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.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS