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.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
A Taiwanese academic yesterday said that Chinese Ambassador to Denmark Wang Xuefeng (王雪峰) disrespected Denmark and Japan when he earlier this year allegedly asked Japan’s embassy to make Taiwan’s representatives leave an event in Copenhagen. The Danish-language Berlingske on Sunday reported the incident in an article with the headline “The emperor’s birthday ended in drama in Copenhagen: More conflict may be on the way between Denmark and China.” It said that on Feb. 26, the Japanese embassy in Denmark held an event for Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s birthday, with about 200 guests in attendance, including representatives from Taiwan. After addressing the Japanese hosts, Wang
RSS