Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday criticized Taoyuan Mayor Simon Chang (張善政) after the city disregarded an online poll and gave four new Taoyuan MRT stations names that included “Jhongjheng” (中正) — a name adopted by Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石).
DPP Legislator Ariel Chang (張雅琳) said that commemorating dictators is unhealthy for democracy, adding that the Transitional Justice Commission had called for the practice to end, and for such names to be removed.
Taiwan does not need four more metro stations with Chiang’s name to add to the 355 streets, lanes and alleys already named after the former president, she said, adding that the city’s decision is a setback for democracy.
Photo: Chen Yi-kuan, Taipei Times
The Taoyuan City Government’s christening of the MRT stations, which are part of the new Green Line expected to open in 2026 connecting to the Taoyuan Airport MRT, ignored a city-wide online poll to name the stations, she said.
The Taoyuan Department of Rapid Transit Systems on Wednesday last week said that under its guidelines, stations should be named after the most recognized street or place in their vicinity and that polls were for reference only.
However, Ariel Chang said that Chiang Kai-shek had no links to Taoyuan’s history or culture and is of no use to the municipality’s efforts to promote tourism.
Photo courtesy of the Taoyuan City Government
Taiwan has disposed of 197 authoritarian symbols in compliance with the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice (促進轉型正義條例), while Taoyuan has been idle in taking action on 65 of such symbols in its jurisdiction, DPP Legislator Fan Yun (范雲) said.
The city’s refusal to deal with the nation’s authoritarian legacy or to follow its legal obligation shows contempt for the rule of law and transitional justice, she said.
The lawmakers called on Simon Chang to give due respect to the will of the people, recognize that voters support transitional justice and obey the principles of democracy, she said.
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
The Central Weather Administration has issued a heat alert for southeastern Taiwan, warning of temperatures as high as 36°C today, while alerting some coastal areas of strong winds later in the day. Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) and Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔) are under an orange heat alert, which warns of temperatures as high as 36°C for three consecutive days, the CWA said, citing southwest winds. The heat would also extend to Tainan’s Nansi (楠西) and Yujing (玉井) districts, as well as Pingtung’s Gaoshu (高樹), Yanpu (鹽埔) and Majia (瑪家) townships, it said, forecasting highs of up to 36°C in those areas
IN FULL SWING: Recall drives against lawmakers in Hualien, Taoyuan and Hsinchu have reached the second-stage threshold, the campaigners said Campaigners in a recall petition against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恒) in Taichung yesterday said their signature target is within sight, and that they need a big push to collect about 500 more signatures from locals to reach the second-stage threshold. Recall campaigns against KMT lawmakers Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔) and Lo Ting-wei (羅廷瑋) are also close to the 10 percent threshold, and campaigners are mounting a final push this week. They need about 800 signatures against Chiang and about 2,000 against Yang. Campaigners seeking to recall Lo said they had reached the threshold figure over the
RSS