But something history might not record is that the same day was also the first day in "office" for Chiang's new official photographer, Kao Chih-wei. The first picture of President Chiang the younger, which Kao took at his inauguration ceremony at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, marked the start of a decade recording Chiang's life in office.
On 22 September 1978, at an interschool sports day in Taoyuan, Kao Chih-wei, who had become President Chiang Ching-kuo's official personal photographer just four months earlier, pressed the shutter to record President Chiang taking a turn around the stadium in the company of Taoyuan County chief executive Hsu Hsin-liang.
This historic shot shows a scene befitting of an official photograph: local officials accompanying the head of state around the stadium, and the president himself waving to the students on the grandstand.
But what this archive photo does not show is how the students, excitedly calling out to the approaching president, pushed forwards too eagerly, so that the railing at the front of the grandstand suddenly collapsed, and the students "came tumbling down like jiaozi dumplings sliding off a plate," as Kao Chih-wei describes it. Yet nowhere in Kao's photographic archives is there a picture of the students falling off the grandstand.
Nor did Kao photograph the tears running down "the Boss's" face after the accident. "If it had happened today and I had been there, I might have taken one," says Kao dryly, his words telling much about how times have changed.
Mum's the word
Kao Chih-wei was born in 1946, and graduated from Fu Hsing Kang military college in 1969. In 1971 he was assigned to Chiang Ching-kuo's residence inside the Chihai naval base as a security officer. In 1978, when Chiang became president, Kao became his personal photographer. After President Chiang's death on 13 January 1988, Kao Chih-wei stayed at Chihai to sort and catalogue photographs from throughout Chiang Ching-kuo's life. He remained there until September 1990, when he moved to a post at the KMT Department of Party History.
"Although you are carrying a camera, don't forget that first and foremost you are still a presidential bodyguard, and your prime duty is to protect the head of state." Talking about his experiences as the president's photographer, Kao quotes these words, brief and to the point, with which his superior at Chihai made it clear to him how his role differed from that of an ordinary photographer.
Who were the "Chihai" bodyguards? From the 1970s to this day their name, almost inseparable from that of Chiang Ching-kuo, has borne a veil of mystery in many people's minds. Most may remember how, wherever Chiang went, he was always accompanied by burly individuals in casual dress or suits, with short, neatly groomed hair and stern expressions. These were the men everyone referred to simply as the "Chihais," and their main mission was to assure the personal safety of the head of state 24 hours a day.
"By talking with the Chihai bodyguards, you can get an idea of the president's character, habits and criteria for appointing people, and this is of some help for understanding the atmosphere of the period," says Liu Wei-kai, an associate professor in National Chengchi University's history department.
But frustratingly for scholars of history, it has not been easy to get these security officers to speak. Or to put it more plainly, for many years these men who lived in the aura of the national leader kept completely mum. "People used to say we were a tight-lipped lot, but our commanding officer said tight-lipped wasn't good enough-we had to act as if we had no mouths at all," says Kao Chih-wei, harking back to his training for this assignment.
The first Chihai bodyguards
Today, as we mark the tenth anniversary of Chiang Ching-kuo's death, out of their deep and sincere loyalty and affection for this leader, these formerly silent officers are willing to tell a few stories from their time in his service.
Kao Chih-wei went to Chihai in 1971. That was the year in which Chiang Ching-kuo, then ROC vice-premier, was first assigned a team of bodyguards.
In fact, as a member of President Chiang Kai-shek's family, according to the ROC constitution Chiang Ching-kuo was entitled to the protection of security personnel. But as former presidential bodyguard Shen Kang describes in his Treasured Memories, published a few years ago by Commonwealth Publishing, Chiang Ching-kuo never liked to have a retinue about him, and often took off roaming about with just his driver. But once he got lost on Mt. Chihsing and had not come down by nightfall, causing great concern. Then, on his fifth visit to the USA, he was shot at in New York by an advocate of Taiwanese independence. When Chiang Ching-kuo returned to Taiwan, President Chiang Kai-shek directed the commander of the presidential guard to organize a detachment of security officers to be assigned to Chihai. Kao Chih-wei was selected for this first contingent of Chihai bodyguards.
