Ms. Lai's family has lived by New Taipei's historic Liugongjun canal system for generations. With her home now threatened with demolition, she along with local civic groups are pushing back against those plans, arguing that what remains of the neighborhood deserves cultural landscape status and preservation.
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00:00Lai Bijun and her family have lived in this home in New Taipei for four generations.
00:05It's now surrounded by towering apartment blocks.
00:08But the centuries-old house has stood the test of time, alongside a historic canal system
00:13called Liu Gong Jun that hasn't.
00:16And though one of the few remaining canals is right by the Lai family home, the house
00:20itself may not be here for much longer.
00:23A recent development proposal could see it demolished.
00:26I'm not the only one who wants to demolish the house.
00:28There are many other people who are interested in cultural heritage.
00:31I hope to preserve the last piece of the house, the last piece of Liu Gong Jun.
00:40Much of Liu Gong Jun dates back to the 18th century, built during Qing Dynasty rule in
00:45Taiwan to serve the area's residents and farmers.
00:49Once a vast network of criss-crossing waterways that spread across the Taipei Basin, Liu Gong
00:54Jun's wide canals and irrigation ditches have all but disappeared.
00:59Many of these waterways were filled in for roads like this one in the 1970s.
01:04The most intact and exposed section is in New Taipei's Hsingdian District.
01:09Local historians give educational tours here.
01:12They argue for granting Liu Gong Jun cultural heritage status.
01:25Ms. Lai and several New Taipei civic groups agree.
01:28They have held rallies urging the government to give Liu Gong Jun cultural landscape status,
01:33assigned to historically significant man-made environments.
01:48The government has scheduled two inspections of Ms. Lai's house and of Liu Gong Jun to
01:53consider whether the area merits the protected status.
02:14For now, Ms. Lai waits for the government to decide her fate.
02:18She says she remains resolved to continue fighting for not only her right to keep her
02:23family home, but also for the preservation of her neighborhood's unique and enduring
02:28history.
02:29Klein Wong, Kama Hsu and Wesley Lewis for Taiwan Plus.