Founded in October 1987, the Hsin Kang Foundation of Culture and Education (the “Foundation”) was the first township and county level foundation in Taiwan. It started when Dr. Chin-Huang Chen invited Hwai-Min Lin and the dance troupe Lin founded, the Cloud Gate Dance Theater, to return to their hometown and give a performance. 2,000 to 3,000 people from Chiayi Township attended the performance. It was absolutely touching. Mr. Lin donated the performance fee to his hometown as a token of appreciation, which inspired Dr. Chen to take on the responsibility of safeguarding Hsin Kang. 

For more than 30 years, the Foundation has been taking concrete actions in caring for the elderly and children. Efforts were put into activities, from cultivating artistic and cultural roots to improving civil society. In the early days, the Foundation promoted the adoption of the Chiabei Railway Line and cooperated in the creation of the “Hsin Kang Railway Park.” The Foundation has also established the “Hsin Kang Reading Center,” and organizes local and international arts and cultural exhibitions, performances, and arts integration projects. For years, they have been conducting context-rich community cultural exchanges with Hida City in Gifu Prefecture, Japan. From public landscaping to revitalizing the idle Farmers’ Association’s warehouse into the “Hsin Kang Cultural Center”; from transforming an old Taiwan Sugar Corporation dormitory into the “Living Room of Hsin Kang” to provide visitors with healthy food and drink, to connecting local farms to promote food and agricultural education, countless initiatives undertaken by the Foundation have helped the people of Hsin Kang to identify with their hometown. These measures seek to open up their horizons and deepen their cultural and artistic refinement over the years. On its 35th anniversary, the Foundation was awarded the Ministry of Culture's first Community Building Award for its contribution in community building. 

The main theme of the Hsin Kang Foundation of Culture and Education's 35th Anniversary “Hometown Manifolds” Special Exhibition is “Hsin Kang Experience,” which combines different generations, creative fields, and journeys in lives. The exhibition presents the public with a new image of Hsin Kang. A group photo with guests was taken on the opening day. (Image Source: Hsin Kang Foundation of Culture & Education) 

To Protect Next Generation and Create Platform to Unite Community 

Dr. Chin-Huang Chen, the founding chairman recounted the background of the Foundation’s establishment. In July 1987, martial law was lifted in Taiwan, and the atmosphere of society began to change. The countryside underwent transformation and the economy experienced a boom. But it was also the same era when traditional culture started fading gradually, with people from central and southern Taiwan indulging in Liberal Lottery. It seemed that everyone's life had shifted to dependency on material temptation, which gave rise to issues in education of the next generation and the re-cultivation of traditional values. With the initiative launched by Dr. Chin-Huang Chen and local gentry in Hsin Kang, the establishment of the Foundation was aimed to unite the community with the power of the people. He added, “I always joke that I have three children, with the Foundation being my youngest child. It is really the apple of my eye (Taiwanese: Sim-thâu-bah, meaning favorite one). I have always been thinking about how the Foundation can use its strength in different aspects to create a platform.” 

The original intention of “protecting the next generation from turning into bad people” has not changed. As the Foundation gains momentum, its influence widens. Its platform which roots for the community to grow and thrive allows the next generation of Hsin Kang or professionals from various industries to realize their dreams through this platform. It is also an ideal that the founding chairman, Dr. Chen, shares. It has been the core value for the Foundation’s operation for more than 30 years. This journey is not only the result of Dr. Chen's dedication to opening his practice in his hometown for over 40 years, but also a product of support extended by countless quiet heroes collectively. 

Volunteers from the old, middle and young generations work together to complete the entrance installation of “Establishing Oneself by 30 - A Wish for Success.” (Image Source: Hsin Kang Foundation of Culture & Education) 

Public Interest as Greatest Consideration of Core Operation 

The plaque hanging at the entrance of the Foundation, as mentioned by the current chairman, Cheng-Hung Chen, reads: “Public Interest Over Personal Benefit.” This is Lin family motto in which Mr. Wei-Chao Lin, Hwai-Min Lin’s great-grandfather, had inscribed to encourage his posterity to put public interest as their primary concern. The plaque was gifted by Mr. Lin to the Foundation. Cheng-Hung Chen laughed and said that Dr. Chen’s dedication is infectious. Everyone who has worked with him gets influenced. His spirit of selflessness underpins the iron trio—board of directors, secretary office, and all 320 volunteers of the Foundation. He added, “What we do here at the Foundation is never about winning awards. We do it with our hearts and souls for the interest of the community.” The Foundation undertakes each action with the intention of preserving the local community. As a result, it has successfully built up a sense of hometown identity among the people of Hsin Kang. 

