MA'S COMMENTS
Ma said the DPP was manipulating the issue for electoral purposes.
"The action is illegal, violates democracy and twists the Cultural Heritage Preservation Law (文化資產保存法)," he said.
Ma said that visitors from China and Japan are interested in relics related to Chiang Kai-shek and former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國).
"For Taiwan, these relics are part of Taiwanese history," he said.
A police official said yesterday that several DPP Taipei City councilors had applied to the city Police Department to hold rallies on the sidewalks surrounding the hall.
The application said the rallies would be held from yesterday to Dec. 15.
Huang Ching-fu (黃清福), head of the department's social order maintenance office, said the application had been approved.
Huang said police officers would be deployed at the rally site to prevent conflict between political opponents.
CABINET POSITION
Cabinet Spokesman Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉) said yesterday that the Executive Yuan respected the Taipei City Government's intention to file a constitutional interpretation on the matter.
However, Shieh said, all the decisions taken by the Executive Yuan were based upon regulations.
Approached by reporters for President Chen's position on the matter, Hsieh Hsin-ni (謝欣霓), director of the DPP's Culture and Information Department, said the four characters on the front gate were not Chiang Kai-shek's property and should not be used by any one party as a political totem or electoral label.
Hsieh said Ma should be grateful that the DPP had changed the hall to its current name because this had demonstrated the willingness of the DPP and families of the victims to forgive the KMT for the atrocities committed during its rule.
If Ma wanted to reinstate the inscription, he should inform the public as to whether the KMT would arrest people as it pleases, place them under custody or even kill them, Hsieh said.
Additional reporting by Ko Shu-ling, Shih Hsiu-chuan and agencies"
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