1. Meeting Poetic
Veterans Friendship Center and Citizen Park
MO, KUO-CHEN / kuochen.mo@gmail.com
veteransculturalandfriendshipcenter.blogspot.com
Senior Veterans:
According to the De nition of VAC, ROC, veterans who were born before 1934/12/31, and had already enlisted in the army in Mainland China.
The group has a population of 271,495, the statistics of 2009/12.
The veterans become a neglected group as the social shift in new Taiwanese society.
They have highly cultural potential for all Taiwanese but the neglected group who is
powerless social stage has ever never been taken focus from existing government.
My intention is to create a meeting place that is not just only for veterans group but
also for inviting the neighbor communities to participate in and therefore the cultural
meeting can be motivate while people interact.
The site is a currently unoccupied children tra c park with three existing buildings. I
would like to reuse the neglected park as a new social resource by infusing the new
program of the veteran’s friendship center and citizen park.
There exist various kinds of meeting and I intend to make the meeting poetic. It’s a
place for veterans meeting instead of the veteran hospital (where they meet nowa-
days) and also a leisure place for the neighboring communities. Besides, it’s a place for
di erent cultures meeting as people join the cultural workshop or when people play-
ing Chinese chess under trees together, etc. The place makes chances for encouraging
veterans to meet and communicate with the new generation of Taiwanese people by
more natural and close methods o ering the further opportunities to acquaint young
age with the great culture assets.
1 Historical Perspective 2 Cultural Perspective
The ROC Government relocated to Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War in 1949; 1. They came from di erent provinces of Mainland China.
meanwhile, the movement of millions of people during the great migration 2. They spoke in diverse accents by their own dialects and eating habits were quite di erent.
to Taiwan, and the largest was a group of the military and dependents. 3. The local Taiwanese called them the “Mainlanders” .
Mainland China Mainland China
Taiwan Taiwan
The great migration in 1949, about 1.21 million people. The great cultural integration from 1949.
3 Social Perspective The population of the great migration in 1949
1. In the general impression, the senior veteran is a special group of Taiwanese society.
2. Most of them were students or farmers with genuine before they were forced to took part in the Chinese Civil War. 1,210,000
3. They were lacking of attention and better treatment during their early years in the army. 930,000
4. Because of the age or complex reasons, most of them left the military with receiving quite a small amount of pension
then entered the local Taiwanese community one after another. 270,000
5. The majority of bachelors got married with local Taiwanese wives.
6. Some other singles went in the company of building illegal houses to live which made of the iron, wood and other simple
materials throughout the city. Military & Others Tatal
Dependents
Military & Dependents Others Tatal
Mainlanders Local Taiwanese
2010 1949 The trend of social resource
The new social changing after 1949. Mo, Kuo-Chen /
2. NOTE
The value of senior veterans’ culture during the social change About Taiwan and Veterans
1 The social shift and be neglected in new Taiwanese society 2 First-hand historical experience of senior veterans 1 General Information of Taiwan
1. History is an important and vivid re ection for the human development, and senior veterans alive in Taiwan now are
1949 2010
indeed the only live-history of the contemporary world.
2. New generations of Taiwanese understand that it was cruel and despairing to born in a war era from realizing senior vet-
High erans’ sad memory.
The Capitalist
3. The most authentic teaching material of the society by the change from had a temporary refuge rst to nally settle in
The Taiwan.
Mainlander The middle class 4. How to deal with the plight, help each other, and cherish the friendship between their fellows from their simple living atti-
Estate
tude and philanthropy.
The senior veteran The senior
group veteran
group
The great migration
The local Taiwanese
Low (Farmers, Laborers) The 2nd Party alternation
2008/05/20
Second Sino-Japanese War The 1st Party alternation
1937-1945 2000/05/20
Paci c War Direct Presidential Election
1941-1945 1996/03/23
3 Unsung heroes who quietly constructed the initial stage of Taiwan
Chinese Civil War White Terror Taiwan in the world Flying hours to the other main cities in Asia
1. In the early days of Taiwanese social development, the Government needed a large numbers of manual labors 1945-1949 1945-1987
to invest in many major public construction projects while most of local Taiwanese residents usually engaged
in farming for their livelihood.
Mainland China Taiwan
2. The Government drafted many of veterans who were single or just could work as the manual labor again to
engage in these projects throughout Taiwan.
1937
1941
1945
1996
2000
2008
2010
1949
3. Taiwanese complete mainly major infrastructures now actually were established by their great contribution.
4. They paid their loyalty and contribution whole their life much more than obtained the respect as the feedback.
Location: Taipei, Taiwan, ROC. 2 The New 6 Regions Since 2010
Paci c Ocean, 120 km o the coast of mainland China
Coordinates: 23°46’N 121°0’E
Area: 35,980km2; (the 38th island in the world) Keelung City
Capital City: Taipei Taoyuan County Taipei City
Hsinchu County Taipei New Taipei City
4 Integrate the foreign culture into the local culture Largest City: Taipei
Hsinchu City metropolitan area
Highest point: Yushan Mountain 3,952m (12,966 ft)
Taoyuan Yilan County
1. The senior veteran’s was a kind of foreign culture for local Taiwanese residents. Population: 23,098,049(as of 2009) metropolitan area
2. Taiwan has indeed become the new homeland for these senior veterans after passing by more than half a century of cultural Miaoli County
Density: 668 /km2; (the 9th in the world)
