It is easy to overlook the narrow alley on Dingzhou Rd (
The once forgotten community was home to war veterans who retreated to Taiwan with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
The veterans and others from the countryside built houses without permission and lived peacefully for the past 60 years until a Taipei City Government decision to rebuild the neighborhood caused a rift among residents, with some saying that the plan will kill what the government has labeled a "living community."
Growing up in the neighborhood, Hsu Sheng-chin (
But her experience at Treasure Hill was otherwise fun, playing hide-and-seek with other kids and sharing with them the green bean ice sticks her mom made every summer.
"We were like a big family. Everyone knew each other and your house was my house," she said.
Mina Chin (
"This place is beautiful and was so much more beautiful before part of it was torn down. Too bad that can't see it now," she said.
In the 1980s, the rapid development of Taipei prompted the Taipei City Government to initiate city-wide renovations by tearing down illegal structures and Treasure Hill community was targeted.
The city government planned to turn the community into a park and tore down about 50 houses belonged to the military in 1994.
Facing protests from residents and civil groups, the government halted the demolition in 1997 and promised it would relocate the residents first.
Amid the dispute over the illegal houses in Treasure Hill, in 2003 the Taipei City Department of Cultural Affairs recognized the historical and cultural significance of the community and cooperated with the private sector to preserve the place as a "living community" with a two-year renovation.
The new policy did not make the Hsu family very happy, because they had already agreed to accept a subsidy worth NT$720,000 under the 1993 plan to move out of the community and lost the right to move back after the renovation is complete.
The department also proposed to turn Treasure Hill into an artists' village, complete with an artist-in-residence program.
After a two-month project last summer, however, some local artists refused to leave and established the Treasure Hill Commune to challenge the city government's plans for the area.
The group said that the renovations broke the government's promise to preserve what many agree is a unique community.
"How will the new neighborhood be a living community if authorities move the residents out and only preserve the buildings?" said Chi Yue-chun (
The city government's decision to renovate Treasure Hill has contributed to its shrinking population.
Of the 200 households originally living at Treasure Hill, only 60 to 70 remained, residents said.
Lin Feng-cheng (林芳正) of the Organization of Urban Re's (Renovations), a group working with the department on the renovation, says that about 30 of the remaining households have moved to a transitional housing block during construction, while others have chosen to accept compensation to leave Treasure Hill permanently.
But the commune's ongoing protest against the renovations has also been challenged, as some residents were upset over "illegal residents'" intervening with the community's future.
"Those kids occupied the empty houses and did nothing all day but drinking or partying. They are not legal residents and are in no position to speak for us," said resident Liao Chao-ming (
Chen Kuan-fu (
"The department spared no efforts to help the residents." he said. "We are not tearing down the place and those kids are not gaining any ground by making irrational protests."
The commune has said it would continue the protests despite the start of construction.
Meanwhile, Hsu's 80-year-old mother, who returned to the neighborhood every day to chat with neighbors before they were relocated, said she didn't understand the disputes and only wanted to live to see the new community.
"My mom lived here her whole life and she wanted to come back badly. Those young kids can keep arguing with the government, but my mom can't wait," Hsu said.
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