Last Ones Standing: Local Politics and Authoritarian Symbol Removal in Taiwan
Why are some symbols of authoritarianism removed swiftly, while others persist? We theorize the politics of symbol removal as a clash between two competing demands: the demand for removal, stemming from communities’ historical exposure to authoritarian violence, and demand for retention, sustained by authoritarian nostalgia where successor parties command strong loyalties. We test these arguments in Taiwan, where statues and public spaces commemorating Chiang Kai-shek were installed under Kuomintang (KMT) rule and subsequently became targets of removal under the 2017 Act on Promoting Transitional Justice. We use an original dataset of Chiang Kai-shek statues and historical sites of authoritarian violence alongside data on electoral returns. Statues closer to sites of greater historical exposure to repression are significantly more likely to have been removed or relocated. Stronger contemporary KMT electoral presence predicts persistence. Our findings help to explain why authoritarian symbols remain contentious in contemporary democracies, long after regime change.