The former residence of “Young Marshal” Chang Hsueh-liang (張學良), a key figure in modern Chinese history, was reopened to the public on Saturday after undergoing renovation, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by his relatives in Hsinchu County’s Wufeng Township (五峰).
About 20 documents related to Chang’s daily life when he was in Wufeng, including photographs, newspaper clippings, copies of his manuscripts, letters and a special amnesty decree, have been put on display at the site, which was renovated at a cost of NT$47 million (US$1.55 million).
Chang, the son of warlord Chang Tso-lin (張作霖), played a key role in kidnapping Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) in 1936 in an effort to persuade Chiang to go all out against the Japanese troops who had invaded China, in what became known as the “Xian Incident.”
Photo: Tsai Meng-shang, Taipei Times
He wanted Chiang to form an anti-Japanese alliance with his Chinese Communist Party rivals instead of trying to eliminate them.
After negotiations and amid widespread public protests for Chiang to be released, Chang freed Chiang after two weeks.
Although Chiang’s Nationalist troops did later fight with the communists against the Japanese, Chang was court-martialed for insubordination and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Four days later, he was granted amnesty, but placed under “stringent supervision.”
Chang was kept under house arrest for 53 years, with Chiang ensuring that he was moved to Taiwan when the Chinese Nationalist Party government lost the Chinese Civil War and fled to the island in 1949.
Chang was sent to Wufeng, a mountainous township home mostly to Aborigines, where he was held until 1990, three years after martial law was lifted. Chang and his wife, Chao I-ti (趙一荻), moved to Hawaii in 1993, where he died in Honolulu in 2001, a year after his wife.
The Hsinchu County Government invited eight of Chang’s relatives, including his younger sister, Chang Huai-min (張懷敏), to Saturday’s ceremony.
During the ceremony, Chang Huai-min said the tour of Wufeng made her miss her brother. She said her brother was enthusiastic about photography and often took pictures of their relatives when he was in China. However, she had few opportunities to meet him and missed him a lot after she went to teach at Fu Jen Catholic University and National Taiwan Normal University.
The old house was almost destroyed by a typhoon in 1963 and has been restored to its original Japanese architectural style, a county government official said.
The building was first opened to the public in December 2008.
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