Historical Highlight: Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial

There is no better way to introduce a city than going to a dictator’s memorial.

It was drizzling, there was a construction crew working on the steps, and my granduncle and I entered from the side gate, so the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial just sort of looked like a giant white block in the middle of a park. But once we rounded the corner, a large, grey-tiled square lined with hedges and filled with tourists came into view. At the end of the square was a gate with the words “Freedom Square” on the top, which made my granduncle snort.

Freedom Square from the top of the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial

During the Japanese occupation from 1895 to the end of World War 2, the area served as a Japanese military base to defend the Presidential Office Building and other government buildings from the Taiwanese. When Japan lost Taiwan in World War 2, and the political power in China shifted to the Communists, Chiang Kai-Shek and most of his party, the Kuomintang (KMT), fled to Taiwan. He ruled as a dictator, then after his death his son succeeded him as President and built the memorial in honor of his father.

I think one can see why my granduncle responded to the gate the way he did. After learning all of this, I wanted to go up the stairs and see what was inside at the top. Just as I started walking towards the steps, my granduncle shook his head and stopped me; he said it was too high for him to walk. I was disappointed, until I realized that he had led me to the elevator.

At the top we watched the changing of the guards. Two men in uniforms holding silver rifles stood at attention on either side of the throne. They were so still I thought they were statues. The hour struck 4 and three other guards marched slowly out to switch places with the previous men through a show of spinning their guns and precise marching-steps.

Changing of the Guard

We walked a block to the Presidential Building, which formerly was protected by the military base that is now Freedom Square, and currently houses Taiwan’s elected female president’s office space. Now, there are police stationed around the building, but they aren’t protecting it from threats of uprisings, but from protesters.

Taiwan today is always having protests. When I arrived on the plane, just outside of the airport people were protesting welfare issues and Eva Airlines was on strike. This is a testament to the changes Taiwan has gone through. Citizens are free to protest anything, even in front of a building that once housed a ruling foreign nation. This is product of years and decades of being governed by outsiders. Now that the people have a voice and power, they aren’t afraid to use it and let themselves be heard.

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Day 1: Taipei