Taiwan is littered with monuments to one of its most divisive leaders. However, as efforts to remove them stall, some activists to are taking matters into their own hands.
abc.net.au/news/statues-of-taiwan-dictator-chiang-kai-shek-divide-island/102291132As tourists gathered to take photos of a huge bronze statue in central Taipei, a man brandishing a paint ball gun hopped the velvet rope and took aim.
"His statue is a really harmful image for the relatives of people killed [indirectly] by him, and it makes a mockery of Taiwan's democracy," he told the ABC.Relatives of victims and civil society groups blame Chiang's political repression for up to 28,000 deaths in Taiwan during the early years of his rule.
Secret police surveilled the population, heavy censorship was imposed and perceived political dissidents were arrested on trumped-up charges. Chiang's advocates say he fought the Communists and built modern Taiwan through land reforms and infrastructure. However, grappling with Chiang's legacy is tricky for both the KMT and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party as an election year looms.In 2018, President Tsai Ing-wen set up a transitional justice committee to delve into the White Terror years.
It was the latest addition to a lakeside park where discarded Chiang statues from across Taiwan have been placed. "Young people nowadays don't know the history. They don't learn about it. It's not in the textbooks."Last year, Culture Minister Lee Yung-te held a competition for ideas to redesign the memorial hall in central Taipei, which he described as a "monument to authoritarianism".
And there's also a considerable amount of apathy from many who think politicians should spend their time and energy tackling more pressing issues.
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