Spanning more than 1,300m2 and including a botanical wonder as its backdrop, the grayish-blue mansion that served as late president Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) last residence was opened to the public yesterday.
“This historical ground was the place where the Honorable Chiang made several important decisions that altered the course of the Republic of China, such as the decision to hold Taiwan’s first county-level election in 1950 and to redistribute land,” President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said at a ceremony unveiling the site.
Ma said the purpose of the NT$116 million (US$3.86 million) restoration project, which began in 2008, was to provide future generations the chance to learn “the real history” of the country.
PHOTO: CNA
Ma said Chiang, who ruled Taiwan with an authoritarian hand, was in a position to make crucial decisions and “therefore must be held at the highest level of accountability.”
The two-story mansion was the last place where Chiang and his wife, Soong Mei-ling (宋美齡), resided for more than 25 years from 1950 to 1975 before his death on April 5 of that year.
The picturesque estate situated in the Shilin District of Taipei City is considered the core of the site known as the Shilin Official Residence.
The surrounding garden and tree-lined roads have been a popular tourist destination since 1996, but the mansion was off-limits until yesterday.
According to Shao Ming-huang (邵銘煌), director of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) history department, the mansion also served as a formal reception hall for many distinguished foreign guests, including former US presidents Dwight Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon.
Eisenhower was the only incumbent US president to visit Taiwan, while the other two came while they were vice presidents, Shao said, noting that Nixon was the only foreign leader to spend the night twice at the residence.
“Many other foreign heads of state from places like [South] Korea and Vietnam were also guests at the mansion. That period was truly the zenith of Taiwan’s diplomacy,” he said.
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