雲林定遠電臺

October 2nd, 2024

The front gate to a half-demolished radio station in Yunlin County.

This former Cold War facility was officially the Huwei Branch of the Central Broadcasting Station (中央廣播電臺虎尾分臺), but it is more generally known as Dingyuan Radio Station (定遠電臺). It was established in 1972 with the assistance of the US military, who provided shortwave radio transmitters and high-gain antennae for the project. Its primary mission was to broadcast news and propaganda into the People’s Republic of China. At its peak it was capable of reaching pretty much anywhere within PRC territory.

Mangled wreckage along the side of the radio station compound.

Around back at the old radio station outside of Huwei. That’s a guard tower in the foreground.

After the US military withdrawal from Taiwan in the 1970s the station was turned over to the Ministry of National Defense and operations otherwise continued pretty much as before. The location of the station was a relatively well-guarded secret and the site was garrisoned by military police, evidence of which can still be seen in the watchtowers around the perimeter. Security was relaxed around 1998 when the military police withdrew, but the station continued broadcasting until it was finally abolished in 2013.

A distinctive yellow ruin in the plains of Yunlin.

The half-demolished hulk of the old Dingyuan Radio Station.

Another look at the ruins of the old radio station.

The sentry post at the northeast corner of the radio station compound.

Controversy erupted after the station was decommissioned as the county government swiftly moved to dismantle the site—despite the Ministry of Culture having already provisionally listed it as a heritage property. The main building was mostly demolished before public outcry put everything on hold. After more than a year of fighting over the future of the radio station it was formally designated a heritage property.

Warning: this location is abandoned, hazardous, or otherwise neglected and may be unsafe and even dangerous! Exercise appropriate precautions when visiting.

警告：此處已廢棄或長期無人管理，可能存在潛在危險。造訪時請務必提高警覺，並做好相關安全防護措施。

Map

Heritage Status

Cultural Landscape (文化景觀)

Recorded On

May 30th, 2017
September 14th, 2025

Themes

Urban Exploration in Taiwan (台灣城市探險)
US-ROC Alliance Period (中美共同時期)
Telecommunication History in Taiwan (台灣通訊歷史)

Series: Taiwan Summer Road Trip 2017

In the summer of 2017 I borrowed a scooter to ride to a music festival in Nantou and only returned it several months later. It wasn’t a continuous road trip—I’d leave the scooter parked at various HSR stations as I slowly made my way around central and southern Taiwan—but each leg of the trip usually involved 3 or 4 days of riding. In the end I gathered enough material for 60 or 70 posts, only some of which have been published.