Symbols of authoritarianism have been removed from 12 schools in Tainan since 2019 as part of transitional justice efforts, the city government said on Saturday.
The Tainan Bureau of Education has removed plaques on campuses containing the words jie shou (介壽), a term for wishing longevity for Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), and Zhong Zheng (中正), an alternative name for Chiang.
Schools where symbols have been removed include Jiali (佳里國小), Keliao (蚵寮國小), Yanshui (鹽水國小), Ouwang (漚汪國小) and Baihe (白河國小) elementary schools. Symbols were also removed from the campuses of Dacheng (大成國中), Houjia (後甲國中), Jianxing (建興國中), Shanhua (善化國中) and Guanmiao (關廟國中) junior-high schools, as well as Yongren (永仁高中) and Nanning (南寧高中) high schools, the bureau said.
Photo courtesy of the Tainan Bureau of Education
Under the administration of former Tainan mayor William Lai (賴清德), the city in 2015 removed authoritarian-era statues from the campuses of 14 of the city’s schools, the bureau said.
Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) has continued to promote transitional justice efforts since taking office in 2018, it added.
Many of Tainan’s school buildings traditionally featured Zhong Zheng in their names, but were gradually renamed or demolished over time, it said.
“School campuses are for cultivating students’ appreciation for freedom and democracy, and for fostering independent thinking,” the bureau said. “There should be no political totems or authoritarian idolatry in those places.”
The bureau said it hopes that the positive actions of transitional justice lead teachers and students to a politically neutral and professional teaching environment that “promotes communal reconciliation, harmony and trust.”
“We will do what we can right now, and then we will continue to deliberate on what our next steps might be,” Huang said.
Some efforts are more challenging than others, he said.
For example, the renaming of the city’s Zhongzheng Road also touches upon the rights of residents, he said.
Last year, the city renamed the first 170m of the road to Tang Te-chang Avenue, after 228 Incident victim Tang Te-chang (湯德章).
The Tainan Bureau of Civil Affairs said it is reviewing the names of community centers throughout the city, and has found 30 places named Zhongzheng Hall.
It said it also found one place named Zhongshan Hall, referring to Republic of China founder Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙), who is also known as Sun Zhongshan (孫中山).
Among those 31 properties, 10 belong to the municipal government and have been prioritized for demolition. Three were demolished on Saturday, and other activity centers that were joint projects with temples or landowners are to be renegotiated, the bureau said.
Activity centers are essential for government events and service provision, and should be named after the borough or community where they are located, it said.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS