Three-year standoff ends after military compound wrecked

The Taipei City government yesterday demolished all but four of the remaining buildings of the Four Four South Village (四四南村), bringing closure to a three-year stand-off between city officials and preservationists.

Following yesterday's demolition, the city government plans to develop the area into a community park and turn the four remaining buildings into a community center and a museum.

The facilities will showcase the cultural and historical aspects of the Chuan-chun (眷村), or old military residential compounds, that were originally set up to house technical workers brought to Taiwan with Chiang Kai-shek's (蔣介石) army in 1949.

The city government has said that the entire project is to be completed by October next year.

"It is a `win-win' situation for both the city government and the preservationists," said a source at Taipei City's Bureau of Civil Affairs, "because the plan [for the village] addresses both parties' concerns."

However, preservationists who fought to preserve Four Four South Village in its entirety remain unhappy about the city government's actions.

"The city government went ahead and tore down the village without consulting those Taipei City councilors who have said they oppose the demolition," said Duan Yi-kang (段宜康), a Taipei City councilor who is among those who favored turning the entire compound into a historical preservation site.

"Such brazen action by the city government has damaged the mutual trust between the city government and the city council," Duan said.

Duan also criticized the cultural affairs bureau for failing to grant the compound the status of a historic relic, "an area worthy of cultural preservation," he said.

Earlier this March, preservationists had requested exactly that, as the status would have offered the site protection against demolition.

However, the village instead received a designation of historic architectural site, "which held no substantial meaning to protecting the village from any future demolition," Duan said.

Wu Chih-che (吳志澤), a spokesperson for Duan's office, said that "there appeared to be a factor involving some interest group in the demolition of the village."

According to Wu, the space occupied by the village has become one of the hottest pieces of real estate in Taipei, because a major life insurance corporation plans to invest NT$24 billion to develop the adjacent area as a commercial complex.