Following a standoff between supporters and protesters at the Tang Te-chang Park in Greater Tainan yesterday, the Greater Tainan Government announced that it would delay a plan to relocate a statue of Republic of China founding father Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙).
The controversy over the statue started in early February, when Northern Taiwan Society executive head Sherry Huang (黃淑純) complained that there was only a half-lifesize statue of 228 Incident hero Tang Te-chang (湯德章) on the periphery of the park, while a full-size bronze statue of Sun was prominently placed in the center.
Tang was a lawyer in Tainan during the 228 Incident and was burning a list of names of people who participated in the activities of the local Settlement Committee when Nationalist soldiers showed up to arrest him.
Photo: Hung Jui-chin, Taipei Times
He was severely beaten while he put up a fierce resistance in a bid to allow the list to be burned completely. He was executed the following day.
His actions saved the lives of a number of leading Tainan residents and students whose names were on the list.
The 228 Incident refers to an uprising in 1947 against the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime and the resulting brutal crackdown that left tens of thousands dead, and led to nearly four decades of martial law.
The city government had originally planned to relocate Sun’s statue to the Ka Ba Sua Elementary School’s Shueiyun campus in Dongshan District (東山) on Friday.
The KMT caucus in the city council, as well as the Greater Tainan KMT headquarters branch, strongly condemned the move and also criticized Greater Tainan Mayor William Lai’s (賴清德) actions.
The KTM city councilors took turns standing beside Sun’s statue to guard against it being removed and their resolve was bolstered by visits from others who protested against the decision to remove the statue.
There was even a flower basket allegedly sent by Sun’s granddaughter, Lily Sui-fong Sun (孫穗芳), reading: “Many thanks to the people of Tainan who stood guard for my family.”
City government supporters waved banners in front of the National Museum of Taiwanese Literature, which is near the park, and said that the city government was right in giving Tang justice because he was a victim of the 228 Incident.
Seeing the banners, protesters made a banner of their own, reading: “The founding father also wants his living rights.”
Meanwhile, the city government took down the scaffolding that had been erected around the statue and announced a delay in the relocation, but said that the relocation was inevitable.
The relocation is to safeguard the rights of residents and to protect a historical relic, the city government said, adding that other counties and cities had done the same thing.
The relocation of statues to be collectively stored in one location is very common, the city government said, adding that the relocation of the statue had nothing to do with politics.
The decision was completely legal and we would like to ask for the support of residents, the city government said.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) today condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after the Czech officials confirmed that Chinese agents had surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March last year. Czech Military Intelligence director Petr Bartovsky yesterday said that Chinese operatives had attempted to create the conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, going as far as to plan a collision with her car. Hsiao was vice president-elect at the time. The MAC said that it has requested an explanation and demanded a public apology from Beijing. The CCP has repeatedly ignored the desires
Many Chinese spouses required to submit proof of having renounced their Chinese household registration have either completed the process or provided affidavits ahead of the June 30 deadline, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. Of the 12,146 people required to submit the proof, 5,534 had done so as of Wednesday, MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. Another 2,572 people who met conditions for exemption or deferral from submitting proof of deregistration — such as those with serious illnesses or injuries — have submitted affidavits instead, he said. “As long as individuals are willing to cooperate with the legal
The Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant’s license has expired and it cannot simply be restarted, the Executive Yuan said today, ahead of national debates on the nuclear power referendum. The No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County was disconnected from the nation’s power grid and completely shut down on May 17, the day its license expired. The government would prioritize people’s safety and conduct necessary evaluations and checks if there is a need to extend the service life of the reactor, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference. Lee said that the referendum would read: “Do
Taiwan's Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said Saturday that she would not be intimidated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), following reports that Chinese agents planned to ram her car during a visit to the Czech Republic last year. "I had a great visit to Prague & thank the Czech authorities for their hospitality & ensuring my safety," Hsiao said on social media platform X. "The CCP's unlawful activities will NOT intimidate me from voicing Taiwan's interests in the international community," she wrote. Hsiao visited the Czech Republic on March 18 last year as vice president-elect and met with Czech Senate leadership, including
RSS