Chiang Wei-kuo

Chiang Wei-kuo (蔣緯國, 蒋纬国; Hanyu Pinyin: Jiang Weiguo), or Wego Chiang (October 6, 1916–September 22, 1997) was a son of President Chiang Kai-shek, adoptive brother of President Chiang Ching-kuo, and an important figure in the Kuomintang (KMT). His nickname was Jianhao (建鎬) and sobriquet Niantang (念堂).

Early Life

Born in Tokyo when Chiang Kai-shek and the KMT was exiled to Japan by the Beiyang Government, Chiang Wei-kuo has long been speculated to be an illegitimate child of Tai Chi-tao and a Japanese woman, Shigematsu Kaneko (重松金子). Chiang Wei-kuo discredited any such claims and insisted he was a legitimate son of Chiang Kai-shek until shortly before his death, when he admitted that he was adopted. http://www.chinainformed.com/Archive/x9709/970923.html (However, oddly enough, after his admission, there began to be claims that he was falsely claiming adoption in order to bypass his brother Chiang Ching-kuo's declaration that no member of the Chiang family could or would run for president after him. It should be noted that the similarity in appearance between Chiang Kai-shek and Tai makes it difficult to tell, by appearance alone, whose biological son Chiang Wei-kuo was.) There has been no public indication that any DNA testing has been done to determine Chiang's paternity.

Related Topics:
Tokyo - Japan - Beiyang Government - Tai Chi-tao - Chiang Ching-kuo

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According to popular speculation, Tai believed knowledge of his extramarital affairs would destroy his marriage and his career, so he entrusted Wei-kuo to Chiang Kai-shek, after the Japanese Yamada Juntaro (山田純太郎) brought the infant to Shanghai. Yao Zhicheng (姚冶誠), Chiang's wife at the time, raised Wei-kuo as her own. The boy called Tai his "Dear Uncle" (親伯).

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Chiang moved to the Chiang home in Xikuo Town of Fenghua in 1910.

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He studied at several universities, including Soochow University and National Chiao Tung University, but did not complete his education at either school. Chiang Kai-shek had sent his eldest son, Chiang Ching-kuo to the Soviet Union to study, but it became impossible for him to send Wei-kuo there after the KMT violently ended its alliance with the Chinese Communists in the Shanghai Massacre. Consequently, he sent Wei-kuo to Anti-communist Nazi Germany for military training instead. During his time with in Germany, he served as a Leutenant commanding a panzer tank during the 1938 Anschluss with Austria. Afterwards, he returned to China and was quickly raised through the ranks through his father's connections. He became a major at 28, a lieutenant colonel at 29, a colonel at 32, and major general at 34.

Related Topics:
Soochow University - National Chiao Tung University - Chiang Ching-kuo - Soviet Union - Chinese Communists - Shanghai Massacre - Nazi Germany

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In 1944, he married Shih Chin-i (石靜宜), the daughter of Shih Feng-hsiang (石鳳翔), a textile factory owner. Shih died in 1953. She was allegedly assassinated by the order of then President Chiang Kai-shek, who allegedly believed that the Shih family was using his son to gain influence within the Chiang family. Wei-kuo latter established the Jinsin Elementary School (靜心小學) in Taipei to commemorate his late wife Shih Chin-i.

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In 1957, Chiang maried again, to Chiu Ju-hsüeh (丘如雪), also known as Chiu Ai-lun (邱愛倫), a daughter of Chinese and German parents. Chiu gave birth to Chiang's only son, Chiang Hsiao-kang, (蔣孝剛) in 1962. Chiang Hsiao-kang is the youngest of the Hsiao generation of the Chiang family. Although married, the couple lived in almost complete seperation, with Chiang lived in Taiwan and Chiu in New York.

Related Topics:
Hsiao generation - Taiwan - New York

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