Iron trio of the Hsin Kang Foundation of Culture & Education: Board of directors, secretary office, and volunteers. (Image Source: Hsin Kang Foundation of Culture & Education) 

From Local to Global: Diverse Model of Community Action 

For the endeavors of the Foundation, Cheng-Hung Chen named the first one, “Promoting the Habit of Reading.” In 2003, the Foundation renovated the community educational building with private donations and launched the “Hsin Kang Reading Center.” The center provides a space for parents, children, youth, and elders to learn together. It is a key cultural location in Hsin Kang. Furthermore, in recent years, a bookmobile has been bringing picture books and storybooks into schools in Hsin Kang. The second is “Arts and Performances.” Cloud Gate Dance Theater was already invited to perform in a time when there were no performing arts venues in Chiayi County. Nowadays, the Foundation invites artists to set up workshops, such as hosting painting and calligraphy exhibitions at the Hsin Kang Cultural Center, and holding market stalls for the “Four Seasons of Hsin Kang” market events throughout the year. The Foundation has also organized six international performing arts festivals, giving adults and children of Hsin Kang arts and cultural exposure in a natural manner. 

The Mobile Library, Vita (維泰號): Parents and kids, and elders in their journey of learning (Image Source: Hsin Kang Foundation of Culture & Education)

Four Seasons of Hsin Kang: From spectating to participating in performances (Image Source: Hsin Kang Foundation of Culture & Education) 

For “community work,” the Foundation works to address aging and population decrease issues that are deteriorating in the community over the past few years by spending time with children after school and collaborating with the government on the “Faith Construction—Community Care Project.” For the “environmental education” aspect, the Foundation calls on partners and elders from the community to join forces to clean, “green,” and “beautify” three or four places in Hsin Kang every Sunday at 6 a.m. so as to look after their own hometown. The Foundation also owns the “1/2 Natural Farm,” which uses eco-friendly farming methods to grow and supply ingredients for the “Living Room of Hsin Kang” restaurant. The farm gives local students from kindergartens to high schools a chance to experience agricultural practices, providing them with food and agricultural education. 

Food and Agricultural Education in the 1/2 Natural Farm: A teacher from the elementary school guides her students in experiencing agricultural practices. (Image Source: Hsin Kang Foundation of Culture & Education) 

In addition to interacting with people from the United States, Canada, France, Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Germany, Turkey, and many other countries by holding large-scale international performances and exhibitions, an invaluable connection that often seems inconceivable to outsiders is the close bond formed between the Foundation and the Gifu community. Since 1994, the Hsin Kang Foundation of Culture and Education has been in close contact with Hida City in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, whether it is participating in the Furukawa Festival, which is listed as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage by the United Nations, or Japanese craftsmen and university students coming to visit Hsin Kang for cultural experiences and exchange. These interactions have contributed to community building of Taiwan and Japan. Hsin Kang Township and Hida City made the friendship official in 2017 and became sister cities. Such interactions have also made the Foundation a platform for international education. 

Guests from Hida City, Gifu Prefecture, Japan revisited Hsin Kang in February, 2023 after the pandemic subsided. They visited the Peigui Hall (培桂堂). (Image Source: Hsin Kang Foundation of Culture & Education) 

Cheng-Hung Chen mentioned that Singang Township Office, Xingang Farmers' Association, and the Fengtian Temple are indispensable in helping with administrative operations to create a vibrant and culturally nourished Hsin Kang as we see nowadays. The harmonious relationship between the Foundation and these organizations is indeed rare. For example, the Xingang Farmers' Association has provided Barn 25 for the Foundation to use as the "Hsin Kang Cultural Center." In the spring of 2023, the tenth annual painting and calligraphy exhibition was held. Originated from creative artworks of a junior high school geography teacher, the event grew to become an exhibition that showcased artworks created by 49 art lovers, demonstrating an accumulation of progresses. 

Endemic Prevention Poses Challenge to 30 Years of Experiences as Foundation Embarks on Digital Transformation 

During the last three years of the pandemic, the Foundation made use of its strength in health-building, where Dr. Chen formed an action committee for COVID-19 Prevention in Hsin Kang, “The momentum of manpower deployment is very much driven by the determination of safeguarding Hsin Kang. When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, it put the experience which the Foundation had acquired over more than 30 years to trial.” Cheng-Hung Chen added that the Foundation choreographed the “COVID-19 Prevention Dance,” which incorporated endemic-prevention knowledge, such as hand washing and mask wearing, in a simple dance. Children who learned the dance could go home and teach their grandparents. Through the platform of the Foundation, the dance was promoted to the whole Chiayi County and later on, to the whole country. The COVID-19 Prevention Dance gave the Foundation an opportunity to take on interactions and sharing through the Internet. Entering the post-pandemic era, the Foundation is embarking on “digital transformation,” which is another task that Cheng-Hung Chen will lead the Foundation to take on next. Brand new channel contents will be created for the platform to share with the world. The 36 years of experience in community building will be applied in communication with the world that overcomes locational and temporal constraints, fostering connections that will give rise to potential community innovation. 

The “Chiayi IN, COVID-19 OUT” pandemic-prevention dance was promoted to junior high school and elementary schools in the county by the Education Department. (Image Source: Hsin Kang Foundation of Culture & Education) 

Becoming Platform for Exchange and Innovation Serving New-generation Youth Returning Home and Community Co-learning 

The president of the Foundation, Chia-Wei Hsu grew up in the enriching arts and cultural environment fostered by the Foundation. After graduation, he returned to his hometown to serve the community. It is an exemplification of a change in Hsin Kang people’s attitude towards their hometown, which moved Dr. Chin-Huang Chen and Chairman Cheng-Hung Chen. Chia-Wei Hsu mentioned, “The groundwork that has been built over the past 30 years is crucial. It has created a homely environment for people to settle down in Hsin Kang. I think this is the reason younger generation, my generation, would choose to come back.” Since 2017, Chia-Wei Hsu has been leading a team to promote the Youth Bank Co-initiative, inviting teachers and young people in Hsin Kang to learn together and train the first batch of seed teachers for elderly care. To date, the Foundation has connected over 40 community partners for the platform. 

New generation youth who return to hometown, can observe local issues and understand how the elders think through active participation. After digesting their observations, they can then devise the subsequent actions based on new ideas and new approaches. (Image Source: Hsin Kang Foundation of Culture & Education) 

Long-term community work, such as landscaping and environmental reconstruction, is well-worth the consistent effort made by the Foundation. Chia-Wei Hsu believes that as younger generation returns to their hometown, through active participation, they will be able to observe local issues from a fresh view and understand how the elders think. “We might have new ideas and new approaches and we’ll take actions based on those ideas and approaches. They will garner more attention from young people towards the local community.” Chia-Wei Hsu hopes that “the Foundation can serve as a platform for innovation as well as communication.” It is an organization that exists in the community, where people of all ages can learn together and take actions for the common good. 

Imagining placemaking of streets in historical site 

Since January 2023, among actual locations operated by the Foundation, the Peigui Hall, which is the former residence of the Kai-Tai Lin Clinic donated by the Lin family, has been opened to the public. The Peigui Hall is also the childhood home of Hwai-Min Lin. It allows visitors to Hsin Kang to experience a place that is imbued with wonderful stories. The chairman, Cheng-Hung Chen, mentioned that since the opening of Peigui Hall a few months ago, Hsin Kang has been receiving many visitors from different places. The first problem to be resolved is rearranging the parking space and the traffic flow. The “Peigui Hall” sits on an ideal location. It is less than 100 meters away from the Fengtian Temple. In addition, there are three level-three monuments on Daxing Road, a 150-meter old street. Such a historically significant site will be the starting point for the Foundation in envisaging a creative place for young people in Hsin Kang. “I hope that through the Peigui Hall, Hsin Kang can be friends with visitors from all corners of the world in the future! I hope that our children can have dreams, and that they will not underestimate themselves. Also, I hope they will not just look at things from the perspective of Hsin Kang. What the Foundation do will make them feel that there are many possibilities in terms of future development,” said Cheng-Hung Chen with sturdy confidence. 

Introduction to the Hsin Kang Foundation of Culture & Education 

In October 1987, history brought the Liberal Lottery upon Taiwan, driving hundreds of thousands people insane. Hwai-Min Lin who is world-renowned for his dance troupe, the Cloud Gate Dance Theater, returned to his hometown to give a performance. This inspired Dr. Chin-Huang Chen to bring local people together and founded the Hsin Kang Foundation of Culture and Education, thus heralding a new era in the history of Hsin Kang. Answering the call of "protecting the next generation from turning into bad people," many villagers signed up as volunteers. With the traditional selfless spirit of the Hsin Kang people, villagers enthusiastically take part in public affairs. With collective wisdom, they give their hearts and souls to realize the dream of transforming the old town, which is the “number one village in Taiwan,” into a new hometown, one that is a harmonious, healthy and beautiful civil society. Over the past 35 years, the Foundation has been building the Hsin Kang community one step at a time through the following eight initiatives: 1. Arts and cultural performances; 2. Promotion of reading habits; 3. Environment protection and landscaping; 4. International exchange; 5. Community care; 6. Preservation of cultural and artistic heritage; 7. Learning, growing, and healthy living; 8. Community industry and development. 

(Interview Editor: Ling-Ying Huang) 

Reviewed by: Hsin Kang Foundation of Culture & Education 

Authorization in this article：CC3.0 BY-NC-SA