Taiwan Today

A military dependents’ village in western Taiwan’s Yunlin County is experiencing an unlikely renaissance.

When Lin Jie-kang (林杰慷) first traveled to Jianguo Military Dependents’ Village three years ago to conduct a general inspection, the deserted community in Huwei Township of western Taiwan’s Yunlin County had fallen into complete decay. “There were so many weeds and bloodthirsty mosquitoes everywhere,” he said. “It’s amazing to see how much it’s changed since then.”

Many of the recent improvements have come about thanks to Lin and fellow employees of local company Melia Integrated Design. In 2014, the firm was commissioned by Yunlin County Government (YCG) to rejuvenate interest in the forgotten site by organizing festivals and volunteer cleanup activities. “Military dependents’ villages played an important role in Taiwan’s history, but today many young people know little about them. That’s why our work is so significant,” said the 30-year-old, who grew up near a similar settlement in southern Taiwan.

Rural Community

Military dependents’ villages popped up rapidly around the country after the ROC (Taiwan) government relocated from the mainland in 1949. Populated by officers and soldiers along with their wives and children, they at one time numbered more than 800 nationwide.

Jianguo, comprising four small villages, was in some respects typical of these sites, though it also differed in certain key ways. According to the local government’s Cultural Affairs Department (CAD), the area hosted farms until two years prior to the end of Japanese colonial rule (1895-1945), when authorities appropriated the land to build houses for air force personnel and their dependents.

In the late 1940s, members of the ROC (Taiwan) air force and their families took up residency. They inhabited existing structures, including warehouses divided into small living spaces, as well as new housing units constructed to accommodate the population influx. “This place is significant because at various times it was home to people from diverse backgrounds,” said Tseng Hui-chun (曾惠君), chief of the CAD’s Cultural Heritage Section.

Equally noteworthy is the rural setting. “The vast majority of military dependents’ villages in Taiwan were built in urban areas and characterized by dense groupings of structures,” Tseng said. “Jianguo, on the other hand, sprawls outward, and you can see large open spaces here and there.”

In view of these unique attributes, YCG decided to preserve the community after the last residents moved away in 2005. These efforts are focused on Villages 1 and 2, since the buildings in Villages 3 and 4 are either too dilapidated or were demolished to make way for a correctional facility.

Long-Term Mission

The first attempt at revitalizing Jianguo was launched in 2006 in the form of a monthslong general survey of Villages 1 and 2. This effort stalled due to a lack of funding until 2014, when YCG initiated a new review of the site. This assessment paved the way for its designation as a cultural heritage asset the following year.

A major breakthrough came in 2017 when the community was included in the Regeneration of Historic Sites Project (RHSP) overseen by the Bureau of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture (MOC). This project is part of the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program (FIDP), a comprehensive central government initiative aimed at meeting Taiwan’s key infrastructure needs for the next three decades.

Under the RHSP, a total of about NT$100 million (US$3.2 million) has been earmarked for the rejuvenation of Villages 1 and 2. A number of other military dependents’ villages are also set for renovation under the project, including communities in Taipei and Hsinchu cities in northern Taiwan as well as the southern county of Pingtung.

The Jianguo restoration process kicked off last year with a follow-up survey of Villages 1 and 2 to categorize each of the structures based on their historical value. Those given the least significant grade-three rating can be substantially altered or demolished. Grade-two status indicates that the exteriors should be preserved, while the interiors can be modified and repurposed. Structures awarded the grade-one rating should be restored or maintained in their original state both inside and out. Most grade-one buildings, such as a guesthouse, several warehouses and two water towers, were constructed during Japanese colonial rule. At 13 meters tall, the tower in Village 1 is considered the foremost landmark in the entire community.

Conservation efforts to date are centered on grade-three buildings in Village 1. These efforts involve transforming a handful of housing units into such facilities as a visitor information center. Work on refurbishing another batch of grade-three structures is expected to start next year.

Alive Again

With the regeneration of Village 1 underway, Melia Integrated Design is stepping up efforts to help rejuvenate and bolster public awareness of the site. Every week, the company organizes garbage and weed removal activities for groups of volunteers from nearby National Formosa University. During the summer months, it also arranges a five-day working holiday program for college students from across the country. Participants conduct small-scale landscaping and repairs while learning about the community. “It’s often their first time visiting a military dependents’ village, and they usually show great interest in exploring its history,” Lin said.

The company also coordinates the Jianguo Military Dependents’ Village Cultural Festival, the third edition of which is set to take place in mid-August. Last year’s event ran over the course of nine days in December and featured such activities as tree climbing and storytelling sessions led by former inhabitants. “This festival is made possible thanks to financial support from the RHSP,” Tseng said.

Several nonprofits work with Melia in organizing and publicizing these events. Among them is Jianguo Community Development Association, comprised mostly of former residents. “It was sad to see the place where we grew up fall into such disrepair, so we’re working to help revive the community,” said Simon Liang (梁偉楨), the group’s secretary-general, who moved to Jianguo from eastern Taiwan at age 5. The now-68-year-old, who hands out free steamed buns at the cultural festival, is compiling a list of recipes once commonly served in the village. “These dishes could act as a useful reference for restaurants based at the site in years to come,” he added.

Liang’s confidence in Jianguo’s future rejuvenation is partly inspired by developments outside the community. With the opening of Yunlin’s high-speed rail station in Huwei in 2015, the village is no longer quite so isolated. There is also the narrow-gauge railway operated by state-owned Taiwan Sugar Corp. The cargo line between a sugarcane field and processing factory runs along the edges of Villages 1 and 2, and YCG plans to add passenger services and a new station at Jianguo. This project has been included in the railway development category of the FIDP.

Given the central government infrastructure funding, improved public transportation access and strong enthusiasm of former inhabitants, Lin believes that Jianguo is entering a bright new chapter in its history. “After Village 1 was abandoned, few nearby residents used to go near it, but over the last several months a growing number of people are jogging or walking their dogs in the area. We’re even getting some curious tourists,” he said. Once given up for dead, Jianguo Military Dependents’ Village is coming back to life. 

Write to Oscar Chung at mhchung@mofa.gov.tw