Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je says that he has no plans to call for the dismantling of statues of Chiang Kai-shek. He was responding to a question from the media on Sunday.
Ko’s comments follow on the heels of an announcement by Tainan Mayor William Lai on Saturday that he would push for the speedy removal of Chiang Kai-shek statues from schools within the Tainan City limits.
In recent years, many statues of the former generalissimo have been dismantled and moved to a park in the northern city of Taoyuan. While some view Chiang as a hero, many see the former leader of the Republic of China as a dictator who ruled with a heavy hand. He is also seen as a symbolic figure of the ruling party – the Kuomintang (KMT).
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je said he came to the decision because he did not want to do something intentionally antagonistic. He said it was possible to move beyond history towards a collective future.
“Besides,” he said, “if you remove the Chiang Kai-shek statues from schools, then what should be done about the statue at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei?”