The Transitional Justice Commission last week announced a plan to transform the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei, triggering debate at home and abroad.
Yoshiyuki Ogasawara, a professor at Tokyo University, wrote an article, published in the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) on Sunday, in which he advocated maintaining the hall’s large bronze statue of former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), along with the Republic of China Honor Guard, to preserve the atmosphere of the era to which they belong.
Ogasawara also argued that from the perspective of a foreign visitor to Taiwan, the memorial hall provides an excellent educational opportunity about Taiwan’s democratic transition.
The hall’s design and construction is all about the veneration of authoritarianism: from its location right at the heart of the nation’s capital city to its groundbreaking ceremony coinciding with Chiang’s birthday and the oversize bronze statue in the main hall, to which the visitor has to climb 89 steps — the age at which Chiang died.
In addition, the decorative stone carving that runs through the center of the steps is evocative of traditional Chinese imperial architecture, and the main boulevard that runs through the park encourages visitors to raise their heads toward the heavens: All of these are authoritarian symbols. It is entirely proper that, in accordance with the legal remit of the commission, all authoritarian symbols in the complex should be amended.
Removing these symbols — including the statue of Chiang — is not the only way. Rather than discussing whether to remove them, the discussion should be about how best to achieve “a lifting of martial law” in the spatial environment, in a way that simultaneously reminds Taiwanese of the damage caused by authoritarian rule and demonstrates the nation’s resolve to implement transitional justice.
Here are some suggestions for how to combine these objectives:
The main boulevard could be renamed, perhaps fielding suggestions from the public. This would not only expand public participation and increase the legitimacy of the transitional justice process, but would also give the complex a fresh symbolic meaning.
In the same vein, the bronze statue could be encased inside a large cage to symbolize the incarceration of the former dictator and prevent any misunderstanding that Taiwanese still memorialize or venerate Chiang.
The guard could be moved to the entrance gate to the complex to perform the ceremonial changing of the guard beneath the “Liberty Square” (自由廣場) name plaque so that they would switch from guarding Chiang’s statue to guarding Taiwan’s defenders of democracy.
Additionally, a plaque should be installed at a prominent position to explains its raison d’etre, linking Taiwan’s authoritarian past to the transitional justice process, so that future generations of Taiwanese and foreign tourists can understand how the nation was able to throw off the shackles of the one-party state and close the door on authoritarianism. It would be an effective way to ensure that the public learn the lessons from history.
Finally, a way must be found to prevent the restoration of authoritarian symbols and iconography following a future transition of political power.
The memorial was renamed National Democracy Memorial Hall by former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), but then changed back to its current name by his successor, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
One way to prevent this from happening again would be to increase public participation in the renaming process to inhibit any later attempt to resuscitate the ancien regime.
Liou Je-wei is a graduate student of political science at National Taiwan University.
Translated by Edward Jones
Although former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo — known for being the most pro-Taiwan official to hold the post — is not in the second administration of US president-elect Donald Trump, he has maintained close ties with the former president and involved himself in think tank activities, giving him firsthand knowledge of the US’ national strategy. On Monday, Pompeo visited Taiwan for the fourth time, attending a Formosa Republican Association’s forum titled “Towards Permanent World Peace: The Shared Mission of the US and Taiwan.” At the event, he reaffirmed his belief in Taiwan’s democracy, liberty, human rights and independence, highlighting a
The US Department of Defense recently released this year’s “Report on Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China.” This annual report provides a comprehensive overview of China’s military capabilities, strategic objectives and evolving global ambitions. Taiwan features prominently in this year’s report, as capturing the nation remains central to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) vision of the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” a goal he has set for 2049. The report underscores Taiwan’s critical role in China’s long-term strategy, highlighting its significance as a geopolitical flashpoint and a key target in China’s quest to assert dominance
The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) last week released the latest job vacancy data in Taiwan, which highlighted how many job openings firms had yet to be filled at the end of August last year. The data also revealed how the vacant positions were closely related to the business climate that industrial and services sectors faced at the time. The DGBAS collects data on job vacancies at the end of February, May, August and November every year. The number of job vacancies includes recruits for expanding operations and additional production lines as well as for openings related to
The Legislative Yuan passed legislation on Tuesday aimed at supporting the middle-aged generation — defined as people aged 55 or older willing and able to work — in a law initially proposed by Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Wu Chun-cheng (吳春城) to help the nation transition from an aged society to a super-aged society. The law’s passage was celebrated by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the TPP. The brief show of unity was welcome news, especially after 10 months of political fighting and unconstitutional amendments that are damaging democracy and the constitutional order, eliciting concern
RSS