Well aware that the documentary would stir controversy and debate, Tang stressed the project is filtered through a subjective viewpoint. "In my eyes, Chiang was a realist. He did what he was obliged to do at the situation he was in," said Tang, adding that one can understand his pragmatism from his Soviet period where Chiang as a teenager was left all alone in a foreign land hostile to the son of its enemy.
While Chiang's formative years in Russia offer a rare and fresh look into the young Chiang, filming his life in Taiwan posed a challenge since the subject had been covered numerous times and it was difficult find new perspectives.
The three-year long project exhausted Tang, who sorted through tonnes of documents, archive film and imagery to look for new material since he knew that it might be the last opportunity to make a documentary on Chiang while the late president's contemporaries were still live.
"When I went back to Russia last year to shoot footage of Chiang's Soviet period, I couldn't help but form a favorable impression about him. I suddenly realized I was way too involved in this man's life and it was time to wrap up the film," Tang said.
Chiang Ching-kuo — Son of the Generalissimo will show on the Public Television Service (公視, PTS) channel at 10pm daily from Jan. 1 to Jan. 4.
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