Road renaming debate centers on removing controversial titles

Road renaming debate centers on removing controversial titles

2024-08-26

Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an proposed renaming a road in honor of two-time Olympic badminton gold medalists Wang Chi-lin and Lee Yang. Previously, Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen also suggested renaming a road in honor of Olympic judo silver medalist Yang Yung-wei, but Yang ultimately rejected the idea. In terms of roads named after people, the most common in Taiwan are Zhongzheng Road, named after Chiang Kai-shek, and Zhongshan Road, named after Sun Yat-sen. Almost every city in Taiwan has traces of authoritarian rule.

After judo athlete Yang Yung-wei won a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and a gold medal at the 2023 Asian Games, Taichung’s government discussed renaming the road behind his family home “Yung-wei Road.”

Lu Shiow-yen (July 25, 2021)
Taichung Mayor
People suggested naming this road after Yang Yung-wei. It’s a good idea.

Yang Yung-wei (Sept. 30, 2023)
Olympic athlete
Roads belong to everybody. Personally, I like to keep more of a low profile, so I don’t think it’s necessary. I’m only an athlete. People don’t need that, so I think it’s OK.

In the end, Yang rejected the idea because he felt it would be strange to have a road named after him. But there are many roads in Taiwan named after people.

The most well-known are Zhongzheng Road and Zhongshan Road, which are named after Chiang Kai-shek and Sun Yat-sen respectively. When the Chinese Nationalist Party took over control of Taiwan in 1945, they named many roads after these party leaders. After the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall was completed, Yixian Road was also named after him.

Now more and more people are calling to change these road names, calling them relics of authoritarian rule. The most famous example is from 1996, when then-Taipei Mayor Chen Shui-bian renamed “Jieshou Road,” which commemorated Chiang Kai-shek’s 60th birthday, to “Ketagalan Boulevard.”

Su Lin-chi
Taiwan Sprout secretary-general
For example, if I were a victim of political persecution, my address would refer to the same Chiang Kai-shek who approved my grandfather’s execution, signing the verdict with a red pen and effectively shooting him. I’d be living at this address, making the pain linger.

The Transitional Justice Commission conducted a survey on renaming Zhongzheng Road. Those against the change thought it would cost too much money and worried their property on these famous roads would lose value. The issue of road names has sparked debate on how to achieve transitional justice without upsetting the status quo.

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以人名取路名? 台中曾提"勇緯路" 台灣最多是"這個"路名

2024-08-26

台北市長蔣萬安提出要以麟洋配命名道路，之前台中市長盧秀燕也提過，柔道選手楊勇緯的"勇緯路"，最後被當事人婉拒。說到馬路以人的名字來取，台灣最多的就是蔣中正的中正路，以及國父孫中山的中山路，幾乎各縣市都有當時威權統治下的歷史痕跡。

台灣柔道選手楊勇緯東京奧運奪下銀牌，去年亞運再拿金牌後，當時台中市政府曾經兩次討論，要把他后里老家外的新建道路，命名為"勇緯路"。

[[台中市長盧秀燕(2021.7.25)]]
“有人提到說是不是這條路，要以楊勇緯命名，蠻不錯的建議”

[[柔道國手楊勇緯(2023.9.30)]]
“我覺得路是大家的，所以我覺得我自己個人是比較低調，我覺得就不用沒關係，我只是一個運動選手，我覺得我沒有需求，所以我覺得沒關係”

只不過楊勇緯婉拒台中市府，畢竟自己的名字變成路名，感覺怪怪的。但其實台灣有不少路都是取自人名。

最有名的就是中正路和中山路，幾乎每個縣市都有。1945年日本戰敗，國民政府接收台灣，許多道路改名，就以蔣中正和孫中山為名，台北國父紀念館落成後，新建的逸仙路也是。

威權統治背景下，習慣以元首來取路名，但多年來，社會陸續出現去除威權路名的聲音，最有名的案例就是1996年陳水扁擔任台北市長，將紀念蔣中正60大壽的"介壽路"，改為"凱達格蘭大道"。

[[台南新芽協會秘書長蘇淋齊]]
“(若政治受難者)門牌就是，可能就是把我阿公槍殺的，寫判決書就批紅筆嘛，寫應即槍決可以的那個蔣中正，結果我就住在上面，所以那個痛苦是持續存在的”

促轉會曾針對中正路改名做過調查，反對的民眾認為改名要花錢，也擔心自己原本位在知名道路上的房子價格下跌。如何在保留民眾習慣和轉型正義之間找到平衡，成為討論議題。

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