The partial destruction of a listed heritage building, the "Shih Family Abode," in the historic port town of Lukang has preservationists blaming local officials and local officials blaming the central government.
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00:00Xu Zhuyao's proud family legacy is in ruins.
00:04Heavy rains and a powerful earthquake in April have proven too much for the ancestral home
00:09in the historic port town of Lugong, a home built somewhere between 1796 and 1820.
00:15Though the structure isn't totally flattened, beams have recently given way, leaving the
00:20ground covered in rubble.
00:22It's a low point for a family that can trace its lineage back to wealthy traders from the
00:2618th and 19th centuries, when this was one of Taiwan's biggest commercial hubs.
00:32Xu is resigned to the destruction.
00:44But not everyone feels enough was done, especially by the local culture bureau.
00:49The building was on the local heritage list since 2009, noted for its architecture.
00:55Some preservationists say that during this time, the building was neglected.
01:14Local officials reject this claim that they let the building fall apart.
01:19The county's cultural affairs bureau says it started planning to fix it up in 2019,
01:24and that as recently as April, it applied for funding from the central government.
01:29But that funding never came through.
01:31Now the bureau says it's assessing whether the building needs emergency stabilization
01:36and repairs, and it will try to get funding from the central government to restore the
01:40building fully.
01:42In a town known for pride in its past, the heavy damage to the old Xu family home slipped
01:59through the cracks.
02:00Now, it's a matter of seeing how much of this 200-year-old heritage building can be salvaged.
02:06Klein Wong and John Van Triest for Taiwan Plus.
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