The fate of the mausoleums of dictator Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) descended into family squabbling yesterday after Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator John Chiang (蔣孝嚴), a son of Chiang Ching-kuo, said he did not support relocating the tombs to China.
"Those who don't understand Taiwanese politics should not get too involved in the issue. He or she should speak with caution," he said while visiting the mausoleums at Tzuhu (慈湖) and Touliao (頭寮) in Taoyuan County yesterday.
John Chiang was apparently referring to Chiang Fang Chih-yi (
Chiang Fang Chih-yi said on Sunday that the family had reached a consensus on sending the remains of the two men back to their hometown in Zhejiang Province, China, consistent with Chiang Ching-kuo's wishes, rather than relocating the remains to the Wuchihshan Military Cemetery (五指山軍人公墓) in Taipei County as the family had previously requested the government do.
In January 2004, Faina Chiang (
The government has earmarked NT$39 million (US$1.2 million) to be spent on the project. More than NT$27 million was spent on the construction of a tomb at the Wuchihshan Military Cemetery.
No one in the Chiang family was able to act as head of the household, John Chiang said yesterday. He said he would urge former premier Hau Pei-tsun (郝柏村) to convene a meeting of the extended Chiang family after next year's elections to discuss the issue.
Hau was close to Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo.
When asked for comment, KMT's presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said he respected the decisions made by the Chiang family.
KMT Legislator Shuai Hua-ming (帥化民) said it was "natural and normal" for the Chiang family to propose removing Chiang Kai-shek's and Chiang Ching-kuo's mausoleums to their hometown in Zhejiang Province, China, because they wanted to prevent their deceased family members from being "insulted" by "clowns," in an apparent reference to politicians in the pan-green camp.
Nevertheless, he urged the Chiang family to understand that "Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo belong to the Republic of China."
"Chiang Ching-kuo clearly expressed his dedication and love for Taiwan by establishing his father's mausoleum at Tzuhu while selecting Touliao as the location of his own mausoleum," said Shuai, a former lieutenant-general.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
RSS