A proposal by the Ministry of National Defense to remove statues of the dictator Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) from military bases drew harsh criticism from pan-blue legislators yesterday.
The ministry proposed removing old and eroded statues of Chiang Kai-shek and his son, former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), from military bases nationwide. The story came to light after the decision was leaked to Chinese-language newspapers. But because of the sensitivity of the issue, the ministry would not disclose who made the decision.
"Neither President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) nor Minister of National Defense Lee Jye (
Diehard pan-blue supporters immediately launched into hyperbolic attacks on the proposal.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Shuai Hua-min (
He said the government and the military should honor history, and that the statues did not contribute to the politicization of the military.
The Presidential Office yesterday dismissed media reports that Chen had ordered the move.
David Lee (李南陽), director-general of the Department of Public Affairs at the Presidential Office, said that Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and the defense ministry had already dismissed the allegation.
Cho said on Sunday that it made sense to erase the marks that the authoritarian KMT regime had left on the nation's military. As for how and when this should be done, Cho said that the Presidential Office left this to the Executive Yuan and the defense ministry.
Taiwan's military has many symbolic remnants from the KMT authoritarian state era, from unit and service insignia that use the party's logo, a white sun on a blue background, to songs urging soldiers to "retake the sacred motherland [China]."
KMT Legislator Lin Yu-fang (
He said that a statue of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, a Confederate Army general who fought for the secessionist states during the US Civil War, stands to this day in the Virginia Military Institute. Why then, he asked, should a statue of Chiang Kai-shek, the founder of the Whampoa Military Academy, be removed?
The original Whampoa Military Academy was founded by Chiang Kai-shek in 1924 in Guangzhou Province. After the KMT was defeated and fled to Taiwan, the school was relocated to Fengshan, Kaohsiung County.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Wen-chung (
The proposal to remove the statues is part of a wider program to depoliticize the military begun in 2000. Other proposals include discontinuing the use of Chinese and KMT symbols.
The defense ministry recently decided to change one phrase of the Whampoa Military Academy's anthem from "the party flag is flying" to "the national flag is flying."
This move was also criticized by pan-blue lawmakers at the meeting yesterday.
DPP legislators have also asked for the military to stop singing military songs honoring China and the KMT, saying that it is ridiculous for the practice to continue.
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
RSS