"He fought the good fight, he finished the course, henceforth there is laid for him the crown of righteousness. May Thou, our Lord, give him eternal bliss!" The words of Rev. Chou Lien-hua echo through the ornate main hall of the Martyrs' Shrine. Except for his solemn, slow-paced voice, there is only silence as the hundreds of participants from the Republic of China and from around the world who circle the bier of white and yellow chrysanthemums quietly extend their respect. The memorial service for Mr. Chiang Ching-kuo, the late President of the Republic of China, is coming to a close.
The late President lies in state.
The late President, who passed away at 3:50 p.m. on January 13 from heart failure at age 79, lies serenely in a glass-covered bronze casket. Above him soar the classic architectural lines of the National Revolutionary Martyrs' Shrine, which was built in memory of those who died fighting for the Chinese republic set up in 1912. Dressed in a traditional long gown with Mandarin jacket, he wears the Grand Cordon of the Order of Brilliant Jade, First Class, which is awarded only to heads of state. Bordered with gold and pearls, its star-patterned face is made of inlaid jade. Its colors reflect the light from two large white candles that stand next to the casket and in front of the late President's portrait and last will which hang behind him on the Shrine's wall.
It is Saturday morning, January 30, the date set weeks earlier for the national funeral of the late President and the final sealing of his casket before its removal to the Touliao Guest House in Taoyuan County, where he will be laid to rest. The Christian part of the ceremonies comes to an end; Rev. Chou Lien-hua, the pastor of Grace Baptist Church who also conducted the national memorial service for the late President Chiang Kai-shek in 1975, softly closes his Bible.
Crowded in the Shrine's courtyard are nearly 3,000 government officials, civic representatives, and foreign dignitaries from 36 countries. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, South Korean Prime Minister Kim Chung Yul, and President Clarence Seignoret of the Commonwealth of Dominica are in attendance, as is a 12-member U.S. delegation led by William French Smith, former attorney general and a close friend of President Ronald Reagan. The U.S. delegation also includes two senators and three congressmen.
The largest delegation comes from Japan. There are 85 members led by Hirokishi Nadao, former speaker of the lower house of the Diet, and the distinguished group includes former Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda and former Deputy Prime Minister Shin Kanemanu, a close associate of incumbent Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita. Scores of other august dignitaries from countries near and far add the honor of their presence to the service.
The honored guests are surrounded by hundreds of local and international journalists, including all three major U.S. TV networks, who are carrying news of the event to audiences around the world.
The Christian service is followed immediately by a state service at 8:40 a.m., with President Lee Teng-hui presiding. He places a wreath at the foot of the casket as the solemn words of a funeral ode bring tears to the eyes of old friends, colleagues, and fellow soldiers standing nearby.
The late President's hearse passes the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial, built in honor of his father.
Dressed starkly in black, Chiang Fang-liang, the widow, General Wego Chiang, the late President's younger brother, and other family members now approach the open casket for their last farewell. Noticeably moved, Mrs. Chiang, who wears dark glasses and sits in a wheelchair because of her own heart problems, nevertheless retains her composure. Then the glass of the casket is removed and the lid closed and sealed. Family members watch silently as eight senior members of the Kuomintang, of which President Chiang was the chairman, drape the casket with the party's blue flag with white sun. Next, President Lee and seven members of the Funeral Committee place the Blue, White, and Crimson of the National Flag over the flag of the party.
It is 9:00 a.m. As twelve bodyguards of the late President lift the casket from the bier for the start of its journey to Touliao and begin to walk in a measured funeral stride, a 21-gun salute is fired outside the Shrine. While the howitzers send waves of reverberating sound across Taipei, sirens and church bells throughout the country join in tribute. On the streets of all cities and towns, trucks, buses, taxis, private cars, motorcycles, and people walking along the street come to a halt. All the nation observes a minute of personal silence. People watching TV, people everywhere, are moved to reflective silence. Many eyes are quite suddenly moist.
After the casket is placed on the flower-covered hearse by the twelve pall-bearers, members of the Funeral Committee grasp white sashes attached to its sides, symbolizing their role as honorary guards of the remains. Family members, escorts, and mourners then walk to the main entrance of the Shrine before boarding cars and buses for the rest of the sad journey.
Outside the Shrine, along the 68-kilometer route throughout the city and south to Touliao, the crowds await. For hours, long before daylight, they have been gathering along the streets, roads, and even the freeway south of the capital. One and a half million people stand, sit, and kneel because of personal choice. All ages and all creeds, they line the route in anticipation of wishing God-speed to the late President's soul. In front of the crowds throughout the route are honor guards every ten paces and national flags at half mast every five paces. As the 60-vehicle funeral procession proceeds at 20 kilometers per hour through Taipei, crowds on the streets and sidewalks kneel, hold sticks of burning incense, chant prayers, and weep as the cortege passes slowly by.
