富貴角 Fugui Cape, New Taipei City

Fugui (富貴; lit. "wealthy [and] noble") Cape in Shimen District (石門區) of New Taipei City is a rare example of a place name derived from the Dutch language.

This does not date back to the 17th-century Dutch colony on Taiwan, however, but [according to a signboard near the cape's lighthouse] to the name "Hoek" meaning "cape", noted in his journal by a Dutch missionary during the Yongzheng (雍正; 1722-35) reign period of the Qing Dynasty, and transliterated by the Hoklo Taiwanese 富貴 (hu-kui).

[MC: 2021 update: Fuguijiao, or rather its original Hoklo Taiwanese pronunciation of Hu-gwee Gak, represents the tautological combination of a transliteration of the Dutch hoek, meaning "corner" (which was used for "cape" until the Portuguese word cabo was later absorbed as kaap) plus translation of the same word into Chinese as 角, which also means "corner" but is similarly used for capes. A nearby sign states this derives from the presence of Dutch engineers employed to build a lighthouse at the beginning of the Period of Japanese Rule (1895-1945); Wikipedia says they were hired to lay undersea cables from Japan to its new colony; but Abe Akiyoshi (安倍明義), whose "Research on Taiwan Place Names" (台灣地名研究) is generally reliable, says that a map in Dutch missionary records from 1726 identifies it as Hoek Van Camatiao, from which the name derives.]

Public opinion behind name change

Although the case for changing the name of Jungong Road (軍功路) in Taipei City to Heping E. Road Sec.4 (和平東路四段) having already been submitted to the city council for review, public opinion is still divided, with a majority wanting the change implemented immediately, but 13 percent objecting to the name changing at all.

In light of this, the city’s Department of Civil Affairs (民政局) said the entire case could not be overturned and would continue public consultations.

The situation is complicated because Jungong Road does not continue directly from Heping E. Road Sec.3, there is part of Wolong Street (臥龍街) as well as the Zhuangjing Tunnel (莊敬隧道) in between, with one suggestion being that these would be changed to become a continuation of Section 3. Following a survey of residents which found 73 percent in support of the changes and 13 percent against, in July 2011 the city council was asked to approve the proposal.

[From an article this week in the Liberty Times (full Chinese-language article here)]

The article doesn’t discuss the motivation behind the name change, but sources cynically suggest to FTTK that it is all about real estate values, with properties located on Heping E. Road—which is associated with the Daan District of Taipei—being worth considerably more than those on Jungong Road, which is in the Muzha area of Wenshan District.

Heping, literally “peace and tranquility” are two of the Confucian “eight virtues” (八德; bade), while Jungong means “military achievements”.