CKS means different things to different people. I get it that by the 80s he was already dead and things were moving on. He was already a ghost but still casting a shadow.
To the Chinese he’s now being rehabilitated as a One China patriot of sorts. To the Americans a dodgy dictator who they could use to get shit done…Sometimes…but ultimately not successful .
To the Japanese ? I don’t know it’s an interesting question since he led anti Japanese forces.
He doesn’t deserve pride and place in the capital city’s prime square though I can tell you that !
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That democracy memorial was tacky as hell. They put a bunch of cardboard dioramas of old DPP rallies in the main hall and hung butterflies from the ceiling around the statue. Nothing says more about the decline of patriotism and national identity than the two decades they went from building grand imperial style architecture to using high school student quality displays for a national level memorial. I cannot think of a single Taiwan designed building that was built post 1990s that can be seen as anything but boring.
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Pretty sure that’s what lots of privileged people would say about growing up under Apartheid or Jim Crow.
The truth is the US was deeply frustrated by CKS and CCK’s refusal to give up claims to China and brutal dictatorial practises. That is why the US eventually gave up on the KMT.
It’s funny how you talk about the Chiangs keeping US on side, when the reality is the US severed ties with Taiwan, when it never did with other Asian powers they support against communism.
The US repeatedly asked the Chiangs to simply accept entering the UN and other international organizations, including the Olympics under the name of Taiwan, and allow Taiwan to be recognized internationally as a fully independent nation. It was the backwards KMT thinking that prevented the golden opportunity for Taiwanese to be free from the threat of war.
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That’s a bit rash calling Tommy privileged when you don’tknow him. There were many many people that supported Chiang who were definitely far from privileged. Some of the “Taiwanese” that were here pre 1949 were and still are extremely well off. The remnants of Chiang’s once well equipped army that arrived here was mainly illiterate conscripts.
We are obviously on different sides here in regards to the statue, but that is a fair enough answer and yeah props to you for giving him his credit for fighting hard against the Japanese. He was quite successful in 1920s China.
Some but not many. The majority of Taiwanese landowners and business owners received visits from the military on a frequent basis with requests for free services and supplies and visits from the secret police at 4 am and a one-way ticket to Green Island if they dared voice dissent.
You are right though about the destitute state of many of the KMT conscripts. In point of fact a lot of the White Terror actions targeted possible communist sympathizers amongst those conscripts and a lot of the unmarked graves in Taipei cemeteries are the dumped bodies of soldiers who got on the wrong side of the KMT.
This seems to me a pretty biased reading of history, it’s like saying the ccp lifted millions out from poverty.
I wonder how taiwan would look today if the kmt didn’t oppress the majority for 50 years. 
If they were doing such a fantastic job, why the need for green island and the late night knocks on the door ?
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Privileged doesn’t mean you are well off, it just means in the social caste system you aren’t the ones being exploited systematically.
For example, in the classical Japanese caste system, being of the samurai caste didn’t guarantee that one won’t be poor, however, it sure beats being a burakumin. Being of the samurai caste makes one “privileged” regardless of the person’s actual economic status.
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What makes you think that ? There was a competent civil service in place when kmt arrived.
A large reason for why 228 happened was kmt corruption and incompetence
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A “competent civil service” didn’t make Taiwan one of the Asian Tigers.
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I don’t think so either, that obviously would be a very simplistic view.
But can you elaborate on that you think were the contributing factors, and if these couldn’t have been achived without kmt oppression, why is that?
As I see it, the main factors that contributed to the Taiwan Economic Miracle were the infrastructure built by the Japanese and the influx of most of China’s industrial know-how following the KMT’s defeat. And the KMT land reform plan didn’t hurt either. Without all this, Taiwan would probably still be just another sleepy tropical island…not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Japanese had started to build up an industrial base in Taiwan and there was an educated elite of Taiwanese that were being promoted. Schooling was rolled out nationwide although you had to speak Japanese at school I believe .
.Cities were well laid out and developing nicely…Taipei, Hsinchu, Taichung , Chiayi…
Look at the pictures from back then to get an idea.
Interestingly Chiayi was a major industrial center but was wrecked by bombing during WWII.
KMT did their bit after killing the local administrators and educated leaders who revolted en masse around the country. I have looked into it and 228 was actually more akin to a nationwide rebellion, much of the country was under local control. They didn’t need the KMT for anything ! They were more educated than most of the invaders and already capable of governing their own towns and cities.
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It was far from perfect of course because there was a lot of inequality due to large landholders and tenant farmer system and the tax on farmers (under Japanese regime).
Okay, but how come the need for green island and the late night knocks on the door ? Taiwanese just too stupid to understand the gifts the kmt is bringing, or ?
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I’m not arguing that CKS didn’t run a dictatorship, but it was a weak and ineffective one in many ways, which also contributed to Taiwan’s economic growth, largely powered by SMEs.
Also a lot of the door knocking happened down South, for instance around 228 they went around whole districts in Kaohsiung summarily executing locals.
How locals can now vote for the KMT?
What you are saying is what happened, but I do question your conclusion that it would be a sleepy tropical island. Without KMT arriving I would guess Taiwan looked more like Japan than the Philippines.
Mao didn’t take any interest in formosa either until CKS fled here, so the whole China invasion threat would most likely not have been there.
Taiwanese are pretty industrious today, no reason to believe they weren’t that in the 1950s as well.
Also, as I stated above, big reason for 228 was that the locals perceived the newcomers as corrupt and incompetent. Why did they do that to such a large extent if they in fact were not ?
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Growing up in the 70s Taiwan it was a pretty nice place. Remember the world was a different place entirely. The big war just ended in 45 , Vietnam was happening . The US was still in a world wide domination chess play against the Russians . Dictators ruled Indonesia and the Philippines and Vietnam and Cambodia etc
China had mao until he died in 76 if I recall.
A lot of nations were ruled by heavy personalities even the UK
But Taiwan in the 70s was a pretty nice place for young Tommy who was from a middle class family and went to Taipei American school
Privileged ? Yes I would say so. But Taipei was an awesome ciry then and so was Taiwan
The island and its people were largely happy and the country was up and coming and progressive
The mood was upbeat
Nationalistic pride was in evidence . I was even proud to fly China airlines
Lol
But anyhow the country was in good shape
A lot of people made similar money in wide ranging endeavors . Things were running along well
Things worked . I like to think that Taiwan was largely socialist then. The govt controlled major things like power and water and there were many state run enterprises
Things hummed along pretty well. Taipei was fun and new cafes coming up all over along with new buildings and society was humming along
It was a good place Taipei and Taiwan in the 70s and 80s and even 90s for tommy
The kmt has many faults I’m sure but is today’s so called democratic Taiwan better than then socialist Taiwan prior to the rise of the dpp?
I’m not sure. CCk Did A lot to get Taiwan started on the road to what it is today
He was educated in Russia and took a Russian wife
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I think Taiwan would largely have returned to the mean as Japanese influence waned, just like the Philippines did after the Americans left and their influence waned. The Philippines used to have the best economy in Asia, and Taiwanese went to work there as maids, a nice mirror image of the current situation.
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