A group of high-school students from across the nation has launched a campaign advocating the removal of statues of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) from all campuses nationwide, announcing their initiative through a video released on Monday.
Taipei Chenggong High School (成功高中) started filming the clip and was later joined by various high schools, including Taipei Municipal Jianguo High School (建國中學), Taipei First Girls’ High School (北一女中), the Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University (師大附中), National Tainan Girls’ Senior High School (台南女中) and St Ignatius High School (徐匯中學).
The video’s release was timed to coincide with the 27th anniversary of the end of the Martial Law era on July 14, 1987.
Photo taken from YouTube
Titled 7/14 Beginning of our modern democracy, banish all Chiang statues from school campuses, students say in the three-minute video that it is time to do away with reverence for Chiang’s authoritarian rule at schools.
They joined up with fellow students currently enrolled at several leading high schools. Filmed on location, the video aims to show viewers that at these schools, statues of Chiang, symbols of his authoritarian rule and the Martial Law era are still displayed prominently.
Holding placards, the students are seen standing in front of a Chiang statue at Taipei Municipal Jianguo High School saying: “July 14. On this day, the government order to abolish martial law was made. It marked the end of authoritarian rule and the start of Taiwan’s modern democracy.”
“Although the era of authoritarian rule has ended, its legacy in the form of Chiang Kai-shek statues is still in place at many schools and university campuses. We believe it’s time to remove them from all schools so ‘transitional justice’ can be achieved,” they say in the video.
“After July 14, we have our current democracy, freedom and human rights. These were fought for and gained by the democracy activists of yesteryear. Let us all commemorate this day together,” they add.
“Although Chiang made contributions to the Republic of China [ROC], he imposed martial law and the ‘White Terror,’ severely violated human rights and repressed democracy and freedom. All these are contrary to the ideals of ROC founding father Sun Yat-sen (孫中山),” the students added.
“Why is Hitler repudiated by people everywhere, but Chiang Kai-shek is still worshiped here? We do not have to track down who was responsible for past crimes, but why does Chiang’s statue still stand at schools? The man denied the people democracy, freedom and human rights. Why should people pay respect to him?” they said.
Near its end, the video lists the names of victims of Chiang’s White Terror era, while the song used by the government to commemorate the late leader plays ironically.
The students said they want Taiwanese to remember that the democracy they enjoy today was won by the blood, sweat and sacrifice of many activists.
“We can forgive, but must not forget history. The fight against authoritarianism starts on school campuses. So let’s remove all Chiang’s statues from schools,” they said.
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
The government is considering polices to increase rental subsidies for people living in social housing who get married and have children, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. During an interview with the Plain Law Movement (法律白話文) podcast, Cho said that housing prices cannot be brought down overnight without affecting banks and mortgages. Therefore, the government is focusing on providing more aid for young people by taking 3 to 5 percent of urban renewal projects and zone expropriations and using that land for social housing, he said. Single people living in social housing who get married and become parents could obtain 50 percent more
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
Democracies must remain united in the face of a shifting geopolitical landscape, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday, while emphasizing the importance of Taiwan’s security to the world. “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism,” Tsai said at the annual forum in the Danish capital. Noting a “new geopolitical landscape” in which global trade and security face “uncertainty and unpredictability,” Tsai said that democracies must remain united and be more committed to building up resilience together in the face of challenges. Resilience “allows us to absorb shocks, adapt under
RSS