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.
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
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
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
Taiwan-based publisher Li Yanhe (李延賀) has been sentenced to three years in prison, fined 50,000 yuan (US$6,890) in personal assets and deprived political rights for one year for “inciting secession” in China, China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said today. The Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court announced the verdict on Feb. 17, Chen said. The trial was conducted lawfully, and in an open and fair manner, he said, adding that the verdict has since come into legal effect. The defendant reportedly admitted guilt and would appeal within the statutory appeal period, he said, adding that the defendant and his family have
RSS