The government has no immediate plans to demolish the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall as part of transitional justice efforts, but it is focused on removing symbols of authoritarianism, Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said yesterday.
Chen was responding to a question on whether the government planned to tear down the controversial memorial site before a new president takes office on May 20 next year.
In an opinion piece published on Sunday in the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper), members of a Cabinet-level task force seeking ways to repurpose the hall — former political prisoner Lu Yu (呂昱), National Taiwan University associate professor Huang Shu-mei (黃舒楣) and former Transitional Justice Commission member Yeh Hung-ling (葉虹靈) — said that little progress has been made on the issue due to a lack of political will.
Photo: Photo: Chen Yu-fu, Taipei Times
“In pursuit of transitional justice, it is crucial to remove symbols of authoritarian regimes and stop promoting a cult of personality. A task force has been established to study alternative uses of the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, and President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has also expressed hope that the government would make progress on the matter before her term ends next year,” Chen said.
“Discussions over repurposing the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall are comprehensive and ongoing, and we have yet to draw a conclusion that the architecture would be torn down soon... We would gather input from all stakeholders and look into relevant issues, and any progress made in that regard would be announced,” he said.
Separately, Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) said that the Executive Yuan is exploring a few options, but a plan would not be announced until a consensus has been reached.
The task force was formed to address various issues, such as how to remove symbols of authoritarianism and cult of personality, and what to do with the spaces once they are removed, Cheng said.
The Executive Yuan is amending laws related to transitional justice, such as the Political Archives Act (政治檔案條例), and proposing an act governing the preservation of sites where injustices occurred, he said, adding that they would be announced following a careful review.
Executive Yuan spokesman Lin Tze-luen (林子倫) on Sunday said that the transformation of the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall is the cornerstone of the Cabinet’s transitional justice efforts and requires comprehensive planning.
“We thank the three task force members for raising their concerns about the progress made on the matter. We will continue gathering opinions, consolidate positions of government agencies and consider all possible ramifications in the most cautious manner possible,” Lin said. “We are also seeking the best opportunities to pursue transitional justice.”
Cheng and Minister Without Portfolio Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) presided over the task force’s meetings, he said, adding that Minister of Culture Shih Che (史哲) and Minister of the Interior Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) also participated.
The Executive Yuan’s determination to pursue transitional justice is no different from three task force members who wrote the op-ed, he said.
Following a meeting in May, the task force asked the Ministry of Culture to propose options for repurposing the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall and to communicate with the public about them, he said.
‘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
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
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
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