Chiang Kai-shek

We walked around the grounds of Chiang Kai-shek memorial.

“Chiang’s legacy has long been a point of political contention in Taiwan. At the end of China’s civil war in 1949, Chiang, the KMT and millions of supporters fled to Taiwan in defeat. He established the Republic of China government in exile, and ruled Taiwan’s population under a brutal martial law for decades until his death in 1975, when power was transferred to his son. By the end of martial law in 1987 as many as 140,000 people were estimated to have been imprisoned and another 3,000 to 4,000 executed for actual or perceived opposition to the KMT.

But some in Taiwan say that legacy must be weighed against Chiang’s successes, noting that he also oversaw Taiwan’s path to economic prosperity, fought against the Communists and the Japanese, and founded Taiwan’s military academies. The KMT also still exists as a major political party.”Read more