The Cihu Memorial Sculpture Park in Taoyuan will not be removing any statues relating to Chiang Kai-shek (蔣中正) and his son, former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), as the park is “a commemoration of history, and not any particular person,” the Taoyuan City Government said yesterday.
The question arose following the Ministry of Culture’s announcement on Saturday that it was working on a bill to reinvent the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, including possibly renaming the Taipei landmark, removing Chiang Kai-shek’s statue from it and stopping sales of souvenir products bearing his likeness.
Taoyuan Department of Public Information Director Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said that Cihu park was set up under then-Taoyuan county commissioner Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) of the Democratic Progressive Party in an effort to end the deification of Chiang Kai-shek and for people to view the statues at the park as historical and cultural artifacts.
Photo: CNA
The focus of the park has ceased to be the two Chiangs, whose statues have simply become part of the park’s sculptures, Chang said.
Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) fully agrees that Taiwanese should learn from their past and ensure that all forms of deification ends with the authoritarian regime, Chang said.
As for souvenirs sold at the park’s shop, Chang said they are not limited to images of Chiang Kai-shek, but include other items featuring the nation’s famed tourist spots, historical items relating to the Chinese Civil War and figurines of other historical figures such as Republic of China founder Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙) and former Chinese leader Mao Zedong (毛澤東).
The city government has no intention of taking the products off the shelves, he said.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
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