Politicians across party lines often laud democracy as the nation’s greatest achievement and a major asset. However, the fact that yesterday — Oct. 31 — was still observed as a public holiday commemorating Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) birthday was a timely reminder to the government and the public alike that the nation is far from achieving its dream of transitional justice.
As a result of government inaction, ludicrous forms of veneration of Chiang remain across the country. Aside from observing his birth and death, statues of the dictator continue to dominate many public spaces and campuses, not to mention the most grandiose of them all — the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei — to honor the main culprit behind the 228 Massacre and the White Terror era, in which tens of thousands of Taiwanese perished.
The public has had enough after the administration of former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), which merely paid lip service to democracy.
With the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which has long preached about the importance of democracy, taking over, many harbor high hopes that it would carry through the long-overdue transitional justice.
There are various steps that the government can take to prove it is serious about achieving its promise of change.
For example, rather than commemorating Chiang and observing days that are irrelevant to Taiwanese, it could designate holidays that are centered on Taiwanese consciousness and honor those who fought to bring about democracy.
It should also work to remove the vestiges of authoritarianism by eradicating worship of a totalitarian regime.
As for the CKS Memorial Hall, the government could initiate a public discussion on whether this public space — covering more than 25 hectares with a 76m-tall monument at the center — should remain devoted to Chiang, or be transformed into another instution, such as a research center or a museum for all of the nation’s presidents, as New Power Party Legislator Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) has suggested.
While some may be quick to criticize these moves as attempts to instigate polarizing conflicts, the truth is those critics have failed to keep pace with progress and changing values, are unwilling to engage in rational discussion and are stuck in an authoritarian party-state mindset.
Indeed, Taiwan should be proud of its political achievements, having earlier this year consolidated its democracy with a third peaceful transfer of political power.
However, it is ironic for Taiwan to tout itself as a model of a flourishing democracy and for Taiwanese politicians to trumpet democratic values when the nation has done little to discard authoritarian ideas and values.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has vowed to promote transitional justice and transform Taiwan into a truly free and democratic nation. If she means what she says, her administration should start by eradicating all forms of totalitarian worship that still permeates all corners of the nation.
The US Senate’s passage of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which urges Taiwan’s inclusion in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise and allocates US$1 billion in military aid, marks yet another milestone in Washington’s growing support for Taipei. On paper, it reflects the steadiness of US commitment, but beneath this show of solidarity lies contradiction. While the US Congress builds a stable, bipartisan architecture of deterrence, US President Donald Trump repeatedly undercuts it through erratic decisions and transactional diplomacy. This dissonance not only weakens the US’ credibility abroad — it also fractures public trust within Taiwan. For decades,
In 1976, the Gang of Four was ousted. The Gang of Four was a leftist political group comprising Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members: Jiang Qing (江青), its leading figure and Mao Zedong’s (毛澤東) last wife; Zhang Chunqiao (張春橋); Yao Wenyuan (姚文元); and Wang Hongwen (王洪文). The four wielded supreme power during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), but when Mao died, they were overthrown and charged with crimes against China in what was in essence a political coup of the right against the left. The same type of thing might be happening again as the CCP has expelled nine top generals. Rather than a
Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) on Saturday won the party’s chairperson election with 65,122 votes, or 50.15 percent of the votes, becoming the second woman in the seat and the first to have switched allegiance from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to the KMT. Cheng, running for the top KMT position for the first time, had been termed a “dark horse,” while the biggest contender was former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), considered by many to represent the party’s establishment elite. Hau also has substantial experience in government and in the KMT. Cheng joined the Wild Lily Student
Taipei stands as one of the safest capital cities the world. Taiwan has exceptionally low crime rates — lower than many European nations — and is one of Asia’s leading democracies, respected for its rule of law and commitment to human rights. It is among the few Asian countries to have given legal effect to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant of Social Economic and Cultural Rights. Yet Taiwan continues to uphold the death penalty. This year, the government has taken a number of regressive steps: Executions have resumed, proposals for harsher prison sentences
RSS