That’s the rub and tug password Ari Gold uses.
About damn time
Went to his tomb while there. Was pretty nice tbh.
Isn’t Kai Shek one of the most important founders of Taiwan? Sure, he had his issues (for example, ordering the deaths of a couple folks now and again), but you cannot have modern Taiwan without him. Just like how Mao is an integral part of the shape the modern PRC took.
but you cannot have modern Taiwan without him
Unfortunately for all his victims, you are correct. I would more blame USA who protected them in 1949+ though.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_28_incident
The February 28 incident (also called the February 28 massacre, the 228 incident, or the 228 massacre) was an anti-government uprising in Taiwan in 1947 that was violently suppressed by the Kuomintang–led nationalist government of the Republic of China (ROC). Directed by provincial governor Chen Yi and president Chiang Kai-shek, thousands of civilians were killed beginning on February 28. The incident is considered to be one of the most important events in Taiwan’s modern history and was a critical impetus for the Taiwan independence movement.
Between 18,000 and 28,000 deaths…
And just to be clear, the White Terror does NOT include the February 28th massacre.
Just a couple people here and there!! No big deal!!
Bad take. You couldn’t have pretty much any modern country without their previous problematic leader. You can learn just about them in history class and not honour them though statues.
unlimited genocide on the memory of the white butcher of shanghai and taipei
Oh wow, rare Taiwan W
Is it? Chiang Kai-shek cemented his place in Chinese history for fighting alongside Sun Yat-sen against the military junta instituted after the fall of Qing. Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong then led China through the Japanese invasion.
His place in Chinese history is undoubtable. You shouldn’t need to be perfect to be remembered.
Same argument could be applied to the people like Robert E. Lee who cemented their place in history. It’s just that they happen to be on the wrong side of history just as Chiang Kai-shek is.
I don’t think you should be perfect to be remembered, I think you should at a bare minimum not also be known as “The Butcher of Shanghai” to contemporary historians.
He put down an anti-government uprising by slaughtering 18,000 people. “Not perfect” is an understatement.
Yes, it is indeed a W.
Having a place in history doesn’t automatically mean they should be honoured. There’s plenty of people from history that we can all agree have made a huge impact and yet we wouldn’t want statues of them.
Hitler cemented his place in history too, yet I dont see statues in his memory anywhere do I.
They didn’t call his military dictatorship in Taiwan “The White Terror” because Chiang Kai-Shek was an imperfect guy
One step closer to integration
Wouldn’t it be the opposite, as article mentions ( erase his legacy and the historical link with mainland China.)?
also a deeply unpopular politician on the mainland so it’s also a show of good faith
It’s complicated. Chiang Kai-shek was a historical adversary of the CPC and is viewed as a traitor and war criminal in the PRC. However, his nationalist party, the KMT, is alive and well in Taiwan. The CPC currently favors the KMT even though they were former adversaries because the KMT advocates for deepening economic ties to the PRC.
With this context I’m guessing the KMT’s primary opposition, the DPP, wants to highlight the KMT’s fascist legacy while also conflating the KMT’s and the CPC’s expression of Chinese nationalism. Making that false equivalency is easier because of the KMT’s interest in building stronger economic ties with the mainland.
Western media usually frames issues from the DPP’s perspective which would explain the commentary in the article.