More than 350 streets are named after Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) or his son Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), due to an edict issued during the nation’s authoritarian era, a study by the Transitional Justice Commission showed.
The survey of the Ministry of the Interior’s records of road names, online search engines and archival material found that 316 roads are named “Jhongjheng” (中正), a name adopted by Chiang Kai-shek, the commission said.
Twenty-eight roads are named “Jieshou” (介壽) — which is an abbreviation of the slogan “long live Chiang Kai-shek” — and 11 are named “Jingguo” (經國) after Chiang Ching-kuo, it added.
Photo: Chen Yu-fu, Taipei Times
The survey was conducted as part of an effort to rename roads that evoke authoritarian slogans and symbols, it said.
The proliferation of streets named after the Chiangs stemmed from a 1945 executive order to rename roads throughout Taiwan, which the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime had taken control of, it said.
The order from the then-Taiwan Provincial Government said that all street names honoring Japanese, the state of Japan or otherwise derived from Japanese were to be changed within two months, the commission said.
The new street names had to represent the “spirit of the Chinese people,” promote the Three Principles of the People, honor a national hero or recognize the geography or customs of an area, the commission cited the order as saying.
Examples of acceptable street names listed in the order included Jhonghua (中華), Sinyi (信義), Heping (和平), Sanmin (三民) and those that utilize the names of Chiang Kai-shek or Republic of China founder Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙), it said.
The implementation of the order in the two years that followed would form the basis of most street names used today, the commission said.
The post-war push to rename streets was motivated by a desire to replace representations of Japanese colonialism with symbols of Chinese authoritarianism, an effort that was indifferent to the identities and culture of Taiwan’s residents, it said.
Place names play an important role in forming the identity of the community living there, and reflect its cultural and historical context, the commission said, adding that the authoritarian-era names should be replaced.
Citing the Development of National Languages Act (國家語言發展法) and the Indigenous Peoples Basic Act (原住民族基本法), the commission said that new road names should promote the country’s local languages and culture, including those of Aboriginal communities.
SAFETY IN REGULATION: The proposal states that Chiayi should assess whether it is viable to establish such a district and draft rules to protect clients and sex workers The Chiayi City Council passed a motion yesterday to assess the viability of establishing a regulated red-light district. The council yesterday held its last session of the year, at which its fiscal 2024 budget was approved, along with 61 other proposals. The proposal to assess the viability of establishing a red-light district was put forward by independent Chiayi City Councilor Molly Yen (顏色不分藍綠支持性專區顏色田慎節). The proposal cited 2011 amendments to the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法), which stipulate that city and county governments can pass autonomous regulations on the sex trade to manage the industry and guarantee industry workers’ rights. A ban on the
STABILITY AND CHANGE: Flagging in recent polls, Ko this week pledged to maintain President Tsai’s foreign policy, with an emphasis on improving China relations Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday reiterated that he is “deep-green at heart” in response to accusations that he is pivoting his campaign to align closer with the ideology of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the face of flagging polls. Ko made the remark at an agricultural policy conference in Taipei, repeating his comments from an interview with CTS News a day earlier. Ko told the CTS host that he would continue to pursue President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) national defense and foreign policy in general, but with an emphasis on establishing a rapport with
CHINA illness surge: Of 88 travelers from China, Hong Kong and Macau with respiratory symptoms who were encouraged to get tested upon arrival, 70.6% had the flu Two hundred and sixty people with COVID-19 were hospitalized and 31 deaths related to the virus were reported last week — the highest numbers in four weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that cases are expected to peak next month. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said that of the 260 people hospitalized last week with moderate to severe COVID-19, 98 percent had not received the Omicron XBB.1.5-adapted COVID-19 vaccine. Among the people hospitalized this year, 78 percent were aged 65 or older, while most of the those who were hospitalized or died have or had
Taiwanese who have recently traveled to China for tourism, to visit friends or relatives or for business reasons have been interrogated, detained and faced other forms of unreasonable treatment from Chinese officials, a source said on Sunday. Among them was a Taiwanese who was detained for eight hours at an airport in China due to their research, which is related to religion, while others have had their travel documents for China canceled for a number of reasons, the source said. In July, China expanded the scope of its counterespionage law, and recently announced a draft amendment to the law on the protection
RSS