Taiwanese showbiz personalities such as retired actress Lin Ching-hsia and the late songbird Teresa Teng trace their family history back to Military Dependents' Villages.

These were haphazardly constructed homes the Chinese Kuomintang soldiers settled into when they fled to Taiwan in 1949 after being defeated by the communists.

Top Taiwanese TV producer Wang Wei-chung, who is behind hit shows such as One Million Star, also shares the same heritage and thought there should be a play about these villages.

For more The Straits Times stories, click here.