The Kaohsiung City Government's removal of a statue of late dictator Chiang Kai-shek (
Following the passage of a draft bill to amend the Organic Regulations Concerning the Bureau of Cultural Affairs of the Kaohsiung City Government (
As a result, the Chiang Kai-shek Culture Center was renamed Kaohsiung City Culture Center. In accordance with the Local Government Act (地方制度法), the name change did not require the approval of the city council.
More than 400 police officers were called in to maintain order while the bureau set to work removing Chiang's statue and replacing the center's nameplate on Tuesday evening.
Angry pan-blue city councilors, legislators and supporters were kept at bay by police barricades while members of the bureau completed their task. Chiang's statue was segmented for removal and a board that read "Always Remember Our Leader" was also taken down.
The clashes between demonstrators and the police continued through yesterday morning.
Chen refused to say where Chiang's statue would be stored, but said it would not be destroyed.
The Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) Kaohsiung City Council caucus issued a statement late on Tuesday night and saying that the city government should not attempt to deny the historical importance of Chiang and his contribution to the nation.
The DPP caucus, meanwhile, said that those who were opposed to the changes should "allow the culture center to be purely dedicated to cultural activities."
DPP Legislator Wang Shu-hui (王淑慧) told a press conference that the changes were in keeping with the tenets of transitional justice.
DPP Legislator Lin Su-shan (
KMT lawmakers called on the public to participate in a demonstration planned to take place at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei on March 31.
KMT Legislator Hsu Shao-ping (
"There is a culture center in remembrance of the late US president John F. Kennedy and a culture center in memory of the late French president Francois Mitterrand," said KMT Legislator John Chiang (蔣孝嚴), grandson of Chiang Kai-shek. "Why can't we have a culture center commemorating a Taiwanese politician?"
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
RSS