Yesterday I took it easy (lots of sleep!) and rode the metro around, as parts of it are above ground. While underground, I read up on Taiwan history in my Lonely Planet guide (pdf on my smart phone – I bought a few electronic chapters, not the physical book).
Anyways, I called Chiang Kai-Shek one of the founders of Taiwan (big statue of him etc.) but it turns out he was a dictator who ruled with martial law and is not liked, to say the least. Oops. To wit: most of the statues of him have been removed from public squares, the international airport was renamed to Taoyuan International Airport, and even the square around his memorial hall was renamed.
Side note: the international airport is an hour west of Taipei, while a domestic airport with its own metro station is right in town (when I was at the Confucius Temple, the planes were coming in overhead for landings).