Taiwan is increasingly different from China: it embarks on a surprising path with the symbols of its own past

The ad grabbed the headlines of major newspapers and news portals of Taipei. One of them said: Priority is given to removing the Chiang statue and crowned the main edition of one of the country’s most important media, Taipei News. Ultimately, it was announced that the monument to Taiwan’s founding father was to be removed from the chosen site as a tribute to him.

Tchang Kai-shek You will no longer be sitting on your own memorial following an order from the nation’s justice that demands the removal of any vestige that remains from an authoritarian past … even if it is from yours Chang, the one who fought for decades against Mao Zedong and eventually took refuge on the island with its nationalists fleeing the regime of Beijing.

“The Transitional Justice Commission yesterday announced its plan to transform the Chiang Kai-shek memorial in Taipei, which would prioritize the removal of the former leader’s large bronze statue in the main hall. In today’s democratized society, any authoritarian character must be eradicated from the complex, which is itself a product of Taiwan’s authoritarian past, the commission said.Taiwanese media said.

The event contrasts sharply with the Chinese regime led by Xi Jinping which at each stage marks its most authoritarian version regardless of the violations of the fundamental freedoms of its citizens. The main task of the court order will be to remove the statue of Chang over six meters high.

Removal of the monument would indicate the “the establishment of a liberal democratic constitutional order, the denial of the legitimacy of the authoritarian regime and the memory of the historical lessons of human rights violations», Declared the commission.

For its part, the Taipei government has already reacted to the court order and will take action to comply with the regulations. Yeh Hung-ling, acting minister of the commission, confirmed that the statue of Chang can be withdrawn after consultation with the Cultural Heritage Office of the Ministry of Culture.

Although the Memorial to the founder of Taiwan It is protected as a historic place, the statue has not been entered in the register, according to the words of the minister Yeah. Meanwhile, the official said a decision will be made on the statue’s fate after consulting with civilian groups and victims of political persecution, although the common consensus is that keeping such a symbol at the center of the capital of the country is problematic.

In recent weeks, the chinese diet for his part, he showed greater signs of authoritarianism. On the one hand, he confirmed his rapprochement and his full support with the Taliban fundamentalists who took control of Afghanistan. On the other hand, minors were prohibited from playing console games for more than three hours per week.

All these measures against the backdrop of complaints for violations of human rights and the most basic individual freedoms. Hong Kong, for example, suffered constant harassment from Beijing and its citizens are subject to the most arbitrary standards of the Chinese Communist Party (PCC). Taiwan, as for him, undergoes permanent military threats on behalf of the army of Xi Jinping.

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