Taiwan Republic Office director Chilly Chen (陳峻涵) was on Friday ordered confined to his home after allegedly throwing eggs at a Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) statue in the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office ordered Chen to remain in his residence for allegedly contravening the Cultural Heritage Protection Act (文化資產保存法).
Chen said his actions were in protest of comments made by Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te (李永得), who on Wednesday said he did not support the removal of the statue, as protesters seeking to get rid of the sculpture have been taking “a more moderate approach.”
Photo: Chen Yu-fu, Taipei Times
“Lee’s comments take the tolerant nature of Taiwanese for weakness,” Chen said, adding that the remarks show disregard for the pain of the political victims of the former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime and their descendants.
Chen said that throwing eggs at the statue was his “non-moderate” method of expressing his view that there can be no justice if Chiang’s statue remains.
Taiwanese have endured the oppression of the KMT regime under Chiang, after the 228 Massacre and throughout the White Terror era, Chen said.
“We had hoped that with a localized party [the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)] in power, holding a legislative majority, it would make known the truths of the massacres and hold the KMT to account for its past injustices and wrongs, and yet to this day Chiang’s statue is still enshrined at the hall,” he said.
Of the 848 Chiang statues in Taiwan, about 400, mostly at Ministry of National Defense and Veterans Affairs Council facilities, have not been processed for removal, government data showed.
Academics have called on the DPP government to present a clear policy on reducing the number of Chiang statues.
Lo Cheng-chung (羅承宗), a professor at the Institute of Financial and Economic Law at Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, on Thursday said that the first Chiang statue was set up in front of the Control Yuan on Dec 25, 1946.
In the decades that followed, county and city governments would erect Chiang statues to celebrate the KMT leader’s birthday, he said.
Lo said that President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration should prioritize the removal of the statues.
Citing the statue at the memorial hall in particular, Lo said the Tsai government should not waste money on the changing of the guard for a statue of a person that few ever think of.
Additional reporting by Chen Yu-fu
LOW RISK: Most nations do not extradite people accused of political crimes, and the UN says extradition can only happen if the act is a crime in both countries, an official said China yesterday issued wanted notices for two Taiwanese influencers, accusing them of committing “separatist acts” by criticizing Beijing, amid broadening concerns over China’s state-directed transnational repression. The Quanzhou Public Security Bureau in a notice posted online said police are offering a reward of up to 25,000 yuan (US$3,523) for information that could contribute to the investigation or apprehension of pro-Taiwanese independence YouTuber Wen Tzu-yu (溫子渝),who is known as Pa Chiung (八炯) online, and rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源). Wen and Chen are suspected of spreading content that supported secession from China, slandered Chinese policies that benefit Taiwanese and discrimination against Chinese spouses of
PROMOTION: Travelers who want a free stopover must book their flights with designated travel agents, such as Lion Travel, Holiday Tours, Cola Tour and Life Tours Air Canada yesterday said it is offering Taiwanese travelers who are headed to North America free stopovers if they transit though airports in Japan and South Korea. The promotion was launched in response to a potential rise in demand for flights to North America in June and July next year, when the US, Canada and Mexico are scheduled to jointly host the FIFA World Cup, Air Canada said. Air Canada offers services to 13 of the 16 host cities of the tournament’s soccer games, including Toronto and Vancouver; Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico; Atlanta, Georgia; Boston; Dallas; Houston;
The US approved the possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet spare and repair parts for US$330 million, the Pentagon said late yesterday, marking the first such potential transaction since US President Donald Trump took office in January. "The proposed sale will improve the recipient's capability to meet current and future threats by maintaining the operational readiness of the recipient's fleet of F-16, C-130," and other aircraft, the Pentagon said in a statement. Trump previously said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has told him he would not invade Taiwan while the Republican leader is in office. The announcement of the possible arms
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
RSS