The Transitional Justice Commission yesterday announced its plan for transforming Taipei’s Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, which would prioritize removing the main hall’s large bronze statue of the former leader.
In today’s democratized society, all authoritarian character should be eradicated from the complex, which is itself a product of Taiwan’s authoritarian past, the commission said.
The most important task would be removing the hall’s “axis of worship,” or the 6.3m-tall bronze of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) in its main chamber, it said.
Photo: CNA
Removing the statue — Taiwan’s largest remaining symbol of its authoritarian past — would indicate the “establishment of a liberal democratic constitutional order, denial of the legitimacy of authoritarian rule and remembrance of the historical lessons of human rights violations,” the commission said.
In its place, the proposal seeks to create a park for “reflection on Taiwan’s authoritarian history” by changing its function and appearance.
After the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) retreat to Taiwan, it invested significant resources into building the huge “memorial park” in the center of the nation’s capital.
Although ostensibly created to commemorate Chiang, the design and layout of the compound encourages visitors to worship rather than simply memorialize, the commission said.
For example, its flat, directional plaza leading up to the main hall with boundary walls surrounding the compound create lines of sight and pathways that suggest reverence of the central “temple,” it said.
The so-called “park” also has a huge amount of paved space which, despite being used by the public, retains its authoritarian character, since its spatial design and symbols have remained largely unchanged, it added.
The axis of worship should therefore be removed to reverse the spatial structure of the park, in addition to all of its accompanying authoritarian symbols, it said.
Yeh Hung-ling (葉虹靈), the commission’s acting minister, confirmed that the statue can legally be removed after consultation with the Ministry of Culture’s Bureau of Cultural Heritage.
While the hall is protected as a historical structure, the statue was not included in the registry, Yeh said, adding that any removal plan would require a review involving authorities in charge of heritage preservation.
As for what to do with the statue, Yeh said that a decision would be made after consulting with civil groups and victims of political persecution, although the common consensus is that retaining such a symbol in the center of the nation’s capital is problematic.
On the other hand, the reclaimed space offers endless possibilities, she said.
Some have proposed changing the main hall into an arts space, a memorial for past presidents or even a new location for the Legislative Yuan, she said, adding that the public could continue proposing ideas, although the two side halls would remain performance spaces.
Asked whether the Republic of China Honor Guard would be asked to leave the compound, Yeh said that a decision would need to be made by the Ministry of Culture, as it has jurisdiction over the hall.
Yeh also vowed to speed up the process, with plans to submit a full proposal to the Cabinet by next year.
Speaking to a party event, KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said yesterday that the person who should “reflect on authoritarianism” is the nation’s leader, referring to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of the Democratic Progressive Party.
“She is not only an authoritarian leader over a one-party state, but also an admitted publicly elected dictator,” he said. “Does she not need to reflect on herself? Stepping down is better than tearing down statues.”
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiao-kuang
The domestically designed Teng Yun 2 drone passed development milestones over the weekend, flying for more than 10 hours straight and circling Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), in the longest flight of an indigenous uncrewed combat aerial vehicle. Developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, the Teng Yun 2, or “Cloud Rider” (騰雲二型), recorded its longest flight yet over the weekend, after a three-hour test flight last month, followed by five and seven-hour stretches in the air. The Teng Yun 2 No. 1812 departed from Chiashan Air Base in Hualien County at 6:46pm on Saturday and flew on a
A slew of new measures are to take effect on Friday, including nationwide bring-your-own-cup discounts. The new rule requires chain beverage shops to offer discounts of at least NT$5 (US$0.17) to customers who bring their own cups, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said. The policy would apply to more than 50,000 chain retail locations, including beverage shops, convenience stores, fast-food restaurants and supermarkets. It aims to cut down on waste from single-use plastic cups, more than 2.2 billion of which were used in Taiwan in 2020, the agency said. For convenience, the EPA said it has asked retailers to display signs stating how
TIMING: 'The CHIPS Act funding is crucial for us. In other words, if the act’s passage is delayed for too long, we will certainly need to adjust,’ chairwoman Doris Hsu said GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓) plans to start construction on a US$5 billion wafer fabrication facility in Texas in November, after passage of the US$52 billion Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) for America Act. The fab would be the largest of its kind in the US and one of the largest in the world, with a monthly capacity of 1.2 million wafers, GlobalWafers said, adding that the investment would be the first new fab in the US in more than 20 years and critical to closing a semiconductor supply chain gap. The world’s No. 3 silicon wafer supplier said the project, which
COUNTERING CHINA: ‘When democracies demonstrate what we can do ... I have no doubt that we’ll win that competition every time,’ US President Joe Biden said US President Joe Biden rebooted his effort to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) after an earlier campaign faltered, enlisting the support of G7 leaders at their summit in Germany. The Build Back Better World initiative, named after Biden’s domestic spending and climate agenda, struggled to get off the ground because not enough G7 partners contributed financially when it was unveiled a year ago, people familiar with its lack of progress said. “When democracies demonstrate what we can do — all that we have to offer — I have no doubt that we’ll win that competition every time,” Biden said during