Abstract
With Taiwan’s democratization and the rise of cultural heritage awareness, the number of preserved cultural heritage has steadily increased. While legal protection prevents their disappearance, controversies often arise due to challenges in restoration and reuse, revealing a disconnect between preservation and revitalization. Additionally, the growing number of heritage sites has overburdened local governments, leading to operational inefficiencies. In response, an outsourced management model was introduced, yet its tendency toward commercialization raises concerns about its suitability for heritage governance.
A key issue is how cultural heritage can maintain its historical and cultural continuity. The current outsourcing model often excludes key stakeholders, such as grassroots preservation advocates, from post–preservation management. This study, adopting a participatory cultural governance perspective, critically examines Taiwan’s outsourcing mechanisms—the Act for Promotion of Private Participation in Infrastructure Projects and the Government Procurement Act—to identify gaps in public participation. Through this research, the author intends to indicate alternative governance models that integrate community engagement in heritage management.