Former President Chiang Kai-shek’s great-grandson is standing by his vision for transforming the grand hall dedicated to the memory of his ancestor. Chiang Wan-an says Taiwan should upgrade Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and rename it as “Taiwan Construction Memorial Hall”.
The memorial hall in central Taipei stands at one end of a vast plaza and holds a two-storey high bronze statue of Chiang Kai-shek. Taiwan’s culture ministry says the monument carries symbols of authoritarianism. That’s why it plans to hold a competition to redesign the Taipei landmark.
Speaking on Friday, the former president’s grandson, Chiang Wan-an, said any redesign should face up to the ways Chiang Kai-shek helped Taiwan to develop. He says his plan to build a Taiwan Construction Memorial Hall is an attempt to fight back against what he calls the government’s “stigmatization” of the former military leader.
The younger Chiang is preparing to run as the Kuomintang candidate for mayor of Taipei, meaning his views on the hall could be critical to its future.