Taiwan Covered With Chinese Dictator Chiang Kai-Shek’s Statues; Embarrassment Over The Decision To Remove

The Taiwanese government has decided to remove about 800 statues of Chinese military dictator Chiang Kai-shek. Indeed, Chiang’s historical legacy is a matter of great debate in Taiwan. The most important issue of debate is the largest statue in the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei. For the past several decades, there has been a debate about what to do with Chiang’s statues. Now the Transitional Justice Committee has recommended the removal of thousands of statues from public places. However, this decision is also being strongly opposed.

Let us tell you that at the end of China’s civil war in 1949, Chiang fled to Taiwan after losing the KMT (Kuomintang) party and millions of supporters. He established the Republic of China government in exile, and ruled Taiwan’s population under brutal martial law for decades until his death in 1975 (when power was transferred to his son). By the end of martial law in 1987, an estimated 140,000 people were imprisoned and another 3,000 to 4,000 were executed for their opposition to the KMT.

Transitional Justice Committee recommended the removal of statues

Now the soil of the self-ruled island nation of Taiwan (which China claims as its own) is littered with statues of Chiang. In 2018, Taipei created a Transitional Justice Committee to investigate the regime of former Chiang Kai-shek. Now the Transitional Justice Committee has recommended the removal of thousands of statues from public places. After this, while giving information to Taiwan’s legislature on April 21, Cabinet official Shih Pu said that the Ministry of Interior will also remove the remaining 760 statues. According to Shih, the Defense Ministry said it had to take into account military tradition, since Chiang also founded present-day Taiwan’s military training academies, so it is a military tradition to honor Chiang.

The response came amid criticism that the government was not moving fast enough to remove statues of the Chinese military dictator. At the same time, it is especially noteworthy that the debate on Chiang’s legacy is part of the strategy of political parties. The ruling Democratic Progressive Party takes a critical stance, while Chiang’s party in opposition accuses the KMT government of wanting to erase history.