A witness to history
The meaning and value of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall has become the subject of a wrestling match between different ethnic groups. Since the hall still has an impact and because there is still an unequal distribution of power in society, perhaps now is not the time to demolish the structure.
By leaving it standing, it can become a valuable witness to history and provide members of all ethnic groups with a link to history, which each person can use to commemorate the past in their own particular way.
We should view the space and collections of the memorial hall as exhibits within a museum, and through explanatory information allow each object to become a witness to history. The hall could become a powerful tool that could be used to shape and establish a more open and diverse range of viewpoints, and used to record and display the collective memories and diverse experiences of different ethnic groups.
This would be a vast improvement on the current setup, which is nothing more than an exhibition of a dinosaur, frozen in time.
Liao Shih-chang
Taipei
When a bus is a bus
Tell me I am wrong. If I am, I would be happy to listen and learn, but the Taichung Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) was a half-hearted scam from the get go.
When former Taichung mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) ran for re-election, the attempt before his final failing bid, he threw up barriers all over Wenshin Road, as well as some other roadways, to tantalize residents with the idea that we would some day join the first world and have a real mass rapid transit system. The ruse worked and he was elected mayor.
One month later those barriers came down as well as all expectations.
For four years there were no improvements in the vast majority of the city outside of the area where the new city hall is located.
Three years and a few months later, re-election looms once again and it is time to pull another ruse. Knowing he could not fool people with the fake walls again, Hu pivoted to the incredibly unimaginative idea of the BRT. It is like a bus, but it is just a bus. Get it?
Anyway, some thought it was the answer to the traffic situation, although it caused as many problems as it answered. While dedicated bus lanes and better marked loading areas were an improvement, this was neither a working MRT nor a worthwhile improvement over the standard bus. Nothing electric. No better monitoring and reporting systems. It was a stop gap at best.
A fresh coat of paint on an old and very tired vehicle.
Now people want to have a tantrum about the dismantling of this system? I could understand people saying this should wait until the MRT actually becomes operational, but again, tell me I am wrong. This whole thing was a joke from inception. Right? The BRT is a bus. The BRT will be replaced with a bus. Tyranny is afoot. Or maybe not.
Aaron Andrews
Taichung
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