Altars adorned with white candles and chrysanthemums dot city streets and country roads as all faiths join in services and tributes. Buddhists, Taoists, Christians, and Muslims all mourn a statesman whose own faith did not exclude them.
At the end of the sorrowful route stands the Touliao Guest House, a country estate where President Chiang Ching-kuo used to come for vacations. Here, in a landscape that resembles Chiang's home province of Chekiang, local people crowd to pay last respects to their old friend. They hold special feelings for the late President, who became acquainted with almost all the villagers over the years and had long been regarded as one of them.
Rites at the Guest House—now renamed Tahsi Mausoleum—are brier. The late President's casket is sealed in a black granite sarcophagus that is surrounded by white walls and red-tiled roof. At 1:13 p.m., flanked by late President Chiang's family members, President Lee presides over a "soul-resting" ceremony with about 400 people in attendance. Mourners then bow to the late President and receive bows of appreciation from the bereaved family. Here President Chiang Ching-kuo will rest in peace until the recovery of the Chinese mainland and a great state funeral for his final entombment in his native Chekiang Province.
The roots are deep for the sorrow expressed by the people of the Republic of China during its mourning period for late President Chiang Ching-kuo. He leaves a legacy of considerable merit, not only in the annals of the nation, but in the region and world at large.
Throughout his 49-year political career, which began in 1939, Mr. Chiang led a life in service to China and to the Chinese people. During the 1972-1988 period when he served as Premier and President, he pushed economic and political developments toward achievements that even a few years earlier would have been considered impossible. The world lauded the "economic miracle" of the Republic of China on Taiwan, with its concomitant raising of the standard of living for the people, as well as the recent giant strides in political transformation under Mr. Chiang's leadership.
In the latter case, while world attention has fixed on more noisy lurches toward democracy in other parts of the region, a Quieter story has been unfolding in the Republic of China. During the past few years, under the late President's commitment to progress and reform, a series of reforms has significantly transformed domestic social and political structures. The 38-year-old Emergency Decree that had activated martial law was lifted, foreign exchange restrictions were relaxed, import tariffs slashed, the government's press policy liberalized, the formation of new political parties permitted, and now citizens are being allowed to visit their long-separated relatives on the Chinese mainland.
These reforms not only have improved the Quality of life in the ROC, but also have given the world a view of how the guiding Three Principles of the People of Dr. Sun Yat-sen could be translated into action. The process has been guided by Mr. Chiang, and Chinese at home and abroad have been the direct beneficiaries of his foresight and courage. His passing is therefore a deep public and personal loss.
The personal dimension became clear not long after Mr. Chiang's passing became known to the public. People immediately began crowding the small memorial hall at the Veterans General Hospital to pay respect to the late President. And when his remains were transferred from the hospital to the Martyrs' Shrine on the morning of January 22, hundreds of thousands of people lined the 7.5-kilometer route to pay their homage.
By noon, when the Shrine was prepared for the public to begin paying their last respects to the late President, a two-kilometer Queue had already formed outside the entrance. Thousands of mourners had been waiting for hours in order to bow three times to the late President.
Lei Yu-ching, 68, who had waited outside the Shrine since 11 p.m. the night before, was the first in line. She was also the first to pay final respects to the late President Chiang Kai-shek at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei in 1975. The 68-year-old veteran had served as a captain in the Chinese Army during the War of Resistance against Japan between 1937 and 1945. She later was a county councilwoman and a primary school principal before her retirement. "I only spent half a day waiting to see President Chiang, but he devoted all his lifetime to the country and the people. He was a great leader; I want to see him for the last time," she says.
Lei was followed by a slow procession numbering in the tens of thousands: people from all walks of life, braving wind, rain, and chilling cold; they flooded the Shrine from every corner of the island, places where the late President often traveled during his weekend trips. Many came with flowers, more with black armbands and white flowers pinned on their chests. All had to wait at least four hours to take a last look at their beloved President. After seven days, a total of 1.2 million mourners had visited the Shrine, including more than 2,000 overseas Chinese who especially made the trip to Taipei. Men, women, children, able-bodied and disabled persons who went to the Shrine in wheelchairs or on crutches assisted by family members or friends-they all insisted on making their pilgrimages. The scenes were so touching that even the military policemen on guard duty were moist-eyed.
Free bus service was provided by the Taipei Municipal Government to transport mourners from downtown Taipei to the Shrine. Some taxi drivers also voluntarily offered free rides for citizens on their way to the Shrine. But from the third day on, the often 3-4 kilometer long Queues stretching across the Martyrs' Shrine grounds compelled a change in plans. The Funeral Committee decided to keep the Shrine open around the clock so that as many people as possible could file past the bier. The free transportation was also extended to a 24-hour service. And in consideration of the long hours spent in line by mourners who were unable to eat, the Funeral Committee provided military rations, and local food manufacturers also donated free biscuits and drinks.
