On Jan. 17^th, 2005, Mr. Lee and Ms. Huang led us to meet Commissioner Liao Hsien-hao. The Department of Cultural Affairs once invited the Ming Hwa Yuan to perform in Taipei Arts Festival; therefore we’d like to know why Commissioner Liao arranged this program for Taipei Arts Festival. Commissioner Liao said that the cultural spirits of Taipei includes diversity, innovation, optimism, comprehension, moderation, and vitality. Therefore, in order to interact benignly with Taipei citizens, anything related to cultures and arts, Department of Cultural Affairs would take every crucial factor into careful consideration, including the city, the culture, and the industry. The goal of Taipei Arts Festival is mainly to urge the conversation between the trendy and the traditional customs and festivals. As for the arrangement of programs, dramatic troupes could volunteer to sign up or be recommended by the academia to collectively construct the cultural works of Taipei Arts Festival.

Commissioner Liao watched the large drama Ji Gung Huo Fo（Living Buddha, The Lord Ji）presented by the Ming Hwa Yuan for the first time after he returned from his study overseas. He was deeply impressed. Mr. Chen Ming-ji’s sons have been imperceptibly influenced by what they constantly see and hear since their childhood and successively reveal their talents for Taiwanese Opera, either on stage or behind the scenes. Thanks to the affiliation of the second and third generations, they bring vigor and infinite potential to their own family for further development. The troupe gradually eliminates the monotonous form of traditional Taiwanese Opera to make their dramas so down-to-earth that every Taiwanese could easily relate to, as well as the mystic sense of mythology, combining the tempo of modern theater, experimental theater, and scene-by-scene technique from movies. This unprecedented revolution that the Ming Hwa Yuan brought to Taiwanese Opera arouses great interests among the dramatic circles and is acclaimed and valued by the cultural and artistic circles. With the recommendation from the Council for Cultural Affairs and the Educational Hall of Taiwan Provincial Government, the Ming Hwa Yuan was invited to perform in many prestigious theaters. After struggling for more than half a century, the Ming Hwa Yuan finally was able to make Taiwanese Opera return to the “Indoor Stage” from the “Outdoor Stage”.
Ming Hwa Yuan has given performances in the Taipei Arts Festival, Traditional Arts Festival, Taiwan’s Spring & Autumn Arts Festival, Kaohsiung Arts Festival, National Culture and Arts Festival, and the Arts Festival of Asian Games. It’s no exaggeration to regard the Ming Hwa Yuan as the elite of Taiwan’s traditional culture.

The teachers and parents at presence admitted that Taipei now possesses much stronger cultural atmosphere far more than it used to. Indeed, Taipei City, an international metropolis with economic prosperity and scenic Arcadia, provides citizens of Taipei with its beauty and variety through cultural activities. These activities are mainly folk events and cultural arts exhibitions. Through participating in these activities, Commissioner Liao hopes that Taipei citizens can know more about the versatility of Taipei’s culture and experience the most energetic phase of Taipei.
Since 1988, grand performances of traditional arts are held in every spring in the Taipei Traditional Arts Festival. The festival presents communal concerts, and the four major categories of traditional arts: singing, music, dance, and dramas. These performances have been one of the important indexes of arts activities in Taipei City. These events may pander to both refined and popular tastes, and fully display the quality of Taipei citizens’ spiritual lives.
In the end, Commissioner Liao and we hope that Taipei City can be forged into a Utopia of culture and arts through our collective efforts on traditional arts.