Taipei Travel

The Dr. Yin Hai-Kwong Residence was completed in 1945 in Alley 16, Lane 18, Wenzhou St., a neighborhood designated by Taihoku Imperial University (present-day National Taiwan University, or NTU) during the Japanese colonial. They were intended for professors’ dormitories, and nestled in a kind of lushness that was unique to academia.

After relocating from mainland China in 1949, Dr. Yin Hai-Kwong taught philosophy at Taihoku Imperial University while contributing articles of political criticism to the Free China Journal. As a man who would rather die a critic than live muted, Dr. Yin was a warrior fighting with a pen despite the rigorous censorship. He stood up bravely against the then-authoritarian regime with unbridled political criticism, exerting a strong influence on Taiwan’s progress toward democracy, as an iconic figure in the history of Chinese liberalism.

The residence is a one-story, Japanese-style wooden structure built on a triangular base, adjacent to the other dormitories. In May 2003, the Taipei City Government designated it as a historic site that housed a significant collection of cultural assets. The Dr. Yin Hai-Kwong Foundation in November 2008 took over the operation and maintenance of the residence, recently serving as a facility for NTU’s outdoor education activities.