Long a curiosity for people driving along the north coast between Tamsui and Keelung, the “UFO” houses as they are known locally — a group of freakish looking, brightly colored, run-down buildings that were once supposed to become a holiday village — made the headlines recently following the Taipei County Government's decision to demolish them.
Demolition work began on Dec. 29.
“We received an order to tear them down and we plan to finish the job within a month. I have no idea what will happen to the site afterwards,” said a site supervisor, who wished to remain anonymous.
PHOTO: JIMMY CHUANG, TAIPEI TIMES
The UFO houses are situated near the 17km marker of the Tamsui-Jinshan Road (Provincial Highway No. 2). These odd, circular, frisbee-shaped houses remind many people of UFOs, hence the name. Prior to being torn down, the site was often used as a location for photographers because of its unusual atmosphere and beautiful coastal setting.
Taipei County Public Works Bureau Director Lee Shu-chuan (李四川) said that construction work on the compound was never finished and the site has been abandoned for nearly 30 years. The government had no authority to order its demolition as it was owned by the Hung Kuo Group. Hung Kuo's financial problems, however, saw the site's ownership fall into the hands of three different banks.
“We eventually made a deal with the group and decided to tear it down. Hung Kuo and the Taipei County Government will work together to rebuild the site, including the beach front, into a scenic attraction and maybe a resort for tourists,” Lee said.
One of the designers behind the UFO houses spoke exclusively to the Taipei Times. Lin, who only gave his family name, said that there were lots of rumors about the site, but most of them were false.
“First of all, the site is definitely not haunted,” Lin said, in reference to oft-heard rumors that many people have seen ghosts near the complex or the high number of unexplained traffic accidents on the nearby road.
There were also rumors that more than 20,000 skeletons were discovered at the site when construction work began and that it was the scene of several murders.
Lin said that construction of the UFOs began in 1978.
“It is traditional in the construction business to pay your respects to any spirits at the site of a new project before you start work. It had nothing to do with the ghost stories,” Lin said.
Lin, now a freelance interior designer, was working as head of the design department at King Interior Design Co, a subcontractor for Hung Kuo, back in 1989.
Lin said that the original idea for the UFOs came from Sanjhih Township (三芝) plastics manufacturer Yu-chou Co. The first construction license was issued in 1978 and the idea for the design came from Matti Suuronen, an architect from Finland (www.arcspace.com/books/tomorrows_house/), but construction stopped in 1980 when Yu-chou went bankrupt.
Lin said that Hung Kuo had just started running Taipei's Hilton Hotel in 1989 and was looking to extend its tourism business. When Tsai Chin-hsien (蔡錦賢), the president of a local beer house in Tamsui called Haichungtien, proposed continuing with the construction of the UFOs, Hung Kuo offered to back it with NT$800 million (US$24 million) and became the manager of the project.
“They planned to make the compound into a large beer house and resort,” Lin said. “When Tsai took over, he decided to hire King Interior Design Co as the subcontractor and that was when I began to be involved in the project.”
Lin said that after taking over the project, he found that each UFO consisted of a reinforced concrete construction covered by fiber reinforced plastic. Earthquakes could damage such a construction and cause leaks and there was no way to fix such problems.
“We just wanted to finish the construction as soon as possible so we did not redesign or reconstruct the remaining half-completed houses,” Lin said.
He said construction was halted at the end of 1989 because Hung Kuo and Haichungtien had different plans for the compound and failed to reach an agreement.
“Haichungtien was a local business, but Hung Kuo wanted to make the site into an international resort. Unfortunately, the two ideas just did not fit together,” Lin said.
In 1995, Hung Kuo used the land to get loans from three banks because of financial problems, and the compound was left in its present state.
But the site will not lay derelict for much longer, it seems.
The Taipei County Government, according to Tourism and Travel Bureau Director Chin Hui-chu (秦慧珠), now has clear plans for the reconstruction of the site.
“With help from the Sanjhih Township Administration Office, we are planning to turn the site into a real tourist attraction by constructing hotels, beach facilities and more,” Chin said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS