We recently visited the burial grounds of Chiang Kai Shek, nationalist leader of the Republic of China from the 1920s until the mid 1970s. Public sentiment seems to vary about the legacy of Chiang Kai Shek, nevertheless, here at his favorite vacation home in Cahu, which has been converted to a grand public park and grounds, his persona is presented colorfully and diversely. The hats and prints suggest a pop culture phenomenon, while the multiple-times daily changing of the guard at the location of his tomb suggest an historical significance akin to the eternal flame at Arlington Cemetary. We'll visit the memorial grounds in Taipei this week, which was originally named the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall, recently changed to National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall, and then, more recently, changed back again. I was told at the Cahu
site that he was often depicted in statue in a sitting position because of the allusion to Abraham Lincoln - and apparently at the Memorial Hall, this is no different. (Picture above taken from Wikipedia - showing the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall statue.)
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