Minor clashes as CKS hall renamed

The Cultural Heritage Protection Law (文化資產保護法) stipulates that a temporary historical site cannot be altered or damaged in any way.

The Taipei City Government said the decorations used during the unveiling ceremony were in violation of the Cultural Heritage Protection Law.

"There were many [violations], such as nails on the structure and banners covering the building. All these altered the original appearance of the historical structure," Taipei City Government director of information Yang Hsiao-tung (羊曉東) said. "We'll ask the Ministry of Education to restore it [the memorial hall] to its original state."

Taipei's KMT Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), yesterday condemned the move, which he deemed "illegal."

"The government set a bad example by damaging the legal system and deceiving the public ... We demand the removal of the plaque," he told the reporters, referring to the amendment to the Organic Statute of Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (中正紀念堂組織條例) and a proposed statute concerning the organization of the Taiwan Democracy Hall.

KMT caucus whip Hsu Shao-ping (徐少萍) told a press conference yesterday that the two bills have yet to be put on the legislative agenda.

Under these circumstances, changing the name of the hall and unveiling the new plaques were illegal, she said, threatening to block the two bills in the legislature.

"I will never allow them to be passed. Without them being passed, everything related to the Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall would be invalidated," she said.

The Taiwan Solidarity Union yesterday panned the government for a different reason, accusing the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of "fooling the public."

The name change was "ironic" because the DPP still doesn't dare to remove Chiang's statue from the hall, said TSU Secretary-General Chien Cheng-shan (錢橙山), referring to the gigantic statue of the dictator sitting under the hall's roof.

"Changing the title of CKS Memorial Hall [to Taiwan Democracy Hall] is not enough," he said. "We need to make the Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall a democracy hall in reality as well as in name."

"The important mission of the Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall is to help our coming generations understand Taiwan's democratization process and commemorate all those who made a contribution to it," he said.

DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun, on the other hand, said he was happy to see the name change, as it represented the "fulfillment of transitional justice."

He expressed disappointment, however, at the KMT's continuing opposition to the change and its failure to use the opportunity to reflect upon its history of authoritarian governance.