Taiwan Church News
3819 edition
May 5 ~ 11, 2025
Weekly Topical
The PCT Archives Awarded in Top 100 Site of Taiwan Culture Base
Reported by Lin Yi-ying
Organized by Ministry of Culture, the award ceremony of Taiwan Culture Base was held at the Huashan 1914 Creative Park in Taipei on May 3. Archives of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan was awarded as one of Top 100 Culture Base among over one thousand of renown cultural candidates across the island.
On behalf of the PCT, Rev Lu Chi-ming, chairman of the PCT Committee of Church History and director of the PCT Archives, receives the honor from Mr Li Yuan, minister of Culture, and Ms Huang Ya-ling, director-general of Cultural Affairs Bureau of Tainan City Government.
The election of Taiwan Culture Base is scheduled to last for two consecutive years. Through independent registration, recommendation from all parties and other diverse ways, 1,026 cultural sites are reviewed and evaluated. The election committee, composed of 21 interdisciplinary experts and scholars, selected 205 sites from all contenders in the first round to enter the final competition. The election committee finally selected Top 100 Taiwan Culture Base in compliance to criteria of independent operation, sustainable management, accessibility to the public, multicultural inclusiveness and urban/rural equilibrium.
In his speech, mister Li Yuan stresses that “culture is the things to embrace you, touch your heart most, and make you feel most comfortable as you are home”. The reason, why Ministry of Culture held the event of Top 100 Culture Base, is to encourage local cultural base to become more creative and showcase Taiwan’s vibrant historical contexts and multicultural significances, he explains.
The PCT Archives is now located inside the campus of Tainan Theological Seminary and College(TTCS). Since the 19th century, the PCT Archives has been surrounded many important PCT institutions such as TTCS, Sinlau Christian Hospital, Chang Jung Senior High School, Chang Jung Girls’ High School, Taiwan Church Press, HQ Office of Tainan presbytery and Barclay Memorial Church.
These PCT institutions still insist their missions up to date in missionary training, medical care, citizen education, mass communication, ministry support, cultural/historical maintenance, social care and etc. These diverse ministries not only witness the faithful services of early missionaries in 19th century’s Taiwan, but also showcase the historical impacts of Christian faith through the island Formosa.
Rev Lu Chi-ming expresses that it is a superb honor to be listed among Top 100 Culture Based from more than a thousand cultural base candidates and become the only local cultural museum in Tainan City. He stresses that the goal of all private institutions or NGO associations participated in the event is to encourage people attending to the inheritance and preservation of Taiwanese culture. He also pays his thanksgivings to Ministry of Culture and Cultural Affairs Bureau of Tainan City Government for their special support.
He points out that the PCT Archives have specially cooperated with Bureau of Cultural Heritage of Ministry of Culture and Tainan Municipal Administration of the Cultural Heritage to carry out an in-depth research project on historical files and relics in recent years. Meanwhile, he mentions that the PCT Archives has also cooperated with Tainan City Museum to expand the scope of cultural and historical services to the public.
He sincerely hopes that the award granted to the PCT Archives among Top 100 Culture Base can bring new meanings to witness the good news preached by the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, especially before the impending celebration of its 160th anniversary of the mission in Taiwan.
Translated by Peter Wolfe
