Top cultural hubs resonate with overseas Taiwanese youth, reviving homeland memories.

The Ministry of Culture recently announced the 110 selected "Top 100 Cultural Bases" across Taiwan for 2025. This policy aims to connect the historical textures and contemporary creativity of various regions in Taiwan through deeply rooted arts and culture hubs. Following its launch, the initiative not only sparked enthusiastic responses domestically, but also unexpectedly stirred strong nostalgia and cultural resonance among overseas expatriate communities. According to feedback received by the Ministry of Culture, a Taiwanese resident living in the United States wrote a special letter to Minister of Culture Li Yuan, expressing gratitude and moving sentiments regarding the policy. The writer stated that through these discovered and recommended cultural bases, their children living abroad can begin to build their own Taiwanese memories, rather than having to imagine the homeland solely through the oral accounts of older generations.

This letter from across the ocean highlights the long-standing difficulties faced by overseas Taiwanese immigrant families in cultural heritage transmission. For native-born second- or third-generation overseas Taiwanese youth, Taiwan is often merely a name on a map or hometown dishes on the table during Lunar New Year. Although parents and elders try to pass down the customs and practices of the homeland, without experiential physical spaces and a dialogue with contemporary culture, this emotional connection inevitably remains abstract. The Top 100 Cultural Bases launched by the Ministry of Culture encompass spaces across Taiwan endowed with historical depth, handicraft heritage, community building, and contemporary art characteristics. These living fields provide a micro-window allowing the next generation far away in the United States to precisely touch Taiwan's most authentic cultural pulse through the internet, written texts, or even actual journeys back to Taiwan.

Looking back at these selected cultural bases, their connotations extend far beyond traditional tourist attractions, representing instead the concrete manifestation of Taiwan's social transformation and local revitalization energy. From workshops preserving traditional craftsmanship, independent bookstores, and arts spaces transformed from old houses, to settlements combining local ecology and indigenous culture, every base has the story of a group of local cultivators behind it. When overseas Taiwanese in the U.S. bring their children to visit these places, or get to know them remotely through the Ministry of Culture's special features, the children no longer see Alisan or Sun Moon Lake from stereotypes, but rather the diverse aspects of how contemporary Taiwanese youth view history, converse with communities, and exhibit aesthetics. This in-depth cultural experience helps shape a more multidimensional and modern image of Taiwan.

From the perspective of policy development, the original intention of the Ministry of Culture in promoting the Top 100 Bases was to invigorate domestic arts and culture consumption and in-depth tourism, encouraging citizens to personally visit various townships and drive local economy and cultural confidence. However, when this policy reached overseas compatriots far and wide through digital communication, it unexpectedly exerted a powerful function of cultural diplomacy and rallying overseas solidarity. After receiving the letter from the overseas Taiwanese resident, Minister of Culture Li Yuan deeply felt that the influence of cultural policies knows no bounds. This also proves that Taiwan's cultural soft power is not merely exported cultural products, but an important bond capable of transcending time and space, soothing the homesickness of overseas wanderers, and building a sense of identity for the next generation.

Looking to the future, how to ensure these cultural bases continue to exert long-term effects and further connect with the international community will be an issue jointly faced by the Ministry of Culture and local operators. With the acceleration of globalization, Taiwan's cultural diversity and local characteristics are becoming increasingly precious. Through the linkage of the Top 100 Bases, not only can domestic citizens rediscover the rich foundation of this land, but the next generation of overseas Taiwanese can also find a cultural pathway leading to their ancestral land under the guidance of these bases. This emotional resonance spanning the Pacific Ocean is not merely a letter of gratitude, but the profound significance and value demonstrated by Taiwan's cultural policy at the intersection of internationalization and localization.