Taipei Times
Date: May 14, 2015
By: Abraham Gerber  /  Staff reporter

Controversy over the future of Taipei’s Novel Hall (新舞台) continued yesterday as the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs announced plans to reaffirm its designation as “cultural landscape.”

Located in Taipei’s Xinyi (信義) business district, Novel Hall was formerly a major performance venue, before being shuttered as part of CTBC Holding Co’s (中國信託金融控股) efforts to sell the high-rise complex to which it is attached. CTBC previously funded the hall’s construction and operations.

CTBC Holding’s decision to close the site sparked an outcry from the artistic community, leading the city government to designate the site as “cultural landscape,” attaching a “subsidiary condition” requiring it to be used for artistic and cultural events.     [FULL  STORY]