Taiwan Today

Chiang Kai-shek, the last surviving great statesman of World War II, died in Taipei April 5 at the age of 87. He was serving his fifth term as President of the Repub­lic of China and had been recovering from a lengthy illness. Stricken with a heart attack, he passed away an hour and a half later in the waning moments of Ching Ming, the tomb-sweeping day of the Chinese. The life of President Chiang spanned the whole Chinese Republican period and he played an important role in every development from the National Revolution to the reconstruc­tion of Taiwan as bastion of counterattack and national recovery. A month's period of mourning was proclaimed. Hundreds of thou­sands filed past the body daily as it lay in state at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei until Memorial Services April 16. Tributes came from all over the free world.

The young Chiang enlisted in the Republican cause of the Founding Father, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, while a military cadet in Japan. He rushed back to China to participate in the National Revolution and demonstrated his superb military talents by leading the attack on the capital of his home province. Seeking to implement his Three People's Princi­ples of Nationalism, Democracy and the People's Liveli­hood, Dr. Sun was engaged in ceaseless struggle against warlords, power-seekers and those who wanted to cling to the ways of dynastic China. He increasingly turned to the young Chiang as loyal friend, confidant and military ad­viser. When Dr. Sun wanted to know more about the Russian Communists, he sent Chiang Kai-shek to Moscow. When he decided to train young men to defend the Republic and the ideals of the Three Principles, he named Chiang commandant of the Whampoa Military Academy. These pictures show the Chiang Kai-shek progression to greatness: top left, Sun Yat-sen and Chiang at Whampoa; top center, starting the March Northward that defeated the warlords and unified China in 1926-28; top right, rallying the nation for the War of Resistance Against Japan in 1937; bottom left, with F. D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Madame Chiang at the Cairo Conference in 1943; and bottom right, official photo on election as chairman of the National Government in 1943.

Communists started making their bid for power even before the end of World War II. Even so, President Chiang insisted that the Republic continue the development of democracy in the postwar period. The Constitution was adopted and the National Assembly, Legislative Yuan and Control Yuan were chosen by the people of all Chi­na. The National Assembly thereupon elect­ed Chiang as China's first constitutional president. The picture at right shows him in simple Chinese gown and wearing a sin­gle decoration for his inaugural ceremony on May 20, 1948. The Communist rebellion was reaching its height. Weapons captured by the Russians from the Japanese in Man­churia were given to the Communists. U.S. mediation efforts failed. With his usual foresight, President Chiang prepared the island province of Taiwan - 100 miles off the mainland coast - as a bastion of last resistance in the event of Communist usur­pation of continental China. Taiwan cheer­ed his arrival with Madame Chiang (below).