As a satellite city that supports the Taipei–New Taipei Area, Taoyuan has continuously provided opportunities in response to the region's rising economic growth and the livelihoods of citizens. Over time, Taoyuan's own culture and stories have gradually faded from the limelight.
Historic Site or Ruins?
Directly south of Taoyuan International Airport lies a hidden military base shrouded in mystery. An army airfield that existed since the time of Japanese colonial rule, it was converted into an air force base after the National Government of the Republic of China retreated to Taiwan. Throughout World War II and the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, the base played an important role in which they were tasked with spying on enemies to obtain military intel. They provided the Republic of China and the United States with valuable strategic information, thus impacting the international
political climate significantly.
However, Taiwan's most ambitious project-the Taoyuan Aerotropolis-forever changed the fate of the former Taoyuan air force base; the land surrounding the airport was overtaken by the immense potential for profit as advertisements from estate brokers engulfed the requisitioned communities. The base was given to the residents who were removed from their homes, so to maximize profit, the residents haggled for the best prices of every inch of land and building they had.
The Taoyuan City Cultural Affairs Bureau then designated seven areas within the former air force base as municipal historic sites in 2016. However, this decision was an intrusion on the welfare of the citizens-not only was the construction progress delayed, allocation of residential districts, and historical preservation areas remained a sensitive issue.
Rediscovering the Culture of Taoyuan
Chenkang Elementary School is the community center of the Dahai Residential Community. To pass on the shared memories of the community, our team has incorporated the history of the air force into the school's curriculum while continuing an open line of dialogue with the residents to change how they view the historic sites.
In the three years out of business management social responsibility practice course established through the collaborative efforts of the Department of Business Administration, Department of Commercial Design, and the Department of Electronic Engineering, our teachers have guided students as they seek out the issues of the Dahai Residential Community, draft proposals and execute their plans. This year, two groups turned the Black Cat Squadron and spun it into an exploration game and a board game, thus taking the squad's history out of the military base and introducing it to school campuses. The two games are both designed to simulate what it was like to execute missions as members of the Black Cat Squadron. The game depicts the multitude of obstacles and difficulties the squadron had to overcome through the story of past pilots, through which students are able to to better understand the squadron's history through the level designs and clues sprinkled through written descriptions. Both games were exhibited this year during National Heritage Day organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, attracting the attention of more than three hundred citizens and scholars of Taoyuan who received the games with overwhelming positivity due to their exquisite game design and historical accuracy. Our team will proceed to collaborate with the municipal government to share the games with the rest of Taoyuan.
To establish an image for Taoyuan and pass on its cultural values, our Center for General Education has opened a series of in-depth Taoyuan courses that allow students to learn about the city's history through a variety of fields such as art, sociology, architecture, and military dependents' villages. Each semester, teachers take students to visit different areas of Taoyuan. Students must then form their own impressions of the communities they visit and convert their observations into physical works, thus training the students' self-learning ability.
Through this project, our teams have spared no effort in raising awareness about the communities neighboring the International Airport among the citizens of Taoyuan. Furthermore, residents have since begun to see the necessity and importance of preserving military historic sites and the local culture of Taoyuan. One man's trash is another man's treasure, and that can be changed through a single sentiment alone.