The Presidential Office yesterday defended the government's decision to change the title of the National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall back to Chiang Kai-shek (CKS) Memorial Hall.
In a letter published by the Chinese-language China Times yesterday, Yunlin County Deputy Commissioner Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) dismissed the government decision as “hasty.”
Lee said President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) lacked the “breadth of mind” that new US President Barack Obama had shown in trying to resolve political conflict in Washington.
Responding to the criticism, Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said in a press release that it was the government's responsibility to reinstate the hall's original title because the former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government's move to change its name by passing an administrative order was “illegal.”
Wang said the Organic Act of the CKS Memorial Hall (中正紀念堂組織條例) was passed by the Legislative Yuan, and the former administration's move to rename the hall by having the Executive Yuan pass the Organic Regulations of the National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall (台灣民主紀念館組織規程) had no legal bearing.
“An administrative order cannot override a law,” Wang said, adding that this was a fundamental principle in a society ruled by law.
It was the government's duty to defend the law and restore the name CKS Hall, he said.
On Wednesday, the Ministry of Education announced the plan to reinstate the name CKS Hall by the end of July.
In 2007, the DPP government renamed the memorial as part of its efforts to remove monuments and rename places that commemorated dictator Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石).
The move was condemned by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-dominated legislature. The replacement of the name plaque at the hall led to scuffles between pan-blue and pan-green supporters.
Following the KMT's election victory last May, Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) on Aug. 21 instructed the Executive Yuan to withdraw the former DPP administration's request to abolish the Organic Act of the CKS Memorial Hall and to scrap the Organic Regulations of the National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall.
Vice Minister of Education Lu Mu-lin (呂木琳) said in a press conference on Wednesday that the ministry had made the decision without first holding a public forum as promised by Minister of Education Cheng Jei-cheng (鄭瑞城) last August.
Lu said the forum was never held because experts attending another closed-door forum thought holding a public discussion on the hall issue could spark more conflict.
In the China Times letter, Lee said: “Although President Ma was elected with the support of the majority of Taiwanese people, he failed to make any comments to resolve political hostility in the nation and to achieve reconciliation between different ethnic groups.”
Wang said he respected Lee's “personal opinion,” but added that Ma had been steadily promoting reconciliation between different political camps and maintaining ethnic harmony.
Wang said Ma had also nominated a number of pan-green figures for the Control Yuan and Examination Yuan.
He said the president had invited DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to discuss national affairs, but Tsai had turned down the invitation on numerous occasions.
Wang urged Lee to advise Tsai to accept Ma's invitation so they could sit down and discuss cooperation for the sake of the nation.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
RSS