Hsinchu

History

In 1626, after Spain occupied northern Taiwan, Spanish missionaries arrived at Teckcham (Chinese: 竹塹; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tek-khàm), where the Taokas Taiwanese aborigines lived. The city was first settled by Han Chinese in 1711, during Qing rule. In 1878, Teckcham Subprefecture was converted into a district and renamed Hsinchu. After Fujian-Taiwan Province was established in 1887, Hsinchu was a part of Taipeh Prefecture.

Empire of Japan

By 1904, the city population was 16,371, ranked 7th, following Keelung and followed by Shoka. In 1920, under Japanese rule, Shinchiku Cho (新竹廳) was upgraded to town status. In 1930, the town was renamed as Shinchiku City, under Shinchiku Prefecture. In 1941, its administration district was expanded, annexing Kōzan village (modern-day Xiangshan), whereas Kyūminato village (舊港庄) and Rokka village (六家庄) became Chikuhoku village (竹北庄, modern-day Zhubei) under the same district.

Republic of China

In 1945, the incoming Kuomintang established the Hsinchu City Government to govern Hsinchu-Chou (Shinchiku Prefecture). In 1946, the Take Over Committee dissolved and Hsinchu County Government was formed. Hsinchu County Government was moved to Taoyuan. As the administrative districts were readjusted, it became a provincial city, using the original Prefecture office as its legal office, with seven district offices. In February of the same year, representative congress was formed in every district. On April 15 the City Congress was formed. Provincial Representatives were elected from the city legislators, to become legislative bodies of different levels. On 16 August 1950, the administrative districts in Taiwan were re-adjusted once more, demarcating 16 counties and 5 provincially governed cities.

In June 1982, under the President's order, the Xiangshan Township of Hsinchu County would merge into Hsinchu City, and the new entity would become a provincial city. The new government of Hsinchu was legally established on 1 July 1982 with the merging of Xiangshan, with 103 lis (villages), and 1,635 lins (neighborhoods). The City Government is located on 120 Chung Cheng Road, the former Prefecture Office.

In end of June 1983, there were three Bureaus (Civil Service, Public Works, and Education), four Departments (Finance, Social Welfare, Compulsory Military Service, and Land Affairs), four offices (Secretary, Planning, Personnel, and Auditing), and 49 sections (units, teams) under the City Government's organization to provide services for various urban affairs. Affiliate institutions include the Police Department, Tax Department, and Medicine and Hygiene Department.

By the end of 1982, the city was classified into East, North and Xiangshan districts. The East, North and Xiangshan district administration offices were posted on October 1 and then they were formally established on November 1 in the same year.

From 1994 to 1999, as Taiwan made its transition from authoritarian rule to modern democracy and the mostly pro forma provincial level of government began to be dissolved, regulations were established for formal Hsinchu City self-government. A deputy mayor, consumer officer, and three consultants were added to the city government. In 2002, the city added a Bureau of Labor and transferred Compulsory Military Service to the Department of Civil Service.

Geography

The city is bordered by Hsinchu County to the north and east, Miaoli County to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the west.

Climate

Hsinchu's climate is humid subtropical (Koppen: Cfa). The city is located in a part of the island that has a rainy season that lasts from February to September, with the heaviest time coming late April through August during the southwest monsoon, and also experiences meiyu in May and early June. The city succumbs to hot humid weather from June until September, while October to December are arguably the most pleasant times of year. Hsinchu is affected by easterly winds off of the East China Sea. Natural hazards such as typhoons and earthquakes are common in the region.

Government

Hsinchu City is administered as a provincial city of Taiwan Province. North District is the seat of Hsinchu City which houses the Hsinchu City Government and Hsinchu City Council. The incumbent Mayor of Hsinchu City is Lin Chih-chien of the Democratic Progressive Party.

Politics

Hsinchu City voted one Democratic Progressive Party legislator to be in the Legislative Yuan during the 2016 Republic of China legislative election.

Economy

Hsinchu Science and Technology Industrial Park is home to 360 high tech companies including TSMC, Philips, United Microelectronics Corporation, Holtek, AU Optronics and Epistar. As a result, the city has the highest income level in Taiwan.

The purpose of the park is to attract high tech investment to Taiwan and to make the area the economic center for the information industry. The park is designed to cater for high quality R&D, production, work, life and also recreation. From its establishment in 1978, the government has invested over NT$30 billion on software and hardware ventures. In 2001, it developed 2.5 km² of land in the park and 0.5 km² in southern Hsinchu, attracting 312 high-tech companies' investments. Viewing the performance of Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park in the past 21 years, it can be said that it holds a decisive position in the economic development in Taiwan, with international acclaim.

Although the semi-conductor and related electronic businesses have been doing well, they face fierce competition from Japan, Korea, the United States and Singapore. This has resulted in lower profits and over-supply of some electronic products such as memory and semi-conductors. Therefore, manufacturers, government, academia, and the R&D sectors all recognize the challenges faced by Taiwan's high-tech development. The government has endeavored to upgrade Hsinchu Science Park into a global manufacturing and R&D center of high-end products. They also plan to intensify the cooperation among the manufacturing, academic, and research sectors by introducing incubation centers, in order to elevate the technological standard in the park. Further, through the development of the northern, central, and southern industrial park and its satellite sites, it hopes to sow the seeds of high tech business in all of Taiwan, leading to a vigorous era of high tech development.

Education

Currently, Hsinchu City is one of the most focused educational centers in northern Taiwan. It has six universities in this concentrated area and among these universities, National Chiao Tung University and National Tsing Hua University are highly focused by government in Taiwan on its academic development. Other public and private educational institutions in the city included 33 elementary schools, 19 middle schools, 12 high school and complete secondary school, National Hsinchu Senior High School, National Hsinchu Girls' Senior High School and National Experimental High School are prestigious.

International and American Schools (grade school and secondary school)

Elementary Schools

Junior High School

High Schools

Colleges and Universities

Tourist attractions

Rail

Hsinchu City is accessible from TRA Hsinchu Station and North Hsinchu Station.

Cycling

Hsinchu City has recently created a series of cycling routes to help cyclists navigate the city more easily. Hsinchu is home to many cycling clubs

Notable natives

Twin towns — sister cities

Hsinchu is twinned with: