An unusually high number of protests targeting statues of former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) have been reported across the nation in the wake of the 68th anniversary of the 228 Incident on Saturday.
A statue of Chiang erected in Taichung City’s Jhongjheng Park (中正公園) was found yesterday morning covered with white and red paint as well as ghost money, with the Chinese characters for “killer” and “villain” spray-painted on its pedestal.
Police said it was the second defacement of the stone statue in two days. On Saturday morning, it was discovered with the Chinese character for “murderer” spray-painted on its base. City workers removed the graffiti later that day.
Photo: Wu Cheng-feng, Taipei Times
Taichung’s Construction Bureau director Huang Yu-lin (黃玉霖) said the agency has teamed up with the city’s Education Bureau in investigating if other statues of Chiang have been vandalized.
The city government said that just four of the city’s approximately 400 parks have statues of Chiang and that it would consider whether to keep or relocate them once the investigation has been concluded.
It said no charges would be filed against whoever is responsible, as the spray-painted slogans are considered to be equivalent to stains, but that police presence in the areas involved would be increased.
Photo: Chang Ching-ya, Taipei Times
Meanwhile, in northern Taiwan, a beheaded statue of Chiang depicted in two photographs posted on a Facebook page titled “Indefinite Support to Art Installations Featuring Chiang” (無限期支持—全台裝置藝術蔣) on Saturday has been confirmed to be located in a park in Keelung.
Investigators said the fiberglass-based statue’s head was smashed to pieces, and the statue’s torso and ankles were damaged. They added that the perpetrators apparently attempted to knock the sculpture down before realizing that its legs are made of steel and concrete.
Statues of Chiang erected within Taoyuan’s Jhongjheng Park and in front of the Taoyuan Railway Station were also vandalized.
Photo: Tsai Shu-yuan, Taipei Times
In addition, sculptures of Chiang on campuses nationwide have been defaced over the past few days, including ones at Taipei First Girls’ High School, Taipei Municipal Daan Vocational High School, National Chutung Senior High School, Tunghai University and National Taipei University of Technology.
Tunghai University chief secretary Lu Ping-kuan (呂炳寬) said the school’s statue of Chiang and the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall have existed for nearly three decades and carry historical significance to the university.
“While the school respects students’ opinions and is open to discussions regarding the hall’s renaming and the statue’s removal, they must be expressed in a rational manner,” Lu said, adding that vandalism would be dealt with in accordance with school regulations.
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
ONE LAST TALK: While Xi said that Taiwan was a ‘red line,’ Biden, in what is likely his last meeting with Xi as president, called for an end to China’s military activity around Taiwan China’s military intimidation and economic coercion against Taiwan are the main causes of tensions that are destabilizing peace in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei said yesterday while thanking US President Joe Biden for expressing Washington’s firm stance of maintaining peace and stability in the region. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met on Saturday for their third meeting and their first talks in seven months on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Lima, Peru. It was likely Biden’s last meeting as president with Xi. During their conversation, Biden reiterated the US’ opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” from either
Taiwan would participate in the 2026 APEC summit to be hosted by China after Beijing promised it would ensure the personal safety of attendees, Taiwanese national security sources said yesterday. The APEC Leaders’ Machu Picchu Declaration announced yesterday said that China would host the APEC summit in 2026. Beijing proposed hosting the summit shortly before this year’s gathering began on Friday, a national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many APEC members expressed concerns about China hosting the event and said that prior communication over the decision was insufficient, the official said. Taiwan brought up concerns about legal “guidelines” China announced in
MEET AND GREET: The White House, which called the interaction ‘just a handshake,’ did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Biden planned to visit Taiwan’s envoy to the APEC summit, Lin Hsin-i (林信義), on Friday invited US President Joe Biden to visit Taiwan. During the APEC Leaders’ Informal Dialogue, Lin, who represented President William Lai (賴清德) at the summit, spoke with Biden and expressed gratitude to the outgoing US president for his contribution to improving bilateral ties between Taipei and Washington over the past four years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Lin and Biden exchanged views during the conversation, with Lin extending an invitation to Biden to visit Taiwan, it said. Biden is to step down in January next year, when US president-elect Donald Trump is
RSS