Due to a lack of public consensus, the Tainan City Government has temporarily suspended plans to restore a statue of Republic of China (ROC) founder Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙) that had been toppled in a local park.
The statue in the city’s Tang Te-chang Memorial Park was toppled by demonstrators protesting authoritarian symbols in February 2014.
The city had planned to restore the statue in the park on Friday, but the decision was met with criticism from advocates of Taiwanese independence.
Photo: Tsai Wen-chu, Taipei Times
National Cheng Kung University Taiwanese literature professor Chiung Wi-vun (蔣為文) on Wednesday last week questioned whether Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) had become a member of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), saying that Tainan residents should gather at the park on Friday to protest.
DPP Tainan City Councilor Lee Chi-wei (李啟維) said that there is a global trend to move away from erecting statues and busts of people.
The Transitional Justice Commission has also asked local governments to remove statues that are symbols of the KMT authoritarian regime, he said, adding that Tainan has not only not removed them, but is considering restoring such a statue, one that is not even related to the park’s name.
KMT Tainan City Councilor Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) praised the city government’s decision, saying that Sun is not a controversial figure in Taiwan.
“This mayor is different from others and deserves to be praised,” Hsieh said of Huang.
On Friday, Huang said that while the city government must do something with the statue, it has decided to delay restoring the statue until it sees what the public thinks about it.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
RSS