●1910: Born in Fenghua County, Chekiang Province, on March 18th.
●1916: Began primary schooling. Birth of brother Chiang Wei-kuo.
●1925: Entered Putung Secondary School in Shanghai, then transferred to Wu Chih-hui's foreign language school in Peking. Entered Sun Yat-sen University in Moscow in October.
●1939: Appointed administrative commissioner for southern Kiangsi Province and magistrate of Kan County.
●1948: Appointed deputy economic control supervisor for Shanghai.
●1949: Responsible for transferring most of the holdings of the Central Bank of China to Taiwan and Amoy, setting up a preliminary financial foundation for Taiwan.
●1950: Appointed director of the General Political Department of the Ministry of National Defense. Served as director of the China Youth Corps, founded that year, until 1973.
●1953: First visit to the U.S.
●1954: Appointed deputy secretary-general of the National Defense Council. (In 1955 Mr. Chiang landed on Tachen and saw to the evacuation of 20,000 citizens. Despite furious fire he was the last to board ship.)
●1957: Appointed chairman of the Vocational Assistance Commission for Retired Servicemen. Served concurrently as deputy secretary-general of the National Defense Council. (Mr. Chiang flew to Kinmen, or Quemoy, during the height of the Communist bombardment in 1958 to boost the troops' morale.)
●1965: Appointed Minister of National Defense. Visited the Republic of Korea for the first time the next year. First visits the following year to Thailand and Japan.
●1969: Appointed Vice Premier, serving concurrently as Chairman of the Council for International Economic Cooperation and Development.
●1970: Visited the U.S. in April, meeting with President Nixon. Survived assassination attempt in New York unharmed.
●1972: Appointed Premier, or president of the Executive Yuan. (During his six years as Premier, Mr. Chiang traveled widely around the country-visiting people from all walks of life in order to acquaint himself with their concerns. Always simple in tastes, he ate his lunches at roadside stands and made countless friends among the common people. His deep concern and affection for the public was reflected in his policies.)
●1974: Announced the launching of the Ten Major Construction Projects; the construction of three new cross-island highways; and the initiation of fourteen new financial measures. (The Ten Major Construction Projects were announced at a time of worldwide inflation, which was considered by many to be inopportune for massive construction, but Mr. Chiang stated, "If we don't do it now, we'll regret it later." In fact, the large-scale public investment created domestic demand and enabled the country to maintain strong economic growth during the worldwide recession set off by the first energy crisis.)
●1975: Death of President Chiang Kai-shek in April. Presidency assumed by Vice President Yen Chia-kan. Mr. Chiang became chairman of the Kuomintang. (As busy as he was, Premier Chiang never ceased to keep in touch with the people. The following story is one he once told his subordinates: A severe county magistrate who was feared by his subordinates once saw one of them carrying a pair of ducks and demanded to know why. Terrified, the man replied, "Mr. Duck, I've bought a pair of magistrates!" Premier Chiang concluded the story by saying he hoped that no one would ever say, "Mr. Duck, I've bought a pair of premiers!")
●1977: Announced major points of implementation for improving the investment climate. In September announced that in follow-up to the Ten Major Construction Projects the government would carry out Twelve New Development Projects.
●1978: Elected in March as the sixth President of the Republic of China. In May nominated Mr. Sun Yun-suan as Premier. On December 16th, U.S. President Carter announced the establishment of diplomatic ties with the Chinese Communists on January 1st of the following year, severing formal relations with the R.O.C. On the same day, President Chiang urged his countrymen to remain steadfast and strong.
●1979: In August directed the speedy completion of the Science-Based Industrial Park in Hsinchu to spur industrial upgrading.
●1984: Premier Sun Yun-suan suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in February and was visited by President Chiang six times in the following few days. Re-elected President in March. Nominated Mr. Yu Kuo-hwa as Premier in May.
●1985: Toured Kinmen for the 123rd time in the 36 years. Stated in an address to the National Assembly on December 25th that the next President would succeed him according to the Constitution and that none of his family members would seek the office.
●1986: Advanced principal work points for the ruling party and energetically promoted the Fourteen Key Projects. Underwent an operation to install an artificial pacemaker in April. Madame Chiang Kai-shek returned from the U.S. in October to attend the centenary commemoration of the birth of the late President Chiang Kai-shek. Announced in October that the Emergency Decree would soon be lifted and that the question of permitting the establishment of new political parties was under active study.
●1987: In July declared that the Emergency Decree would be lifted on July 15th, at the same time as controls on foreign exchange would be relaxed. Also in July told twelve local visitors that he had lived on Taiwan for nearly forty years and had become a Taiwanese. Attended the national day celebrations in October in a wheelchair. On December 25th stressed that "the Constitution is our legal tradition" and indicated that the only correct and practicable path for a plan to replenish the central elective bodies is one that follows the Constitution.
●1/1/1988: Delivered a New Year's greeting on television, making his last public appearance.
●1/12: Reported as usual to his office in the Presidential Office Building.
