Taipei City Government

Mayor Ko Wen-je attended the founding celebration for both Taiping Elementary School and Rixin Elementary School in Datong District on November 11.

During the 120th anniversary celebration for the founding of Taiping Elementary School, the mayor reiterated the concept of a “city museum.” He noted that unlike the past stereotype of museums as a place for displaying and storing artifacts, Taipei’s approach in the future will focus on streets and communities with historical significance. Taiping Elementary School is an important foundation for the city museum of Dadaocheng area.

The mayor also praised the school for numerous academic accomplishments in recent years, such as its efforts in bolstering art education through “community mini-art museum,” encouraging grandparents and kids to take classes together in senior education program, supporting efforts in community-building and promoting Taipei’s Garden City policy by setting up farming plots and herb gardens on campus.

Afterwards, the mayor appeared at the 100-year anniversary celebration for the founding of Rixin Elementary School. Following thunderous applause from the students, Ko praised the school for its effort in preserving traditional culture, including Beiguan music, paper-cutting craft, and Chinese knots. In recent years, the school has also been a model for Taipei’s elementary school tech education program by implementing measures such as “1 tablet per kid” and setting up the nation’s first “Maker Education Demo Center” for primary and middle schools.

He also announced a major “birthday present” for the school – the donation of Rixin Wangtai Building. The project – the construction of a facility for art and literature located at the intersection of Changde Road and Nanjing West Road – is the collaboration between city government and Rixin alumni Tsai Yen-rong’s Want Taiwan Cultural Environmental Foundation.