National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
The National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall ( Chinese 國立 中正 紀念堂 , Pinyin Guólì Zhōngzhèng Jìniàntáng , English National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall ) is a building in the center of Taipei , Taiwan , which commemorates Chiang Kai-shek , the longtime President and Supreme Military Commander of the Republic of China . The monument is surrounded by a park and stands at the east end of a square flanked by the National Theater Hall and the National Concert Hall .
Origin and opening
After Chiang Kai-shek's death in 1975, the executive yuan formed a funeral commission to build a memorial hall. The style of the monument was designed by Yang Cho-cheng , who won an architectural competition for the building. Yang's design combines various traditional Chinese architectural styles and is based on the Sun Yat-sen mausoleum built between 1926 and 1929 in Nanjing in what is now the People's Republic of China , the memorial hall for the founder of the Republic of China and the Kuomintang . The foundation stone was laid on October 31, 1976, Chiang's 90th birthday. The building was officially opened on April 5, 1980, the fifth anniversary of Chiang's death.
Memorial park
According to Yang's design, the memorial hall was built at the east end of the "Chiang Kai-shek Park" ( 中正 公園 , Zhōngzhèng Gōngyuán , English Chiang Kai-shek Park ) and 240,000 m² was cleared from the park in the "Zhongzheng" district ( 中正 ) in the Near the presidential office. After the memorial hall was renamed, the park was called "Taiwan Democracy Park" ( 臺灣 民主 公園 , Táiwān Mínzhǔ Gōngyuán , English Taiwan Democracy Park ).
The main gate of the " Great Centrality and Perfect Uprightness " ( 大中 至正 , Dàzhōng Zhìzhèng , English Great Centrality and Perfect Uprightness ) is at the west end of the "Chung Shan South Road" ("Chung Shan South Road"). The "Gate of Great Loyalty" ( 大 忠 門 , Dàzhōng Mén , English Gate of Great Loyalty ) is on the north side of "Xinyi Road" and the "Gate of Great Piety " ( 大 孝 門 , Dàxiào Mén , English Gate of Great Piety ) at the south end on "Aiguo East Road". The gate inscriptions of the memorial hall and plaza are designed in the style of ancient Chinese calligraphers, in the case of the inscription of the Tang Dynasty Hall of Ouyang Xun and that of Wang Xizhi Square of the Eastern Jin Dynasty . In the course of the renaming, the inscription on the main gate was changed to "Freedom Square" ( Chinese 自由 廣場 , Pinyin Zìyóu Guǎngchǎng , English Liberty Square ).
In addition, a boulevard of homage was built that connects the memorial hall with the square. The memorial square is flanked on the north side by the National Concert Hall and on the south side by the National Theater .
The square was used several times for mass gatherings , such as the "Wild Lily Student Demonstration " ( Chinese 野百合 學運 , Pinyin Yěbǎihé Xuéyùn ) in 1990. The square is also used for ceremonies for foreign dignitaries with red carpets. The lantern festival takes place here every year, during which giant lanterns are arranged in the shape of the current animal on the Chinese calendar . On normal days people can be seen doing dance, taekwondo , taijiquan and other martial arts exercises as well as playing xiangqi or go games. Soldiers also drill here for exercise and demonstration purposes.
Memorial hall
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The building is square in plan and the walls are whitewashed. The octagonal roof is 70 m above the ground and covered with blue glazed glass tiles. The white and blue style of the building with the red flower beds represents the colors of the flag of the Republic of China . The octagonal shape symbolizes the number 8, which traditionally in Asia stands for "abundance and skill".
Two white stars with 89 points each represent Chiang's age and the star of the flag of the Republic. They are placed above the main entrance. The main entrance itself consists of two double gates, each 16 m high and 75 tons in weight. A bronze statue of Chiang Kai-shek is opposite the double gates, which were often kowtowed . Chiang is shown in a sitting position smiling in a traditional Chinese suit, while other statues in Taiwan usually depict him standing and the seated position is reserved for Sun Yat-sen . Republic soldiers hold honor guards in front of Chiang's statue, and the changing of the guard has become a tourist attraction.
An elaborate caisson decorated with the emblem of the Republic of China is incorporated into the ceiling . The walls above and behind the statue are decorated with inscriptions. The basement rooms of the memorial hall contain a library and a museum, which documents the life of Chiang Kai-shek and exhibits objects from the history of Taiwan .
Renamed National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall
In 2006, MPs of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) requested that the Chiang Kai-shek National Memorial Hall be renamed the Taiwan National Democracy Memorial Hall. The reason given was Chiang Kai-shek's responsibility for human rights violations , particularly the February 28 incident , during his reign. The initiators of the renaming pointed out that although a law called for a memorial for Chiang Kai-shek, this was not specified in more detail. They suggested that Chiang's mausoleum on Cihu Lake near Daxi in Taoyuan County be declared an official memorial.
