Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

25°2′4″N 121°31′18″E

The National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

The view of the memorial hall from the Concert Hall.

The Gate of Great Centrality and Perfect Uprightness is the main entranceway to the memorial.

A pond near the main building, which is visible through the trees.

The main vault of the memorial contains a statue of Chiang Kai-shek. It is under guard during daytime.

The National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (Chinese: 國立中正紀念堂) is a national memorial to the late President of the Republic of China, Chiang Kai-shek located in Taipei City, Taiwan, Republic of China. President Chen Shui-bian announced the renaming of the landmark to National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall on May 19 2007. The controversy surrounding the legality of this move means that, in the near future, both designations are likely to be used. The structure, one of the city's defining landmarks, shares the grounds of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Park with the National Concert Hall and National Theater.

Development

After President Chiang Kai-shek's death on April 5, 1975, the Executive Yuan established a Funeral Committee to build a Memorial Hall to commemorate him. The design of architect Yang Cho-cheng was chosen in a competition and groundbreaking took place on October 31, 1976, the 90th anniversary of Chiang's birth. The CKS Memorial was officially opened on April 5, 1980, the fifth anniversary of Chiang Kai-shek's death.

Chiang Kai-shek Park

The new map to the memorial park

The memorial is situated in the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Park (Chinese: 中正公園), covering 240,000 square metres in Zhongzheng District. Its main gateway, the Gate of Great Centrality and Perfect Uprightness (Chinese: 大中至正), borders Chung Shan South Road to the west. To the north is the Gate of Great Loyalty (Chinese: 大忠門) bordering Hsin Yi Road and to the south is the Gate of Great Piety (Chinese: 大孝門) bordering Ai Kuo East Road.

Chiang Kai-shek Square, is flanked on both sides by the National Concert Hall and the National Theater. During festivities, these buildings are a backdrop to the stages. It is very common to see schools and/or military groups practicing drills and dance routines in front of these buildings. Annually, more than 800 performances utilise these buildings. They are designed acoustically to minimise outside sound and maximise the propagation of sound from their stages to the audience within. Every year during the Lantern Festival huge lantern floats are also parked here for exhibition, the centerpiece of which is the animal of the Chinese Zodiac of that year. The Boulevard of Homage is bordered by manicured bushes and connects the Square with the Memorial Hall.

There are several ponds and parks throughout the memorial, with well-maintained lawns, trees, and walking pathways. The ponds are filled with the colourful koi that are traditionally found in temples and gardens in East Asia.

The Memorial Hall

The main building is white with four sides. Its roof, rising 70 meters above the ground, is octagonal with blue glazed glass tiles. The blue and white colors of the building and the red color of the flowerbeds provide the symbolism found in the flag of the Republic of China.

Two sets of white stairs, with a total of 89 steps representing Chiang's age of death, lead up to double doors, 16 meters high and weighing 75 tons. At the top of the stairs is a large vault containing a bronze statue of Chiang Kai-shek. Behind him are inscribed the words "Ethics, Democracy, Science" and Chiang's accompanying writings. On the side walls are inscribed "The Purpose of Life is to further improve the general life of Mankind" and "The Meaning of Life is to create and sustain subsequent lives in the universe." The vault is under guard during opening hours (9 A.M. to 4 P.M.) by an honor guard drawn from a branch of the ROC military and rotated periodically among the branches.

The ground-level of the memorial contains a library and museum that displays photos and mementos of Chiang Kai-shek's life.

Renaming process

In 2006, 37 DPP legislators proposed that the CKS Memorial be moved to Chiang's tomb at Cihhu, and that the current site be renamed the Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall (Traditional Chinese: 台灣民主紀念館). The legislators said that current legislation does not specify the site of the Memorial, and thus the change would only require an executive order. Pan-Green Coalition politicians backed the measure as part of a larger movement to rectify names and symbols associated with Taiwan's authoritarian past under the Kuomintang and make these more inclusive and characteristic of local Taiwanese culture. The Pan-Blue Coalition alleged that the measure was part of a larger desinicization campaign, opposing it and similar rectification gestures as unnecessary public expenses and vote-getting ploys during an election year.

