Authoritarian symbols on campus

Ten years ago, when I was an undergraduate at National Chung Hsing University (NCHU), there was a referendum on whether to remove a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) from the campus. I wrote to the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) urging faculty, staff and students to vote for its removal. Eventually, the statue was removed from the university.

Today, I am filled with emotion at seeing students at Soochow University democratically remove their own statue of Chiang, a figure of authoritarian rule, after it was on display for 48 years

The timing is noteworthy, with the nine-in-one local elections approaching. Education providers at all levels have been promoting “campus neutrality,” including administrative and educational neutrality, but the presence of symbols of party-state authoritarianism undermines transitional justice and campus democracy, while making political neutrality impossible.

During my time at NCHU, I often heard the seemingly plausible argument that staying “neutral” meant the university was avoiding the question of whether to remove the statue.

However, an institution of learning should be the last place to preserve symbols of worship to a political party or figure, or party-state symbols that harmed political dissidents.

Removing the statue was the only way for the campus to achieve genuine political neutrality.

Authoritarian statues carry powerful political symbolism and historical traumas. Erecting the image of a dictator from the White Terror era on a university campus is, in essence, a political imposition on a public space dedicated to education. It infringes on academic independence and freedom of thought, and is tantamount to the university’s endorsement of a kind of political authoritarianism.

That is the definition of non-neutrality and failure to distinguish between party and university.

Removing such statues does not deny the existence of the historical figures they depict; rather, it removes the artificially imposed cult of personality from educational institutions.

By separating party and university, a teaching and learning environment free from political oppression is created.

Whether at NCHU or Soochow, the deeper significance of universities doing away with Chiang statues lies in their educational and ethical role as models for a democratic society. The demonstrations of social responsibility enable higher education to move beyond the ivory tower and make a substantive contribution to deepening the country’s democracy.

Lai Yen-cheng is the executive secretary of a youth civil society group.