City government first demands residents move ancestral tombs and then asks for cultural heritage evaluation

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/04/28
By: Iris Hsu, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Nantun District residents in Taichung have been left in limbo after the city government issued conflicting orders, first telling them to move family tombs and then saying they could not move them if the tombs are old, according to DPP Taichung City Councilor Ho Wen-hai (何文海).

The city government cited urban planning reasons before issuing a notice asking tomb owners to relocate their deceased relatives’ remains. But their efforts to find suitable plots were suddenly halted when they received a notice from the city’s Mortuary Services Office, prohibiting tombs older than 50 years from being relocated without a cultural heritage preservation evaluation, according to Liberty Times.

Councilor Ho told Liberty Times the city government failed to explain why these tombs fell under the purview of the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act. Also, it did not provide support for its measures.    [FULL  STORY]