Print

Mail

wiki links

Justice minister Chen remembered

The characters “clean” and “competent” are spelled out at a ceremony to honor late minister of justice Chen Ding-nan in Dayi, Yilan County, yesterday. PHOTO: YANG YI-MIN, TAIPEI TIMES

A groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a memorial hall in honor of the late minister of justice Chen Ding-nan (陳定南) was held at Chen＊s home village of Dayi (大義), Ilan County, yesterday.

Chen, of the Democratic Progressive Party, died of lung cancer in November 2006. He was known as ※Mr Clean§ because of his dedication to fighting corruption during his political career, which began with his election as Ilan county commissioner in 1981.

The memorial hall, which had been in planning by the Chen Ding-nan Foundation for more than a year, will be built at the site of the home where Chen grew up in Dayi village.

Lai Juei-ting (賴瑞鼎), executive manager of the foundation, said it had recently purchased a plot of land around Chen＊s childhood home and commissioned an architect to design the memorial hall, which is expected to be opened to the public by next November.

The hall will feature a main gallery displaying photographs of Chen, as well as manuscripts and other documents gathered over the course of his lifetime, Lai said.

The exhibits will cover Chen＊s two terms as Ilan county commissioner, four terms as a legislator, and his tenure as justice minister between 2000 and 2005, he said.

The site of the memorial will also feature a special area promoting honest and upright government and care for the nation＊s youth, Lai said.

Chen＊s childhood home, including the main hall and the room in which he was born, will also be preserved, Lai said.

A three-story building with a total floor space of about 1,670m昌 will be constructed next to the Chen house, he said.

The foundation is considering setting aside extra space at the memorial hall site for displays featuring major contributors to Taiwan＊s democratic development.

Lai said construction costs for the memorial hall, including maintenance, would be about NT$100 million (US$3 million) and that the foundation had already raised NT$57 million.

He said the foundation would hold a series of activities to raise the remainder of the funds, urging people to show their support by donating to help keep the spirit of the model politician alive forever.
This story has been viewed 892 times.