TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Two suspects were detained Monday evening on charges of vandalizing a pair of lion-like stone statues in front of a Taipei elementary school that they said were "guarding the souls of dead Japanese soldiers."
▲圖／翻攝自中國郵報
Shilin District prosecutors initially decided to release former Taipei City Councilor Lee Cheng-lung (李承龍) and accomplice Chiu Chin-wei (邱晉芛) on NT$50,000 (US$1,658) bail each.
But the two refused bail even though their friends came up with the money to secure their release, according to the prosecutors, who then requested and received the court's permission to detain them on the grounds that they might flee.
The two were arrested after police found they had damaged the face, ears and tails of the more than 60-year-old Komainu statues at the entrance of Yixian Elementary School in Beitou District at about 8 p.m. Sunday.
Lee and Chiu claimed that the statues are symbols of Japanese culture and therefore not suitable for display at the front gate of an elementary school.
"We're simply removing garbage for the Republic of China government," they said.
It was not the first act of anti-Japanese vandalism by the two suspects. They also decapitated a statue of Japanese hydraulic engineer Yoichi Hatta in front of the tomb of Hatta and his wife at Wushantou Reservoir Scenic Park in Tainan last month.
The school's principal, Lai Chun-hsien (賴俊賢), regretted the act and vowed to press charges against the suspects to claim compensation.
Lai said the statues mean a lot to Yixian Elementary School, which sees them not just as sacred creatures guarding the school but also relics of the past that can teach students history.
He said the history of the statues can be traced back to the period of Japanese colonial rule from 1895 to 1945, and while they do not qualify as "historical monuments," they have been certified as historical objects.
"We were extremely shocked after learning they were damaged," he said.
The Taipei City Department of Education also denounced the vandalism and said it has formed a task force with the police and cultural affairs departments to address the incident.
Acts of defacing public property are subject to a penalty of up to seven years in jail under the Criminal Code.
The former Taipei City Councilor lung used large hammers to knock off the bottom half of a stone guard dog. The maiming of the statue was broadcast live over Facebook by Chiu Jin-yi Sunday evening. In the live broadcast, Lee said that he had found the statue "strange and weird" and decided later to "help the R.O.C. rid itself of the vestiges of Japanese colonial era garbage."
Police arriving at the scene cut the broadcast short and took the two into custody for questioning. School officials are seeking to prosecute the two for property damage. He said he found it troubling to fengshui that such dog statues were guarding the nation's children along with a bronze statue of Sun Yat-sen, founder of the R.O.C.
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