Main defendant Chiang Fang Chih-yi (蔣方智怡) on Friday responded to criticism that she had not done enough to preserve the diaries of former presidents Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), at a hearing at the Taipei District Court in a case brought by the Academia Historica.
Ownership of the diaries is to be decided by the outcome of the hearing, after a US court said it would await the local court’s decision on the matter.
The Academia Historica has since 2012 contended with Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and Chiang Fang for the right to own and archive the former presidents’ diaries, as well as private documents.
Chiang Fang came into custody of the diaries through her husband, Chiang Hsiao-yung (蔣孝勇), the youngest son of Chiang Ching-kuo.
After their deaths, Chiang Hsiao-yung was entrusted with his father’s and grandfather’s diaries, private papers and government documents. In 2005, Chiang Fang gave her consent for the diaries to be deposited at the Hoover Institution for a period of 50 years.
Chiang Kai-shek’s personal diaries stretch from 1915 to July 1972, while Chiang Ching-kuo’s diaries record his experiences from 1937 to 1980.
Stanford University appealed to the US District Court in San Jose, California, to arbitrate rightful ownership in 2013. The District Court in San Jose on Sept. 2, 2015, said it would put off the arbitration until the Academia Historica obtained a court ruling in its favor in Taiwan.
Thirteen claimants from the Chiang family, including Chiang Fang, were listed as defendants in the case.
The institute said the diaries belonged to the Republic of China as stipulated by the Presidential and Vice Presidential Records and Artifacts Act (總統副總統文物管理條例).
Academia Historica said that eight defendants to date had agreed to drop their ownership claims to the diaries and it would not exclude the possibility of settling the issue with the defendants.
The institute would remain strictly neutral and all documents retrieved would be made available to the public, following the example of the Chiang Kai-shek presidential files, it said.
Court hearings in Taiwan began on Nov. 11 last year. After two failed arbitrations, the case is now entering legal proceedings.
Chiang Fang told the court that she was certain the two former presidents would have agreed that the diaries should be turned over to the Academia Historica and added she hoped legal proceedings could be avoided and all parties could come to a settlement out of court.
However, she “could not accept” allegations that she had illegally seized the diaries and all papers, Chiang Fang said.
Her husband had authorized her to “transfer the diaries and all papers to a credible academic establishment for preservation” and after he passed away she thus assumed full ownership of the documents, she said.
Chiang Fang said she could understand criticism that she had not done enough to preserve the diaries and papers, but she could not accept being called a thief.
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