TAIPEI, Aug 30, 2007 (AFP) - Taiwan's opposition nationalists on Thursday lashed out at the government for cancelling two public holidays honouring late leader Chiang Kai-shek, calling the move a political ploy to woo voters.

"We condemn the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for fanning ideological confrontation in Taiwan," said Su Jun-pin, a spokesman for the nationalist Kuomintang (KMT), which Chiang once led.

"The DPP is trying to turn the issue into a political asset for the legislative and presidential elections next year," he said, calling the decision a "campaign ploy" to please pro-independence voters.

The government on Wednesday removed Chiang's birthday on October 31 and the anniversary of his death on April 5 from its list of memorial days, saying it was inappropriate to honour a leader with a chequered legacy.

"Former president Chiang's merits and faults are disputed under his authoritarian rule of Taiwan and it is inappropriate to set a national memorial day to honour him," said interior minister Lee Yi-yang.

Chiang's grandson, KMT lawmaker John Chiang, vowed to contest the move when parliament reconvenes in September.

"We strongly protest the DPP's move ... it is twisting history and it will be despised by the people," he said.

The DPP government led by independence-minded President Chen Shui-bian in May renamed the memorial hall built for Chiang in Taipei, after dismantling the biggest statue of the late leader in the southern city of Kaohsiung.

The DPP, which ended the KMT's 51-year grip on power in 2000, has already removed Chiang's statues from military premises and dropped his name from an international airport in Taoyuan.

Chiang set up a rival government in Taipei in 1949 after his defeat to Mao Zedong's communists forces on the Chinese mainland, sparking tensions across the Taiwan Strait which continue to this day. He died in 1975.

His son Chiang Ching-kuo served as president from 1978 until his death in 1988.

Chen has in the past called for a posthumous trial of the late leader over his role in the 1947 killing of thousands of islanders by KMT troops.

China still views Taiwan as party of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary, but has developed friendly ties with the KMT while criticising Chen.