Will the demolition of the old Dagong Temple attract attention? Tong Ziwei: Intangible cultural assets No. 001 witnesses the history of the city

The Keelung mayoral election debate concluded on November 10. The Democratic Progressive Party’s Keelung mayoral candidate Tong Ziwei and the Kuomintang mayor Xie Guoliang, who is seeking re-election, had a tit-for-tat confrontation over the Keelung MRT second-stage route, which became a hot topic among the public. Tong Ziwei said today (12th) that no matter how the MRT construction is planned, we should first fully understand the historical significance of the old Dagong Temple and the Chicken Coop Zhongyuan Festival to Keelung. The Chicken Coop Zhongyuan Festival was designated as an important national folk custom in 2008 and was even designated as "National Cultural Asset No. 001 of Important Folk Customs"; what the Old Dagong Temple carries is an important urban memory of Keelung's transition from ethnic conflict to reconciliation and coexistence.

Tong Ziwei said that this year marks the 400th anniversary of Keelung. Looking back on the city's 400 years of development, the history represented by the old Dagong Temple is an extremely important part of it. Tong Ziwei pointed out that during the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty, serious fighting broke out in the Keelung area. Local people later came forward to mediate, and the remains of the victims were buried together for sacrifice. This was the origin of the history of the old Dagong Temple. The local area changed to using surnames and clans to take turns to promote popularization, and gradually developed into today's 15 surname clan organizations, replacing antagonisms with blood surnames, and replacing ethnic fighting with religious festivals.

Tong Ziwei said that in 2008, the Chicken Coop Ghost Festival was designated as an important national folk custom, becoming the first festival in Taiwan to be designated as a national cultural asset in the "Important Folk Custom" category. He believes that the significance of this "No. 001" is not only that the religious activities held in Keelung for more than 100 years have been affirmed, but that this history from conflict, death, and finally mediation and coexistence has been officially recognized as an important cultural memory of Taiwan.

Tong Ziwei pointed out that the old Dagong Temple itself has also witnessed the changes in Keelung’s urban space. Relevant information records that the victims were initially buried together on the banks of the Oyke Harbor River, forming the Laoda Cemetery. During the Japanese occupation, they were moved to the current site due to the construction of naval dormitories at the original site, and later gradually formed the Laoda Gong Temple today. The transformation from tombs to sacrificial spaces also follows Keelung from an early immigrant settlement to a modern port city.

Tong Ziwei said that walking from the old Takong Temple along Anle Road towards Shiqiu Ling can connect to another important historical site, the "Liu Mingchuan Tunnel". This tunnel is the first railway tunnel in Taiwan and the only remaining railway tunnel from the Qing Dynasty. Tong Ziwei said that in just a short distance from the old Dagong Temple to the Liu Mingchuan Tunnel, two important periods of Keelung’s history in the 19th century were condensed. These places are not just single buildings, but important historical landscapes that can connect Keelung’s urban development.