●1/13: Passed away due to complications from diabetes at 3:50 p.m. He was 79. At eight o'clock that evening, Vice President Lee Teng-hui, according to the Constitution, succeeded President Chiang as the nation's seventh President. (President Chiang's last will read as follows: "I have been entrusted by the people of the entire country to strive with them in the great task to achieve our common goal, the reunification of China under the Three Principles of the People. When the time comes that my natural life ends, it is my earnest wish that both government and people adhere unswervingly to the established policy of opposing Communism and reviving the nation, and actively carry forward constitutional democracy without interruption. Under the guidance of our Founding Father [Dr. Sun Yat-sen]'s Three Principles of the People, and the teachings bequeathed to us by the late President Chiang Kai-shek, the people of the entire country, military and civilian alike, must unite and struggle with the utmost dedication for an early recovery of the mainland, the completion of the great task of reunifying China under the Three Principles of the People. This is my most earnest will.")
●1/22: President Chiang's remains were moved from Veterans General Hospital to the Martyrs' Shrine.
●1/30: Enshrined at Tahsi Town in Tao-yuan County.
[Picture Caption]
President Chiang Ching-kuo passed away at 3:50 p.m., January 13, 1988, plunging the nation in grief. Many citizens rushed to a temporary memorial hall set up at Veterans General Hospital to express their respects. The scene was moving and somber. (photo by Chiu Sheng-wang)
The late President Chiang Ching-kuo was invited to the United States for the first time in 1953, while he served as director general of the Political Warfare Department in the Ministry of Defense. This photo, taken on June 16th, shows him trying on a pilot's suit in front of an F84 fighter. (photo courtesy of Central News Agency)
Mr. Chiang was always there when there was danger. He went to Kinmen, or Quemoy, several times during the Communist bombardment campaign that broke out on August 23, 1958. (photo courtesy of China Times)
Mr. Chiang greeted soldiers who were about to be discharged from the New First Army in Nanking in 1947. He was 38 years old at the time. (photo courtesy of Central News Agency)
(Above right) Mr. Chiang on his return from a visit to South Korea in 1969, when he was minister of defense. (photo courtesy of Central News Agency)
(Below left) Mr. Chiang was director of the China Youth Corps for 21 years. He urged youth to harbor political aspirations, but not political ambitions. (photo courtesy of Central News Agency)
Mr. Chiang once said that former President Chiang Kai-shek was a loving father, a strict teacher, and--what's more--his leader. The photo shows Mr. Chiang accompanying his father and Madame Chiang on a visit to the Cross-Island Highway. (photo courtesy of Central News Agency)
Work on the Cross-Island Highway began in 1956 and was completed in 1960. During this period, Mr. Chiang frequently traveled the difficult and dangerous paths of the Central Mountain Range and even rode in a funicular basket. (photo courtesy of Ret-Ser Engineering Agency)
On an inspection tour of Miaoli in January 1975, Mr. Chiang, then premier, and Hsieh Tung-min, then governor of Taiwan Province, stopped for lunch at a roadside stand. (photo courtesy of Central News Agency)
(Above) Mr. Chiang loved children, and they loved him. He liked to have a look at the children wherever he went, and he frequently made them laugh. (photo courtesy of Central News Agency)
(Below) Mr. Chiang chatted with an aboriginal woman on a visit to Chunyang Village in Wushe. (photo courtesy of Central News Agency)
The late President had an innocent, curious side. During a break in a visit to the countryside, he examined a god's figurine on a table. (photo courtesy of Central News Agency)
Visiting Hsinchu in 1978, President Chiang tried out a produce transport cart while inquiring about farming conditions. (photo courtesy of Government Information Office)
On a tour in 1977 to the Taipei suburb of Hsintien, Mr. Chiang stopped at a roadside amusement stand. While chatting with the vendor, he tossed a ring or two himself. (photo courtesy of Government Information Office)
President Chiang improved the government with the Ten Administrative Reforms, he spurred economic development with the Ten Key Projects, and he earned the public's friendship and affection. (photo courtesy of United Daily News)
Mr. Chiang was sworn in as the R.O.C.'s sixth president on May 20, 1978. (photo by T'ang Ken-li)
Attending the Taiwan Games held at Chiayi in 1980 along with then Premier Sun Yun-suan, President Chiang expressed his approval of the athletes' performance
with a thumbs-up sign. (photo by Li P'ei-hui)
Even after becoming president, Mr. Chiang took time out of his busy schedule to visit various parts of the country. The photo shows him encouraging students on a visit to a pre-college military training camp. (photo by T'ang Ken-li)
President Chiang expressed greetings to the nation over the television on major national holidays. (photo by Kao Chih-wei)
President Chiang had an enjoyable meeting with U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater when the senator visited the R.O.C. in 1979. In the middle is James Soong, now deputy secretary general of the Kuomintang. (photo by Kao Chih-wei)
During the 1983 supplemental parliamentary election, President and Mrs. Chiang cast ballots at a polling station near their home. (photo by Kao Chih-wei)
