Activists from pro-independence organizations and political parties yesterday threatened to sue Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) over allowing statues of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) in schools, saying they violate education laws.
Led by members of the Free Taiwan Party and the Taiwanese National Party, a group of about 40 held a rally in front of the Taipei City Government building to denounce Ko.
All statues of Chiang must be removed from schools, parks and public spaces in Taipei to ensure the healthy growth of democracy, Free Taiwan Party Chairman Tsay Ting-kuei (蔡丁貴) said, “because Chiang was responsible for the 228 Massacre in 1947, which tens of thousands of Taiwanese, and the subsequent White Terror era’s authoritarian regime.”
“Chiang and his Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) subjugated and have trampled Taiwanese for too long. It is time to end this odious cult of personality, which was imposed on us by the KMT,” he said.
Taiwanese National Party Chairman Tsua Gim-liong (蔡金龍) said he would file a lawsuit against Ko if the mayor fails to take action to remove statues of Chiang, because their presence in schools contravenes the Compulsory Education Act (國民教育法), as Chiang represents the bloody military dictatorship over the public, and their presence in schools “contaminates” the minds of young students.
The group’s leaders and speakers called on Ko to follow the example set by Chiayi Mayor Twu Shiing-jer (涂醒哲), who ordered the removal of statues of Chiang within his city after entering office in November last year.
Nation-Building Banner Team leader Yu Neng-sheng (余能生) accused Ko of preserving the legacy of what he cited historians as calling a “mass murderer,” and urged Taiwanese to stand up and tear down all statues of Chiang still left standing nationwide.
Representatives of other organizations — including the Taiwan Association for the Care of the Victims of Political Persecution During the Martial Law Period; the Alliance for Taiwan Autonomy and Independence; and the Taiwan 228 Care Association — also participated in yesterday’s demonstration.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
RSS