In those days, security personnel for the presidential residence were selected from the army. To become one of President Chiang Kai-shek's or his son's personal bodyguards was the greatest honor a soldier could aspire to, and a high recognition of his abilities. "Each division of the army could recommend one candidate, making over 20 in all. Then these were trimmed down to 10 by Army General HQ," says Kao Chih-wei, describing the selection process.
Top marks
Always self-effacing, never speaking for anyone but himself-Kao Chih-wei seems to fit almost perfectly the image of the "Chihai" bodyguards. Like his old Chihai comrades, when he recounts anecdotes of his time there, he speaks freely, but when talking about Chiang Ching-kuo or his photographs of Chiang as president, Kao Chih-wei chooses his words cautiously.
Kao began carrying a camera and became Chiang Ching-kuo's official personal photographer seven years after he joined the Chihais.
Chiang Kai-shek had had his own personal photographer, Hu Chung-hsien, who had been through thick and thin with him from the mainland to Taiwan. When Chiang Ching-kuo became president, Hu was already past retiring age. For reasons of security, there seemed no more convenient and appropriate choice than to select the new presidential photographer from among the Chihai detachment of the presidential guard.
Kao already had experience using a camera before he was selected for this post. When as an army officer he had been stationed at Houlung in Miaoli County, he had bought himself a Konica camera for NT$4000 (his monthly pay at the time had been NT$7000). During his first few years at Chihai, many of his comrades' weddings had been recorded with this camera, but his liking for photography, and the fact that he was quite good at it, had gone unnoticed by his superiors officers.
It happened that at that time Kao took part in a training program for promotion to the rank of major, and took top marks in the final assessment. This made his superiors take notice of him. They discussed whether Kao, one of the few bespectacled members of the presidential guard, might not be a suitable choice.
"That first place was very important," says Kao, thinking back. So it was that he was sent off the Chihai base for a three-month crash course in photography, and began his career as the president's official photographer.
The hat man
For today's political figures, who care so much about packaging and image, the job of photographer to the president is a very important one. But in the environment of the time when Kao Chih-wei came to the job, the post of "personal photographer" was not one which initially attracted particular attention.
"Perhaps the president was testing me, but in my first year as his photographer no-one ever asked me how many shots I had taken or of what," says Kao. When he first joined the m瘭嶪 of news reporters he still carried a gun. But this was risky, so he reported his concern to his superior officer, and requested not to have to carry a firearm when on duty.
"If there is a situation, I can jump on the guy, or throw my camera at him-it's actually quite a good weapon," said Kao to his superior.
Thus Kao Chih-wei stopped carrying a gun, bringing to an end the period of uncertain status during which he was both bodyguard and photographer.
Kao never retouched the negatives of his photographs of President Chiang. "Honesty is the best policy," he avers.
There were times when Chiang Ching-kuo specifically requested Kao to take a photograph. Once, at Tsuhu, when he was feeding the fish, he asked Kao to stand at the end of the pool and take a shot of the whole scene. This was the only time "the Boss" ever said anything about how a picture should be taken. At other times, says Kao, "the Boss would never strike a pose for the camera."
Looking at Kao Chih-wei's photographs, one gets the feeling throughout of admiring appreciation of a beloved elder relative. There is a sense of esteem and of affectionate protectiveness. The angles from which many shots are captured are evidently the result of observation during his many years of service with "the Boss."
For instance, there are nearly 10 photos telling stories to do with hats. They show how Chiang loved to use hats to make friends with the public; he would swap hats with people, and often gave hats away too.
