The Ministry of Education's plan to unveil a new name plaque today for Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall sparked heated debate yesterday between Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City councilors.
The Cabinet last month decided to change the name of the hall to "Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall" (台灣民主紀念館). Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), however, was firmly opposed to the name change and said on Wednesday that if anyone dared to remove the current name plaque or put up a new one, he would have them arrested.
The DPP's Taipei City Council caucus held a press conference yesterday to express their support for the name change.
PHOTO: WANG YI-SUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
"Changing the name that represents a past authoritarian regime is a symbolic move towards realizing transitional justice," said Chen Chia-ming (陳嘉銘), convener of the DPP's council caucus.
However, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) councilors believed that the change was illegal.
"We're not against the name change, but it should be done through the proper legal channels," said KMT City Councilor Wang Chih-ping (汪志冰).
"The CKS Memorial Hall was founded under the Organic Statute of the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Management Office, but the Cabinet is trying to rename it ? using an executive order," KMT City councilor Lin Yi-hua (林奕華) said. "How can an executive order contradict a law?"
During a question-and-answer session yesterday at the city council, Hau said that the city would remain neutral on the name change if the memorial hall was not damaged by the new name plaque.
In March, Taipei City Government classified the memorial hall and its surrounding walls as a temporary historic site to prevent any alteration of the structure.
According to the Cultural Heritage Protection Law (文化資產保護法), a temporary historic site cannot be altered in any way.
"I trust the central government's promise that they will not damage the temporary historic site, and that's the only thing we care about from the city government's point of view," Hau said.
The Ministry of Finance this afternoon announced the winning numbers for the March-April uniform invoice lottery. The winning number for the NT$10 million (US$318,060) special prize is 19531471, and the winning number for the NT$2 million grand prize is 85941329. Three numbers were drawn for the NT$200,000 first prize: 07225810, 20231230 and 83518781. Those with receipts matching the last seven digits of any of the first-prize numbers will win the NT$40,000 second prize, while those matching the last six digits will win the NT$10,000 third prize. Those whose receipts match the last five digits of the first-prize numbers can claim the NT$4,000 fourth prize,
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