Family members and descendants of former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) yesterday stood alongside President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) at an official ceremony to unveil a plaque that reads “Ching-kuo Hall” (經國廳) over the entrance to the Presidential Office Building’s auditorium.
Ma said the plaque was hung in the hope that people would realize the extraordinary contributions of the former president, adding that he hoped the nation would continue to uphold Chiang’s legacy of loyalty, spirit of reform and seeing the nation’s people as his own children.
Chiang was the hand behind the steadily improving economy and political reform of the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan following its defeat in the Chinese Civil War in 1949, Ma said.
The ceremony coincided with Youth Day, as Chiang had placed a lifelong emphasis on the importance of young people to the nation through his efforts to foster young talent, Ma said.
Under Chiang, the ROC saw the lifting of martial law, in place since 1949, and a gradual transition to the democratic republic the nation was meant to be, Ma said, adding that Chiang also improved cross-strait relations and presided over the Ten Major Infrastructure Projects (十大建設) that drove Taiwan’s economic success.
Chiang was a far-sighted politician who ended the authoritarian rule under which he was born, Ma said, adding that his lifting of a ban on veterans in Taiwan visiting their families in China greatly contributed to thawing relations across the Taiwan Strait.
Ma said that over his eight years as president, he has striven to follow Chiang’s tenet of “making Taiwan the primary concern [of policies] and [making policies that] benefit Taiwanese.”
Among those also in attendance at the ceremony were former premiers Hao Pei-tsun (郝柏村) and Liu Chao-hsuan (劉兆玄), as well as 99-year-old former Presidential Office deputy secretary-general Chang Tzu-yi (張祖詒).
Chang was critical of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who removed a plaque from the auditorium’s entrance that read “Chieh Shou Hall” (介壽堂), written by then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) heavyweight Wu Chih-hui (吳稚暉). Chang called Chen’s removal of the plaque a “crude, shallow act” and lauded Ma for his restraint in not replacing the plaque immediately after assuming office in 2008.
Chang said he was honored to be invited to the ceremony, and that in his mind, Chiang was a great and wise leader, as well as a kind and benevolent elder, adding that Chiang always placed himself at the forefront when dealing with the nation’s needs.
“Wherever the people needed him, he was always there,” Chang said.
Chang suggested that Ma donate recordings of the process of naming and hanging the plaque over the auditorium to the Academia Historica.
Also in attendance were KMT chairperson-elect Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) and KMT Acting Chairperson Huang Min-hui (黃敏惠), as well as Chiang’s daughter-in-law Chiang Fang Chih-yi (蔣方智怡), his son John Chiang (蔣孝嚴) and other members of the family, including Chiang Yu-sung (蔣友松) and Andrew Chiang (蔣友青).
‘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 wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
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
RSS