Cheung Wah, 78, a former Kuomintang soldier, is one of the remaining residents in the Nationalist stronghold of Rennie's Mill, which is waiting to be destroyed. A father of six, he has also become a grandfather of six children in recent years.
What's on your mind? The recent Taiwan Strait tension is a big drama. To us, Chiang Kai-shek was the only president we had in our hearts. Lee Teng-hui or Lin Yang-kang are just struggling for power. They are not fighting for the people.
After all these years, we would not put our hopes on these people any more. We risked our lives to fight for the Kuomintang base, and then it turned out that no one cared about our lives and deaths. We have been asking them to save Rennie's Mill from demolition. What have they done? Now we are split apart by the Government and they are running around for our votes! I'm also unhappy with the American troops. It's a matter for the Chinese. It's nothing to do with them. How much do they know about our history? What are you going to do about it? I'm too old to talk about politics. I only care about my children. I hope they have a good life and stable jobs. And that my grandchildren can grow up properly.
What do you expect to do tomorrow? I will sit in front of the television to see what's going on in the election in Taiwan. If my friends haven't moved out, I think we will gather together to have tea, and to chat in front of the television.
For whom would you vote? I would probably vote for Lin Yang-kang. He's not the best but voting for Lee Teng-hui would mean splitting China apart. We are Chinese and always will be Chinese. We could not stay apart.
What do you think about the demolition of Rennie's Mill? It's really sad to leave neighbours and friends who were once closely-knit, like a family. Things will be totally different when we move out from Rennie's Mill. We've tried our best to fight. But we failed. It's a reality which we have unwillingly to accept.
