Efforts must be made to remove the statues of former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and stop the worship of a dictator responsible for the deaths of many Taiwanese, a group of White Terror era victims said yesterday.
The group opposed a proposal to place an iron cage over Chiang’s bronze statue at Taipei’s Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.
The Transitional Justice Commission should push ahead with its plan to take down the 6.3m statue and move it to the Cihu Mausoleum in Taoyuan’s Dasi District (大溪), former political prisoner Tsai Kuan-yu (蔡寬裕) said.
Photo: CNA
“This has been enshrined in law, so the government must remove all symbols of authoritarianism that are still in place,” said Tsai, the honorary chairman of the Taiwan Association for the Care of the Victims of Political Persecution During the Martial Law Period.
Tsai, now in his 80s, was targeted by the KMT’s persecution of dissidents and civil liberty advocates. He was imprisoned twice from the 1960s to the 1970s, spending a total of 13 years in prison.
Article 5 of the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice (促進轉型正義條例), passed by the legislature in 2017, stipulates that “symbols appearing in public buildings or places that commemorate or express nostalgia for authoritarian rulers shall be removed, renamed, or dealt with in some other way,” Tsai said.
“We have pressed the demand to remake Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall as part of the transitional justice process and get rid of the statue. Such a move has basis in the law and therefore should be implemented soon, but we only see inaction and more delays,” he said.
Several consultation meetings were held over the past two months with officials from the Ministry of Culture department that manages the memorial hall, and several rounds of discussions were held with commission officials, Tsai said.
“Our organization and other groups representing the victims of past political persecution have voiced their recommendations. We also spoke directly with the current and former minister of culture,” Tsai added.
“They have our recommendations and should take action to implement them... It is painful to see Taiwan undergoing democratization for three decades and people still having a personality cult for the worship of a dictator,” he said.
Only when the statue is removed from the memorial hall can the nation close this chapter of its history, Tsai said.
“If not, the malevolence of the past authoritarian regime and the personality cult will remain alive, and our society will waste time squabbling over it year after year,” he said.
Regarding the proposal to place an iron cage on the statue, Tsai said: “We disagree with such ways to cast aspersion on the statue... The best way is to remove it, without leaving a trace, which should end all disputes over the issue.”
Meanwhile, the Taiwan 228 Care Association has launched a petition to terminate all government funding for ceremonial activities at the memorial hall, and to have Chiang’s descendants pay for the statue’s care.
A Taiwanese software developer has created a generative artificial intelligence (AI) model to help people use AI without exposing sensitive data, project head Huang Chung-hsiao (黃崇校) said yesterday. Huang, a 55-year-old coder leading a US-based team, said that concerns over data privacy and security in popular generative AIs such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek motivated him to develop a personal AI assistant named “Mei.” One of the biggest security flaws with cloud-based algorithms is that users are required to hand over personal information to access the service, giving developers the opportunity to mine user data, he said. For this reason, many government agencies and
The National Fire Agency on Thursday said a series of drills simulating a magnitude 8.5 earthquake would be held in September to enhance the government’s emergency response capabilities. Since earthquakes cannot be predicted, only by continuously promoting disaster prevention measures could Taiwan enhance its resilience to earthquakes, agency Director-General Hsiao Huan-chang (蕭煥章) said in a news release. The exercises would be held to mark annual National Disaster Prevention Day on Sept. 21, the aim of which is to test Taiwan’s preparedness and improve its earthquake resilience in case of a major temblor, Hsiao said. As part of those drills, an earthquake alert would
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
STRICTER ENFORCEMENT: Taipei authorities warned against drunk cycling after a sharp rise in riding under the influence, urging greater public awareness of its illegality Taipei authorities have issued a public warning urging people not to ride bicycles after consuming alcohol, following a sharp rise in riding under the influence (DUI) cases involving bicycles. Five hundred and seven people were charged with DUI last year while riding YouBikes, personal bicycles, or other self-propelled two-wheelers — a fourfold increase from the previous year, data released by the Taipei Police Department’s Traffic Division showed. Of these, 33 cases were considered severe enough to be prosecuted under “offenses against public safety,” the data showed. Under the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例), bicycles — including YouBikes and other
RSS