On September 16, 1975, just over five months after Chiang Kai-shek's death, Soong Mei-ling flew to the United States on the "Sino-AMERICAN" special plane. Before leaving, Song Meiling published a text entitled "Letters to All The People of China", explaining to all sectors of society the reason why she was so anxious to go to the United States - just to see a doctor.
At that time, Song Meiling did suffer from some chronic diseases, but it was not serious enough to need to go to the United States for treatment immediately. The disagreement with Chiang Ching-kuo's political views was the main reason why Soong Mei-ling left Taiwan in a hurry less than half a year after Chiang Kai-shek's death.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > the relationship between the "first lady" and the "prince"</h1>
After marrying Soong Mei-ling, Soong Mei-ling became an important helper of Chiang Kai-shek in politics and diplomacy.
In addition to winning a large amount of American aid in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and solving China's urgent needs for the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, in the Xi'an Incident, in order to rescue The detained Chiang Kai-shek, Soong Mei-ling personally flew to Xi'an at the risk of personally flying to Xi'an to negotiate with Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng, and finally with the help of the Chinese Communists, the Xi'an Incident became peacefully resolved.
After Chiang Kai-shek escaped from danger, he expressed his gratitude to Soong Mei-ling on many occasions, and since then he has become more obedient to this lady.
Since then, Chiang Kai-shek has trusted Soong Mei-ling more and more, and even let soong Mei-ling directly meddle in the KMT's political, diplomatic, military, and other major decision-making, which has aroused the disgust of some people in the KMT, including chiang ching-kuo, the "prince," but Chiang Ching-kuo is only hindered by his father's majesty and dares not speak out.
It is no wonder that Chiang Ching-kuo was not Born to Song Meiling, and that chiang ching-kuo was only twelve years older than himself, and it was naturally impossible for Chiang Ching-kuo to have a mother-son relationship like that of his own mother, Mao Fumei. Although the two showed harmony and temperament, Chiang Ching-kuo did not privately buy Song Meiling's account.
Chiang Kai-shek abandoned his wife after his death, but Mao Fumei has always been "divorced and does not leave home" and is still the owner of the Fenghao house of the Jiang family's ancestral home in Xikou. Every time Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Mei-ling returned, they did not live in the Fenghao Room, but in the Wenchang Pavilion in Wulingtou, which was hundreds of meters away.
Mao knew that Jiang loved to eat Ai Qing pills, and every time Jiang came to Xikou, she would let people pick fresh Ai Qing, personally make the balls, and send people to Jiang's residence every morning. Chiang Kai-shek gets up very early every day, and Song Meiling has a habit of getting up late, so Song Meiling has never known about this matter.
The one who gave the pills to the Mao clan was Chiang Kai-shek's brother Jiang Zhoufeng. Mao had to explain: "I want Mr. To personally come to pick up", Chiang Kai-shek was very tacit, and every time he quickly came out to get it, and asked Jiang Zhoufeng to thank him on his behalf.
In April 1937, after Chiang Ching-kuo returned from the Soviet Union, Mao Fumei asked his nephew Lu Pengda to send a telegram to Chiang Ching-kuo, instructing his son, "When you see Mrs. Song, you should also call her Mother." Lu Pengda did not understand, Mao Fumei explained: "Lady Song is rich and powerful, if you do not get close to her through the country, you will suffer losses." ”
In the Jiang family, the relationship between Jiang, Song, and Mao was very delicate, and Chiang Ching-kuo, who was sandwiched in the middle, could only pretend not to know. Although Chiang Ching-kuo was very respectful to Soong Mei-ling during his lifetime, the relationship between the two was not close. After all, there is an old Chinese saying called "compartment belly compartment mountain", which can be understood by people with a little social experience.
The relationship between Chiang Ching-kuo and Soong Mei-ling has undergone many subtle changes in different periods. They are mother and son in name and political opponents.
The first public contradiction between Chiang Ching-kuo and Soong Mei-ling was in 1948 when Chiang Ching-kuo rectified the economy in Shanghai and launched the "Tiger Crackdown." What Song Meiling did not expect was that Chiang Ching-kuo actually hit his nephew Kong Lingkan's Yang company on the head when he fought the tiger.
Under the intervention of Song Meiling, Chiang Ching-kuo's "fight against the tiger" ended without any disease, and it ended hastily, which made Chiang Ching-kuo lose face, and the two also formed a contradiction.
< h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > "chief executive" controversy</h1>
In the early 1970s, Chiang Ching-kuo and Kong Lingkan competed over Taiwan's "chief executive," and Soong Mei-ling sided with her nephew Kong Lingkan, even at the expense of a cold war with Chiang Kai-shek, which made Chiang Ching-kuo completely chilled.
Fortunately, after Chiang Kai-shek defeated and retreated from Taiwan, he attributed the kmt's failure to the kuomintang's top level corruption, and Kong Lingkan's corruption was known to the whole world, so how could he possibly agree to let him serve as the "chief executive"?