The motion was widely accepted by pan-green politicians and celebrities as a further step in emphasizing Taiwanese identity. Pan-blue supporters felt this step was desinization (turning away from China) and wrong, other admirers of Chiang defended his one-party rule.
In 2007, the Ministry of Education, which is under the Executive Yuan , decided to rename the Memorial Hall. It was downgraded from a 3rd rank to a 4th rank on the government's list of major sights in Taiwan in order to be able to change its name without the approval of the Legislative Yuan (Parliament). The background to this was that the Executive Yuan had a pan-green majority and the Legislative Yuan had a pan-blue majority, which opposed the change.
The official renaming ceremony, at which President Chen Shui-bian unveiled the new name of the hall, took place on May 19, 2007. In his speech, Chen said that the renaming shows the citizens' desire to "say goodbye to the old age and that all Taiwanese want to stand behind the universal values of freedom, democracy and human rights" (to bid goodbye to the old age and to show that we Taiwanese are all standing firmly behind the universal values of freedom, democracy and human rights) . He also noted that May 19 was the 58th anniversary of the establishment of 38 years of martial law in Taiwan. During the speech there was tumult and scuffle among the audience. For the ceremony, long banners were hung on the walls of the memorial hall, which showed the new name with pictures of a Formosan lily, which were supposed to commemorate the pro-democracy "student demonstration of the wild lilies". After the renaming, signs with the new name were placed in the memorial park and at the north and south gates. The old name was covered with tarpaulin and the double gates remained locked until the new opening. The statue and the memorial hall itself have not been changed.
Name dispute
The legitimacy of the renaming was questioned by the member of parliament Chang Hsien-yao ( 張顯耀 ) of the pan-blue coalition because it exceeded the competence of the executive yuan and falsely interfered with the competences of the legislative yuan.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-pin said he will not authorize any changes to signs or maps to re-name the memorial hall. He addressed the high costs of such changes and assumed that the initiators of the renaming were required to have an ideological strife . He insisted that he would not accept any change until the Legislative Yuan approved it.
On May 22, 2007, the Taipei city government removed the barriers to the memorial hall and all signs with the new name as an inscription, on the grounds that it concealed the cultural heritage and this violated the Cultural Protection Act. The city government also sued the Ministry of Culture for the reasons mentioned. This then closed the memorial hall for repair work. Two days later, the Ministry of Culture dispatched police officers to guard the memorial hall around the clock.
On June 7, 2007, a committee of the Legislative Yuan independently decided to undo the renaming of the memorial hall. Wang Shu-hui, a DPP committee representative, said on behalf of the Ministry of Culture that "this decision intrigues the government's mandates."
On November 6, the Council of Cultural Affairs decided that the memorial hall and the memorial park should be a historical sight; a status that puts sole management in the hands of the government, i.e. the executive Yuan. The memorial hall's official website dubbed it the Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall, but the library website continued to refer to the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall .
In addition to the political and legal level, there was also a linguistic dispute. The Chinese term for 'memorial hall' is 紀念堂 , (Jìniàntáng) , which is only used for memorial halls for deceased personalities, such as in a mausoleum . According to the opponents of the renaming, this would imply that democracy is dead. However, this argument did not apply because the memorial hall not 紀念堂 but in 紀念館 , (Jinian guǎn ) has been renamed, which can be used for any form of a memorial hall.
Exchange of the inscriptions
On December 4, 2007, the Council of Cultural Affairs gave the Executive Yuan exclusive rights to make changes to the memorial hall. After this act, the Ministry of Culture changed one of the gate inscriptions from 大中 至正 (“great centrality and perfect straightness”) to 自由 廣場 (“Freedom Square”).
The memorial hall was closed for three days to allow the inscriptions to be exchanged. Relatives of the victims of the February 28 incident held night vigils at the memorial hall while others protested the change. The Taipei city government put up roadblocks to prevent cranes from getting to the memorial.
On December 7th, the old inscription was successfully removed, whereupon the Taipei city government sued the Ministry of Culture for desecrating cultural heritage. The ministry defended itself by stating that it was not planning any structural changes and that the Chiang statue and the rest of the building would remain unchanged. The 600 police officers were withdrawn that day, but like the day before, there were small scuffle. During the riot, a cameraman was hit by a pickup truck and seriously injured. When the last character (正) was removed at 5:26 p.m., parts of the audience applauded and others booed. On the afternoon of December 8th, the new inscription was fully installed.
The name dispute was also a campaign issue in the run-up to the 2008 parliamentary and presidential elections . The Kuomintang presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou promised to reverse the change if elected. The Vice President of the Republic of China Annette Lu stood against her own party DPP on December 30, 2007 and appealed to the citizens to stand against the Ministry of Culture. She blamed the change of name implemented by the ministry for the poor results in opinion polls for the presidential election. Education Minister Tu Cheng-sheng is to blame for this.
