In the wake of inaugurating a new president, the Taiwanese people are revisiting the ongoing debate over how to remember the legacy of former authoritarian ruler Chiang Kai-Shek. In a recent statement on June 3, the Taiwan Association for Truth and Reconciliation urged the government to take concrete action over the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall in Taipei. Similar efforts are mounting to take down statues of Chiang Kai-Shek around Taiwan.
Under Chiang Kai-Shek’s authoritarian rule, Taiwan was subject to 38 years of martial law remembered as the White Terror period, during which political dissidents were met with fierce suppression. Chiang reportedly imprisoned tens of thousands of dissidents and executed thousands more. Now, as these stories are increasingly brought to light, the debate over how much Chiang’s legacy should loom over Taiwanese society has only intensified.
Read more here.
