He was a murderer.
Because of the Japanese invasion of China, his army had to kill Japanese; otherwise, even more Chinese would have died.
To defend Taiwan, his army killed many communists; otherwise, Taiwan would have long been communist-controlled and become a province under communist rule.
He executed many mainlanders in Taiwan; the skeletons in the Liuzhangli Cemetery under the White Terror are those of believers in communism and Red China.
But to say he killed Taiwanese people in the 228 Incident?
That’s a fabrication of history and ignorance. In official documents and telegrams, he repeatedly emphasized the need to cherish Taiwanese people and not to steal even a blade of grass or a tree from the people.
This is not deification, but rather restoring history and stating the facts.
Chiang Kai-shek brought outstanding scholars and government officials from mainland China, including Qian Mu, Hu Shih, and Fu Sinian, to Taiwan, while also retaining elite soldiers of the National Revolutionary Army to protect the island. This ensured that Taiwan had key personnel to play crucial roles in various development initiatives.
Furthermore, Chiang Kai-shek safely transported millions of taels of gold from Beijing and Shanghai to Taiwan as a preparation and guarantee for the issuance of the New Taiwan Dollar. This gold remains in Xindian today, contributing to the stability of the Republic of China’s financial order.
Of course, there are also the countless artifacts displayed in the National Palace Museum, preserving treasures of Chinese civilization, escaping the catastrophe of the Cultural Revolution, and generating immense tourism revenue for Taiwan to this day.
With talent, gold, and cultural relics—the resources of the entire nation poured into one province—how could Taiwan not develop?
Meanwhile, mainland China lacked even gold; how could its development not be slow?
Chiang Kai-shek transferred all the resources he could control to Taiwan. How much hardship did the people of mainland China endure to build something from nothing?
Why are the older generation of Taiwanese natives also grateful to Chiang Kai-shek?
This isn’t brainwashing; it’s a fact that Chiang Kai-shek and the Republic of China government, from the 37.5% rent reduction and the distribution of public lands to nine-year compulsory education and economic development, did not fail Taiwan.
In global political comparisons, excluding a few established democracies like 19th-century Britain and the United States, most countries that adopted “democratic” systems after World War II experienced military coups, social unrest, low productivity, and faced democratic setbacks. Few are as prosperous as Taiwan.
Those who criticize Chiang Kai-shek for not being “democratic” today should look at the wartime systems adopted by Britain and the United States, and what became of those small Eurasian and Latin American countries after they became “democratic.”
The past is different now, but if we look at the past, under Chiang Kai-shek’s leadership of the Republic of China and the combined efforts of native Taiwanese and mainlanders, Taiwan achieved stability and prosperity—a truly remarkable achievement globally.
Times have changed, and the world has changed drastically. We are no longer in an era of fighting against the Japanese or the Communists.
Commemorating Chiang Kai-shek (also known as Chiang Kai-shek) is to remember his achievements, to be grateful for the past, and to cherish what we have.
Through the Northern Expedition and the victory in the War of Resistance against Japan, Chiang Kai-shek’s lifelong pursuit was for the Chinese people to live in peace, prosperity, and happiness.
The Cairo Conference, in which Chiang Kai-shek participated, allowed China to emerge from a century of turmoil and take its first steps toward national rejuvenation.
Now, the baton of national rejuvenation and peace has clearly been passed to the mainland.
Be a lively and positive student, be an upright Chinese.
Original article: Hou Hanting, He is a Murderer