Excerpt from “A Life of Military Horses Under the White Robe, Medical View of Life History”
The history of the ROC Army Kaohsiung General Hospital can be traced back to October of the 34th year of the Republic of China, after the victory of the War of Resistance, when the ROC military took over a Japanese military hospital and established the “Military Administration Department Nanjing Army Hospital”, located in Tangshan, a suburb of Nanjing.
In the 37th year of the Republic of China (1948), due to the full‑scale rebellion of the Chinese Communist Party, the hospital was ordered to relocate to Guangzhou, temporarily borrowing space at the Guangzhou General Hospital while on standby. In the same year it was renamed “Joint Logistics Headquarters First General Hospital”. After the peace talks broke down, in June of the 38th year of the Republic of China (1949) the hospital moved to Taiwan together with the government; all personnel and equipment boarded the Li Min vessel from Guangzhou Huangpu and arrived safely in Keelung on July 1.
With changes in the political situation, the hospital was finally approved to be reestablished at the former site of the Fifth General Hospital Kaohsiung Branch, and renamed the “Ministry of National Defense Army, Navy and Air Force Second General Hospital”, officially opening for treatment on August 1 of the same year. In the 41st year of the Republic of China (1952), due to organizational restructuring, the hospital was transferred under the Joint Logistics Command and renamed the “Joint Logistics Second General Hospital”. In September of the 44th year (1955) it was transferred to the Army Headquarters and renamed the “Army Second General Hospital”. In May of the 49th year (1960) the hospital was officially named the “Army 802 General Hospital”. During the early period after moving to Taiwan, in addition to supporting military formation medical care, it was also responsible for medical support and services for the three service branches’ personnel and their families in the Kaohsiung‑Pingtung area.
After multiple relocations and reorganizations, in the 66th year of the Republic of China (1977) the hospital finally settled on the former site of the former Kaohsiung Air Base in Fengshan Weiwu Camp area, constructing a six‑story medical building. In March of that year the 802 General Hospital moved in, completing the first phase of basic construction, becoming the most fully equipped medical institution in southern Taiwan at the time and one of the core medical centers of the south.
With increasing public demand for medical services, in the 76th year of the Republic of China (1987) the hospital completed the construction of a civilian outpatient building, providing medical services to the general public and becoming the nation’s first military hospital to offer civilian outpatient services, transitioning to a military‑civilian integrated model. In the 87th year (1998) the hospital merged with Pingtung Hospital and was reorganized as the ROC Army Kaohsiung General Hospital, further expanding its medical service scope.
To improve the quality of medical operations, the hospital began construction of the “Joint Medical Building” in the 97th year of the Republic of China (2008), which was officially inaugurated in January of the 102nd year (2013). It not only provides a comprehensive medical environment but also includes a helicopter landing pad capable of handling aircraft such as the ROC military medical rescue helicopter (EC‑225) and the Sea‑Hawk helicopter (S‑70C). It is currently the only hospital in southern Taiwan that has obtained an air navigation permit from the Civil Aeronautics Administration of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, enabling disaster medical operations in remote areas, shortening transport times, and significantly enhancing emergency rescue capabilities.
In response to changes in the social environment, especially in an increasingly fast‑moving technological era, the medical environment has become vastly different from the past. In addition to reforms of software and hardware equipment, the hospital continues to strive for advances in medical technology and improvements in service quality, actively participating in hospital accreditation, professional training, and academic exchanges, seeking innovation and change.
The hospital’s development history is not only part of Taiwan’s medical history; each reorganization witnesses the transformations of the era and the continuous innovation in medicine, making the hospital an indispensable medical core in southern Taiwan. Link
