Former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) showed his greatness in ending martial law despite his background and connection to the authoritarian government, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday at the opening of a park in honor of Chiang.
The Ching-kuo Chi-hai Cultural Park (經國七海文化園區) in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area includes Chiang’s former home — known as the Seven Seas Residence (七海寓所) — and the Chiang Ching-kuo Presidential Library.
It is the first library dedicated to the commemoration of a president in Taiwan and holds great historic and cultural value, Ma said.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The library’s use of green architecture and purpose as an educational space is in line with Chiang’s customary low profile, said Ma, who was Chiang’s English secretary for seven years starting in 1981.
Ma said that in 1985, Chiang received a letter from Richard Ciccolella, the former head of the US Military Assistance Advisory Group in Taiwan, who urged Chiang to lift martial law as soon as possible.
After learning how the West viewed martial law, Ma said that Chiang responded with a frown, saying that Taiwan was not governed by the military, nor was it lawless.
Along with the recommendation from then-representative to the US Frederick Chien (錢復) that Taiwan lift martial law, Chiang on Oct. 7, 1986, announced during a meeting in Taipei with then-Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham that martial law would be lifted, Ma said.
Taiwan’s martial law, which was imposed on May 20, 1949, ended on July 15, 1987, which was at that time the world’s longest imposition of martial law by a regime.
Broadcasting Corp of China chairman Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康), who also attended the park’s opening, said that President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) attendance was a good sign, adding that the nation should unite and work toward a common future.
He said that Tsai’s presence defeated the Transitional Justice Commission’s criticism made the previous day that the establishment of the library and park glorified an authoritarian figure.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) wrote on Facebook yesterday that the Tsai administration was using the commission as a political tool against the principles and spirit of transitional justice.
China has reserved offshore airspace in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. These alerts, known as Notice to Air Missions (Notams), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert is
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
More than 6,000 Taiwanese students have participated in exchange programs in China over the past two years, despite the Mainland Affairs Council’s (MAC) “orange light” travel advisory, government records showed. The MAC’s publicly available registry showed that Taiwanese college and university students who went on exchange programs across the Strait numbered 3,592 and 2,966 people respectively. The National Immigration Agency data revealed that 2,296 and 2,551 Chinese students visited Taiwan for study in the same two years. A review of the Web sites of publicly-run universities and colleges showed that Taiwanese higher education institutions continued to recruit students for Chinese educational programs without
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
RSS