Historical / Cultural / Social

Introduction

Senior Veterans

According to the Definition of VAC, 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.

Historical Perspective

The ROC Government relocated to

Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War in

1949; meanwhile, the movement of

millions of people during the great

migration to Taiwan, and the largest

was a group of the military and

dependents.

The great migration in 1949

Mainland China

Taiwan1.21 million people

930,000

270,000

1,210,000

Military & Dependents

Others Tatal

The population of the great

migration in 1949

Military & Dependents Others Tatal

Cultural Perspective

1. They came from different provinces

of Mainland China.

2. They spoke in diverse accents by

their own dialects and eating habits

were quite different.

3. The local Taiwanese called them

the “Mainlanders” .

The great cultural integration from 1949

Mainland China Taiwan

Social Perspective

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.

3. They were lacking of attention and better treatment during their early years in the army.

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.

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.

The new social changing after 1949

Mainlanders Local Taiwanese

The trend of social resource19492010

The value of senior veterans’ culture during the social change

Main Discussion

The social shift and be neglected in new Taiwanese society

1949 2010

The Mainlander Government

The senior veteran group

The local Taiwanese

( Farmers, Laborers, Merchants )

The Capitalist

The middle class

The senior veteran group

Esta

teHigh

Low

332,053 318,816 306,866 295,265 283,225 271,495 270,500

End of 2004 End of 2005 End of 2006 End of 2007 End of 2008 End of 2009 Jan. 2010

The population of senior veterans (65 years & over)

More than 10,000/year decreasing

First-hand historical experience of senior veterans

1. History is an important and vivid reflection for the human development, and senior veterans alive in Taiwan now

are 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 veterans’ sad memory.

3. The most authentic teaching material of the society by the change from had a temporary refuge first to finally

settle in Taiwan.

4. How to deal with the plight, help each other, and cherish the friendship between their fellows from their simple

living attitude and philanthropy.

Second Sino-Japanese War

1937~1945

Pacific War

1941~1945

Chinese Civil War

1945~1949

White Terror

1945~1987

The 2nd Party alternation

2008/05/20

19

37

19

41

19

45

19

49

20

08

20

10

Mainland China Taiwan

The 1st Party alternation

2000/05/20

20

00

19

96

Direct Presidential Election

1996/03/23Th

e g

rea

t m

igra

tio

n

Unsung heroes who quietly constructed the initial stage of Taiwan

1. In the early days of Taiwanese social development, the Government needed a large numbers of manual labors to

invest in many major public construction projects while most of local Taiwanese residents usually engaged in

farming for their livelihood.

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.

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.

Zeng-Wun Dam,

1967.10.31~1973.10.31

•To supply the irrigation and general living water for

the main farmland and both for power generation of

the southern Taiwan.

•Mobilized more than 3000 senior veterans

•The catchment area is 481km2

•Total storage capacity: 608.317 million cubic meters

Central Cross-Island Highway,

1956.7.7~1960.5.9

•It’s the first highway through the rugged central

mountains and connected the eastern and the western

Taiwan.

•Mobilized more than 10,000 senior veterans

•The length is190.830km

Integrate the foreign culture into the local culture

1. The senior veteran’s was a kind of foreign culture for local Taiwanese residents.

2. Taiwan has indeed become the new homeland for these senior veterans after passing by more than half a century

of cultural communication.

3. Many senior veterans married local women and have their descendants.

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 created their new career, and furthermore took the heavy responsibility of popularizing the national

education throughout Taiwan during the most difficult period.

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.

Relative disadvantaged under the capitalist & political manipulation

1. Senior veterans played the role of the core for Taiwanese social stability in the past half-century.

2. It has tended to over-utilitarianism as the main social value of Taiwanese society during recent decades.

3. Through some politicians adopted abominable and extreme manipulations and radically aroused many locals’

exclusion of senior veterans’ original culture in the process of Taiwanese democratic progress and development.

4. The Veterans Hospital is in a different form as their regular meeting place for many senior veterans nowadays.

Conclusion

1.To preserve and continue the senior veteran’s culture in

order to reduce the defect of generation gap for overall

Taiwanese culture.

2.The integration of ethnic and cultural and the model of

selfless social values.

3.The improvement of Veterans Affairs commission and positive

policies.

Veterans Arts and Friendship Development Centre

The cultural resource of Taiwanese society

Preservation / Continuity / Popularization

Intentions in the further work with the project

It’s a concept of continuity and sustainability.

To infuse the senior veteran’s cultural resource into the unoccupied public buildings.

To reuse the pre-existing building and reviving the pre-existing culture both.

Veterans Arts and Friendship Development Centre

To remodel the unoccupied public building for reviving the pre-existing culture

From “re-” to “pre-”