Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (
Hau, when approached by reporters yesterday, reiterated that the Cabinet's plan showed "some people were trying to sacrifice the people's rights for their own political interests."
"This is not something that can be resolved by drawing up new regulations," he said. "We are defending the rights of the people and we will never make concessions."
Hau made the comments in response to a report in the Chinese-language China Times yesterday, which said the Cabinet had decided to propose a new statute governing the hall after it is renamed the "Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall."
The statute, if passed, would constitute the legal basis for establishing the democracy hall and an office to manage it, the report said.
It added that the Cabinet also planned to put forth a proposal to the legislature to abolish the Provisions Governing the Organization of the CKS Memorial Hall Administration Office (
"The Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] caucus will prevent such legislation from being passed," KMT Legislator Hsu Shao-ping (
A closed-door meeting hosted by Minister of Education Tu Cheng-sheng (
A statement from the Ministry of Education stated that the park surrounding the memorial would be renamed "Taiwan Democracy Park," with the Construction and Planning Agency forming a task force to discuss demolishing the walls and submitting a report on the project within a month.
The Taipei City Government claimed jurisdiction over the memorial on Saturday, saying that the Cabinet would be breaking the law if it tore down the walls without a permit from the city government.
Any changes made without a municipal license approved by the city government would constitute a violation of construction and urban planning regulations, and the Cabinet could face a fine of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000, the City's Urban Planning Commission said on Saturday, adding that related personnel could face six months in jail if they push through with the planned deconstruction.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Wang Sing-nan (
However, the DPP caucus will give the Cabinet its full support if the Cabinet decides to pursue new legislation, he said.
Cabinet Spokesman Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) said yesterday the government did not need to gain approval from the legislature to change the name of the memorial.
The government is authorized to enact an organic act for the "Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall" in accordance with Article 4 of "The Basic Organic Act of Central Administrative Agencies [
The organic act for "Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall" would become effective once it was enacted, he said.
According to the article, the government can enact organic acts for agencies below the third-level of the government without the legislature's approval.
The CKS Memorial Hall, which falls under the administration of the education ministry's Department of Social Education is one of the agencies, he said.
The current organic act for the Memorial Hall will then be annulled, he said.
Cheng said the Taipei City Government and independent experts would be invited to attend a committee to plan the landscape around the "Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall."
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan
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