After hanging over the entrance of the Presidential Office since 1948, a sign criticized as a relic of authoritarianism was replaced yesterday by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration, officially changing the office's name.
The name of the Presidential Office was "Chiehshou Hall" -- literally "Long live Kai-shek Hall" -- and the building had a marble sign with its name inscribed in Chinese characters (
The new sign, installed yesterday, reads simply "Presidential Office" in Chinese characters (
A statement by the Presidential Office said the move reflected not only the real sense of the building's name but also had constitutional meaning.
The marble sign reading "Chiehshou Hall" will be placed in the Academia Historica for public display, said a statement issued by the Presidential Office's Department of Public Affairs yesterday.
The department said the move was appropriate, because the building is where the president and vice president work, rather than a specific individual's personal villa or hall.
"Changing the name over the building's entrance from `Chieh-shou Hall' to `Presidential Office' not only makes the building worthy of its genuine name, but also carries constitutional meaning," the statement said.
colonial past
The Presidential Office's history stretches back to the Japanese colonial era. It was designed by the architect Uheiji Nagano in 1910, and was completed in 1919. The building, which was the office of the Japanese governor-general of Taiwan, was bombed by Allied forces during World War II, on May 31, 1945. Part of the building was destroyed in the bomb attack, and burned for three days.
One year after the war ended, the Taiwan Provincial Government raised funds to restore the building. The rehabilitation project was completed in 1948, and the building was named "Chiehshou Hall."
When the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) was defeated by the Chinese Communist Party during the Civil War, the remnants of its forces fled to Taiwan in 1949. The building became the office of the president and the premier in 1950. The office of the premier was later moved out of the building, in 1957.
The department said that as Taiwan has transformed from an authoritarian state to a genuine democracy, the name change was necessary and symbolized the restoration of power from the state to the people.
The department said that it began planning the change in October.
The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) caucus yesterday said the name change "liberates Taiwan's democracy."
"Naming all the important buildings after Chiang Kai-shek (
`boring' move
However, opposition lawmakers criticized the Presidential Office, saying the move was "boring" and meaningless. Some equated the change to China's Cultural Revolution.
"Taiwan's 23 million people should be the focus of the government. Unfortunately, our government only cares about something like this. Changing names? I think there are a lot of better things to do, aren't there?" said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Pan Wei-kang (
People First Party (PFP) Legislator Lee Hung-chun (
"If [the DPP government] wants to do something remarkable, I would suggest it focus on economic and criminal issues, because these issues concern everyone of us," Lee said.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus said the Presidential Office was merely doing something that needed to be done.
"What do you want to call the president's office if you do not call it the `Presidential Office?'" said DPP legislative caucus secretary-general Yeh Yi-ching (
The change should have "been made a long time ago, anyway," Yeh added.
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
KONG-REY: A woman was killed in a vehicle hit by a tree, while 205 people were injured as the storm moved across the nation and entered the Taiwan Strait Typhoon Kong-rey slammed into Taiwan yesterday as one of the biggest storms to hit the nation in decades, whipping up 10m waves, triggering floods and claiming at least one life. Kong-rey made landfall in Taitung County’s Chenggong Township (成功) at 1:40pm, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The typhoon — the first in Taiwan’s history to make landfall after mid-October — was moving north-northwest at 21kph when it hit land, CWA data showed. The fast-moving storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 184kph, with gusts of up to 227kph, CWA data showed. It was the same strength as Typhoon Gaemi, which was the most
Air and rail traffic around Taiwan were disrupted today while power cuts occurred across the country as Typhoon Kong-rey, predicted to make landfall in eastern Taiwan this afternoon, continued edging closer to the country. A total of 241 passenger and cargo flights departing from or arriving at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport were canceled today due to the typhoon, Taoyuan International Airport Corp said. As of 9:30am, 109 inbound flights, 103 outbound flights and 29 cargo flights had been canceled, the company said. Taiwan Railway Corp also canceled all express trains on its Western Trunk Line, Eastern Trunk Line, South-Link Line and attached branches
Typhoon Kong-rey is forecast to make landfall in eastern Taiwan this afternoon and would move out to sea sometime overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 9am today, Kong-rey's outer rim was covering most of Taiwan except for the north. The storm's center was 110km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost tip, and moving northwest at 28kph. It was carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of 184kph, and gusts of up to 227kph, the CWA said. At a news conference this morning, CWA forecaster Chu Mei-lin (朱美霖) said Kong-rey is moving "extremely fast," and is expected to make landfall between
RSS