Chen emphasized that this wasn't meant as a public denouncement and humiliation of Chiang; nor was it a desecration of an historic site. Rather it was done in the hope that pulling that era's dictator off his pedestal could truly move Taiwan out from under the shadow of martial law, so that the nation could welcome a more free, democratic and just tomorrow.
陳總統表示，這不是清算鬥爭，更無涉所謂的「古蹟」破壞，而是希望藉著將當年的獨裁者請下神壇，來期許台灣社會真正走出「戒嚴」陰影，積極迎向一個更自由、民主與公義的明天。