https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3622995
Taiwanese entertainer condemned for assaulting Minister of Culture over national monument plan
Cheng Li-chun assaulted over proposed revisions to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
1568
By Scott Morgan,Taiwan News, Staff Writer
2019/01/22 20:39
Cheng Hui-chung, left, Cheng Li-chun, right (By Central News Agency)
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan’s Minister of Culture, Cheng Li-chun (鄭麗君), was slapped in the face by entertainer Cheng Hui-chung (鄭惠中) at a function in Taipei on Jan. 22, reported CNA.
Cheng Hui-chung said immediately after the incident that she slapped Cheng Li-chun because the minister allegedly supports reforms to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, and suggested that the minister is not grateful of the work done by past generations.
In December 2018, the Ministry of Culture (MOC) submitted a plan to revise Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall to include an open exhibition of Taiwan’s struggle with human rights over its history.
Reports suggest that Cheng Hui-chung approached the minister from behind, and slapped her without warning.
After the incident, Cheng Li-chun remained composed and continued to participate in the event with a red mark on her left cheek, reported CNA.
Cheng Li-chun does not personally know the actress, reports suggest.
Later that day, Cheng Li-chun posted a statement on Facebook saying that personal insults are a small matter, and Taiwan’s hard-fought democracy must not be harmed. Cheng called on the people to act rationally, talk about the incident with a cool head, and to not resort to violence.
The Presidential Office held a press conference after the event, in which spokesperson condemned the violence, and said that as Taiwan is a democracy, people have the right to express differing views, but people do not have the right to be violent.
The organizer of the event and CEO of local television station CTS, Chuang Feng-chia (莊豐嘉), held a press conference after the event, where he also condemned the violence. Chuang announced that the incident had been referred to the police, and an investigation is ongoing.
This afternoon, Cheng Hui-chung publicly apologized for striking the minister and for losing emotional control. Cheng went on to say that she had made herself known to police, and intends to visit the MOC tomorrow to apologize in person.
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/e...s-jail-for-slapping-minister-over-history-row
Taiwan entertainer faces jail for slapping minister over history row
Published
Jan 24, 2019, 4:45 pm SGT
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TAIPEI (AFP) - A retired Taiwanese entertainer could face jail after she slapped a minister to protest against government moves to address the controversial legacy of late leader Chiang Kai-shek, officials said on Thursday (Jan 24).
Ms Cheng Hui-chung, 67, was questioned by prosecutors after she slapped Culture Minister Cheng Li-chiun in the face during an event on Tuesday.
"Prosecutors questioned Cheng to clarify if she obstructed an official in discharge of public duties which is an indictable offence," Ms Chen Chia-hsiu, a spokesman for the Taipei district prosecutor's office, said on Thursday.
The offence is punishable by a maximum jail term of three years.
Ms Cheng, a singer in the 1960s and 70s, said she was motivated by the current government's push to confront the controversial legacy of Chiang, seen by many as symbolic of a brutal military regime which purged thousands of opponents until his death in 1975.
As the island grapples with its authoritarian past, calls are growing for his statues and other relics to be removed from public display. His statues across the island have also been repeatedly targeted by protesters.
But supporters see him as a national hero who deserves to be revered and remembered.
A row is currently raging over the imposing Chiang Kai-shek memorial hall in the heart of Taipei.
It is one of Taiwan's best-known attractions with visitors flocking to see the daily changing of the guard by soldiers who keep vigil over a giant statue of the generalissimo.
Opponents of Chiang's legacy, including relatives of his regime's many victims, want the honour guard pulled and the memorial hall either torn down or Chiang's presence removed - and a government commission is examining various options.
Ms Cheng the elderly entertainer has apologised for assaulting the minister but insisted she stands firm in opposing moves to erase Chiang's legacy.
"My apology doesn't mean the minister is doing the right thing. I urge her not to demolish the Chiang Kai-shek memorial hall," she told reporters.
President Tsai Ing-wen has called for calm over the row while minister Cheng, who was on the receiving end of the slap, said: "Violence is wrong and there is no stance or reason that can be used to justify violence."
Chiang and his nationalist Kuomintang troops fled from the mainland to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war to communist forces.
Although Taiwan today is a fully-fledged democracy, it was only in late 2017 that a Bill was passed to tackle the legacy of injustices under Chiang.
It included a call for streets and schools with names commemorating Chiang to be changed and his statues taken down.
The Ministry of Culture announced in 2017 that the memorial hall would stop selling souvenirs depicting Chiang and cease playing a song dedicated to the former ruler, while references to him would be removed from galleries.