communication. GDP (PPP): 31,900 USD
3. Many senior veterans married local women and have their descendants. Taichung City
4. Most of locals and mainlanders live together in common communities, and have a peaceful fusion with their lives.
5. A part of them who have higher educational level became teachers in schools under the governmental assistance and cre- Changhua County
Taichung
ated their new career, and furthermore took the heavy responsibility of popularizing the national education throughout Nantou County metropolitan area
Taiwan during the most di cult period. 3 The density of veterans in Taiwan Hualien County
Central Cross-Island Highway, 1956.7.7~1960.5.9 6. The so-called foreign culture has completely integrated into the local culture and already become a new one that is full of
new Taiwanese characters. Yunlin County
1. It’s the rst highway through the rugged central mountains and
Chiayi City Tainan Eastern
connected the eastern and the western Taiwan. metropolitan area
2. Mobilized more than 10,000 senior veterans. Chiayi County metropolitan area
3. The length is190.830km.
5 Relative disadvantaged under the capitalist & political manipulation Tainan City
1. Senior veterans played the role of the core for Taiwanese social stability in the past half-century. Taitung County
2. It has tended to over-utilitarianism as the main social value of Taiwanese society during recent decades. Kaohsiung City Tainan
3. Through some politicians adopted abominable and extreme manipulations and radically aroused many locals’ exclusion of metropolitan area
senior veterans’ original culture in the process of Taiwanese democratic progress and development.
4. The Veterans Hospital is in a di erent form as their regular meeting place for many senior veterans nowadays. Pingtung County
Capital City
Direct-controlled Municipality
Zeng-Wun Dam, 1967.10.31~1973.10.31
4 Demographics of Veterans in Taiwan
1. To supply the irrigation and general living water for the main
farmland and both for power generation of the southern Taiwan.
2. Mobilized more than 3000 senior veterans.
3. The catchment area is 481km2.
Keelung City 7,810
Senior veterans' new year meeting Senior veterans' common meeting
4. Total storage capacity: 608.317 million cubic meters. Taipei City 71,836
New Taipei City 67,688
Yilan County 6,615
Taoyuan County 52,316
Veterans’ cultural potential Hsichu County & City 16,643
Miaoli County 6,910
1 Calligraphy 2 Chinese Opera 5 Distribution of Veterans in Taiwan Taichung City 45,596
Changhua County 9,300
180,000 Nantou County 7,342
160,000 153,949
Yunlin County 6,091
140,000
Chiayi County & City 10,280
120,000
100,000
Tainan City 29,130
84,616
80,000 75,869 Kaohsiung City 65,775
62,238
60,000
45,501 Pingtung County 18,841
40,000
18,412 Hualien County 11,357
20,000 15,068 13,942
0
Taitung County 7,055
15,068
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3 Chinese Snack 4 The Fence Village 332,053
318,816 306,866 295,265
3.21% 2.97% 283,225 271,495 270,500
3.92%
Taipei metropolitan area
Taoyuan metropolitan area
32.78%
18.02%
Taichung metropolitan area
Tainan metropolitan area
9.69% Kaohsiung metropolitan area
End of 2004 End of 2005 End of 2006 End of 2007 End of 2008 End of 2009 Jan. 2010
13.25% 16.16% Eastern metropolitan area
The O shore Island Areas The population of senior veterans (65 years & over) More than 10,000/year decreasing
Unknown
3. NOTE
Related Information
About Taipei City The Busy Multi-layers Taipei Image About Zhongzheng District Datong District Zhongshan District Songshan District
Coordinates: 25°01’N 121°31' E
The capital city of Taiwan Area: 7.6071 km2
Population: 158,752 (2009.12)
Coordinates: 25°2’N 121°38’E Density: 20,856/km2
Zhongzheng District
Area: 271.7997 km2 Postcode: 100
Population: 2,607,428 / Urban Metro: 6,752,826 It’s the home base of the main national government buildings
Districts: 12 Ground Floor of Taiwan. This includes the Presidential O ce, the Executive
Density: 9,593.20/km2 Yuan, the Control Yuan, the Legislative Yuan, the Judicial Yuan,
Highest Building: Taipei 101(509.2m) and various government ministries.
This district of Taipei City is named after the late President of Wanhua District Da'an District
B1 Floor the Republic of China Chiang Kai-shek.
B2 Floor
Taipei County
Linkou Tableland Taipei Basin Taipei Qixing Mountain
B3 Floor
B4 Floor
Terrain Section
Veterans
Site Green Space Educational Institution Government Institution Residential Area Multi-layers
NOTE
Site Existing Situation & Analysis
The Site Site Existing Situation
The main site area is 4.03 hectares. It was built in 1991 for the Children Traf c Museum and now is unoccupied.
1 2
1
2
3 1
4
Tra c museum
1 2
3 4
3
Driving training court
2
Hill
3
4
5 Metro vent
4
6
Path in between trees
5 5
5
1 2 Simulate driving track
6
6
Restaurant
7
Children tra c theater 7
8
8
6 7
Main entrance
9
9
3 4
10
Site
11
Ying-Chiao
De
Junior High School 12
8 9
pe
Old nt C
nd
5 6
e
Mi omm
lita u
Danshui River
ry nity
Riverside Park
Tri-Service General Hospital
( Military Hospital)
1 2 3 4 5 6
Site Context Taipei Metro Connection Road System Bike System
Taipei Main Station Site Site
7 8 9 9 10 12
Ximen Station
Zhongxiao Fuxing
Riv
ers
Chiang Kai-Shek
ide
Memorial Hall
Via
d uc
t to
Guting Station
Ne
9 11
Old Residential Area
wT
Renovation Residential Area
aip
School
ei C
Military Hospital Viaduct & Bridge
ity
Bbazaars & Markets Underground Tunnel Riverside Bikeway
Water Park Road Urban Bike Lane
Riverside Park