During the period of lying in state, President Lee Teng-hui, Premier Yu Kuo-hwa, KMT Secretary General Lee Huan, and other Funeral Committee members took turns keeping vigil on four-hour shifts, each staying beside the presidential casket during day and night in a traditional sign of respect and memory.
Vice President Lee, 65, who holds a Ph.D. from Cornell University, was sworn in as President at 8:08 p.m., January 13, four hours after Mr. Chiang's passing, in accordance with the ROC Constitution. The smooth transfer of power was described by the domestic and foreign press as a sign of maturity in practicing constitutional democracy, one equal to any advanced Western nation.
In his first two weeks as the new President, Mr. Lee consulted with a broad range of people, including senior advisors on national policy and strategy, the presidents of the five Yuans, top military leaders, local governmental leaders, and educational representatives. He also received foreign envoys and representatives to the ROC and other visiting foreign dignitaries.
On January 20, the newly-installed President in a Presidential Decree promulgated the new Assemblies and Street Demonstrations Law. The 35-anicle law aims to ensure the constitutional rights of people when staging legal assemblies and demonstrations so that they will not be interfered with by force or other unlawful means. Thus, the pace of various reforms initiated by the late President did not slow down in spite of his passing. Despite shock and sorrow, the people retained their confidence.
This confidence was clearly indicated by the results of a telephone poll conducted by the China Times, one of the largest newspapers in Taiwan (with a circulation of more than 1 million). The paper reported that 72.3 percent of 1,047 Taiwan residents surveyed a few days after Mr. Chiang's passing had "strong" confidence in the country's future; another 16.2 percent had "ordinary" confidence; and only 0.7 percent had no confidence at all.
Many political commentators agreed with the results of the poll. "First of all, it was due to the quick and smooth transition of the nation's leadership after the passing of President Chiang," says Dr. Alexander Ya-li Lu, professor of political science at National Taiwan University. Other factors giving rise to confidence, according to Dr. Lu, include the already well-established economic planning which is expected to enable social prosperity to continue, the systematic nation al policy-making procedures that have always been decided together by top governmental leaders rather than by one man, the currently stable ROC-US relationship, and the very dim possibility of any coup d'etat attempt by the military.
A 70-year old man in traditional robes looks away from the cortege in sorrow.
Moreover, the widespread popular support for the new president is also influential in maintaining optimism about the ROC's future. In another poll conducted by the liberal Independence Evening Post, 93.4 percent of 396 Taipei residents surveyed on January 14 supported Mr. Lee as president. Moreover, on January 27, as expected by the KMT members, Mr. Lee was unanimously elected as acting chairman of the ruling party. After learning of his election by the party's policy-making Central Standing Committee, Mr. Lee pledged to "accelerate political reforms and to make thorough preparations for the Party's 13th National Congress," which is scheduled to be held on July 7 of this year.
The late KMT Chairman Chiang Ching-kuo announced last November 25 that the congress would be convened this year, and that it would occasion further political reforms which are already on the agenda and are expected to be discussed and passed. KMT officials are still working aggressively to make the meeting a success. "This congress is more important than ever," says Dr. Lu. The KMT's formal chairman will be elected, its leadership is to have more new blood, party regulations will be revised, there will be more democracy inside the party, and other important policies will be discussed. More significantly, the formation of its new leadership will be influential in consolidating the people's confidence in the party and the nation, he adds.
The late President Chiang's achievements will be remembered, and they will serve as steady encouragement for continuing success and reforms. As Richard III says in Shakespeare's play: "Death makes no conquest of the conquerer; for now he lives in fame, though not in life."
A great man's measure is more or less accurately expressed in the obituary columns of the world's press. Not every word about President Chiang was favorable. He was staunchly anti-Communist, and the Communists hated him for it. Leftists expressed negative sentiments about his years as president. But generally speaking, the assessment of the late President, even by his enemies, was quite favorable. No one denied his essential greatness and dedication to what he considered to be his calling and duty.
As the editorial entitled "Taiwan In Transition" of The Wall Street Journal on January 15 said, "It was not unusual during Mr. Chiang's lifetime to hear him criticized abroad for clinging stubbornly to the hope that someday all of China might enjoy the freedoms now flowering on Taiwan. But it is for this stubbornness most of all that Chiang Ching-kuo deserves today a full salute. Mr. Chiang understood that for China there is no fast and simple solution. More important, he insisted that however long China must wait, reunification will come only when it brings with it not compromise for Taiwan but freedom for the mainland."
Today, the late President Chiang Ching-kuo is sleeping peacefully at Touliao, a waiting the inevitable day of his return to the Chinese mainland in what will be one of history's greatest justifications of a man's life and death.