Several pan-green civic groups yesterday urged president-elect Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to hold a referendum on whether the Liberty Square and National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall should revert back to their old names.
"We urge Ma to consider holding a referendum on the name change issue. This could be a prime opportunity to show the [new] administration's ability to rise above ideology and promote ethnic reconciliation," the advocates said, using Ma's campaign slogan "Are you ready?" to question his readiness to let the public decide the fate of the hall.
LESSON
Huang Luo-fei (
The renaming of the hall and the plaza that surrounds the mausoleum sparked a nationwide controversy last May when it was first announced.
While some believe it was a necessary move as part of transitional justice, others accused the Democratic Progressive Party of stirring up ethnic tension to rally voters ahead of the legislative elections in January and the presidential poll last month.
RESPECT
Peng Yang-kai (
"It is not that we don't respect the original statues in CKS Hall or the dilemma that it presents. But we believe that no matter what decision we make, we must be able to stand blameless before future generations," he said.
Yang Chih-bing (楊志彬), the secretary-general of the Community Empowering Society, urged Ma to remember the historical significance and the symbolism behind the hall and cherish a golden opportunity to bring reconciliation amid the "ethnic" and "racial tension" that exists in Taiwan.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
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