Having a memorial for Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) is not excessive, as Chiang’s “contributions outweigh his faults,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said on Friday.
Ma made the remarks in a radio interview when asked about former entertainer Lisa Cheng (鄭心儀) slapping the minister of culture on Tuesday over the administration’s policy concerning the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei.
Elections in Taiwan during the Japanese colonial era were “birdcage” elections, while Chiang’s regime held the nation’s first-ever direct elections, Ma said, citing the 1950 election of a commissioner and county councilors in Hualien County.
Photo: CNA
Asked about the Democratic Progressive Party’s attempt to pin down a perpetrator for the 228 Incident, Ma said that there was not enough evidence to prove that Chiang directly ordered the crackdown, adding that Chiang even wrote a letter to then-Taiwan governor-general Chen Yi (陳儀) in which he instructed Chen to be “lenient” and not to retaliate against the rebels.
The 228 Incident refers to a crackdown launched by the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime against civilian demonstrations following an incident in Taipei on Feb. 27, 1947. The event marked the beginning of the White Terror era.
Research has estimated that nearly 20,000 people were killed or went missing during the incident, but statistics compiled by the 228 Memorial Foundation over the past 13 years place the figure at 865, Ma said.
The government called on family members of those who were killed or went missing from Feb. 28 to March 1, 1947 — when KMT troops arrived on the shores of Keelung — to inform officials, Ma said.
The deadline was extended several times, so the government’s information should be complete, he added.
It is impossible that Chiang had no contributions, only faults, Ma said.
The 228 Incident was Chiang’s fault, but land reform and a nine-year compulsory education system were his contributions, as well as military victories in the 823 Artillery Bombardment and the Battle of Guningtou, he said.
Calling Chiang the mastermind behind the 228 Massacre is excessive, Ma said, adding that while the incident can be attributed to him in part, Chiang was no mastermind.
Back then, the Chinese Communist Party often threatened to “bathe Taiwan in blood,” so the White Terror era was inevitable, he said.
The government admitted to mistakes and had issued apologies, erected memorandums, made Feb. 28 a national holiday and issued NT$27 billion (US$875.9 million at today’s exchange rate) in compensation, he said.
Chiang, as the “chief decisionmaker,” had to take responsibility — he “paid the price,” Ma added.
Citing the plaque on the arch at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall that reads: “Liberty Square,” Ma said that most veterans with whom he had spoken believed the inscription was a compliment to Chiang, and better than the original.
Asked whether the memorial should be abolished, Ma said: “It is not excessive to dedicate a memorial to Chiang, whose contributions outweighed his faults.”
People who still believe that his faults should be juxtaposed with his contributions could display items to portray criticisms of Chiang at the memorial, but they should realize that “without Chiang, Taiwan would long have been lost,” he said.
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