures include the ancestral shrines. Their importance denoted by their geographical position in heart of the settlement. Another prominent symbol of the island’s folk culture is the Wind Lion God or Spirit Lion. Numerous statues of this god dot the island usually in front of a village or set into walls. Their purpose can vary but are generally to protect against storms. Due to the massive deforestation that has taken place over the past 300 years they are more important than ever.

Kinmen National Park includes various battlefield monuments that hold an extremely important place in the history of modern day Taiwan. On October 25, 1949, the year when mainland China fell to the Communists, Communist forces unsuccessfully attempted to occupy Kinmen for the purpose of capturing Taiwan. Again in 1958 Mainland China began a massive bombardment campaign that lasted 44 days. It was also unsuccessful. Over the next 20 years the Mainland continued to occasionally fire on the island. All bombardment stopped in 1979.

The islands are built on a base of granite. This geological attribute contributed to the defense of the islands. Many of the tunnels and bunkers were carved into the granite base of the island creating robust defenses.

Kinmen National Park contains more than 548 species of plants. Some of the species are not found in Taiwan.

Due to the parks proximity to mainland China in attracts a huge variety of migratory birds. More than 280 species have been recorded in high density. Kinmen’s birdlife is markedly different to that of Taiwan.

References
Kinmen National Park Headquarters, Construction and Planning Administration Ministry of the Interior R.O.C. (2001), Kinmen National Park, Shun Cheng Printing Co, Taichung.

On the 20th of June 2008 the Taipei Times reported that Kinmen and Matsu can be used by foreign nationals to enter China:

Effective immediately, Taiwanese and foreign nationals holding valid travel papers will be allowed to enter China via the outlying islands of Kinmen or Matsu, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday.

Previously, only certain Taiwanese residents were allowed to visit China via the “small three links.” They had to be either Kinmen or Matsu residents for more than six months, civil servants working on the islands or relatives and spouses of Kinmen or Matsu residents working in Taiwan. Taiwanese nationals meeting certain other requirements were also allowed to use the links.

I visited Kinmen a few years ago and tried to get a ticket to board a ferry to Xiamen in China’s southern Fujian Province (only 20mins, 2km to the coast). Of course they said no.

If you are a Mandarin scholarship student this is good news as it’s much cheaper to　visit China this way. It’s also much more interesting．　Best to wait till you have a multi-entry visa (ARC).

Kinmen island is about 33 km from Xiamen City and 296 km from Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan. Matsu is a group of 36 isles about 28 km from the Fujian coast and 211 km from the main Taiwan island.

Update

For more information you can have a look at the Taiwan Journal’s article:

Cabinet expands mini links with mainland

Also, this ongoing discussion at forumosa.com has some interesting information:

Ferry from Jinmen/Mazu to Xiamen/Fuzhou

Q. Can anyone confirm whether or not foreign nationals can actually use these ferry services to travel from Taiwan to China.

A. Yes. That’s what the Chairwoman of the Mainland Affairs Council reported to the ECCT at a meeting this afternoon, as I translated for her yesterday. But she also added that, since Beijing still hadn’t adjusted its position on the status of the three small links, foreigners would not yet be able to make the journey in the other direction, though it was hoped this could be changed through future cross-strait talks.

If the information above is correct going from Kinmen to Xiamen or Matzu to Fuzhou should be possible although returning to Taiwan the same way could be tricky, if not impossible for now. Another poster brought up fact that obtaining a Chinese visa in Taiwan is very expensive. I got some quotes for Chinese visas which ranged from NT$2500 (US$85) to NT8500 (US$285)!

The only problem with travel in any direction, however, is that visas are still not issued in Taiwan. Going to China via Kinmen (Jinmen) will be very cheap but not if travel agents still have to apply for your visa through the Hong Kong visa office. Furthermore, if you have to fly back to Taiwan via HK, you might as well fly via HK, as the price for a one-way or return is about the same. This is just more empty symbolism from the Ma admin.

Update: Just came accross the information below about a new ferry from Kinmen (金門) to Xiamen (廈門). The new route, opened on August 31 2008, is only 13 kilometers and is the third to be opened between Kinmen and Chinese mainland.

