The Ministry of Culture yesterday said it is working on a bill to reinvent the Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) Memorial Hall, which, if passed, would see the Taipei landmark renamed and most, if not all, of the authoritarian symbols associated with Chiang removed.
“We all know that the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall was built during the nation’s authoritarian era to commemorate a dictator,” Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) told a Taipei news conference to outline the ministry’s work to promote transitional justice.
“This year marks the 70th anniversary of the 228 Incident and the 30th anniversary of the lifting of martial law. In order to come to terms with history and the damage done, and to pay respect to human rights, we believe that it is necessary to reinvent the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall,” she said.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
The ministry is working on a draft amendment to the Organization Act of National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Management Office (國立中正紀念堂管理處組織法), which is to be reviewed by the Cabinet and the legislature, she said, adding that the ministry hopes the draft can be passed into law within the next six months, during the upcoming legislative session.
The ministry this month pulled merchandise bearing Chiang’s portraits — including figurines, stationery and accessories — from souvenir stores in the building, Cheng said.
The merchandise can still be bought elsewhere, but it would no longer be manufactured, Cheng said.
Photo: CNA
The ministry has restored the names of exhibition halls and performance venues that were later named after Chiang and his relatives, because the original titles were more generic and thus are not viewed as authoritarian symbols, she said.
For example, the Jie Shi Exhibition Hall, whose title adopted an alternative version of Chiang’s name, was seen yesterday to have regained its original title: “The Second Exhibition Hall.”
Broadcasts of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Song — played twice a day as the hall opens and closes — are to be replaced by announcements informing visitors of the facility’s opening hours, Cheng said.
Photo: Chen Yi-chuan, Taipei Times
The ministry this month assembled a panel of experts and academics to assess its plans to repurpose the edifice and gather public opinion on the issue, she said.
In response to media queries over whether the building would be renamed the Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall, a name proposed by the Ministry of Education in 2007, Cheng said the title is being considered by the ministry, adding that the act must be amended before the building’s name can be officially changed.
She reiterated the necessity of amending the act when asked whether exhibits and artifacts associated with Chiang would be removed from the building, as the act stipulates that work to archive and maintain artifacts related to Chiang be performed by the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Management Office.
Photo: Chen Yi-chuan, Taipei Times
Asked whether statues and busts of Chiang would be removed and the daily ceremony of military police changing shifts stopped, Cheng said the issues would be decided after consulting public opinion.
The ministry seeks to transform the building into a facility promoting art and culture, she said.
Northern Taiwan Society chairman Chang Yeh-shen (張葉森) yesterday lauded the ministry’s proposal as “belated justice,” adding that without taking the step of tackling the issues concerning the memorial hall, any talk of implementing transitional justice is worthless.
Additional reporting by Su Fang-ho and Abraham Gerber
‘NO EQUILIBRIUM’: Taiwan’s increased defense spending is a good step, but it needs to do more to have the ability to deter aggression from China, a senior US official said The US plans to sell as many as seven major weapons systems — including mines, cruise missiles and drones — to Taiwan, four people familiar with the discussions said. Pursuing seven sales at once is a rare departure from years of precedent in which US military sales to Taiwan were spaced out and carefully calibrated to minimize tensions with Beijing. However, US President Donald Trump’s administration has this year become more aggressive with China, and the sales would land as relations between Beijing and Washington are at their lowest point in decades over accusations of spying, lingering trade tensions, disputes about the
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS: Several of the PLA fighter jets that crossed the median line of the Strait came within 68km of Hsinchu, drawing warnings from Taiwan, the ministry said At least 18 Chinese military aircraft yesterday flew into the nation’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on the second day of a US delegation’s visit, the Ministry of National Defense said, adding that the military responded by deploying an air defense missile system to monitor their activities. A delegation led by US Undersecretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Keith Krach on Thursday started a three-day visit to Taiwan. The ministry from Thursday started publicizing the actions of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in Taiwan’s ADIZ on its Web site and Twitter. According to ministry reports, 18 PLA aircraft
ON THEIR OWN: The KMT has decided not to participate as a party at this year’s forum, and if any members do go, they would not be representing the party, Alicia Wang said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday announced that it would not send a delegation “as a political party” to this year’s Straits Forum, after a Chinese TV program described the planned visit to the annual meeting as “suing for peace.” The 12th forum is scheduled to open in Xiamen, China, on Saturday. On Tuesday last week, the KMT announced that former legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) would lead the party’s delegation to the forum, with KMT Secretary-General Lee Chien-lung (李乾龍) as deputy head. However, on Thursday last week, China Central Television’s (CCTV) Yangshipin (央視頻) program, hosted by Li Hong (李紅), included a headline
WORKING OVERTIME? NTU professor Lee Duu-jong denied that he had held a part-time position at a Chinese university or joined China’s Thousand Talents Program A candidate for the post of National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST) president yesterday dropped out of the race following a report questioning his links to Chinese academia and government programs. Lee Duu-jong (李篤中), a professor at National Taiwan University’s (NTU) chemical engineering department, was a member of China’s Changjiang Scholars’ Program in 2006 and was on the list of its Thousand Talents Program in 2017, a report by Chinese-language Mirror Media magazine said yesterday. The article said that Lee is suspected of having held a part-time job at the Harbin Institute of Technology in China and was the recipient
RSS