Renaming of Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
On 20 May 2008, Ma Ying-jeou arose as the victor in 2008 presidential elections which also saw his KMT increase its majority in the legislature as the public became disillusioned with the misrule and money-laundering of the DPP led by former President Chen.
In January 2009, the MOE announced that no public forums would take place, that the original plaque designating the hall as Chiang Kai-shek Memorial would be restored by the end of the summer, and that Liberty Square would be allowed to stand as the name of the plaza.
In the next two decades, Chiang Ching-kuo and Lee Teng-hui presided over a peaceful transition from single-party rule enforcing martial law to pluralistic democracy with protected human rights.
The nature and meaning of Chiang Kai-shek's rule could be openly debated and, as details of the February 28 Incident and White Terror publicly emerged, they were.
Pan-Green leaders saw the idea as another step in the direction of rectifying names and symbols associated with the authoritarian past of the ROC government to make them more inclusive and characteristic of local Taiwanese culture.
[8] 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; the event began rule by the military on the island for thirty-eight years.
The city government also issued a fine to the MOE for the second time over its redesignation moves, for blocking the view of and access to a heritage building.
[13] On June 7, a joint meeting of committees in the Legislative Yuan repealed the MOE's Organic Regulations of the National Taiwan Democracy Hall that established the name change.
[14] The move effectively voided the legal basis for the change, though Pan Blue legislators refrained from declaring the new name dead or the old one preserved.
[23] On 4 December 2007, the CCA passed a regulation giving the central government exclusive jurisdiction over modification to the memorial hall.
The inscription over the main building spells "Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall" (台灣民主紀念館) in seven characters taken from the calligraphy works of Ouyang Xun (歐陽詢) of the Tang dynasty, while the four Chinese characters that represent "Liberty Square" (自由廣場) on the main gate is from the work of calligrapher Wang Xizhi of the East Jin dynasty.
[26] On December 6, the memorial hall was closed to the public at 9:00 a.m. for three days by order of the MOE to facilitate the replacement of the inscription on the main gate.
Some relatives of victims of the February 28 Incident held a vigil at the memorial hall supporting the ministry's decision while other groups of people protested the replacement of the inscription; the city government laid roadblocks to prevent cranes from approaching.
KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou said at a separate setting that he would undo any removal or name change to the hall if he was elected.
The final character, zheng (正), was peeled off at 5:26 p.m.[29] A TV cameraman was run over by a small truck and seriously injured as supporters and opponents of the government's decision to alter the plaque at the memorial hall clashed near the scene.
The MOE defended its move and denied any other plans to modify the site, such as removing the statue of Chiang Kai-shek or demolishing the walls surrounding the park.
On December 6, city government's Labor Standard Inspection Office had issued an order to halt all work on the gate inscriptions, citing unsafe scaffolding.
She blamed her party's underperformance in opinion polls ahead of the 2008 presidential election on Education Minister Tu Cheng-sheng's mishandling of the issue.
As part of the exhibition, records of victims and milestones on the road to democracy were placed around the statue, along with about 300 kites to represent winds of democratic change.
On 21 January 2009 Vice Minister of Education Lu Mu-lin (呂木琳) announced that the original plaque designating the hall as Chiang Kai-shek Memorial would be restored by the end of the summer at a cost of NT$1 million (US$29,700).
He admitted that the promised forum soliciting public opinion would not take place, saying such an event would only "increase tensions" and invoke backlash from the Taiwanese minority who align themselves with the DPP.
"[4] On 20 July 2009 the original plaque was restored under heavy police protection,[41] but virtually non-existent media coverage before the event, since the attention was on the World Games 2009 taking place in the same time in Kaohsiung City.
