The statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) in the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei was vandalized by a group of activists from the “Taiwan Republic Campaign” yesterday in an apparent political protest timed to coincide with 228 Memorial Day.
The activists threw eggs and water balloons filled with black paint onto the statue, while shouting: “Chiang was a murderer” and “there is no forgiveness if there is no truth,” referring to the 228 Incident and the White Terror era.
Police said that two activists — Peter Wang (王獻極) and Chen Chun-han (陳峻涵) — were taken in for questioning and might be charged with violating the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法).
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
In a press conference held earlier in the day, Chen said that the campaigners would remind Taiwan of its history and facilitate transitional justice through their annual activities commemorating the 228 Incident.
The 228 Incident, which began on Feb. 27, 1947, refers to an uprising against the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration, which led to the killings of tens of thousands of Taiwanese and nearly four decades of martial law.
Chiang statues and symbols on college campuses nationwide were vandalized in a similar manner on Thursday, including those in National Chiao Tung University, National Yang Ming University, Soochow University and Fu Jen Catholic University.
Statues were covered with red paint or draped in folds of cloth, on which words like “murderer” or “repent for the dead” were graffitied — apparently referring to Chiang’s involvement in the 228 Incident and the ensuing White Terror era.
Chen Yu-hsiang (陳佑詳), a senior at National Yang Ming University, said in a statement that “the public cannot do justice to the victims of the [White Terror] era if we observe 228 Memorial Day while turning a blind eye to totalitarian symbols that are ubiquitous on campuses.”
“Regardless of Chiang’s accomplishments and faults, what is more terrifying than the ubiquity of Chiang statues is the sacred and inviolable image of Chiang Gong (蔣公) [meaning revered generalissimo Chiang] and a slave mentality that many people still hold on to,” he said.
A student campaigner surnamed Chen (陳) at Soochow University said that petitions to remove a Chiang statue from the university library had been submitted several times to authorities, only to meet with perfunctory responses, so the campaigners decided to escalate their campaign by doing something “radical.”
Students have taken the campaign onto the Internet by setting up a Facebook page that encourages vandalism of Chiang statues, calling the vandalism “installation art.”
Most college authorities said that they would not take any disciplinary actions against students who are allegedly involved in the vandalism, but called for the campaigners to express their opinions through proper channels.
Additional reporting by We Po-hsuan and Lee Ya-wen
The paramount chief of a volcanic island in Vanuatu yesterday said that he was “very impressed” by a UN court’s declaration that countries must tackle climate change. Vanuatu spearheaded the legal case at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, which on Wednesday ruled that countries have a duty to protect against the threat of a warming planet. “I’m very impressed,” George Bumseng, the top chief of the Pacific archipelago’s island of Ambrym, told reporters in the capital, Port Vila. “We have been waiting for this decision for a long time because we have been victims of this climate change for
Rainfall is expected to become more widespread and persistent across central and southern Taiwan over the next few days, with the effects of the weather patterns becoming most prominent between last night and tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that based on the latest forecast models of the combination of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds, rainfall and flooding are expected to continue in central and southern Taiwan from today to Sunday. The CWA also warned of flash floods, thunder and lightning, and strong gusts in these areas, as well as landslides and fallen
MASSIVE LOSS: If the next recall votes also fail, it would signal that the administration of President William Lai would continue to face strong resistance within the legislature The results of recall votes yesterday dealt a blow to the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) efforts to overturn the opposition-controlled legislature, as all 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers survived the recall bids. Backed by President William Lai’s (賴清德) DPP, civic groups led the recall drive, seeking to remove 31 out of 39 KMT lawmakers from the 113-seat legislature, in which the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) together hold a majority with 62 seats, while the DPP holds 51 seats. The scale of the recall elections was unprecedented, with another seven KMT lawmakers facing similar votes on Aug. 23. For a
All 24 lawmakers of the main opposition Chinese Nationalists Party (KMT) on Saturday survived historical nationwide recall elections, ensuring that the KMT along with Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) lawmakers will maintain opposition control of the legislature. Recall votes against all 24 KMT lawmakers as well as Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) and KMT legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) failed to pass, according to Central Election Commission (CEC) figures. In only six of the 24 recall votes did the ballots cast in favor of the recall even meet the threshold of 25 percent of eligible voters needed for the recall to pass,
RSS