Taipei Times
Date: Oct 21, 2019
By: Lin Ching-lun and Jake Chung  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

A petition to list Yilan County’s Turtle Island (Gueishan Island, 龜山島) as a county-level cultural

heritage site was accepted on Wednesday, the county government said on Saturday, adding that the outcome would be decided within six months.

The petition was launched by former Turtle Island resident Chien Ying-chun (簡英俊), who said he wanted to preserve history and his childhood memories.

Records show that the island was first inhabited by people during the mid-1800s, and at its peak, was home to about 700 people.

Yilan County Government negotiated the relocation of the island’s inhabitants in 1974 and the Ministry of National Defense closed it off for military purposes.    [FULL  STORY]