The majority of Taiwanese are against the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government’s decisions to remove souvenirs bearing Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) likeness from stores at the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall in Taipei, to close the memorial on the anniversary of the 228 Incident or to remove statues of Chiang, a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-commissioned poll released yesterday showed.
A poll conducted for the party by the TrendGo Survey Research Co found that 60.4 percent of respondents said they did not approve of the government’s removing statues of Chiang around the nation or products carrying his likeness from the memorial on the grounds that “Chiang had been an authoritarian ruler,” the party said.
Only 17.7 percent of respondents supported the moves, while 21.8 percent had no opinion, the KMT said.
Photo: Chen Yi-chuan, Taipei Times
The government has been ignoring vital issues concerning the economy to focus on political feuds and ideological wars in the name of transitional justice, the KMT said.
“The KMT calls on President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to desist while she is still able to do so and not to trample on the public’s trust,” the KMT said.
“Chiang was not a murderer, nor was he the mastermind of the 228 Incident, but the principal warrior that safeguarded Taiwan,” the party said.
The 228 Incident refers to a crackdown launched by the then-KMT regime following demonstrations that followed an incident in Taipei on Feb. 27, 1947.
The Incident marked the beginning of the White Terror era, during which thousands of Taiwanese were arrested, imprisoned and/or executed.
Asked if the DPP government’s policies on undertaking transitional justice were “manufacturing social conflicts and opposition,” 51.6 percent of the respondents said yes, while about 31.5 percent said that they would promote social conciliation and solidarity and 17 percent had no response.
“The KMT supports the idea of ‘restoring historical truth,’ but facts must be respected and the historical context and processes should be taken into serious account rather than launching political vendettas against deceased figures,” the KMT said.
“It is a convention that achievements and misdeeds [of political figures] are determined by historians and the public. The DPP’s transitional justice aims to manufacture conflicts and violates the basic requirements and logic of true transitional justice,” the KMT said.
The poll collected 1,101 samples and has a margin of error of 2.95 percentage points.
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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