In 1949, when the Kuomintang (KMT) under Chiang Kai-shek fled the communist advance to Taiwan, millions of ROC military personnel and their families found themselves on a strange island without homes. In response to their immediate needs, makeshift communities were constructed called military dependents’ villages. One such military dependents’ village was built in Zuoying District, Kaohsiung, in the 1960s to house navy personnel and families. Within two decades, however, the community was torn down and the people were relocated to 13 densely packed highrises, each 12 stories tall. The buildings were…
