Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, One Solution: Out Out Damned Spot and Let the KMT Pay for It
Wednesday December 19, by Jerome F. Keating Ph.D.
Much went on in Taiwan in the early days of December 2007. There was the 28th anniversary of the Kaohsiung Incident, which had taken place on December 10th Human Rights Day 1979. In conjunction with this was the opening of the Taiwan Human Rights Jingmei Park/Museum in Taipei; the site of this museum is a former prison, which had housed the Kaohsiung Eight. It had also been the main political prison from that era; from there prisoners were often sent to Green Island.
Present at the dedication ceremony were many former political prisoners and members of Amnesty International (AI); Vice President Annette Lu, one of the Kaohsiung Eight was among the former prisoners. The Director of AI reminded Taiwanese that it had stood by them when they were imprisoned unjustly under martial law and now that Taiwan is a democracy, it should advocate help for political prisoners like those in Myanmar.
The Golden Horse Awards were also held and Lee Ang's film "Lust Caution" took the majority of awards. This film was shown uncut and uncensored in Taiwan in contrast to China where it was only allowed to be shown when certain scenes considered too sensual and certain attitudes exposing the blind side of Chinese patriotism were ordered to be cut.
The Presbyterian Church of Taiwan (PCT), a staunch supporter of human rights and democracy for Taiwan, held a conference commemorating their open letters of 1971 and 1978 condemning the brutality of Taiwan's dictators and their abuse of human rights. What was interesting that came from this conference was the PCT's growing realization that the US State Department was being guided by a mercenary expediency that had lost sight of principles. Take heed members of the State Department, when such church organizations begin to lose faith in you and see the shallowness of your arguments, your credibility is in worse shape than you realize.
The Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) celebrated its 20th anniversary of the opening of cross-strait interaction. One point that became obvious from this conference was the ultimate insincerity of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in creating meaningful dialogue and how on two distinct occasions the PRC had had a chance to reach out in the past and did not.
The most eye-catching news event however was the rectification of names at a past monument. Chiang Kai-shek (CKS) Memorial Hall is now called Democracy Hall and the Square or Plaza in front of it has been named Liberty or Freedom Square. This change had been long in the works and had led to confrontations between the Pan-blue camp of the Taipei Mayor's Office and the Pan-green camp of the Ministry of Education.
Because of the prominence and size of the CKS characters, this change needed the use of cranes and took several days. As name change was being accomplished there were the obvious reactions from both sides. Members of the Pan-green camp toasted the long overdue event with wine and cheers while members of the Pan-blue camp stood on the sidelines and wept. A fanatical blue supporter tried to ram his enemies with a truck and ran over a TV reporter in the process. Such fanaticism can be understandable since many are the products of the propaganda machine utilized by the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) during their one-party state rule and martial law.
The most telling of such bought souls, however, was the absurd posting in the Pan-blue China Post by a writer long in their hire. This writer desperately strained to make the case that Chiang Kai-shek who is ranked right after Stalin, Mao, and Hitler in a list of the world's worst dictators was really at heart a "benevolent dictator."
Such writing reveals a strange, sick psychosis that can sometimes envelop the Chinese mind; it often masks itself in patriotism and creates myths to defend its criminals. In shame, such perpetrators of myths pursue dreams of lost grandeur from paradigms built on propagandized history; in the end they finally resort to saying the "end justifies the means" This same psychosis is readily seen in the People's Republic of China (PRC) which can never bring itself to objectively judge and certainly not condemn Mao Tse-tung for the millions of deaths he caused and his destruction of Chinese culture. It is in this sickness that one sees how little difference there is between the Communists and the KMT followers of Chiang Kai-shek. Both must adulate and follow a dictator who protects their shame and their interests at the expense of human rights and all else. True Taiwanese have escaped this sickness and that is one of the chief distinguishing marks of the difference in the histories and identities of Taiwan and China. This is also the root cause of the split identity still found in the politics of Taiwan. It is a subject worthy of its own treatment, and I will address it and the CKS myths in the near future.
As the CKS protests were raised, others less willing to glorify a dead tyrant still raised the feeble objection that this entire name change process cost money, which it did. Expense is involved in any name rectification, but there is a simple answer to its payment. Transitional justice still remains to be served in Taiwan. Expense for such should be paid for by those who profited by robbing the coffers of the state. Who robbed the state? Follow the money. When the KMT finally surrendered its one-party state rule it did not surrender the state assets. Now, years later, the KMT still has admitted assets of over US$ 750 million dollars; in comparison all other political parties which have a combined and measly total of less than US$ 1 million in assets. The payment for the rectification of names should come from the profiteers who benefited by the dictatorship of Chiang Kai-shek.
While this is done, however, the name of CKS can not and should not be expunged from Taiwan’s history. You cannot talk about German history without examining Hitler's role nor can you talk about Russian history without Stalin, (in their heyday each of these was portrayed as restoring the pride of their country) so too should CKS be remembered, but there is another remaining item. What about the statue of CKS? Inside the hall that had often been called the mausoleum of a Ming Emperor is a large statue of CKS. It is so large that the building had to be built around it.
This statue could be cut apart and the pieces dragged off as was done in Kaohsiung, but let me offer a more modest but quick proposal. Cut the head off of the statue and place it on the ground beside it. Then put an appropriate sign along side it with all the details of the human cost and suffering to Taiwan that were the result of this man's megalomania as well as the myths built up by his propaganda machine. Read Shelley's poem "Ozymandias" and you will see the symbolism I am getting at. In the poem, a traveler from an antique land recounts finding a shattered visage half sunk in sand; he realizes the visage once belonged to a boastful king who had a monument built to commemorate his rule and vanity. The poem ends with the lines.
Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
At Democracy Hall, perhaps a fitting epithet placed beside the decapitated head should be "Let this be the fate of all dictators who seek to envelop Taiwan in their false dreams and self-aggrandizement."
Is such a judgment too harsh? Wait for the evidence of future posts when I debunk the myths put forward by Chiang Kai-shek's propagandists as well as other observations.