As of this month, 54 organizations have completed plans to remove, or have already removed, icons of authoritarian rule from public spaces in compliance with the Transitional Justice Commission’s regulations.
The Central Police University and the Taiwan Police College have agreed to rename their Zhongzheng halls, while the college also plans to remove two statues of former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石).
The Executive Yuan’s Central Taiwan Joint Services Center moved a statue of Chiang to Taoyuan’s Cihu Memorial Sculpture Park, while a statue at Taian Service Area in Taichung, the largest statue at a rest station on a national freeway, is to be removed next year, the source said.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
The statue of Chiang at Chiayi County’s Jhaoping Station has been removed, while three statues at the Ministry of Justice offices in New Taipei City, Taoyuan and Changhua County have been removed, the commission said.
The Zhongzheng Building under the Ministry of Civil Service’s Muzha Office in Taipei’s Wenshan District (文山) would be renamed and its plaque would be removed this summer, the commission added.
Fourteen statues of Chiang Kai-shek and two portraits of former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) at companies affiliated with the Ministry of Economic Affairs have been removed, while a half-bust of Chiang Kai-shek has been repurposed as a windmill, the commission said.
A statue of Chiang Kai-shek at the Chiayi County Tourism Bureau has been blocked from sight with a display panel, while the statue of him at Taitung County Airport was removed last year, the commission said.
Five of his statues at Coast Guard Administration bases — three at Kaohsiung bases, and one each in Taoyuan and Taitung — were removed, while the name Zhongzheng was struck from platforms at the bases, the commission said.
The Fishery Agency has put into storage a Chiang Ching-kuo relief originally featured in its Keelung office, the commission said.
Three statues of Chiang Kai-shek at homes for elderly people under the Ministry of Health and Welfare were removed, the commission said.
The commission did not arbitrarily state how the statues should be handled, and most of the methods were proposed by the respective agencies, Commissioner Deputy Director Yeh Hung-ling (葉虹靈) said.
Except for the Ministry of National Defense, the Veterans Affairs Council and the Ministry of Education, there are still 38 places where “icons of authoritarian rule” remain unprocessed, Yeh said.
The commission would continue to work with governmental agencies and convey to them what transitional justice symbolizes and how they could implement it, Yeh said.
The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association has cautioned Japanese travelers to be vigilant against pickpockets at several popular tourist spots in Taiwan, including Taipei’s night markets, the Yongkang Street area, Zhongshan MRT Station, and Jiufen (九份) in New Taipei City. The advisory, titled “Recent Development of Concerns,” was posted on the association’s Web site under its safety and emergency report section. It urges travelers to keep backpacks fully zipped and carried in front, with valuables placed at the bottom of the bag. Visitors are advised to be especially mindful of their belongings when taking photos or speaking on the phone, avoid storing wallets and
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A fourth public debate was held today about restarting the recently decommissioned Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, ahead of a referendum on the controversial issue to be held in less than two weeks. A referendum on Aug. 23 is to ask voters if they agree that “the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant should continue operations upon approval by the competent authority and confirmation that there are no safety concerns.” Anyone over 18 years of age can vote in the referendum. The vote comes just three months after its final reactor shut down, officially making Taiwan nuclear-free. Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) represented
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