Statue of Chiang Kai-Shek Relocated to Wang Memorial Hall

On September 2^th, 2020, Soochow University moved the statue of the late president Chiang Kai-Shek from its Main Library to Wang Memorial Hall.

The relocation was an answer to a nine-year-long debate on how the statue should be placed and dealt with. Through rounds of public hearings and schoolwide questionnaires and the conclusion reached in the 2019 university assembly, a decision was made through voting to move the statue out of the Main Library. After deliberation by the school’s competent authority in charge of the statue, it was determined that the statue would have its new home at Wang Memorial Hall.

In the unveiling ceremony, SCU President Wei-Ta Pan indicated that as time passes, the new generation of Soochow students have different ideas about settling the statue of Chiang Kai-Shek. The school would record the entire relocation process as a part of SCU’s history, while demonstrating the school’s attitude towards different voices and its respect for democracy.

The statue was placed in the lobby at the first floor of Wang Memorial Hall, right in front of the Chinese school motto養天地正氣、法古今完人 (meaning “to nourish the spirit of universal truth, and to emulate the perfect man of the ages”), which was composed by Chiang Kai-Shek in 1923, and later calligraphed by Dr. Sun Yat-Sen.

Such arrangement, the school administration believed, is a perfect solution that can show gratitude to Chiang Kai-Shek and Wang Ch’ung-Hui for their contribution to Soochow University and at the same time highlight this meaningful part of school history.