The government moved another step toward changing the name of the National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall back to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall yesterday, although it remains tight-lipped about the plan.
At the weekly Cabinet meeting, Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) instructed the Executive Yuan to withdraw the requests to abolish the Organic Statute of Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (中正紀念堂組織條例) and the note on the existence of the Organic Statute of National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall (國立台灣民主紀念館組織規程) from the legislature.
Last year the former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government renamed the memorial as part of its efforts to remove symbols commemorating dictator Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石). The DPP also replaced the four-character inscription on the hall’s entry arch, dazhong zhizheng (大中至正), meaning Chiang’s “great neutrality and perfect uprightness,” to “Liberty Square” (自由廣場) and redecorated the hall.
The move was controversial because the changes were made without going through the legislature. The replacement of the inscription also saw scuffles erupt between pan-blue and pan-green supporters.
However, the DPP administration’s requests to amend the two statutes were put on the back burner by the legislature.
“Since the two statutes are still before the legislature and the legislature attached a resolution on the passed 2008 budget request that required funds earmarked for the hall be written under the name of Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, the government decided to withdraw the two statutes,” Executive Yuan spokeswoman Vanessa Shih (史亞平) said.
Shih denied the move was meant to restore the name of the memorial, saying that the Ministry of Education would not make a decision until it is able to reach a public consensus by holding citizen forums.
But Shih failed to explain why the government decided to retract the two statutes now if it it planned to keep the National Taiwan Democracy Hall name.
Asked to comment, Vice Minister of Education Lu Mu-lin (呂木琳) said “The name of the hall will be changed back to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall because [the name change] of the Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall was never legitimized.”
“As for the rest of the issue, we will have to reach a public consensus through public forums,” he said.
Minister of Education Cheng Jei-cheng (鄭瑞城) said later that the ministry would hold the first public forum next Friday to discuss how to deal with the inscriptions on the hall and the front gate.
A decision will be made within six months, he said.
He said he would also invite several academics to discuss the matter at next week’s forum.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all