Opposition lawmakers yesterday threatened to foil the government's plan to change the name of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei.
The Ministry of Education is planning to invite President Chen Shui-bian (
However, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (
Hau said on Wednesday that if anyone dared to remove the current name plaque or put up a new name, he would have the person arrested.
The ministry's plan drew harsh criticism from the opposition in the legislature's Organic Laws and Statutes Committee yesterday.
KMT Legislator Joanna Lei (雷倩), who chaired the committee meeting, said her caucus would initiate a signature drive among legislators to demand a review of the ministry's proposal on the name change.
At least 30 signatures would be required to back the opposition's move.
The ministry has sent the proposal to the legislature for ratification, but argues that the name "CKS Memorial Hall" became invalid as soon as the Executive Yuan approved the proposal.
KMT Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) criticized the ministry's planned name change as an "election ploy" to woo pro-independence voters in the year-end legislative elections and next year's presidential poll.
KMT Legislator Hsu Shao-ping (徐少萍) also proposed a review of the ministry's proposal and accused the ministry of attempting to score political points for the Chen administration, which Hsu said was characterized by lackluster performance.
Hsu said that the ministry's hasty action was a meaningless gesture and would only provoke political confrontation.
KMT Legislator Diane Lee (
She said that the ministry should have waited until the legislature agreed to abolish the law governing the CKS Memorial Hall before issuing an executive order to change its name and structure.
Vice Minister of Education Chou Tsan-der (
"The CKS Memorial Hall ceased to exist the day the Executive Yuan approved our proposal," he said.
"If the legislature eventually decides to keep the old museum and its name, we will respect the legislature's decision, but until then, we can't sit idly by and do nothing," Chou said.
Chou was elusive about the design of the new plaque and how it would be displayed.
He said that the sign would be placed somewhere "visible" and would not violate the Cultural Heritage Preservation Law (
The museum compound is protected by the law, as the Taipei City Government is in the process of investigating its worthiness as an historic site.
Yeh Chin-yuan (葉慶元), a member of the city government's laws and regulations commission, told the legislative committee yesterday that the city would monitor the situation at the hall closely tomorrow to see if anyone damages the hall.
no right
Saying that the ministry had no right to trample on the legislature's authority and ignore the law, Yeh added that the Chen administration should have spent more time and effort improving the economy, instead of spending approximately NT$8 million (US$250,000) on changing the name of a museum.
Meanwhile, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators said that the Taipei City Government had no right to challenge the central government's authority.
budget
If the KMT really cared for the preservation of historical sites, it would waste no time in passing the central government's annual budget for the current fiscal year so that funds could be appropriated for the maintanence of historical sites, the DPP legislators said.
The campaign came after the government rekindled a name-change campaign earlier this year to purge the country of Chiang's legacy and the words "China" or "Chinese."
Additional reporting by DPA and CNA
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