Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) on Friday proposed changing the name of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei to the “Taiwan Development Memorial Hall” (台灣建設紀念館), to commemorate all Taiwanese who helped build the nation over the past seven decades.
Taiwanese should look at the larger picture when determining the memorial hall’s role in history, Chiang said.
Former presidents Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and his son Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) protected the Republic of China and contributed greatly to the development of Taiwan during the Cold War era, an achievement that should be the goal of any political party in Taiwan, Chiang Wan-an said.
Photo: CNA
No political party or organization should seek to incite hatred or confrontation in society by their treatment or handling of places dedicated to the two former presidents, he added.
Chiang Wan-an said he believes Taiwanese would like to face the truth of the past seven decades and put it behind them, and focus on the future and moving toward it.
Chiang Wan-an is the son of former KMT vice chairman John Chiang (蔣孝嚴), who claims to be a son of Chiang Ching-kuo.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te (李永得) said that certain clarifications first need to be made on how the memorial hall would be rebranded, such as the fate of the statue of Chiang Kai-shek housed in the main hall and the building itself.
The Ministry of Culture stands by three main principles: first, any repurposing should remove elements suggesting reverence of authoritarian figures while retaining other historic elements, Lee said, adding that renaming the hall is an integral part of removing authoritarian elements.
Second, an effort must be made to highlight the “basic values” of Taiwan, namely having the courage to stand up against authoritarian figures, he said.
Photo: Photo: Chen Yu-fu, Taipei Times
Third, a sense of “dynamic historic views” should be established, he added.
The ministry is happy to support Chiang Wan-an’s suggestion provided all three principles are observed, Lee said, but added that renaming should be discussed with the public.
Chiang Wan-an’s comments came as a surprise to the KMT, a source in the party said yesterday, speaking on condition of anonymity
His remarks are bold and forward-thinking, but he must be prepared to endure mounting pressure from within the party, the source said.
Chiang Wan-an’s statements could benefit Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊), who is rumored to be interested in running for Taipei mayor in November’s local elections, the source added.
Huang could attract 3 to 5 percent of the KMT’s voter base if she were to express her respect for Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo and oppose any changes to the memorial park, the source said.
Chiang Wan-an is seen as the most likely candidate to run for Taipei mayor on the KMT ticket, although he has yet not been officially nominated.
Additional reporting by CNA
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
Authorities yesterday elaborated on the rules governing Employment Gold Cards after a US cardholder was barred from entering Taiwan for six years after working without a permit during a 2023 visit. American YouTuber LeLe Farley was barred after already being approved for an Employment Gold Card, he said in a video published on his channel on Saturday. Farley, who has more than 420,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, was approved for his Gold Card last month, but was told at a check-in counter at the Los Angeles International Airport that he could not enter Taiwan. That was because he previously participated in two
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat
RSS