Taiwanese entertainer condemned for assaulting Minister of Culture over national monument plan
Cheng Li-chun assaulted over proposed revisions to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
1568
By Scott Morgan,Taiwan News, Staff Writer
2019/01/22 20:39
Cheng Hui-chung, left, Cheng Li-chun, right (By Central News Agency)
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan’s Minister of Culture, Cheng Li-chun (鄭麗君), was slapped in the face by entertainer Cheng Hui-chung (鄭惠中) at a function in Taipei on Jan. 22, reported CNA.
Cheng Hui-chung said immediately after the incident that she slapped Cheng Li-chun because the minister allegedly supports reforms to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, and suggested that the minister is not grateful of the work done by past generations.
In December 2018, the Ministry of Culture (MOC) submitted a plan to revise Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall to include an open exhibition of Taiwan’s struggle with human rights over its history.
Reports suggest that Cheng Hui-chung approached the minister from behind, and slapped her without warning.
After the incident, Cheng Li-chun remained composed and continued to participate in the event with a red mark on her left cheek, reported CNA.
Cheng Li-chun does not personally know the actress, reports suggest.
Later that day, Cheng Li-chun posted a statement on Facebook saying that personal insults are a small matter, and Taiwan’s hard-fought democracy must not be harmed. Cheng called on the people to act rationally, talk about the incident with a cool head, and to not resort to violence.
The Presidential Office held a press conference after the event, in which spokesperson condemned the violence, and said that as Taiwan is a democracy, people have the right to express differing views, but people do not have the right to be violent.
The organizer of the event and CEO of local television station CTS, Chuang Feng-chia (莊豐嘉), held a press conference after the event, where he also condemned the violence. Chuang announced that the incident had been referred to the police, and an investigation is ongoing.
This afternoon, Cheng Hui-chung publicly apologized for striking the minister and for losing emotional control. Cheng went on to say that she had made herself known to police, and intends to visit the MOC tomorrow to apologize in person.
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/e...s-jail-for-slapping-minister-over-history-row
Taiwan entertainer faces jail for slapping minister over history row
Published
Jan 24, 2019, 4:45 pm SGT
Facebook Twitter Email
TAIPEI (AFP) - A retired Taiwanese entertainer could face jail after she slapped a minister to protest against government moves to address the controversial legacy of late leader Chiang Kai-shek, officials said on Thursday (Jan 24).
Ms Cheng Hui-chung, 67, was questioned by prosecutors after she slapped Culture Minister Cheng Li-chiun in the face during an event on Tuesday.
"Prosecutors questioned Cheng to clarify if she obstructed an official in discharge of public duties which is an indictable offence," Ms Chen Chia-hsiu, a spokesman for the Taipei district prosecutor's office, said on Thursday.
The offence is punishable by a maximum jail term of three years.
Ms Cheng, a singer in the 1960s and 70s, said she was motivated by the current government's push to confront the controversial legacy of Chiang, seen by many as symbolic of a brutal military regime which purged thousands of opponents until his death in 1975.
As the island grapples with its authoritarian past, calls are growing for his statues and other relics to be removed from public display. His statues across the island have also been repeatedly targeted by protesters.
But supporters see him as a national hero who deserves to be revered and remembered.
A row is currently raging over the imposing Chiang Kai-shek memorial hall in the heart of Taipei.
It is one of Taiwan's best-known attractions with visitors flocking to see the daily changing of the guard by soldiers who keep vigil over a giant statue of the generalissimo.
Opponents of Chiang's legacy, including relatives of his regime's many victims, want the honour guard pulled and the memorial hall either torn down or Chiang's presence removed - and a government commission is examining various options.
Ms Cheng the elderly entertainer has apologised for assaulting the minister but insisted she stands firm in opposing moves to erase Chiang's legacy.
"My apology doesn't mean the minister is doing the right thing. I urge her not to demolish the Chiang Kai-shek memorial hall," she told reporters.
President Tsai Ing-wen has called for calm over the row while minister Cheng, who was on the receiving end of the slap, said: "Violence is wrong and there is no stance or reason that can be used to justify violence."
Chiang and his nationalist Kuomintang troops fled from the mainland to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war to communist forces.
Although Taiwan today is a fully-fledged democracy, it was only in late 2017 that a Bill was passed to tackle the legacy of injustices under Chiang.
It included a call for streets and schools with names commemorating Chiang to be changed and his statues taken down.
The Ministry of Culture announced in 2017 that the memorial hall would stop selling souvenirs depicting Chiang and cease playing a song dedicated to the former ruler, while references to him would be removed from galleries.
