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Presidential Building (Taiwan) Wikipedia

Image:203.jpg|thumb|200px|Taiwan Governor-General's Office in 1937 during Japanese rule.

The Presidential Building (?????????) has housed the Office of the President of the Republic of China since 1950. It is located in the Zhongzheng District of Taipei. It formerly housed the Office of the Governor-General of Taiwan, during the period of Japanese rule.

When the Japanese rule of Taiwan began in 1895, the Governor-General temporarily set up his office at the former Qing Dynasty secretariat in Taipei. As future development was planned for the island, the Governor-General decided to build a new administrative office. An architectural design contest was consequently held in 1906.

In 1910, Uheiji Nagano's architectural design was selected and was delivered to Tokyo, where revisions were made. They increased the initial six-story central tower to 11 stories and further improved the defense tower and corner towers. Construction began in June 1912 and was completed in March 1919 at a cost of 2.8 million Japanese Yen.

Image:Taiwan presidential bdg.JPG|thumb|left|The building today

During the Second World War, the building suffered heavy bombing from the Allied Powers and was severely damaged. On May 31, 1945, during an American air raid on Taipei, bombs hit the front left side, main lobby, and northern sections of the Taiwan Governor-General's Office. The fire burned for three days, damaging large parts of the building. Forty-five days after the air raid, Japan surrendered.

The building was not repaired until 1947, when the Taiwan Province|Taiwan Provincial Government initiated a restoration plan funded through private donations. The restoration involved approximately 81,000 workers and was completed at the end of 1948, looking only slightly different from the original building.

Since the timing of the restoration's completion coincided with the 60th birthday of President Chiang Kai-shek, it was renamed Chiehshou Hall, meaning "Long live Kai-shek." Beginning in mid-1949, the building served as the southeast military affairs office and, following the retreat of the ROC central government from mainland China to Taiwan, it became the Office of the President in 1950.

Last Modified:   2005-11-04