Why would someone as smart as Song Meiling obstruct Chiang Ching-kuo's succession? It turned out that what she was worried about was that after Chiang Kai-shek's death, Chiang Kai-shek would marginalize himself as a "mother-in-law." Recommending Kong Lingkan is ostensibly a struggle for power, but in fact, the real purpose is to save himself.
After experiencing these storms, Chiang Ching-kuo and Soong Mei-ling were still able to maintain a harmonious atmosphere on the surface when Chiang Kai-shek was alive; after Chiang Kai-shek's death, Chiang Ching-kuo, who had taken over the reins of power, was determined to take on his own and create an era of his own in Taiwan. Although Soong Mei-ling still wants to interfere in Taiwan's "internal affairs and foreign affairs," Chiang Ching-kuo is unlikely to agree.
According to Chiang Kai-shek's personal physician Kumaru recalled:
"Mr. and Mrs. Jingguo's views on politics and diplomacy are seriously inconsistent. Madame then said to Mr. Jingguo: Well, if you insist on seeing it, then it is all up to you to take care of it, I will not care, I will leave. Since then, the lady has been in the United States and has never returned. And Mr. Jingguo's personality is also very strong, and the things he decides must be done, so he does not care about Madame's opinions. ”
On May 26, 1972, Chiang Ching-kuo was successfully elected "Chief Executive" with a large number of votes, and Taiwan has since actually entered the "Chiang Ching-kuo era."
During his term as "chief executive," Chiang Ching-kuo promoted the construction of the Ten Congresses, carried out the "Ten Innovations," appointed a large number of taiwanese officials from the province, actively pursued the "localization policy," lifted "martial law," opened up the party ban and the newspaper ban, and carried out the "reform of public opinion institutions," turning Taiwan into one of the "Four Asian Tigers," and gradually opening up the road to Taiwan's political democratization.
As Chiang Ching-kuo's position became more and more secure, Soong Mei-ling knew that she would no longer be able to intervene in politics as she did during Chiang Kai-shek's lifetime. On September 16, 1975, Song Meiling flew to the United States on the "Sino-USs" special plane and began to stay away from Taiwan's political arena.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > "Life is impermanent, he didn't even say hello and left."</h1>
At 1:55 p.m. on January 13, 1988, Chiang Ching-kuo suddenly suffered from severe bleeding, causing shock and respiratory failure, and finally died at 3:50 at the age of 78. After Song Meiling in the United States learned of this news, she was silent for a long time and said a sentence: "Life is impermanent, he didn't even say hello and left!" ”
When Song Meiling said this, she was not entirely sad about Chiang Ching-kuo's death, but she thought of a serious problem: Taiwan may no longer have the surname Jiang!
According to Qin Xiaoyi's recollection, Song Meiling once said in front of him:
"The country did not arrange the aftermath. From this point of view, the economy cannot be called a politician at all. He only wants to build his own public image and refuses to hand over power to his son! What an, today's situation is caused by him. Man has no far-reaching worries, but will have near-term worries! Jingguo was far inferior to his father in terms of post-affairs arrangements. ”
Later history proved that Song Meiling saw people very accurately. This is because the successor surnamed Li chosen by Chiang Ching-kuo is indeed a scum who splits the country and brings calamity to the country and the people. It's just that at that time, this Li man did not dare to show the fox's tail.
In order to continue the rule of the "Chiang Family Dynasty," Song Meiling wrote to Li Huan, secretary general of the Kuomintang, shortly after Chiang Ching-kuo's death, expressing doubts about Lee Teng-hui's succession as chairman and proposing to restore the collective leadership model of the "Central Standing Committee."
But behind that Li person, there is the support of the United States and other forces, and within the Kuomintang, there is also a gang of "horse boys" of their own.
At the KMT's "Central Standing Meeting" after Chiang Ching-kuo's death, Zhao Shaokang and other new-generation KMT "legislators" unanimously demanded that Lee Teng-hui take over as "acting chairman" as soon as possible.
In order to illustrate the legitimacy of Li's succession, Song Chuyu also took out the "Will" made by Chiang Ching-kuo on January 5, 1988. The Will says:
Entrusted by the people, the country strives to achieve the great cause of unifying China by the Three People's Principles and strives for the goal of common struggle. ...... It is hoped that we will always actively promote the building of democratic constitutionalism, and under the guidance of the Three People's Principles of the Founding Fathers and the legacy of the former "president", we must unite and fight to the end. Speeding up the restoration of the mainland and accomplishing the great cause of unifying China with the Three People's Principles is a serious command.
The testament is signed by Yu Guohua, Ni Wenya, Lin Yanggang, Kong Decheng, Huang Zunqiu, and Chiang Ching-kuo's son, Jiang Xiaoyong, at the bottom of the Will.
Yu Guohua and others saw that the general situation had gone, so they had no choice but to applaud lee teng-hui's acting chairman case.
