US President George W. Bush issued a statement Friday on the death of Madame Chiang Kai-shek, also known as Soong Mayling (
Bush said in the White House statement that generations of Americans will always remember and respect her intelligence and strength of character.
The statement reads:
"Laura and I were saddened to learn of the death of Madame Chiang Kai-shek. Madame Chiang was a close friend of the United States throughout her life, and especially during the defining struggles of the last century. Generations of Americans will always remember and respect her intelligence and strength of character. On behalf of the American people, I extend condolences to Madame Chiang's family members and many admirers around the world."
Meanwhile, China yesterday marked the death of the pre-Communist first lady in a melancholy mood, focusing on her role as an advocate of reunification of Taiwan with China.
Jia Qinglin (賈慶林), the head of an advisory body and China's fourth-most powerful politician, extended his condolences to Soong's family after she died at the age of 105, expressing his "distress," the Xinhua news agency reported.
A similar note was struck by Wang Daohan (
"In her old age, Madame Chiang ... showed concern over relations between both sides of the Taiwan Straits and wished for reunification of the motherland and prosperity for the Chinese nation," Wang said, according to Xinhua.
Internet chatrooms in China were dominated by messages by people declaring their respect for Soong, one calling her "the pride of the Chinese nation."
This is a far cry from the blistering attacks on Soong and Chiang in the age of Communist founder Mao Zedong (毛澤東), bewildering at least one chatroom participant.
"The world has really changed," he exclaimed. "But I still want to say, `Long Live Chairman Mao.'"
Mass-circulation Chinese newspapers yesterday carried reports about Soong's career, emphasizing her role as an efficient diplomat on behalf of her husband's government.
The articles were accompanied by photos from her World War II heyday showing her chatting comfortably with US president Franklin D. Roosevelt or addressing a joint session of Congress.
Little mention was made of the fact that at home, Chiang Kai-shek's (蔣介石) forces were engaged in several life-and-death struggles with the Communists, often waged with astonishing brutality.
Soong left China in 1949 after her husband lost the final round of the protracted civil war to forces led by Mao, fleeing to Taiwan.
Neither Chiang nor Mao was expecting Taiwan to be separated from China for any extended period of time, although 54 years later reunification remains a distant prospect.
Many elderly Taiwanese have fond memories of Madame Chiang. They consider her to be a patriot who used her fluent English to drum up foreign support for her husband's Nationalist government when it ruled China and battled the Japanese during World War II. Her admirers also say that Madame Chiang and her husband helped keep the Communists from swallowing up Taiwan.
But her detractors -- including young Taiwanese who didn't serve the Nationalists in China -- dismiss Madame Chiang as the spokeswoman for a brutal dictator and a corrupt, repressive government that resisted democratic reforms in Taiwan.
Since moving to New York, she rarely visited Taiwan and her influence diminished significantly in recent years.
Turning to Soong's role in Taiwan politics towards the end of 20th century, the Guangzhou Daily highlighted her opposition to allowing Lee Teng-hui (
Lee, who was president of Taiwan until 2000, has been repeatedly vilified by the Chinese government as a dangerous proponent of independence from China.
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