On the protection of cultural heritages and the development of tourism: With the Bugis Street of Singapore as a case

Abstract

The paper focuses on the role the Singapore government plays in rebuilding Bugis Street into an important cultural heritage and tourism attraction and on the society, history, economy, and social life in the Kampong Bugis block, in order to reveal and decode its universality and particularity and discuss merits and demerits of the rebuilding program. The author believes that the pro- tection and development of cultural heritage is dominated by the power of capital- ism and the political needs of the new Singapore government. The rebuilding of cultural heritage needs compromise between the interests of all parties con- cerned.

探討新加坡政府在把白沙浮街重建為一個重要的文化遺產和旅游景點過程中所扮演的角色,聚焦在甘榜白沙浮(火城)和白沙浮街,檢視該街區的社會歷史和經濟與社會生活,以解釋其普遍性和獨特性,同時也探討該地區的重建以及重建工程的成功之處和不足之處。認為文化遺產的保護與發展,都受制于資本主義力量以及新加坡政府設想的政治需要,一個重建的文化遺產空間的成果,相當多的取決于各種不同參與者互相妥協,照顧到各自的需要。