Kinmen Proposes Establishing a "Two Chiangs Cultural Zone" to Attract Mainland Tourists

The Kinmen County Council has proposed setting up a "Two Chiangs Cultural Zone" in Lieyu Township. The photo shows a statue of Chiang Kai-shek at Jinding Elementary School. (Photo by Lee Chin-sheng)

Students from Kinmen Jincheng Junior High School dressed up a statue of Chiang Kai-shek as Santa Claus to celebrate the holiday with teachers and classmates. (Photo by Lee Chin-sheng)

The roundabout with a statue of Chiang Kai-shek at Kinmen’s Jincheng Bus Station serves as a central transportation hub in the urban area. (Photo by Lee Chin-sheng)

A statue of the late President Chiang Ching-kuo located in the Zhongshan Forest Park area of Kinmen National Park. (Photo by Lee Chin-sheng)

While bronze statues of Chiang Kai-shek across Taiwan have frequently been subjected to "beheading," "leg sawing," and vandalism through spray-painting, the Kinmen County Council sees historical significance and tourism value in these figures. They have proposed that the county government establish a "Two Chiangs Cultural Zone" in Lieyu Township. This initiative aims not only to commemorate the leaders' legacies and serve educational purposes but also to add a new tourist attraction to Kinmen.

The proposal was put forward by County Council Speaker Hong Liping and Councilor Chen Yuzhen, and was co-signed by Yang Yongli, Cai Shuiyou, Ouyang Yixiong, Hong Hongbin, Zhang Yunde, Xu Jianzhong, and Li Chengzhi in support. The resolution urges the county’s Cultural Affairs Bureau to coordinate with the Ministry of Culture to "relocate" artifacts related to the Two Chiangs to Kinmen. This would facilitate the establishment of a cultural zone in Lieyu Township (Little Kinmen), highlighting Kinmen’s wartime historical significance.

The councilors’ proposal pointed out that Taoyuan City’s "Two Chiangs Cultural Park" in Daxi’s Cihu has been dedicated to housing bronze statues of the Two Chiangs from around Taiwan, accommodating over 200 such statues to date. This unique "Two Chiangs Statue Museum" has become one of the major tourist attractions for mainland visitors to Taiwan, once recording hundreds of thousands of visitors in a single month — the tourism value is self-evident.

The councilors stated that Kinmen and Xiamen are separated by only a narrow strip of water, with the two "gates" being very close. Since the opening of cross-strait tourism, travel between the two has been continuous. In both 2015 and 2016, the number of "mini three links" travelers exceeded 1.5 million. However, Kinmen, once a frontline bastion that upheld national leaders as exemplary figures, has gradually lost its distinctive wartime characteristics due to economic development. There is an urgent need for the county government to innovate with new ideas to develop tourism featuring a "wartime" atmosphere. Establishing a "Two Chiangs Cultural Zone" on Little Kinmen — the area closest to the mainland and still rich in wartime ambiance — would be the most ideal location.

The councilors emphasized that while the central government is focused on "transitional justice," dismantling the legacy of strongman rule and personal worship, the creation of a "Two Chiangs Cultural Zone" serves not only to commemorate the leaders’ contributions and offer social education but also adds a new attraction for mainland tourists to this remote island. This can be seen as a move of great historical significance and tourism value.

Lü Kunhe, Director of the Kinmen County Cultural Affairs Bureau, stated that the bureau will send a letter to the Taoyuan City Government to confirm whether the "Two Chiangs Cultural Park" will be dismantled, in preparation for receiving the related artifacts. At the same time, they will also contact the Ministry of Culture to inquire about any relevant relics that could be relocated to Kinmen.