Pan-blue and pan-green politicians yesterday paid tribute to Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui (蔣渭水) to mark the 76th anniversary of his death.
A physician and literature lover, Chiang was the founder of the Taiwan Culture Association (台灣文化協會) and the Taiwan People's Party (台灣民眾黨), the country's first political party.
Born in 1891 in Ilan County, in 1921 Chiang launched the nation's first large-scale cultural enlightenment movement when he organized the Taiwan Culture Association.
PHOTO: CNA
Chiang said that he sought to "uproot Taiwanese intellectual malnutrition."
He also organized the New Taiwan Alliance and the Taiwanese Labor Alliance in a quest for a more liberal and independent state.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (
Ma said there was no need for the pan-blue and pan-green camps to wrangle over Chiang's stance on the issue of independence.
"He earned respect from [his] next generation for his contribution to Taiwanese politics, culture and society between 1921 and 1930," he said. "Therefore, we need not make excessive inferences and associations [about his political stance] because that would only cause unnecessary harm to his memory."
"Chiang was a great man not only because he resisted the colonialism of Japan, but also because he pushed cultural enlightenment and social reform," he said.
Accompanied by Chiang's nieces, Ma also read a poem written by poet Yang Tu (楊渡), who serves as commissioner of the KMT's Culture and Communication Committee.
"Take care of those who suffer; help those who hate each other become reconciled; offer friendship to those who are lonely. Let us have a promising future," the poem said.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) also paid tribute to Chiang at his tomb at Taipei's Liuzhangli (
DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun was joined by Chiang's son Chiang Sung-hui (
Yu received a set of memorial stamps of Chiang from the foundation, a gesture Yu said symbolized the inheritance of "Taiwanese spirit."
Meanwhile, the Taipei City Government yesterday publicized postcards and a guided tour map as part of the city's remembrance of the late democracy pioneer.
The tour map detailed 11 locations in Taipei City's Dadaocheng (
"We attach great importance to Chiang and the new culture movement [he advocated]," Taipei City Department of Cultural Affairs Director Lee Yong-ping (
Additional reporting by staff writer
Also see story:
Editorial: Co-opting Chiang Wei-shui
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
Prosecutors in New Taipei City yesterday indicted 31 individuals affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for allegedly forging thousands of signatures in recall campaigns targeting three Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. The indictments stem from investigations launched earlier this year after DPP lawmakers Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧) and Lee Kuen-cheng (李坤城) filed criminal complaints accusing campaign organizers of submitting false signatures in recall petitions against them. According to the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office, a total of 2,566 forged recall proposal forms in the initial proposer petition were found during the probe. Among those
ECHOVIRUS 11: The rate of enterovirus infections in northern Taiwan increased last week, with a four-year-old girl developing acute flaccid paralysis, the CDC said Two imported cases of chikungunya fever were reported last week, raising the total this year to 13 cases — the most for the same period in 18 years, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The two cases were a Taiwanese and a foreign national who both arrived from Indonesia, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said. The 13 cases reported this year are the most for the same period since chikungunya was added to the list of notifiable communicable diseases in October 2007, she said, adding that all the cases this year were imported, including 11 from
The Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant’s license has expired and it cannot simply be restarted, the Executive Yuan said today, ahead of national debates on the nuclear power referendum. The No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County was disconnected from the nation’s power grid and completely shut down on May 17, the day its license expired. The government would prioritize people’s safety and conduct necessary evaluations and checks if there is a need to extend the service life of the reactor, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference. Lee said that the referendum would read: “Do
RSS