Among Kao Chih-wei's catalogued photographs there are pictures of Chiang wearing all kinds of hats, including a farmer's straw hat, a sailor's cap, a college student's military training cap and a rattan hat from the Yami aboriginals of Lany* Island. Some were given to him by members of the public, and some he swapped with them for his own. When he wasn't wearing other people's, his own "standard issue" hat was a black cap embroidered with the ROC flag, and this was the sort he gave away most often.
Kill the lights
In later years, as Chiang Ching-kuo's health declined, Kao Chih-wei's photographs turn from outdoor shots to indoor, and during one period they all appear underexposed. "The president had just had an eye operation, so I didn't want to use the flash," says Kao.
Later, he started using a bounced flash (angled to reflect off walls or ceilings) to make up for the insufficient indoor light. This reduced dark shadows, and also was less irritating to the president's eyes than direct light. Kao even mounted two cameras together on a frame (one with black and white film, one with color) so as to take two pictures at a time and thus reduce the number of flashes. So as not to unsettle President Chiang, in the last years whenever Kao was taking pictures he would wear the same brown suit and tie. "I wanted to let the president feel reassured, to know that the person dressed like that was one of his own, that 'Comrade Kao' was there," says Kao.
From 1982 on, whenever "the Boss" received guests, and on ceremonial occasions such as Retrocession Day or National Day celebrations, Kao Chih-wei was almost the only photographer present. At that time, because of his diabetes, Chiang had great difficulty standing for long periods, so his guards specially fitted a board across the front of the seat of his armchair, to give him something to prop himself up against when he was standing.
In October 1987, President Chiang presided over the National Day parade in a wheelchair for the first time. The troop review platform was on the second floor of the Presidential Palace, and to give the crowd on Chiehshou Road a better view of the president, and also to make sure reporters would get a good angle to photograph him, before the real event the Chihai detachment did a special practice run using a colleague of a similar build to the president.
From May 1978 to 13 January 1988, Kao Chih-wei took almost 100,000 photographs of Chiang Ching-kuo: when put into albums of 120 photos each, they are enough to fill over a dozen large cabinets.
But Kao feels that President Chiang did not begin to take notice of his photography until he had been his photographer for a year.
A year after Chiang took office, the Chihai detachment planned to present him with a congratulatory gift. Someone suggested giving him Kao Chih-wei's photographs, and for the first time people asked him how they had been coming out.
Then, at last, the pictures which Kao had carefully arranged into albums after each trip came into their own. On the first anniversary of President Chiang's taking office, the Chihai bodyguards presented them to him along with a record of his activities, and other items.
Kao Chih-wei still recalls that the photos presented to the president at that time amounted to several large, thick albums, and how Chiang had them placed by the desk in his office. "Once they went in there, they never came out," says Kao, "but later when Chiang's aide-de-camp Wang Chia-hua was about to go overseas to study, the president took out a photo of himself lost in thought at Tsuhu from one of the albums, wrote a dedication on it and gave it to Wang."
A catalogue of history
After Chiang Ching-kuo's death, Kao Chih-wei was assigned the task of sorting and cataloguing the late president's photographs, including not only the archive he himself had already compiled over the previous decade, but also photographs kept by Chiang during his life, which were found in his Presidential Palace office and his residence by his family. With his accustomed thoroughness, Kao leafed through all kinds of materials, and asked questions of all kinds of people, to discover the date, place and occasion on which the photographs were taken. He entered all this information in a computer, thus composing a photographic record of Chiang Ching-kuo's life.
Ten years after Chiang's death, this catalogue stands as a valuable historical source for those wishing to understand his life. Associate Professor Liu Wei-kai of National Chengchi University comments that photography is a persuasive medium which is sometimes clearer and more easily understandable than the written word; this collection of archive photos covering President Chiang's contacts, friendships, movements and actions, forms a very useful adjunct to the written record.
