Singaporean Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew (
Lee wrote the letter of condolence in his private capacity, the secretary said, adding that the letter was addressed to Chiang Hsu Nai-chin (
In the letter, Lee said he was a good friend of the late ROC president. He also recalled how during his previous visits to Taiwan, he had taken lunch with the Chiangs at their official residence in suburban Taipei on several occasions.
simple taste
Russian-born Faina Chiang met her husband while he was in the Soviet Union in the 1930s. A woman of simple taste with a technical school education, Faina Chiang left her homeland in 1936 when she joined her husband to return to China.
She had to adjust to joining one of China's most powerful families at the time. China was ruled by her father-in-law, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek (
She fled to Taiwan along with her family in 1949. Her husband became president in 1978 and ended 38 years of martial law just months before he died in 1988. He also oversaw the island's spectacular economic development in the 1980s.
Faina Chiang avoided the spotlight and was known as Taiwan's most low-key first lady.
The couple had three sons and one daughter together.
The three sons have all died, while the daughter, Chiang Hsiao-chang, presently lives in the US with her family.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
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