President-elect Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said he would consider moving the Presidential Office, currently housed in a building occupied by the Japanese governor-general during the colonial period, to Guandu (關渡), on the outskirts of Taipei City, as a symbolic gesture liberating the country from its colonial past.
Ma made the comments during a visit to Chen Fang-ming (陳芳明), chairman of the Graduate Institute of Taiwanese Literature at National Chengchi University.
Ma responded positively to Chen’s advice that transitional justice should also deal with historical issues from the Japanese colonial period and that the previous office of the Japanese governor-general should not continue to serve as the Presidential Office.
Chen quoted Ma as saying that he had already begun considering the issue of moving the Presidential Office when he was Taipei mayor, with Guandu as one of the options.
Chen, a former director of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Department of Culture and Information, said that shedding light on Taiwanese history during the Japanese occupation should also be part of transitional justice and suggested that the current building housing the Presidential Office be turned into a museum of history.
“I support Ma’s plan, and I am glad that he is willing to handle the issue of the history and legacy of the colonial period. I also have no doubts about Ma’s determination to be a president for all people,” Chen said after their 80-minute meeting at the university.
Ma and Chen’s discussion echoed National Taiwan University professor Hsia Chu-chiu’s (夏鑄九) comments earlier this week that a national leader in a democratic country should not use a building that had once housed the Japanese governor.
Chen said the two did not discuss a detailed timeline of relocating the Presidential Office.
The Presidential Office, located on Ketagalan Boulevard, was built by the Japanese during the colonial period. It became the Presidential Office in 1950 after the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) retreated to Taiwan.
Tuo Chung-hwa (脫宗華), deputy director of Taipei City’s Urban Planning Department, said Guandu had no building that could serve as an appropriate Presidential Office, adding that rezoning, reallocating and redistributing the land alone would take at least a year.
Ma’s meeting with Chen was part of his advice-seeking tour following his victory in last month’s presidential election.
After the meeting, Ma lauded Chen for being one of the most influential figures in localization rhetoric and said he shared Chen’s opinion on localization and transitional justice.
Chen said he continues to support DPP Chairman Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and called on Ma to push harder for social reconciliation.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
Pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s (黎智英) fraud conviction and prison sentence were yesterday overturned by a Hong Kong court, in a surprise legal decision that comes soon after Lai was jailed for 20 years on a separate national security charge. Judges Jeremy Poon (潘兆初), Anthea Pang (彭寶琴) and Derek Pang (彭偉昌) said in the judgement that they allowed the appeal from Lai, and another defendant in the case, to proceed, as a lower court judge had “erred.” “The Court of Appeal gave them leave to appeal against their conviction, allowed their appeals, quashed the convictions and set aside the sentences,” the judges
RSS