The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative primaries took an unexpected turn when former president Chiang Ching-kuo's (
Former foreign affairs minister John Chang is Chiang Ching-kuo's illegitimate son, and after a long battle, he succeeded in getting Chiang Ching-kuo legally recognized as his father.
Chiang Fang and Chang's participation in the race means there will now be two candidates in the same area claiming to represent the Chiang family, with the "legitimate" Chiang family snubbing John Chang.
John Chang's seat lies in the Taipei City's Second Constituency (Taipei City South), but he has decided to switch to the north for the upcoming election. As this district is where Chiang Fang resides, some analysts say that Chiang Fang is annoyed and has decided to oppose John Chang openly at the last minute.
Chiang Fang is the widow of another of Chiang Ching-kuo's sons, Chiang Hsiao-yung (蔣孝勇), and she has been invited to speak at many pan-blue occasions before and after the presidential election as the representative of the Chiang family.
John Chang, for his part, conducted his legislative election campaign in 2001, and he played up his father and his grandfather Chiang Kai-shek (
But Chiang Fang would not accept John Chang's use of the Chiang family name, and said in an interview that John Chang should not attempt to usurp the glories enjoyed by the Chiang family for himself, because it was unfair to Chiang Ching-kuo's widow, Faina Chiang Fang-liang (
"There is no such person [as John Chang] in the Chiang family, either," Chiang Fang said.
In 2000, John Chang visited China to worship his ancestors and "realized his dream of being acknowledged as a Chiang family member." The Chiang family was critical of John Chang's act out of "concern for Faina Chiang Fang-liang," but only Chiang Fang openly criticized John Chang's act.
John Chang responded by saying, "whether or not I am part of the Chiang family is not to be decided by a handful of the family's members."
Earlier this year, when John Chang's daughter was married, while two Chiang family members were present at the wedding, Chiang Fang only sent a bouquet, but did not attend.
John Chang and Chiang Fang share a similar support base and if the KMT cannot arrange the election campaign well, the election result might not be promising, with both possibly squeezing out former director of the KMT's Organization and Development Affairs Committee, Ting Shou-chung (
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