Others note that some of Chiang's activities in office were not announced to the media; Kao Chih-wei's catalogue records all the activities during Chiang's presidency which Kao was notified to attend as photographer, and so provides researchers with a record from which to learn about Chiang's major activities.
For instance, the photo catalogue records that at 4 p.m. on 10 May 1984, President Chiang received the Chicago Tribune's Beijing bureau chief. At that time, the prospect of lifting restrictions on cross-strait contacts had not yet been broached. Did Chiang receive this media personage from Beijing to give an interview, or did he come by special arrangement? The ROC newspapers of the time did not report a single word about this meeting. It would be fascinating to know what was discussed.
This photo catalogue, published in January 1998, also sets to right some errors in other historical materials. For instance, in 1939 Chiang Ching-kuo's mother Mao Fumei was killed in a Japanese air raid. A picture of Chiang during his period of mourning had long been mistakenly believed by the KMT Department of Party History to have been taken during Chiang's time as a student in the Soviet Union. Comparison with other photographs from the same set brought this misapprehension to light.
Special memories of Wuchieh
In his 10 years as President Chiang's photographer, in which he saw him go from good health into frailty and final decline, Kao Chih-wei experienced Chiang as a caring and occasionally jocular old commanding officer.
To pick an example at random, a picture taken at Hsienhsi in Changhua County in September 1978 shows a typical garlic field in rural, coastal Taiwan. A farmer in a T-shirt and a bamboo hat is explaining something to President Chiang, and the presidential bodyguards, who usually stick so close around him, are way off on the edge of the field.
"Can you guess why?" Kao Chih-wei explains that Taiwanese farmers are in the habit of covering young garlic plants with dry rice straw, both to keep them warm and to rot down as compost to enrich the soil. The bodyguards, few of whom had any experience of farming, did not realize what was hidden under the rice straw, and began carelessly trampling across the garlic field.
"When the Boss realized this, he told us to be careful, so everyone retreated off the field. If you look at the Boss's feet you can see they're planted carefully outside the garlic field," says Kao, pointing to the photograph. "The Boss really knew about farming, that's no joke!"
Another example is a set of pictures taken on 22 April 1979, when President Chiang went with the then Taiwan provincial governor Lin Yang-kang and others on a tour of the remote and mountainous Wuchieh area of Nantou County. Chiang has just finished eating, and is enjoying the beautiful scenery of the mountains of central Taiwan. He is obviously in high spirits. Wearing a jacket with just a T-shirt inside, he calls out "Come on, come on! Photography contest!"-Kao Chih-wei mimics the president's tone.
President Chiang sat still under a telegraph pole, and acted as model for everyone to photograph. Then, one by one, he had his picture taken individually with the Taiwan provincial governor, the county chief, the mayor of Puli Township and other people accompanying him. There are over 20 photos from this session at Wuchieh, which left the bodyguards with a memory they love to talk about.
Kao Chih-wei points out that Chiang Ching-kuo was never concerned about his appearance, and despised fawning and flattery. In Kao's experience of accompanying and photographing the president, there were few examples of him being photographed with people individually as happened at Wuchieh. In the early days, if Chiang was photographed with officials it was mostly at their homes with their whole families.
In the photo albums we see almost no pictures of Chiang with individual local officials while on visits to localities. Even when Chiang did allow a photo to be taken, he would not lightly give copies away.
No publicity stunts
Looking back to the environment of that time, giving away a photograph was clearly a very big deal. Even if a high official asked for one, it could not be given without Chiang's permission. Kao even experienced one official being reprimanded and the photograph demanded back. This severity was to prevent abuse: "It was to avoid people using the photo to pretend they had a close relationship with the president," says Kao Chih-wei.
Where contacts with commercial interests were concerned, Chiang Ching-kuo was extremely cautious in this regard. Leading bodyguard Li Tsu-yi recalls how on one occasion at a commercial exhibition, he could see that Chiang did not want to be photographed with a particular industrialist, so he deliberately quickened his pace and led Chiang away from him. When Chiang was president Taiwan's economy had already taken off, and he attended shows on such things as electronics, machinery or European products, and also visited factories such as textile mills or automotive plants. There are many photographs of him at exhibitions, but not a single one from the private meetings by which he stayed in contact with industrialists.
During one election campaign, someone gave Chiang a cap bearing the name and ticket number of a candidate, but the president quickly discovered this, and few pictures showing this cap appear in the photo albums.
The most common type of photos in the albums are the shots of Chiang's visits to places all over Taiwan, from the remotest mountain villages and coastal areas to the towns and cities. There are also many of trips to the outlying islands of Kinmen, Matsu, the Pescadores and Tungyin, and even to Wuchiu and the Pratas Islands. Where he could not go by air he went by sea, transferring from large to small vessels and then to smaller ones still to get ashore, even where there was no jetty to tie up to. Records show that he made 123 visits to Kinmen alone.
Kao Chih-wei says that when the Boss went visiting ordinary people to understand their problems, he would usually blow in like the wind-he would have his driver stop the car, and would just walk up to people. Among the photographs we see many of the president with roadside food stall vendors. Whether it is one selling wax gourd tea in Tungkang, Pingtung County, one selling grilled conch at Maobi Point, one selling sausages in Makung fish market, or even ones selling betel nuts or sweets, in the photos the Boss always appears highly appreciative of their wares, though of course the knitted brows of his security men are also plain to see.
For Kao Chih-wei, every picture tells a story. For instance, in a pottery studio on Kinmen Chiang sticks the prayer beads onto a ceramic figure of Maitreya Buddha before it goes into the kiln, then merrily wishes it "bye-bye"; in a woodcarving shop in Sanyi in Miaoli County he picks up a Maitreya face mask, and lets out a loud "ho, ho, ho!"; on his 70th birthday, while visiting Tungyin on the naval ship Chienyang he cuts his birthday cake with an officer's dress sword; in Hungyeh Village in Taitung County he goes into a grocery and buys sweets to give away to the aboriginal children outside; at Wuchieh in Ilan County he has his picture taken with young farmers about to begin their compulsory military service; among the people of Nantou he asks about the packing and transport of pineapples; in a wonton shop in Hualien he gets a lesson in making wontons; and in Putsu in Chiayi County he congratulates a bride.
Treasured memories
Kao Chih-wei could go on talking about the photographs forever, but his words are always centered on Chiang Ching-kuo, and his stories about Chiang are always centered on the latter's closeness to and love for the people.
On 4 May 1980, Chiang Ching-kuo went to pay his respects at his father's tomb in Tsuhu. Coming out of the mausoleum he was surrounded by a crowd. Among them was a disabled young girl who kept trying to take a photo of him, but could not manage to because of all the people. "When the Boss noticed this he asked me to borrow her camera and take the photo for her, and also had me take one of him and her together," says Kao Chih-wei.
On 20 January 1982, President Chiang received his "11 old friends" and their families. These ordinary folk presented him with a huge carved bas-relief panel. In the photograph he is squatting down by the panel. This was distressing to watch for the bodyguards close by Chiang, for they knew he no longer had much strength in his legs.
On 26 April 1986, Chiang hosted some old friends who had worked with him building the Central Cross-Island Highway in the 1950s-Lin Tse-pin, Hu Mei-huang and Chiu Sheng. These friends with whom he battled through mountains and forests when in the prime of life were now all in advanced old age. In the photographs Chiang clasps his old friends' hands tightly, showing the great depth of their feelings for each other.
All these details live on in Kao Chih-wei's mind, and every picture brings back some treasured memory. Kao's protectiveness of Chiang comes from the heart.
As the president's official photographer, Kao's choice of angle when photographing him was tempered by the desire to maintain the national leader's dignity. The pictures which political photojournalists love to take of politicians distressed or dispirited, yawning or picking their noses, are nowhere to be seen in Kao's archives.
"What's the point of taking those? When I did happen to get shots like that, I destroyed them," says Kao. Some may feel that Kao's pictures always stress particular aspects of the leader's character, but Kao feels the image he presents is in no way false, for having witnessed all these scenes himself Kao is convinced Chiang's emotions were completely genuine.
Chihai bougainvillea
Kao Chih-wei is always ready to talk shop. Whenever anyone mentions the leader whom most people called "President Chiang" but whom he and his colleagues called "the Boss," he is sure to have plenty to say. Chiang Ching-kuo is gone, but, says Kao, "his spirit is always with us." To use Kao's own stock phrase, "That's no joke."
It's the truth. On the white wall in the living room of Kao's apartment, visible as soon as one enters, hangs an enlarged photograph of President Chiang and "Comrade Kao," in which Chiang sits easily, while Kao stands bolt upright.
On Kao Chih-wei's balcony, the bougainvillea which once grew around his quarters at Chihai is blooming in a riot of color. "Our old quarters at Chihai have been pulled down, and nobody takes care of the flowers. I thought that was a pity, so I took some cuttings to grow here," he says.
He has left "Chihai" behind him, he no longer carries a camera, and his days of weapons training and unarmed combat practice are long gone. The computer program design skills which he did not begin learning until after President Chiang's death have now become the starting point of the new career he has taken up in middle age. Kao Chih-wei is now in charge of the press cuttings computer processing center at the KMT Department of Cultural Affairs. For him this completely new field of activity presents no problem, as long as he continues in the Chihai spirit: "Everything by the book, no cutting corners."
In his leisure time he loves to go mountain hiking, and to travel around. "I want to go everywhere President Chiang went," says Kao Chih-wei.
(We thank the Chihhsing Cultural and Educational Foundation for their assistance in researching this article.)
p.24
When Chiang Ching-kuo cracked a joke, his mirth was infectious.
p.25
22 September 1978: As President Chiang Ching-kuo was visiting an interschool sports day, a railing collapsed, bringing students tumbling down from the grandstand. The sight of this accident distressed Chiang so much that he shed tears. This picture was taken just before the incident. Of the photograph's three main characters, President Chiang is dead, Hsu Hsin-liang then Taoyuan County chief executive (smiling, to Chiang's left), is now chairman of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party, and Liu Pang-you (to Hsu's left) was murdered in 1996 while serving as Taoyuan County chief.
p.26
"Come on, come on! Photography contest!" A visit to Wuchieh in Nantou County on 22 April 1979 created unforgettable memories for the president's bodyguards.
p.27
"Careful, don't tread on the garlic!" At Chiang Ching-kuo's warning his bodyguards, unable to tell where the garlic shoots are under the rice straw, have beaten a retreat from the garlic field.
p.28
On 19 October 1980, during a visit to Hungyeh Village in Taitung County, Chiang Ching-kuo buys sweets to give away to children, from a grocer's shop he had already visited the previous year.
p.29
On 15 February 1981, during the spring plowing period, passing along Tachung Road in Wuchieh, Ilan County on the way to visit the new Lanyang Bridge, President Chiang saw some young farmers out plowing the fields. He excitedly had his driver stop the car, and picked his way along the dykes between the paddy fields to call on this farming family.
13 May 1979: Chiang Ching-kuo calls on the Yehhsiang wonton shop in Hualien. He suddenly asks his old friend Tai Jung-kuang to teach him how to fill wonton dumplings, but Tai's wife hurriedly says, "We wouldn't dare!" Later the Tais were often mentioned among "the president's 11 friends."
p.30
Chiang Ching-kuo loved to give his hats away and swap hats with people. Here he has given one to an old lady in Tainan County's Baihe Township.
p.31
31 May 1981: President Chiang inspects flood damage in Chaoshan Village, Hsiangshan Rural Township, Hsinchu County, with his bodyguards following close behind. After a few such experiences, they took to wearing calf-length boots to keep their feet dry.
p.32
12 May 1980: During a visit to Tungyin and Matsu, Chiang Ching-kuo celebrates his 70th birthday on the navy ship Chienyang. The cake was made by a sailor who had previously worked in a cake shop; the president gave his efforts high praise.
p.33
13 June 1985: President Chiang's last visit to Matsu. Here he inspects the howitzers on Mt. Chengkung.
p.34
20 January 1982, at the Presidential Palace. President Chiang squats down to have his photograph taken with his "11 old friends" as they present him with a bas-relief carving; his friends firmly support him.
p.36
Many of the photographs in the official photographer's albums were personally inspected by President Chiang. At 3 p.m. on 5 April 1982, Chiang received Japanese ex-prime minister Kishi Nobusuke at Tsuhu when he came to visit Chiang Kai-shek's tomb. Kao Chih-wei had the pictures developed immediately and presented them to the president to choose from. Standing next to Chiang Ching-kuo is his third son, Hsiao-yung.
p.37
Kao Chih-wei has worked assiduously in public service for 20 years, leaving household affairs largely in the capable hands of Mrs. Kao. A photograph of himself with "the Boss," and a calligraphy by Chiang reading "Exert all your loyalty in the service of your country," are among his most treasured possessions.
"Careful, don't tread on the garlic!" At Chiang Ching-kuo's warning his bodyguards, unable to tell where the garlic shoots are under the rice straw, have beaten a retreat from the garlic field.
On 19 October 1980, during a visit to Hungyeh Village in Taitung County, Chiang Ching-kuo buys sweets to give away to children, from a grocer's shop he had already visited the previous year.
On 15 February 1981, during the spring plowing period, passing along Tachung Road in Wuchieh, Ilan County on the way to visit the new Lanyang Bridge, President Chiang saw some young farmers out plowing the fields. He excitedly had his driver stop the car, and picked his way along the dykes between the paddy fields to call on this farming family.
13 May 1979: Chiang Ching-kuo calls on the Yehhsiang wonton shop in Hualien. He suddenly asks his old friend Tai Jung-kuang to teach him how to fill wonton dumplings, but Tai's wife hurriedly says, "We wouldn't dare!" Later the Tais were often mentioned among "the president's 11 friends.".
Chiang Ching-kuo loved to give his hats away and swap hats with people. Here he has given one to an old lady in Tainan County's Baihe Township.
31 May 1981 : President Chiang inspects flood damage in Chaoshan Village, Hsiangshan Rural Township, Hsinchu County, with his bodyguards following close behind. After a few such experiences, they took to wearing calf-length boots to keep their feet dry.
12 May 1980: During a visit to Tungyin and Matsu, Chiang Ching-kuo celebrates his 70th birthday on the navy ship Chienyang. The cake was made by a sailor who had previously worked in a cake shop; the president gave his efforts high praise.
13 June 1985: President Chiang's last visit to Matsu. Here he inspects the howitzers on Mt. Chengkung.
20 January 1982, at the Presidential Palace. President Chiang squats down to have his photograph taken with his "11 old friends" as they present him with a bas-relief carving; his friends firmly support him.
Many of the photographs in the official photographer's albums were personally inspected by President Chiang. At 3 p.m. on 5 April 1982, Chiang received Japanese ex-prime minister Kishi Nobusuke at Tsuhu when he came to visit Chiang Kai-shek's tomb. Kao Chih-wei had the pictures developed immediately and presented them to the president to choose from. Standing next to Chiang Ching-kuo is his third son, Hsiao-yung.
Kao Chih-wei has worked assiduously in public service for 20 years, leaving household affairs largely in the capable hands of Mrs. Kao. A photograph of himself with "the Boss," and a calligraphy by Chiang reading "Exert all your loyalty in the service of your country," are among his most treasured possessions.
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