The Kaohsiung City Government's removal of a statue of late dictator Chiang Kai-shek (
Following the passage of a draft bill to amend the Organic Regulations Concerning the Bureau of Cultural Affairs of the Kaohsiung City Government (
As a result, the Chiang Kai-shek Culture Center was renamed Kaohsiung City Culture Center. In accordance with the Local Government Act (地方制度法), the name change did not require the approval of the city council.
More than 400 police officers were called in to maintain order while the bureau set to work removing Chiang's statue and replacing the center's nameplate on Tuesday evening.
Angry pan-blue city councilors, legislators and supporters were kept at bay by police barricades while members of the bureau completed their task. Chiang's statue was segmented for removal and a board that read "Always Remember Our Leader" was also taken down.
The clashes between demonstrators and the police continued through yesterday morning.
Chen refused to say where Chiang's statue would be stored, but said it would not be destroyed.
The Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) Kaohsiung City Council caucus issued a statement late on Tuesday night and saying that the city government should not attempt to deny the historical importance of Chiang and his contribution to the nation.
The DPP caucus, meanwhile, said that those who were opposed to the changes should "allow the culture center to be purely dedicated to cultural activities."
DPP Legislator Wang Shu-hui (王淑慧) told a press conference that the changes were in keeping with the tenets of transitional justice.
DPP Legislator Lin Su-shan (
KMT lawmakers called on the public to participate in a demonstration planned to take place at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei on March 31.
KMT Legislator Hsu Shao-ping (
"There is a culture center in remembrance of the late US president John F. Kennedy and a culture center in memory of the late French president Francois Mitterrand," said KMT Legislator John Chiang (蔣孝嚴), grandson of Chiang Kai-shek. "Why can't we have a culture center commemorating a Taiwanese politician?"
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by