Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) yesterday defended his administration’s removal of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) statues from city schools, saying the move was a step toward transitional justice by freeing students from political totems and restoring political neutrality on campuses.
His comments came a day after the Tainan City Government removed statues from 14 elementary and junior-high schools.
Some residents, including former Tainan county commissioner Su Huan-chih (蘇煥智), criticized the operation as “secretive” because the schools were not notified in advance, although they were told to take photographs as proof the statues were taken down after the removal teams arrived.
Photo: Lin Tzu-hsiang, Taipei Times
Su is a member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), as is Lai.
“Must [the removals] be carried out in such an unthoughtful manner that may provoke conflicts,” Su wrote in a Facebook post.
However, Lai yesterday reminded critics that during events last month to mark the 68th anniversary of the 228 Incident, he said that the city government would remove statues and busts of Chiang from the city’s schools.
The city government did not inform school authorities of the exact date of the removal operation to avoid unnecessary conflicts or disturbing classes, he said.
The statues would be sent to Taoyuan’s Dasi District (大溪), he said.
The Cihu Memorial Sculpture Garden adjacent to Chiang’s mausoleum in Dasi has about 200 statues and busts of the former president that have been removed from schools, parks and other places around the nation since 2000.
Lai said the schools could decide for themselves how to use the space formerly occupied by a Chiang statue, and the city would subsidize their plans.
Meanwhile, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Alex Tsai (蔡正元) and other party members criticized the Tainan City Government’s removal of the statues.
Tsai said it was another example of Lai’s tendency to rave about Japanese-related affairs.
“How can the greatness of Japan be demonstrated without renouncing Chiang Kei-shek?” Tsai said.
Lai does not understand that heaping praise on Japan at the expense of the Republic of China’s leadership might bring the nation to destruction instead of independence, the lawmaker said.
Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介), head of the KMT’s Tainan chapter, said the removal of the statues was an attempt to purge an important historical figure from the public’s memory.
Chiang’s merits or failures should be openly discussed, but Lai is using his personal popularity and political views to polarize society, Hsieh said.
However, DPP Tainan City Councilor Chiu Li-li (邱莉莉) backed the city’s action, saying the Chiang statues were products of a totalitarian regime.
Schools are where knowledge and values are passed down, and only statues representing figures that have had a positive impact on society should be placed on campuses, she said.
Chiu’s colleague, DPP City Councilor Chen Yi-chen (陳怡珍), said the Chiang statues are symbols of an authoritarian regime, which should have been removed from the school campuses long ago.
Additional reporting by CNA
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
RSS