The government on Saturday finally summoned the courage to complete the most provocative act thus far in its efforts to rid the nation of the legacy of its authoritarian past when it held a ceremony to rename Chiang Kai-shek (
And while the park's new name -- National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall -- is far from ideal, the renaming was something that needed to be done, as for far too long the people of Taipei who do not deify the dead dictator have been forced to put up with Chiang's grimacing presence, staring down at them whenever they chose to visit one of the city's more pleasant and peaceful scenic spots.
This time, however, the pan-blue camp has reacted with more restraint than after previous efforts by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government to remove prominent reminders of the former president.
Instead of trying to forcefully prevent the renaming from taking place and mobilizing their supporters to protest the move, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (
In a ridiculous move, the city fined the management of the newly renamed memorial for "damaging" a heritage site nominee and decided to rename Ketagalan Boulevard "Anti-Corruption Democracy Square" in a puerile attempt to hit back at President Chen Shui-bian (
Other pan-blue figures have accused the government of acting "illegally," saying that while they are not necessarily opposed to the move, the administration should have gone about it through the proper legal channels.
These arguments would hold water if facts didn't contradict them. Any resident of the capital is fully aware that the city is in the process of installing new bus shelters and signs, so accommodating the new name of the park would require little extra cost and effort on the city government's part.
As for the legality of the change, the reason the government has resorted to such a convoluted legal process in renaming the hall is because it knows that any bill would stand a snowball in hell's chance of making it through the legislature.
For evidence of this, one need only look at how far the bills eradicating the redundant references to China from the names of the post office and the state-owned electricity and oil companies went. The unreasonable blocking of these moves by a stubborn pan-blue caucus provides the answer.
The next challenge facing the administration will be how to dispose of the gigantic bronze statue of Chiang that resides inside the main hall, as any move to remove it is sure to spark protests. This must surely happen soon, as it is inconceivable that an edifice to a man who was the very antithesis of democracy should be permanently housed in a hall now dedicated to democratic transition.
The president has suggested keeping the huge doors locked and that seems to be the best solution for the time being, but sooner or later the statue has to go.
If the government chooses -- as one suspects it will -- to do so before the legislative and presidential votes, then the manner in which the opposition parties react could have a decisive bearing on the outcome of those elections and, more importantly, the nation's immediate future.
There is much evidence that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is sending soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and is learning lessons for a future war against Taiwan. Until now, the CCP has claimed that they have not sent PLA personnel to support Russian aggression. On 18 April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinskiy announced that the CCP is supplying war supplies such as gunpowder, artillery, and weapons subcomponents to Russia. When Zelinskiy announced on 9 April that the Ukrainian Army had captured two Chinese nationals fighting with Russians on the front line with details
On a quiet lane in Taipei’s central Daan District (大安), an otherwise unremarkable high-rise is marked by a police guard and a tawdry A4 printout from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicating an “embassy area.” Keen observers would see the emblem of the Holy See, one of Taiwan’s 12 so-called “diplomatic allies.” Unlike Taipei’s other embassies and quasi-consulates, no national flag flies there, nor is there a plaque indicating what country’s embassy this is. Visitors hoping to sign a condolence book for the late Pope Francis would instead have to visit the Italian Trade Office, adjacent to Taipei 101. The death of
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), joined by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), held a protest on Saturday on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei. They were essentially standing for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which is anxious about the mass recall campaign against KMT legislators. President William Lai (賴清德) said that if the opposition parties truly wanted to fight dictatorship, they should do so in Tiananmen Square — and at the very least, refrain from groveling to Chinese officials during their visits to China, alluding to meetings between KMT members and Chinese authorities. Now that China has been defined as a foreign hostile force,
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