National Chengchi University (NCCU) yesterday said that it would demand compensation from National Taiwan University student Hsu Che-jung (許哲榮) and his accomplices for vandalizing a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) on its campus.
The statue of Chiang sitting on a horse is near the rear exit of the university.
Hsu and his accomplices early yesterday morning allegedly severed one of the horse’s legs.
Photo: Wu Po-hsuan, Taipei Times
It was an attempt to remove all symbols of authoritarianism from NCCU’s campus, Hsu said.
Thursday next week is 228 Peace Memorial Day, but the university has yet to take responsibility for the role it played during the White Terror era, he said.
Everyone in the system, including the military and police, were Chiang’s accomplices, propping up his “dictatorship,” Hsu said, adding that he targeted the statue because he considered the horse to be representative of those who helped Chiang.
“By our actions, we hope to dissolve the authoritarianism of the Chiang era from its roots and encourage Taiwanese to face their history ... while increasing the chance of dialogue,” Hsu said.
The university’s decision to seek compensation was the “worst choice” during this period of transitional justice, he said.
“The dictator created many symbols so that his status of authority could live on,” Hsu said, adding that he was sorry there are still people who defend authoritarian rule.
NCCU welcomes democratic and varied ways of expressing opinions, but would press charges against those responsible and demand compensation, university secretary-general Ho Lai-chieh (何賴傑) said.
Freedom of expression is a constitutionally guaranteed right, but NCCU does not condone violence as a form of expression, Ho said.
NCCU had previously discussed the issue and decided to preserve the statue, Ho said, adding that it has no immediate plans to change that decision.
Student groups from the two universities, as well as other youth groups, said that more attention should be paid to transitional justice, while calling for a free and independent Taiwan.
Students should act to remove the remaining vestiges of authoritarian rule and reinforce Taiwan’s democracy, the groups said.
Separately, the Transitional Justice Commission said that while it understood young people’s opinions and actions, it was nonetheless sorry to hear of Hsu’s actions.
The commission said that it encouraged faculty and students to resolve their differences through the democratic channels available at NCCU.
Additional reporting by Lee Hsin-fang
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
‘IRRESPONSIBLE’: Beijing’s constant disruption of the ‘status quo’ in the Taiwan Strait has damaged peace, stability and security in the Indo-Pacific region, MOFA said The Presidential Office yesterday condemned China’s launch of another military drill around Taiwan, saying such actions are a “unilateral provocation” that destabilizes regional peace and stability. China should immediately stop the irresponsible and provocative actions, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said, after the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) yesterday announced the start of a new round of joint exercises around Taiwan by the army, navy and air force, which it said were approaching “from different directions.” Code-named “Justice Mission 2025,” the exercises would be conducted in the Taiwan Strait and in areas north, southwest, southeast and east of Taiwan
UNDER WAY: The contract for advanced sensor systems would be fulfilled in Florida, and is expected to be completed by June 2031, the Pentagon said Lockheed Martin has been given a contract involving foreign military sales to Taiwan to meet what Washington calls “an urgent operational need” of Taiwan’s air force, the Pentagon said on Wednesday. The contract has a ceiling value of US$328.5 million, with US$157.3 million in foreign military sales funds obligated at the time of award, the Pentagon said in a statement. “This contract provides for the procurement and delivery of 55 Infrared Search and Track Legion Enhanced Sensor Pods, processors, pod containers and processor containers required to meet the urgent operational need of the Taiwan air force,” it said. The contract’s work would be
RSS