As an institution concerned with the preservation of cultural artifacts and with social education, a museum has a long-term, innate worth and a function as a hallmark of culture. The International Council of Museums has identified three missions for a museum: Educate, Entertain and Enrich (the 3Es). As an institution, a museum should achieve its social mission through collection, research, exhibition and education. As far as the public's needs are concerned, the modern museum should strive to improve its capacity to communicate with visitors. A museum is concerned with spreading knowledge, and a place where people wish to communicate sincerely and provide visitors with poetic experiences.

The National Museum of History has established a solid visitor base by organizing many special exhibitions. The museum will continue to bring in international exhibitions to enrich visitors' cultural vision. In addition, the museum will consider how to reemphasize its fundamental features by confirming its orientation and functions and clarifying the distinctions between it and the National Palace Museum, the Taipei Fine Arts Museum and the National Museum of Taiwan History. It is expected that the National Museum of History will positively establish its own features, hone its staff's research and exhibition planning skills, develop a unique permanent exhibition and distinctive educational activities, and enhance its capacity to operate on a sustainable footing. Building on that foundation, it will bring its specialization into play both at home and abroad, to become a first-class international museum.

A history museum is an important institution in the writing of the history and the construction of the discourses of a nation. The National Museum of History is expected to become an open field for interpreting the history of our nation and a living museum. Its visitors will therefore no longer be passive recipients of history, but people who can actively judge and discuss history together.

Esteem for the collection and consideration for the people are the ultimate concerns of the museum enterprise. A museum should strive to develop its collections and pursue the interests of visitors. We hope to enable the public to become more familiar with museums and develop an interests in and esteem for areas of museum specialization. A museum should also avoid being a political vassal or a part of a commercial machine. In this spirit, museums in Taiwan will become true cultural organizations with 3E functions.