An unusually high number of protests targeting statues of former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) have been reported across the nation in the wake of the 68th anniversary of the 228 Incident on Saturday.
A statue of Chiang erected in Taichung City’s Jhongjheng Park (中正公園) was found yesterday morning covered with white and red paint as well as ghost money, with the Chinese characters for “killer” and “villain” spray-painted on its pedestal.
Police said it was the second defacement of the stone statue in two days. On Saturday morning, it was discovered with the Chinese character for “murderer” spray-painted on its base. City workers removed the graffiti later that day.
Photo: Wu Cheng-feng, Taipei Times
Taichung’s Construction Bureau director Huang Yu-lin (黃玉霖) said the agency has teamed up with the city’s Education Bureau in investigating if other statues of Chiang have been vandalized.
The city government said that just four of the city’s approximately 400 parks have statues of Chiang and that it would consider whether to keep or relocate them once the investigation has been concluded.
It said no charges would be filed against whoever is responsible, as the spray-painted slogans are considered to be equivalent to stains, but that police presence in the areas involved would be increased.
Photo: Chang Ching-ya, Taipei Times
Meanwhile, in northern Taiwan, a beheaded statue of Chiang depicted in two photographs posted on a Facebook page titled “Indefinite Support to Art Installations Featuring Chiang” (無限期支持—全台裝置藝術蔣) on Saturday has been confirmed to be located in a park in Keelung.
Investigators said the fiberglass-based statue’s head was smashed to pieces, and the statue’s torso and ankles were damaged. They added that the perpetrators apparently attempted to knock the sculpture down before realizing that its legs are made of steel and concrete.
Statues of Chiang erected within Taoyuan’s Jhongjheng Park and in front of the Taoyuan Railway Station were also vandalized.
Photo: Tsai Shu-yuan, Taipei Times
In addition, sculptures of Chiang on campuses nationwide have been defaced over the past few days, including ones at Taipei First Girls’ High School, Taipei Municipal Daan Vocational High School, National Chutung Senior High School, Tunghai University and National Taipei University of Technology.
Tunghai University chief secretary Lu Ping-kuan (呂炳寬) said the school’s statue of Chiang and the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall have existed for nearly three decades and carry historical significance to the university.
“While the school respects students’ opinions and is open to discussions regarding the hall’s renaming and the statue’s removal, they must be expressed in a rational manner,” Lu said, adding that vandalism would be dealt with in accordance with school regulations.
NETWORK-MAPPING PROJECT: The database contains 170 detailed files of Taiwanese politicians and about 23 million records of household registration data in Taiwan China has developed a network-mapping project targeting political figures and parties in Taiwan to monitor public opinion during elections and to craft tailored influence campaigns aimed at dividing Taiwanese society, according to documents leaked by Chinese technology firm GoLaxy (中科天璣). The documents, collected by Taipei-based Doublethink Lab, showed a database was specifically created to gather detailed information on Taiwanese political figures, including their political affiliations, job histories, birthplaces, residences, education, religion and a brief biography about them. Several notable Taiwanese politicians are in the database, including President William Lai (賴清德), former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍),
RECOGNITION: Former Fijian prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry said that Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy serves as a stabilizing force in the Indo-Pacific region Taiwan can lead the unification of the Chinese people, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former Polish president Lech Walesa said in Taipei yesterday, adding that as the world order is changing, peaceful discussion would find good solutions, and that the use of force and coercion would always fail. Walesa made the remarks during his keynote address at a luncheon of the Yushan Forum in Taipei, titled “Indo-Pacific Partnership Prospects: Taiwan’s Values, Technology and Resilience,” organized by the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Walesa said that he had been at the forefront of a big peaceful revolution and “if
KEY INDUSTRY: The vice premier discussed a plan to create a non-red drone supply chain by next year, which has been allocated a budget of more than NT$7.2 billion The government has budgeted NT$44.2 billion (US$1.38 billion) to cultivate Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) industry over the next five years, which would make the nation a major player in the industry’s democratic supply chain in the Asia-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. Cho made the remarks during a visit to the facilities of Cub Elecparts Inc (為升電裝). Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Su-yueh (陳素月) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsieh Yi-fong (謝依鳳) also participated in the trip. Cub Elecparts has transitioned from the automotive industry to the defense industry, which is the top priority among the nation’s
UPGRADED MISSILE: The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology is reportedly to conduct a live-fire test of the Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile on Thursday next week The US Army is planning to build new facilities to boost explosives production and strengthen its supply chain, a move aimed at addressing munitions shortages and supporting obligations to partners including Taiwan, Ukraine and Israel, Defense News reported. The army has issued a sources sought notice for a proposed Center of Excellence at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky, the report said. The facility would serve as a hub within the US industrial base for the production of key military explosives, including research department explosives (RDX) and high melting explosives (HMX), while also supporting research and development of next-generation materials. The proposed
RSS