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Event looks at immigration

People wishing to learn more about the history of immigration and the variety of cultures that constitute Taipei should visit the Taipei Immigration Assembly Hall, the Taipei City Government's Department of Civil Affairs said yesterday.

"Taipei is the biggest `immigration city' in Taiwan and has seen people relocating from all corners of the world, domestically and internationally, since the beginning of the 20th century," department commissioner Huang Lu Ching-ju (黃呂錦茹) said at the opening ceremony yesterday.

A series of events, with themes such as culture and the childhood memories of immigrants, will be featured at the hall this month.

In addition to cultural shows, the hall is also exhibiting photographs that document the ties between temples, religion and residents of Taipei.

"The ratio of the three largest groups in Taipei -- those originally from the city, those from outside Taiwan and those from outside Taipei -- has evolved from 90:3:7 in 1946, to 36:24:40 in 1980," Huang Lu said.

Following the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, Taipei experienced two major waves of immigration, she said.

The first occurred right after the war, when about 300,000 people relocated to Taipei from all over China. Two decades later, as its economy was booming, another flood of people from every corner of Taiwan came to Taipei, she said.

An event held yesterday, titled "Meeting Under the Big Tree," looked at some city traditions -- food, puppet shows, "paper-cutting shadows," candied fruit kebob and tea snacks -- that have been disappearing.

Huang Lu said that listening to a story under the village tree was the childhood memory of many people in their 40s and 50s.
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