The day I was quoted by 'The Times'

"China is rehabilitating Chiang Kai-shek, the rival to Mao Zedong long portrayed as devil No. 1 in Chinese Communist Party propaganda, writes Cristian Segura in The Asia Times. That’s because Beijing now sees the pro-unity Kuomintang party of Taiwan, which Chiang once led, as an ally in the fight against Taiwanese pro-independence forces:

Against such a backdrop, Chiang’s role in history, as well as his legacy, is being re-evaluated on the mainland. His role in leading the nation against the Japanese invaders during World War II is affirmed (previously only the C.C.P. had been said to be the main force against the Japanese). In particular, Chiang is praised for his “iron fist” crackdown on any pro-independence activity in Taiwan to “safeguard national integrity”.

A recent example of this transition is the film “Jianguo Daye” (“The Founding of a Republic”), a movie sponsored by the Chinese government to commemorate the 60th birthday of the People’s Republic of China. In the movie, Chiang is depicted as an honorable man who tried his best for China and betrayed the C.C.P. because of human mistakes incited by bad advisers.

“Whether in China or Taiwan, everybody can make mistakes,” said a Taiwanese guide for a group of retired workers from a steel company in Xian, capital of Shaanxi province in northwestern China. They had finished the tour of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall [in Taipei, capital of Taiwan] and were heading to their bus when I asked them their opinions about the generalissimo. They looked reluctant to talk to this journalist, but they nodded when a woman answered that Chiang was a good influence because he fought for the unification of China."

The New York Times, Devil nº 1 gets a makeover in China.


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