Sino File | Is Taiwan trying to erase links to mainland China, or forget a bloody past?

In ancient Chinese dynasties it was standard practice for new rulers to destroy all symbols of their predecessors to ensure their legacies did not endure.

Farewell comrade: why China and Vietnam are drifting apart

Some observers see the move as politically motivated, saying it might be part of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s effort to undermine the Kuomintang (KMT), which is now the main opposition party, by erasing the political legacy of its former leader. The Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP, is staunchly pro-independence while the KMT favours stronger ties with the mainland.

Beijing might see the moves as another effort by the DPP to remove any historical links between the self-ruled island and mainland China. Beijing believes the ultimate motivation of this “anti-Chiang” movement is to push for the island’s eventual independence. Indeed, the DPP has also long condemned Chiang for imposing an “alien” government on the island, referring to the KMT which was formed on the mainland.

Still, from Taiwan’s perspective, Chiang’s legacy has been highly controversial. Succeeding Sun Yat-sen as the KMT leader, Chiang helped overthrow China’s last imperial dynasty and establish the Republic of China. He has also long been heralded as a national hero for leading China’s war against Japanese aggression during the second world war and fighting the communists. Chiang was also praised for land reform in the 1950s that liberated Taiwanese tenant farmers. Some say Taiwan would not be what it is today had he not brought his tattered KMT to the island and paved the way to modernisation. Under his stewardship from 1950s to 1970s, the island joined South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong as one of the Four Asian Dragons economies.