New ferry route opens between Kinmen (金門) and Xiamen (廈門)
Golden Star ferry operates the ferry services on the new route which links Shuitou wharf on Taiwan’’s Kinmen Island and Wutong wharf in Xiamen, southern China. This new route which was launched on August 31st will reduce the travel time between Kinmen and Xiamen from one hour to thirty minutes. Wutong is only a 10-minute ride away from Gaochi International Airport in Xiamen from which passengers can fly to other Chinese cities. A normal China visa will still be required for foreigners traveling this route.

New bus routes have been added in order to provide passengers easy access to downtown Xiamen, the Convention Center, railway station, and its main bus station .

Heritage@risk

As with many places around the world Penghu is struggling to preserve it’s unique cultural heritage. Penghu’s coral limestone architecture is fast disappearing due to modernization and neglect.

Coral limestone is strong yet porous and abundant on the archipelago. For more than a century some of the one-story coral houses have endured typhoons, modernization and neglect. In 2003 the only study ever done found about 2000 coral houses left, but the number is believed to be significantly lower now.

As the Taipei Times reports, there are a few who are attempting to save some of these unique structures and some local officials are waking up to the potential value of the archipelago’s unique architectural resources.

Last year, the local government obtained NT$2 million [US$60,000] in funding from the Executive Yuan’s economic development committee for a program that asks fund recipients to pay one-third of the cost of restoring their home, with the remaining cost coming from the fund.

The level of funding reflects the priority given to protect Taiwan’s heritage resources. It can cost up to NT$1 million [US$30,000] to restore one coral house. So far, only one Penghu resident has applied for the money.

In 1995 the World Heritage town of Hoi An, Viet Nam, set up a heritage restoration fund to help homeowners repair or restore historic houses. Applicants are funded on a sliding scale based on their income. Usually 20% to 80% of restoration costs are covered, but in special cases 100% of costs will be granted. In addition, businesses operating from the restored houses are offered tax breaks.

In the past 13 years scores of historic buildings have been restored and Hoi An is now considered a rare Asian World Heritage success story. The original communities have stayed in the town and the social evils usually associated with tourism have been minimized. [Hoi An report PDF 95kb]

Penghu mulls casino development as Macau limits casinos

Taiwan’s new President-elect Ma Ying-jeou publicly promised during his “thank you” tour of Penghu April 9 [2008] that once Penghu residents reach a consensus on the casino issue, the central government — set to be inaugurated May 20 [2008] – will spare no efforts to help facilitate the development.

As Macau is adopting measures to limit casinos due to social unrest caused by increased crime rates, high inflation, rampant corruption and so on, it makes me wonder if sleepy Penghu would be better off with a casino. The casino may very well increase the GDP of the archipelago but at what cost to its delicate social fabric? And who would travel to Penghu to gamble when Macau is much easier to access and has six world class casinos?

When I visited Penghu a few years ago, I asked several locals what they thought about casino tourism. All of them acknowledged the potential financial benefits but were concerned about what kind of people it would bring to the archipelago.

A referendum held in 2003 showed that around 57 percent of Penghu’s residents backed the casino plan. This figure is often used by politicians when justifying the development. What is often not mentioned, is that the voter turnout was 21 percent. Interpreted another way, only 11 percent of residents have backed the plan.

Harnessing cultural heritage resources

In March this year a global tourism survey showed Taiwan had plunged 22 places to 52nd and fell three notches to seventh in Asia in a world ranking of competitiveness. In terms of human, cultural and natural resources the nation dropped from 23^rd to 79^th.

In the 1980s the Singaporean government was forced to analyze its development policies when tourist arrivals fell dramatically. A Tourism Task Force reported that the drop was due, in part, to the devastating effects of urban renewal on large parts of the old city with many old buildings and districts falling victim to wholesale redevelopment. In the effort to modernize, Singapore had removed aspects of its oriental mystique and charm which was best symbolised in old buildings and traditional activities.

The change in government policy has led to a dramatic increase in tourism in Singapore. Extensive conservation and restoration of ethnic districts such as Chinatown, Little India and Kampong Glam has helped 2007 become another record breaking year for Singapore’s tourism sector.

The record number of arrivals is evidence that preservation of cultural heritage resources can bring long term sustainable tourism growth. Macau has also been investing heavily to diversify its image and boost its reputation as a cultural destination.

Learning from successful preservation strategies adopted by other nations will enable Penghu and Taiwan to sustainably harness their cultural heritage resources. And hopefully, save a few more coral houses for future generations to enjoy.

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