New opening
On January 1, 2008, the memorial hall was reopened under the name Taiwan National Democracy Memorial Hall . President Chen Shui-bian said, was the new importance of the monument a symbol of the "opening the door to democracy" (opening the door to democracy) . While the 10 m high statue of Chiang Kai-shek was preserved, the guard of honor was withdrawn and the hall filled with documentation of the victims under Chiang as well as milestones and 300 dragons .
Renamed to National Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall
After the Kuomintang's election victory, the Executive Yuan formally reversed the decision to change its name on August 21, 2008, so that the hall has been renamed National Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall since then . The gate inscriptions were initially not exchanged. The government promised to consult public opinion before making a decision, but it did not. On July 20, 2009 the inscription was exchanged.
Web links
- official website of the "National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall" (English)
- official website of the "National Theater and Concert Hall" (English)
- Photos taken near the National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall, travel.webshots.com August 13-19, 2007, last accessed January 9, 2008.
- Four characters removed from Democracy Hall, blog.taiwan-guide.org dated December 7, 2007, last accessed on January 9, 2008.
Individual evidence
- ↑ New Calligraphy Styles Decided for Memorial Hall Name Plaques, China Post , December 7, 2007.
- ↑ Flora Wang, Rich Chang and Shih Hsiu-chuan: CKS Statues' Removal Nears Completion, Taipei Times , February 6, 2007 (English).
- ↑ Cabinet Renames CKS Memorial Hall with Controversial Regulation ( Memento of the original from December 21, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Taiwan Headlines , July 5, 2007 (English).
- ↑ Loa Iok-sin and Flora Wang: Minor Clashes as CKS Hall Renamed, Taipei Times, May 20, 2007 (English).
- ↑ Ong Hwee Hwee: Chen unveils new name for Chiang memorial, Straits Times , May 20, 2007 (English).
- ↑ Ling, Nanseng: 林楠森: 陳水扁 主持 "中正 紀念堂" 揭牌 改名, BBC Asia , May 19, 2007 (Chinese).
- ↑ PFP: Cabinet Has No Tight to Nullify Law Governing CKS Memorial Hall, ( Memento of the original of December 21, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Taiwan Headlines, October 5, 2007 (English).
- ↑ Taipei City to Take Action Against Memorial Renaming, Taiwan News , May 26, 2007.
- ↑ a b DPP to Appeal to Legislature on Hall's Name ( Memento of the original from December 21, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Taiwan Headlines, June 8, 2007 (English).
- ^ Jenny W. Hsu: National Taiwan Democracy Hall Made Historic Site, Taipei Times, November 7, 2007.
- ↑ 帝王 陵寝 的 民主 新衣 , China Times , May 23, 2007 (Chinese).
- ↑ CCA Passes Bill to Replace Memorial Hall Inscription, Taiwan News, December 4, 2007.
- ↑ Flora Wang and Jenny W. Hsu: Taipei City “Law” Defends CKS Plaque, Taipei Times, December 5, 2007 (English).
- ↑ Loa Iok-sin, Flora Wang and Ko Shu-ling: Cameraman Injured at Memorial Clash, Taipei Times, December 7, 2007 (English).
- ↑ Debby Wu: Taiwanese Government Removes Chiang Kai-shek Name from Landmark Memorial, China Post, December 7, 2007.
- ↑ Taiwanese Trucker Runs over Reporters During Demonstration, EastSouthWestNorth, December 6, 2007 (English).
- ↑ Ralph Jennings: Cheers, Jeers as Taiwan Dismantles Chiang Characters, Reuters , December 7, 2007 (English).
- ↑ Jenny W. Hsu: Protests Fail to Stop Removal of Inscription, Taipei Times, December 8, 2007 (English).
- ↑ Flora Wang and Loa Iok-sin: Isolated Clashes as Hour Nears for Plaque Removal, Taipei Times, December 6, 2007.
- ↑ 强拆 大中 至正 牌匾 吕秀莲 致歉 且 炮轰 杜正胜, Sing Tao , December 31, 2007 (Chinese).
- ↑ 改 回 「中正 紀念堂」？ 政 院 ： 聽取 民意 後 決定 ( Memento of the original from May 1, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (“Change back to 'CKS Memorial Hall'? Executive Yuan: Will Consult Public Opinion Before Deciding”), China Times, August 21, 2008.
- ↑ Kuaile Long: “Chiang-Kai-shek Memorial Hall” is renamed, ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. readers-edition, July 21, 2009.
Coordinates: 25 ° 2 ′ 4 ″ N , 121 ° 31 ′ 18 ″ E