President Chiang attended a military review in Hukou on October 11, 1987. It was to be his last. (photo by Chiu Sheng-wang)
President Chiang has departed. Seeing his simply furnished office empty now of the man himself brings us limitless grief. (photo from Sinorama files)
(Right) President Chiang's life is over. History is what he has left behind. (photo by Chiu Sheng-wang)
(Left) The late President Chiang's remains were moved from Veterans General Hospital to the Martyrs' Shrine near Yuanshan on the morning of January 22nd. President Lee Teng-hui led the mourners accompanying the coffin. (photo by Li P'ei-hui)
Crowds of people swarmed to the Martyrs' Shrine to take a last look at the late president. The waiting line stretched hundreds of yards each day. (photo by Chiu Sheng-wang)
The late President Chiang Ching-kuo was invited to the United States for the first time in 1953, while he served as director general of the Political Warfare Department in the Ministry of Defense. This photo, taken on June 16th, shows him trying on a pilot's suit in front of an F84 fighter. (photo courtesy of Central News Agency)
Mr. Chiang was always there when there was danger. He went to Kinmen, or Quemoy, several times during the Communist bombardment campaign that broke out on August 23, 1958. (photo courtesy of China Times)
Mr. Chiang greeted soldiers who were about to be discharged from the New First Army in Nanking in 1947. He was 38 years old at the time. (photo courtesy of Central News Agency)
Mr. Chiang once said that former President Chiang Kai-shek was a loving father, a strict teacher, and--what's more--his leader. The photo shows Mr. Chiang accompanying his father and Madame Chiang on a visit to the Cross-Island Highway. (photo courtesy of Central News Agency)
Work on the Cross-Island Highway began in 1956 and was completed in 1960. During this period, Mr. Chiang frequently traveled the difficult and dangerous paths of the Central Mountain Range and even rode in a funicular basket. (photo courtesy of Ret-Ser Engineering Agency)
Mr. Chiang on his return from a visit to South Korea in 1969, when he was minister of defense. (photo courtesy of Central News Agency)
Mr. Chiang was director of the China Youth Corps for 21 years. He urged youth to harbor political aspirations, but not political ambitions. (photo courtesy of Central News Agency)
On an inspection tour of Miaoli in January 1975, Mr. Chiang, then premier, and Hsieh Tung-min, then governor of Taiwan Province, stopped for lunch at a roadside stand. (photo courtesy of Central News Agency)
Mr. Chiang loved children, and they loved him. He liked to have a look at the children wherever he went, and he frequently made them laugh. (photo courtesy of Central News Agency)
Mr. Chiang chatted with an aboriginal woman on a visit to Chunyang Village in Wushe. (photo courtesy of Central News Agency)
The late President had an innocent, curious side. During a break in a visit to the countryside, he examined a god's figurine on a table. (photo courtesy of Central News Agency)
Visiting Hsinchu in 1978, President Chiang tried out a produce transport cart while inquiring about farming conditions. (photo courtesy of Government Information Office)
On a tour in 1977 to the Taipei suburb of Hsintien, Mr. Chiang stopped at a roadside amusement stand. While chatting with the vendor, he tossed a ring or two himself. (photo courtesy of Government Information Office.
President Chiang improved the government with the Ten Administrative Reforms, he spurred economic development with the Ten Key Projects, and he earned the public's friendship and affection. (photo courtesy of United Daily News)
Mr. Chiang was sworn in as the R.O.C.'s sixth president on May 20, 1978. (photo by T'ang Ken-li)
Attending the Taiwan Games held at Chiayi in 1980 along with then Premier Sun Yun-suan, President Chiang expressed his approval of the athletes' performance with a thumbs-up sign. (photo by Li P'ei-hui)
Even after becoming president, Mr. Chiang took time out of his busy schedule to visit various parts of the country. The photo shows him encouraging students on a visit to a pre-college military training camp. (photo by T'ang Ken-li)
President Chiang expressed greetings to the nation over the television on major national holidays. (photo by Kao Chih-wei)
President Chiang had an enjoyable meeting with U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater when the senator visited the R.O.C. in 1979. In the middle is James Soong, now deputy secretary general of the Kuomintang. (photo by Kao Chih-wei)
President Chiang attended a military review in Hukou on October 11, 1987. It was to be his last. (photo by Chiu Sheng-wang)
President Chiang had an enjoyable meeting with U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater when the senator visited the R.O.C. in 1979. In the middle is James Soong, now deputy secretary general of the Kuomintang. (photo by Kao Chih-wei)
The late President Chiang's remains were moved from Veterans General Hospital to the Martyrs' Shrine near Yuanshan on the morning of January 22nd. President Lee Teng-hui led the mourners accompanying the coffin. (photo by Li P'ei-hui)
President Chiang's life is over. History is what he has left behind.
Crowds of people swarmed to the Martyrs' Shrine to take a last look at the late president. The waiting line stretched hundreds of yards each day. (photo by Chiu Sheng-wang)
President Chiang has departed. Seeing his simply furnished office empty now of the man himself brings us limitless grief. (photo from Sinorama files)