Chiang Ching-kuo

Chiang Ching-kuo (, Ningbo dialect: ) (27 April 1910 – 13 January 1988) was a politician in Taiwan. Son of Chiang Kai-shek, he held numerous posts in the government of the Republic of China. He succeeded his father to serve as Premier of the Republic of China between 1972–78 and was the President of the Republic of China from 1978 until his death in 1988.

Under his tenure, the government of the Republic of China, while authoritarian, became more open and tolerant of political dissent. Towards the end of his life, Chiang relaxed government controls on the media and speech and allowed Taiwanese Han into positions of power, including his successor Lee Teng-hui.

Early life
The son of President Chiang Kai-shek and his first wife, Mao Fumei, Chiang Ching-kuo was born in Fenghua, Zhejiang, with the courtesy name of Jiànfēng (建豐). He had an adopted brother, Chiang Wei-kuo. "Ching" literally means "longitude" while "kuo" means "nation"; in his brother's name, "wei" literally means "parallel (of latitude)". The names are inspired by the references in Chinese classics such as the Guoyu, in which "to draw the longitudes and latitudes of the world" is used as a metaphor for a person with great abilities, especially in managing a country.

While the young Chiang Ching-kuo had a good relationship with his mother and grandmother (who were deeply rooted to their Buddhist faith), his relationship with his father was strict, utilitarian and often rocky. Chiang Kai-shek appeared to his son as an authoritarian figure, sometimes indifferent to his problems. Even in personal letters between the two, Chiang Kai-shek would sternly order his son to improve his Chinese calligraphy. From 1916 until 1919 Chiang Ching-kuo attended the "Grammar School" in Wushan in Hsikou. Then, in 1920, his father hired tutors to teach him the four books, considered the basis of all Chinese culture. On June 4, 1921, Ching-kuo's grandmother died. What might have been an immense emotional loss was compensated for by Chiang Kai-shek moving his family to Shanghai. Chiang Ching-kuo's stepmother, historically known as the Chiang family's "Shanghai Mother", went with them. During this period, Chiang Kai-shek concluded that Chiang Ching-kuo was a son to be taught, while Chiang Wei-kuo was a son to be loved.

During his time in Shanghai, Chiang Ching-kuo was supervised by his father by being made to write a weekly letter containing 200-300 Chinese characters. Chiang Kai-shek also underlined the importance of classical books and of learning English, two areas he was hardly proficient in himself. On March 20, 1924, Chiang Ching-kuo was able to present to his now-nationally famous father a proposal concerning the grass-roots organization of the rural population in Hsikou. Chiang Ching-kuo planned to provide free education in order to allow people to read and to write at least 1000 characters. In his own words:

In early 1925, Chiang entered Shanghai's Pudong College, but immediately afterwards Chiang Kai-shek decided to send him on to Beijing because of warlord action and spontaneous student protests in Shanghai. In Beijing he attended the school organized by a friend of his father, Wu Zhihui, a renowned scholar and linguist. The school combined classical and modern approaches to education. While there, Ching-kuo started to identify himself as a progressive revolutionary and participated in the flourishing social scene inside the young Communist community. The idea of studying in Moscow now seized his imagination. Within the help program provided by the Soviet Union to the countries of East Asia there was a training school that later became the Moscow Sun Yat-sen University. The participants to the university were selected by the CPSU and KMT members, with a participation of CPC Central Committee.

Chiang Ching-kuo asked his teacher Wu Chih-hui to name him as a KMT candidate. Though Wu Chih-hui did not try to dissuade him, Wu was a key figure of the right-leaning and anti-Communist "Western Hills Group" of the KMT, which help to realize the purge of the Communist and the KMT break with Moscow. In the summer of 1925, Chiang Ching-kuo traveled to Whampoa to discuss with his father about the plans to go to Moscow.

Chiang Kai-shek was not keen on sending his son to the USSR, but after a discussion with Chen Guofu he finally agreed. In a 1996 interview, Ch'en's brother, Li-fu, claimed that the reason behind Chiang Kai-shek's acceptance was the need to have Soviet support during a period when his hold over the KMT was not guaranteed.

Death and legacy
Chiang Ching-kuo suddenly died in Taipei in 1988, aged 77, from heart failure and hemorrhage. He was interred temporarily in Daxi Township, Taoyuan County (now Daxi District, Taoyuan City), but in a separate mausoleum in Touliao, a mile down the road from his father's burial place. The hope was to have both buried at their birthplace in Fenghua once mainland China was recovered. Chinese music composer Hwang Yau-tai or Huang Youdi, Huang Yu-ti (黃友棣) wrote the Chiang Ching-kuo Memorial Song in 1988.

In January 2004, Chiang Fang-liang asked that both father and son be buried at Wuchih Mountain Military Cemetery in Hsichih, Taipei County (now New Taipei City). The state funeral ceremony was initially planned for Spring 2005, but was eventually delayed to winter 2005. It may be further delayed due to the recent death of Chiang Ching-kuo's oldest daughter-in-law, who had served as the de facto head of the household since Chiang Fang-liang's death in 2004. Chiang Fang-liang and Soong Mei-ling had agreed in 1997 that the former leaders be first buried, but still be moved to mainland China.

Unlike his father Chiang Kai-shek, Chiang Ching-kuo built himself a reputation that remains generally close to the opposition Taiwanese electorate. Both his memory and image are frequently mentioned. Among the Tangwai and later the Pan-Green Coalition, opinions toward Chiang Ching-kuo are more reserved. Long-time supporters of political liberalization do give Chiang Ching-kuo credit for relaxing authoritarian KMT rule by abolishing martial law. He is recognized for his tireless efforts and openness in economic developments.