Song Meiling's proposal was rejected, and she knew that the time had come for the Chiang family to fade out of Taiwan's political arena.
Song Meiling had to tell the public that this was just her personal suggestion, and that she would respect and abide by the resolutions of the Central Standing Committee. After Lee Teng-hui was elected acting chairman of the Kuomintang, he also pretended to go to the Shilin official residence to pay homage to Song Meiling and bowed to Song Xing at 90 degrees.
Chiang Ching-kuo and Jiang Fangliang had three sons. When the eldest son, Jiang Xiaowen, was young, he was drunk all day and dreamed of death, causing trouble everywhere. Chiang Kai-shek was so annoyed that he simply sent him to the United States. Later, Jiang Xiaowen drank heavily for a long time, and in the last two decades of his life, he was basically bedridden until his death in 1989.
Chiang Ching-kuo's second son, Chiang Hsiao-wu, graduated from the Department of Political Science at National Taiwan University and studied at the Munich Institute of Political Science in Germany, where he earned a master's degree in law.
However, Jiang Xiaowu made a lot of lace news after his marriage, which had a negative impact on his image. In addition, the famous writer Jiangnan was assassinated in the United States in 1984, and it was rumored on the island that Jiangnan was because he wrote "The Biography of Chiang Ching-kuo" exposed many shady scenes of the Jiang family, and Jiang Xiaowu came forward to hire the underworld to assassinate Jiangnan. With this political scandal, Jiang Xiaowu is obviously unable to take over.
Chiang Ching-kuo's third son, Chiang Ching-yong, focused his energies on business, became popular in the commercial field, was not interested in politics at all, and could not take over Chiang Ching-kuo's class.
Song Meiling may not have been able to understand how much influence she can have if she is not the "first lady"? She wants to continue the rule of the "Chiang family dynasty" in Taiwan and turn Taiwan into the "family world" of the Chiang family, which in itself runs counter to the trend of history.
Chiang Ching-kuo saw this trend and conformed to this trend, but Song Meiling did not keep up with the pace of the times, but blamed Chiang Ching-kuo for not laying out the situation before his death, and the two made a judgment based on the political wisdom of the two men. Therefore, Song Meiling can only leave Taiwan in the end and go to a foreign country.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > Lee Teng-hui is not Chiang Ching-kuo's chosen successor</h1>
Finally, there is another question: Why did Chiang Ching-hui choose Lee Teng-hui as his successor, and he really couldn't see Li's wolf ambitions?
In fact, Chiang Ching-kuo never intended to let Lee Teng-hui succeed him, because Chiang Ching-kuo did not arrange a successor at all.
Chiang Ching-kuo died suddenly, and before that, no one knew he would suddenly fall. According to Lee Teng-hui's article "The President Under the Tiger's Mouth," he said that Chiang Ching-kuo never said that he would succeed him before his death, not to mention that the "vice president" was a fictitious head of state, and according to the tradition of the Kuomintang at that time, the power of the "vice president" was not great.
Li Mouren's ascension to the throne really has to thank Chiang Ching-kuo for his sudden death, which made the Taiwanese people feel overwhelmed for a while. Fortunately, at that time, Taiwan's politics was already on the track, the army had also been nationalized, and no ambitious elements coveted the big position, so everyone naturally succeeded the "vice president" in accordance with the Constitution and approved Lee Teng-hui to take over as acting party chairman.
Song Meiling's concerns were later proven right. In a speech to the 13th National Congress of the Kuomintang, Song Meiling expressed her worries with an essay entitled "Old Cadres and New Branches":
"The Party appoints a chairman to set an example for the whole Party, and its election should be in accordance with the Charter, and it is not appropriate to act rashly.
All comrades are entrusted with heavy trust, are concerned about safety, accept public opinion from within and outside, seek the new instead of eliminating the old, observe discipline rather than be obedient, strictly abide by the law, urgently put an end to the riots according to law, and can promote democracy and consolidate the economy, and under the leadership of the party chairman, pool their wisdom and efforts to continue to carry forward the glorious history of the party, and continue to carry forward the glorious history of the party after suffering hardships, and are determined to cut the party-state and speak from the bottom of their hearts to provide all comrades to participate in the province. ”
Song's warning was not alarmed at the time. But a few years later, when the DPP "came to power," people knew that Soong Mei-ling's concerns were not empty. When the working group of the documentary "Century Soong Mei Ling" visited Qin Xiaoyi, former director of the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Qin Xiaoyi said excitedly:
"Or Mrs. Jiang's foresight, she thinks that once this is handed over to Li, it is a big crisis, a big crisis!" I think it was Mr. Jingguo's biggest mistake that year, and it was this that he wanted to cry and weep! That's it! "
In 2003, Song Meiling died in the United States at the age of 106. Her death symbolizes the end of an era, and also marks the official withdrawal of the "Chiang Family Dynasty" that has influenced Taiwan for more than half a century.