Taiwan commits to removing statues of Chiang – Current Affairs

As part of the commission created in 2018 on transitional justice that investigates Chiang’s legacy, the measure was presented despite critics evaluating it as an attempt to “eliminate” Taiwan’s ties with mainland China, in a context of growing tensions in the region.

The commission’s recommendations include the removal of hundreds of statues from public places (parks, buildings and streets), with the government expected to remove a total of 760 representations of Chiang, who ruled until his death in 1975, which remain in the territory .

The controversy over these monuments is an obstacle in relations between the Kuomintang and the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, which includes outgoing President Tsai Ing Wen and elected President Lai Ching Te, according to the news agency AsiaNews.

Chiang led the nationalist army during the Chinese civil war against the communists and fled to Taiwan after his defeat, where he remained in power for three decades. Taiwan has been governed autonomously since then.

Beijing claims sovereignty over the island, which it considers a province of the People’s Republic of China, and does not exclude the use of force for reunification.