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Villages are the fourth level administrative subdivisions of Taiwan. It is the basic unit of Taiwanese administrative subdivision; under townships, county-controlled cities or districts. There are two types of villages depending on the divisions it belongs to and the population it contains.
Contents
Structuring and Sizing
The history of Village in Taiwan could date back to the ōaza (大字) and chō (町) in the Japanese era. The formation of village helps to divide area in considerations for transportation and city planning. The formation of village and its size depends largely on the county it is located or the population nature of the local area. In counties or districts of limited population, 100 households could form a village whereas in dense populated New Taipei, 1,000 households are necessary to form a village. In very densely populated areas, a village could comprise a population of up to 4,000 households. (Fushan Village of Kaohsiung City contains a population of 39,800) Thus the sizes of village varies widely.
Head
The head of a village is usually elected by the people of the village, the duration of the authority lasts for four years before the next election occurs. According to the government, the head is subsidized with 45,000 NT per month for local transportation, stationary, postage and bill fees.
The head of a village holds responsibility to accept complaints and suggestions, initiate and hold meetings, handout certificates of various sorts, encourage bill payments and assist filling out of government documents if required.