President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday upheld precedent and paid tribute to Republic of China (ROC) founding father Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙) at the National Revolutionary Martyrs’ Shrine in Taipei, but the traditionally formality-rich ceremony was reduced to just six minutes.
Tsai was greeted by an honor guard representing the three branches of the nation’s armed forces as she arrived at 10am along with Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁), Presidential Office Secretary-General Lin Bih-jaw (林碧炤), and the heads of the five branches of the government.
The ceremony consisted of three parts, including the playing of national anthem, presentation of a floral wreath, and three bows to the altar. Neither Tsai nor the heads of the five government branches sang the anthem during the event, but Chen did.
Photo: CNA
The Presidential Office also canceled a traditional ritual called yaoji — meaning paying tribute to the tomb of someone from afar — to Sun, who was buried in Nanjing, China, as well as civilian and military “martyrs” who died during several wars and rebellions before and after the founding of the ROC in 1912.
The service was a stark contrast to past ceremonies under former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), which usually lasted up to 30 minutes and involved other procedures such as the offering of fruit, the burning of incense and the recitation of a liturgical text.
Shrugging off speculation that the simplification of the ceremony carried political connotations, Presidential Office Spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) said it is the thought that counts.
Huang said it is customary for newly sworn-in presidents to pay tribute to Sun at the shrine, which was constructed in the 1960s by then-president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石).
“In the past, such a ceremony revolved around a yaoji ritual to the ROC’s founding father, but since we are now living in a democracy, we decided to perform a simple tribute to Sun and national martyrs instead,” Huang said, describing the ceremony as simple, but solemn.
A group of pro-independence activists staged a protest outside the shrine against Tsai’s decision to observe the ceremony, holding banners reading “Taiwan Republic” and demanding that Tsai refrain from worshiping the martyrs and founding father of a “Chinese government-in-exile.”
“Tsai should put an end to the ideology of sinicization promoted by the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] when the party was in power and enjoyed a legislative majority,” said Leung Man-to (梁文韜), a Hong Kong-born professor teaching at National Cheng Kung University’s department of political science.
Leung said that Taiwanese have fought for seven decades to see a political party representing them take total control of the nation, urging Tsai not to follow in the steps of the authoritarian KMT regime and lock the nation into a China-centered historical perspective.
Taiwan Solidarity Union Department of Youth Affairs director Chang Chao-lin (張兆林) said that while they viewed positively Tsai’s abrogation of the yaoji ritual, she must be solemnly reminded that her policies and values should not run counter to Taiwan’s status as an independent sovereign state.
The protesters also called on the new president to convert the shrine into a memorial hall commemorating Taiwanese who sacrificed their lives fighting foreign colonists.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated