History of the Bronze Statue of the Nation's Founding Father Dr. Sun Yat-sen at the Presidential Office Building
The Presidential Office Building's Entrance Hall is divided into front and rear portions. During the Japanese colonial period, two bronze statues were displayed in the hall.
During the Japanese colonial period, a bonsai was placed in the Entrance Hall's vaulted niche that now holds a bronze bust of the nation's founding father, Dr. Sun Yat-sen.
The statue of Dr. Sun Yat-sen was completed by Mr. Chueh Ming-te on November 12, 1957. In May of the following year, the statue was placed in the rear portion of the hall at a place where Presidential Office staff and guests to the building would be able to view it. (The bronze statue is about 64 centimeters tall. It sits on a three-tiered marble pedestal, which itself is about 125 centimeters tall. In all, the pedestal and statue stand 190 centimeters in height.) The statue was commissioned for a price of NT$10,000.
On February 9, 2007, an order was issued to remove the statue in conjunction with a redecoration of the rear hall. The bronze statue was relocated to the Hengxi storage facility in Sanxia.
After President Ma was inaugurated on May 20, 2008, he noticed at once that the bronze statue of Dr. Sun in the rear hall had been replaced with a potted plant. He recalled that this was different than when he served in the Office of the President in the past. Upon inquiring about the situation, President Ma was informed that the bronze statue of the nation's founding father had been moved to a storage facility in Sanxia. He immediately began to consider moving the bronze statue back to its original position. In August 2008 when he made a trip to diplomatic allies in Latin America, President Ma visited a number of presidential buildings. He took note that all of these buildings were graced with bronze statues of the founding fathers of the respective countries. This added to his resolve to have the statue of Dr. Sun moved back to the Presidential Office Building.
The Office of the President on the morning of November 12, 2008 held the central government's ceremony in honor of the anniversary of the birthday of Dr. Sun as well as a celebration to mark Chinese Cultural Renaissance Day. A ceremony was then held in the Entrance Hall to mark the return of the bronze statue of Dr. Sun to its original spot. President Ma commented that Dr. Sun overthrew the Ching Dynasty and founded the Republic of China, and that he is a revered figure on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. The president said he is delighted to see the bronze statue unveiled again in the Presidential Office Building. He said that it is absolutely fitting to have a statue of the nation's founding father in the office building of the ROC head of state.
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