Xingang Cultural and Educational Foundation Reading Room Introduction
Foundation's Establishment Looking back at Taiwan in the 1980s The 1980s in Taiwan were filled with changes both socially and politically. The public was frantically seeking fortune-telling, worshipping stones, land gods, and water gods, all hoping to get rich overnight. The once simple countryside fell victim to this craze, as Taiwan was engulfed in a madness for money, causing society as a whole to lose its rationality and seemingly becoming an "Island of Greed", with everyone caught up in the frenzy. When Cloud Gate accompanied Lin Hwai-min back home Dr. Chen Ching-huang, who graduated from National Taiwan University College of Medicine and returned to his hometown of Xinkang to practice, was the first doctor to do so after graduating from NTU's medical school. Witnessing this phenomenon, he felt a great deal of anxiety and wanted to organize cultural activities for the local community to participate in. In the spring of 1987, after discussing with his cousin Lin Hwai-min, he invited the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre to Xinkang. On June 14, Lin Hwai-min, born in Xinkang and founder of the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre, returned to perform at the activity center of Xinkang Junior High School. Despite the hot summer weather and poor venue conditions, around two to three thousand audience members flooded in that night, nearly overwhelming the space. At that time, Chiayi County and City had not yet established a cultural center, so people from nearby towns and cities came, not just residents of Xinkang. It was remarkable that so many people were willing to attend a dance performance. During the curtain call, among the full audience of fellow locals, a moved Lin Hwai-min took out a check for 150,000 TWD, stating that even though he was from Xinkang, he had not given much back to the community and decided to donate the performance fee back to his hometown. Dr. Chen Ching-huang accepted this check, and thus began the heavy burden and responsibility. Chen Ching-huang, Burden and Responsibility With Lin Hwai-min's donation of 150,000 TWD as the first contribution, during the first preparatory meeting, they successfully raised over one million TWD locally. The Xinkang Cultural and Educational Foundation was established in October 1987, being the first township-level foundation in Taiwan. Around the same time, on July 15, Taiwan announced the lifting of martial law, and the society that had been bound by layers of laws and regulations suddenly loosened, with the lifting of press bans paving the way for a vibrant new social landscape.
