Taiwan Church News
3348 Edition
April 25 – May 1, 2016
Headline News
Chen Ding-nan Is Commemorated After His Decease Ten Years Ago
Reported by Chiu Kuo-rong
Former Justice Minister Mr Chen Ding-nan, known as Mr Clean and also a former magistrate of Ilan County, has passed away for 10 years. From March 31 to April 24, an archive show of Chen was held at Taipei’s Chongshan Citizen House introducing Chen’s biographical events, manuscripts, documents and personal letters to the families. Incessant visitors came to this archive show paying their tributes to this legendary Taiwanese hero in modern Taiwan history.
Chen Ding-nan once remarked about himself: “Some people say I am a mania for clean politics, in fact I just refuse to collude with any dirty tricks to grab money; some people say I am a cold-blooded bureaucrat, in fact I just want to be brave when I face those privileged class; some people say I am against business, in fact I just want to preserve a clean land for our descendants”. What Chen Ding-nan stood for in his short life span, 1943 – 2006, were values of justice, freedom and love of this home land, no wonder so many people saw him as a hero in Taiwan’s public service.
The most remarkable story of Chen, when he was still the magistrate of Ilan County, was his fearless decision to reject the establishment of the Sixth Naphtha Cracker of Formosa Plastics Group in Ilan. This is a critical moment for Taiwanese people successfully defeated the covetous capitalism in 1980s, and a legendary story inspiring the environmental movement in Taiwan for decades.
Translated by Peter Wolfe
Commemorating Chen Ding-nan, Mr Clean, Taiwanese people came to his archive show to learn him more.
Photo by Chiu Kuo-rong
