The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday vowed to protect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and urged the public to denounce the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which it accused of targeting the monument to provoke ethnic conflict.
During a photographic exhibition dedicated to the memorial that runs through next Tuesday at KMT headquarters, KMT Acting Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) said the hall was a favorite tourist attraction for both local and foreign visitors. He condemned the DPP for creating social and ethnic confrontation with its "anti-Chiang Kai-shek [蔣介石]" campaign.
In addition to showcasing the beauty of the hall in its exhibition, Chiang said the party would hold a protest titled "Love Taiwan, Defend the Republic of China" on Saturday to express its opposition against the DPP's attack on Chiang Kai-shek.
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Joining in the criticism of the DPP, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (
"[Chiang Kai-shek] made numerous contributions to our nation and these contributions outweigh the criticisms against him," Hau said during a question-and-answer session in the Taipei City Council.
Taipei City Councilor Lee Chin-yuan (李慶元), a New Party member, later sent a small statue of Chiang Kai-shek to Hau and urged the city government to defend the memorial.
Taipei City Councilor Yen Sheng-kuan (顏聖冠), a DPP member, questioned the city government's listing of the hall as a "temporary historical monument" despite its relatively short 27-year history.
Taipei City Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Lee Yung-ping (
In related news, Public Construction Commission Chairman Wu Tze-cheng (吳澤成) said a public opinion poll on the monument will be conducted in the next month or two. The poll will include the question of whether or not the monument's outer walls should be demolished.
Wu said the commission would also assemble a task force to oversee the redesign of the monument's park following the poll.
Speaking to the legislature's Education and Culture Committee yesterday, Wu said his commission would also call on scores of "experts" in deciding if and how to demolish the hall's outer walls.
Wu said any redesign of the hall and its environs would be made to convenience the public.
Additional reporting by Max Hirsch
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