The name change for the Memorial Hall was decided by the Ministry of Education of the Executive Yuan. Support and resistance to the measure materialized immediately, mainly along party lines. The executive branch of Taiwan's government, including the Ministry of Education, is controlled by the Democratic Progressive Party; the Kuomintang-led Pan-Blue Coalition, who oppose the re-designation, holds a majority in the legislature.

The Memorial was a protected heritage site and landmark as a "third tier" landmark (third tier being of higher status than a fourth tier). The Executive Yuan subsequently demoted the Memorial Hall to a "fourth tier" landmark, enabling changes to the Memorial Hall be effective without Legislative approval. The Executive Yuan said the name change complied with laws stating that fourth-tier landmarks may be modified by the Executive Yuan directly via Organic Regulations, rather than via Organic Acts which require the approval of Legislature. Taipei's city government, controlled by the KMT, responded by designating the 27-year-old hall and its surrounding walls a "temporary historical site" to make alterations to the structure unlawful according to city ordinances.

The official ceremony marking the renaming of the hall took place on 19 May 2007 when President Chen Shui-bian unveiled a plaque in front of the memorial bearing the name National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall (Traditional Chinese: 國立台灣民主紀念館). In the ceremony Chen announced that the name change reflected the desire of citizens "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 noted that the date, May 19, marked the fifty-eighth anniversary of the imposition of martial law on Taiwan--a situation that lasted thirty-eight years. Minor scuffles broke out among gathered spectators before the ceremony.

At the time of the ceremony no physical changes in the structure were apparent. Inside, the large bronze sculpture of a seated Chiang Kai-shek remained intact. The doors to the hall remained closed and a drape covered the original name plaque over the entrance. New signs had been placed in the garden park areas of the north and south gates displaying the new name and graphics. Large cloth banners covering the north and south faces of the hall displayed the name "National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall" along with graphics of Taiwan plum blossoms in colours of white, yellow, blue and green.

In the days following some of the new elements were removed by the Taipei city government: see below.

Controversy and city government response

The legality of the Executive Branch's move has been disputed by the Pan-Blue Coalition. Legislator Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀) said: "According to the Constitution, any administrative order that goes against an existing law is invalid. So if the Legislature has not yet abolished the organic act of the CKS Memorial Hall, which has the same legal status as law, the newly proposed organic regulation, which is an administrative order, is invalid." The Constitution of the Republic of China gives only the Legislature the power to enact, amend, or repeal laws. KMT legislators contend that the move by the Executive Yuan encroaches upon the powers of the Legislative Yuan, thereby violating the separation of powers.

Taipei City mayor Hau Lung-pin declared he would authorize no changes to city-maintained signs, including mass transit signs and maps, that would recognize changes in the hall's name. Hau cited the high costs of making such changes and blamed the name change on the desire of officials to create "ideological strife." The mayor asserted that, until the amendment proposed by the Executive was passed by the Legislature, he would recognize no changes to the hall as legal.

On May 22, Taipei City authorities moved in and dismantled the scaffolding obscuring the "Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall" tablet, and also removed the gigantic signs bearing the text "Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall" which had been hung over the memorial hall, on the basis that this covered the cultural site, which violates the Cultural Protection Law of the ROC and also that it was unauthorised advertising which violated Taipei City law. The City Government also issued a fine to the Ministry of Education for the second time over its redesignation moves, for blocking the view of and access to a heritage building. The Ministry of Education had earlier shut the gates to the Memorial for what it claimed was "repair work". The City Government has stated that, since no workmen could be observed conducting any repair work, it will take steps to re-open the gates.

On May 24, the new name plate unveiled by Chen Shui-bian was taken down by the Ministry of Education. The Ministry of Education cited the costly efforts to have police stand guard at the name plate 24-7 as the primary reason for its removal. A veteran was seen spitting on the new name plate that prompted the 24 hour police presence.

See also

• Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall

External links

• National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall Official Website
• A site describing the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial
• National CKS Cultural Center Official Website