Kung Ling-yi (
Upon receiving this message, the Presidential Office expressed its respect for the relatives' arrangements and said the government would extend full support. The office also said that it had decided to accord state mourning for the former first lady.
What is interesting is that Chiang Fang Chih-yi (
There are no blood relations between Soong and Chiang Fang. Although Chiang Fang's statement was improper, at least she, as a member of Soong's in-laws, belongs to her family.
It is hilarious that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator John Chang (
Although Chang has managed to get Chiang Ching-kuo listed as his father on his ID card, he is still not accepted by the Chiang family. Therefore, anything about the "family" has nothing to do with him. He can neither participate in family discussions nor speak for them.
And this is still not the point. The point is: the Kungs' invitation for Chen to drape the flag over the coffin falls in line with the country's protocols and regulations. But Chiang Fang and Chang placed their "private domain" above the "public domain," exposing the pan-blue camp's mindset of refusing to recognize the DPP government or Chen.
They should understand that the person to drape the flag would be the president. Whether he is a DPP or TSU member should not be something that Soong or the Kungs find worrying.
Having lived in the US, Kung and her husband apparently understand the essence of a democratic society and its institutions. Just like the fact that George W. Bush is the US president -- no matter how much you dislike the Republican Party.
To be frank, Soong Mayling was closer to the Kung and Soong families than the Chiangs. She spent her latter years in New York. She was accompanied by the Kungs and Soongs, but not anyone from the Chiang family. Only the Kungs have the power to make the final decision whether she will be buried in the family cemetery in New York, rather than in Taipei as is the wish of the Chiang family.
Chin Heng-wei is editor-in-chief of Contemporary Monthly magazine.
Translated by Jackie Lin
Could Asia be on the verge of a new wave of nuclear proliferation? A look back at the early history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which recently celebrated its 75th anniversary, illuminates some reasons for concern in the Indo-Pacific today. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin recently described NATO as “the most powerful and successful alliance in history,” but the organization’s early years were not without challenges. At its inception, the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty marked a sea change in American strategic thinking. The United States had been intent on withdrawing from Europe in the years following
My wife and I spent the week in the interior of Taiwan where Shuyuan spent her childhood. In that town there is a street that functions as an open farmer’s market. Walk along that street, as Shuyuan did yesterday, and it is next to impossible to come home empty-handed. Some mangoes that looked vaguely like others we had seen around here ended up on our table. Shuyuan told how she had bought them from a little old farmer woman from the countryside who said the mangoes were from a very old tree she had on her property. The big surprise
The issue of China’s overcapacity has drawn greater global attention recently, with US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen urging Beijing to address its excess production in key industries during her visit to China last week. Meanwhile in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week said that Europe must have a tough talk with China on its perceived overcapacity and unfair trade practices. The remarks by Yellen and Von der Leyen come as China’s economy is undergoing a painful transition. Beijing is trying to steer the world’s second-largest economy out of a COVID-19 slump, the property crisis and
As former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrapped up his visit to the People’s Republic of China, he received his share of attention. Certainly, the trip must be seen within the full context of Ma’s life, that is, his eight-year presidency, the Sunflower movement and his failed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, as well as his eight years as Taipei mayor with its posturing, accusations of money laundering, and ups and downs. Through all that, basic questions stand out: “What drives Ma? What is his end game?” Having observed and commented on Ma for decades, it is all ironically reminiscent of former US president Harry