Tainan Shoufu University in southern Taiwan has become the first school to close and be transformed into a municipal park by the city government. As the country's birth rate declines, more schools are facing an enrollment crisis.
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00:00Please take your seats.
00:02This former university in southern Taiwan
00:05has been transformed into a city park.
00:07After Tainan Shofu University shut its doors in 2023,
00:11it turned over its campus to the city government,
00:13which then repurposed the land for public use.
00:16It's the first project of its kind in the country,
00:18and it's drawn mixed reactions from nearby residents.
00:21I think this park is actually quite helpful.
00:24For the residents nearby,
00:26they may no longer have to go to the city or the city hall for work.
00:30If we plan it well,
00:32I don't know if we'll be afraid of it becoming a pet city again.
00:38The city government says this project will help save public funds.
00:41The new repurposed buildings will house the police department
00:44and the Ministry of Culture,
00:46eliminating costly new construction projects.
00:49It may cost more than NT$1 billion to build a check-in center.
00:52The police department and the Ministry of Culture
00:55will also need to build a training center.
00:57The building alone will cost NT$500,000 to 600,000.
00:59With the additional equipment,
01:01it may cost more than NT$700,000 to 800,000.
01:03So you can see the impact of saving public funds.
01:07Tainan Shofu University's closure is not unique.
01:10The Culinary Institute of Taiwan and Hualien
01:12shut down two years ago.
01:13It has since donated its buildings and campus
01:16to the National Open University
01:18and a local elementary school
01:19damaged by the magnitude 7.4 earthquake
01:22that hit the region in April.
01:24Dongfeng Design University in Kaohsiung
01:26also sold its campus
01:27to the National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology.
01:30As Taiwan's birth rate declines,
01:32schools across the country
01:33will face a growing enrollment problem,
01:35forcing more schools to follow suit and close down.
01:38But they can find a different purpose in serving the public.
01:42James Lin and Wesley Lewis for Taiwan Plus.