Era
of R.O.C. After Taiwan was re-liberated at the end of WWII, the Nationalist ROC government took over control of Taiwan. The governing structures of Taiwan were changed again into the sub-units of villages, towns and districts replacing the Japanese occupation era of branch offices. In December of 1945 the Anping District Public Office was set up as one of the 8 jurisdiction areas under Tainan City Government. In 1946 the 8 jurisdiction areas were revised into 7.
In 1950 the Nationalist Government retreated completely to Taiwan and up to 1954 the Nationalist armed forces went through 3 major reorganizations. With Taiwan in the mobilization for war preparation stage, the government ordered all districts to set up nationalguards; the commanders of the forces were headed by the head of the districts and so at that time the Anping national guards were set up.
In1950 Taiwan began the process of self-governance of the local authorities; within each villages, towns, counties and cities many Villages and Neighborhoods were set up. The head of each Villages and Neighborhoods were elected by the locals for a term of 3 years. Their duties were to report to the Head of District and administering of local affairs. In 1951, the Head of the Districts were changed from appointment to direct elections. In 1959 the Head of the Districts were changed again to appointment by Tainan City Mayor with approval from city counsel. Anping District had finally advanced from an authoritarian age to democratic rule.
Anping has been a community with characteristics of strong tribal heritage; due to this heritage, the locals of Anping were studious and hard working and made a living from salt production, fishing and fish-farming. In this age of commerce and industrial society, because of gradual sedimentation of the harbor and pollutions to the rivers and oceans; the locals of Anping were not able to fish for a living. Instead they turned their attention to productions with light industries such as furnitures, house renovations, building and toys. However, in this age of highly capitalized economies, the locals of Anping began to leave for other cities; and as the population diminished, these light industries starts to disappear.
Development and Protection: The buildings of Anping went through 3 stages of development from 1950's to 1970's. The first was in 1950's from America where it emphasized functionalities combining with asymmetrical design; in the 1960's the functional buildings were changed to add a taste of Northern Chinese style design; in the 1970's the new building designs were simple flat appearance with aluminum windows with no special influence from any special nation or region. However, some of the old houses, shops, Japanese style building and Western style building survived all these and are standing side by side with the rise of the new modern buildings. The emphasis of urban development and tourism had caused the traditional buildings to crumble, which led to the issue of whether or not the old Yenping Street should be demolished, removed to another place or preserved and maintained.
The dilemma of demolition or preservation of historic sites was partly due to the local and central governments' disagreements with regard to the interpretation of laws and jurisdictions. It was also a conflict of modernization and historical preservation. People who favored demolition of historic sites follow westernized ideas and emphasized modern city planning with chess-board-like roads; people who favored protection of historic site emphasized reverence to tradition and enjoyment of the winding roads that were once humane and serene.
With both sides see-sawing between protection and development, the future of Anping is at a crossroads. The development without management and protection without maintenance had diminished the resources of Anping. In order to protect and maintain the history and cultural heritage of Anping, the Tainan City Government provided the project "National Anping Harbor Historic Park"; which was regarded highly by the National Government and will be a part of the National Government's New 6-year Plan for 2008. This would hopefully create a new age in the history of Anping.
