Re: 鈥淐hinese museum mulled for Victoria,鈥� Dec. 28.
The sa国际传媒 government claims it will create a museum that is devoted to Chinese-Canadian history in Vancouver鈥檚 Chinatown. The government has neglected provincial museums and archives for so many years that it will be interesting to see if what develops deviates from the status quo. The downsized Maritime Museum of British Columbia is an example of government neglect.
Omissions and biases fill the Lord Cultural Resources advisory report on a sa国际传媒 Chinese history museum, which omits reference to the Chung Collection at UBC, which holds the largest collection of Chinese-Canadian archival materials in sa国际传媒, including rare 19th-century photographs, letters and posters sourced from early pioneers.
The report offers possibilities for spending $1 million to $100 million. The suggestion that the Chinese-Canadian community might be counted on to come forward with initial fundraising, including later costs, is astonishing for its implications.
The sa国际传媒 government claims that part of this museum project is reconciliation and compensation for historic wrongs, and yet within the report, it is proposed that the Chinese-Canadian community step forward to pay for much of it. Will Chinese-Canadian donors be expected to give away their historic documents for free, followed by having to pay for the museum, as well?
As for the cheap route of filling the sa国际传媒 Chinese Museum with digital slide shows and reproductions, it should be kept in mind that no one goes to the Louvre to see a poster of the Mona Lisa.
Bjarne Tokerud
Victoria
