The culturally important Huilai prehistoric site was discovered in May and is reported to be one of the best preserved sites found in Taichung in the last 70 years. Due to a lack of security and funds, the site has fallen into its present state and requires the government's immediate attention, according to one activist.PHOTO: LIAO YAO-TUNG, TAIPEI TIMES

TOMB RAIDER: An environmental activist accused the city of not looking after a prehistoric site, citing a lack of security and financial resources devoted to its protection
BY Jenny Chou
STAFF REPORTER
Monday, Sep 26, 2005,Page 2


The Taiwan Environmental Protection Union (TEPU) yesterday criticized what it said was Taichung City Government's neglect of the culturally important Huilai (惠來) pre-historic site.
With security consisting of a meter-high, unsecured wire fence, and wild dogs reportedly roaming all over the site, officials' claims that Taichung is a city which respects culture above all else, are hard to believe, the group said.

According to Ho Tsung-hsun (何宗勳), secretary-general of TEPU, the site faces many dangers. "In the evenings and on weekends, no security is provided. If anyone went there to dig up or steal some of the relics, no one would even know about it," said Ho.

Ho described how on the nine occasions he has been there in the course of a week there were no police patrols, and on five of the occasions the site was completely empty, apart from wild dogs roaming the land which could have easily chewed the ancient bones that have been dug up and left out in the open.

Ho said, "I was thinking of taking one of the bodies back to Taipei as proof of the lack of security, but on second thoughts the idea of a dead body in my trunk didn't seem quite right."

Ho described how while he was there, he even had time to write a slogan, "Rescue Huilai relic site," as a sign of protest, completely uninterrupted.

"Taichung government would rather spend NT$90 million (US$2.7 million) on the Guggenheim museum than a few million dollars to make this site, a natural heritage site, into a museum. The government should be ashamed of itself," said Ho.

█Competing with malls

Discovered in May, the Huilai site is reported to be one of the best preserved sites found in Taichung in the last 70 years.
Its reputation has been such that archeologists from England have traveled to Taiwan to take a look.

Of the 45,375 ping that the site originally occupied, only 3,025 ping remain available for excavation, as the rest of the site is now home to malls, car businesses and other commercial entities.

Ho said that the reason the site has fallen into its present state is because it hasn't been categorized as a cultural relic. As such, it doesn't fall under the protection of corresponding laws, nor is it allocated the necessary funds for development.

Although previous complaints about the lack of security were followed up with police patrols, they were abandoned of late due to insufficient funds.

According to Ho, the government didn't classify the area as a heritage site because they intend to sell the land, valued at NT$1.5 billion.

Ho said that, last year, the Tai-chung City Cultural Affairs Bureau provided NT$850,000 in funds, but with only five archeologists working there and a book about the site being published this wasn't really sufficient.

Ho confirmed that funds are now being provided by Taichung's National Museum of Natural Science.

Ho said, "I think one of the great tragedies is that Taiwan respects economic growth above all else. Cultural growth isn't respected, let alone the development of prehistoric relics which people aren't educated about."
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