Culture Minister Shih Che (史哲) says deciding the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall’s future is complicated due to its political sensitivity and frequent elections. Shih spoke during a broadcast interview on Monday, saying the final verdict must come from a collective group.
The Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is a controversial monument, due to Chiang’s (蔣中正) authoritarian rule and history of human rights violations. But Chiang was a member of the current KMT party, which claims removing the memorial hall would be destroying cultural heritage.
Shih says Taiwan’s path towards transitional justice does not necessarily include tearing down the memorial hall. He adds that the Transitional Justice Board is working on changing the hall’s name and removing authoritarian symbols through compromise.
The minister says no one is trying to avoid dealing with the memorial hall’s controversy. But he says this is a highly sensitive political issue that is also connected to Taiwan’s elections, and changes will require a general consensus.