The government must take concrete action over the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei, the Taiwan Association for Truth and Reconciliation said in a statement on Monday, adding that Minister of Culture Li Yuan (李遠) has been making excuses to delay changes.
“Seeking common ground is not a good reason to delay a decision indefinitely or shirk responsibility,” the statement said.
Li earlier said that society needs to reach common ground regarding renovations of the hall and its use.
Photo: CNA
“We don’t want to force a decision from the top ... while we can reach common ground through literature, music and film so the site can be transformed into something that people would not be so hostile toward,” he told lawmakers late last month.
However, the association said that Li was stalling.
The ministry in 2017 started on its plans to transform the site, organizing public hearing and analyses by experts, the statement said.
In 2021, the ministry announced its plan and for the past three years has held workshops, forums and contests to solicit input for changes, it added.
Moreover, the Transitional Justice Commission organized meetings and public consultations as it developed four pilot projects to renovate and convert the site, the association said, adding that it received 142 submissions of suggested plans and themes for how the site should be changed.
However, Li has made excuses and impeded demands by people affected by White Terror era, it said.
He has helped preserve a symbol of authoritarianism and atrocities committed against Taiwanese, while supporting those who worship Chiang, it said.
“What is the common ground you need to make changes to the site?” the association asked. “A democratic nation has in its capital city a memorial dedicated to a military dictator and his authoritarian rule. Is this the common ground?”
“Chiang Kai-shek and his Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) martial law regime committed severe violations of basic rights and freedom, carrying out harsh repression of Taiwanese,” it said. “These are facts of our history, yet the site still has honor guards paying tribute in front of a giant statue of Chiang.”
“Are these things not contrary to the values of democracy, or are they — as the minister has said — only dependent only on different viewpoints?” it added.
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