Rallies held over historic beer factory rezoning
Supporters and opponents of a new zoning project involving the Chien Kuo Beer Factory (建國啤酒廠), which the Taipei City Government has designated as a historic site, yesterday morning staged separate protests outside the National Land Management Agency in Taipei.
Those opposing the plan say that such a controversial project should not be approved before the new government takes office next month.
Built in 1919, the factory, previously known as Takasago Ale Co, was the first and only beer factory in Taiwan during the Japanese colonial era, according to the Ministry of Culture’s National Cultural Heritage database.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government took over the factory after World War II and renamed it the Second Beer Factory of the Tobacco and Liquor Corporation Bureau, which later became Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp.
The factory expanded its operations in the 1960s, producing more than 12 million 12 packs of beer per year at one point. Beer made at the factory also won multiple awards at international beer tasting events, the database says.
The factory was initially built using bricks, stone and steel, but facilities built in the 1940s were mostly built using bricks and steel trusses, and the architecture reflects the trend of the era, it says.
The factory’s buildings and manufacturing equipment should be preserved, as they serve as a testament to Taiwan’s cultural and industrial history, as well as the development of Taipei City, it says.
The Taipei City Government designated the factory a historic site in 2000. In 2018, the city government and Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp jointly announced that its would be transformed into a beer culture park.
However, the proposal was withdrawn last year. An amendment to the proposal presented by the Ministry of the Interior this year said that certain areas of the historic site would be transferred to the National Taipei University of Technology (NTUT) so that it could expand its campus.
Opponents said that the factory is unique and has huge tourism potential, because it has buildings, equipment and devices from the Japanese colonial era, and the goal has always been to transform it into a culture park.
Experts opposing the plan said that the zoning project should first be reviewed by the city government.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wang Hong-wei (王鴻薇) accused Vice Premier Cheng Wentsan (鄭文燦) of being swayed by the NTUT Alumni Association, and causing the culture park proposal to be tossed out.
“There are university dormitories everywhere in Taiwan, but we are talking about a historic site that is more than 100 years old. Such a controversial zoning project should not be approved before president William Lai (賴清德) takes office on May 20,” Wang said, adding that there should be a hearing on whether the factory should be turned into a culture park.
The NTUT Alumni Association and supporters of the new zoning project said that the university, founded in 1912, is committed to restoring and revitalizing the historic site by working with likeminded groups and individuals.
In the 1970s, the university voluntarily reduced the size of its campus from 12.9 hectares to 9.6 hectares to facilitate the city’s development, the alumni association said.
However, the number of students in NTUT now exceeds 13,600, and its facilities do not have capacity for all of them, it said, adding that not having adequate facilities to accommodate students would limit the university’s research and development potential.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Shih-chien (王世堅), who supports the new zoning project, said that while it is important to preserve a historic site, it should not be grounds to cancel every development project.
“The factory is close to Chan An E Road, which is known for its restaurants selling beer and Taiwanese stir-fried dishes. Promoting Taiwan’s beer culture is the responsibility of the women promoting liquor in those restaurants,” Wang said. “This country has more important and serious missions, such as technology and educational development.”
Properties that would be transferred to the university only account for a tiny portion of the historic site, Wang added.
The agency said in a statement that NTUT and the Ministry of Education should strive to improve the feasibility of the zoning project by responding to questions on the preservation of the beer factory as a historic site and what they would do with the properties that would be transferred to them.