Chang Ya-juo

Chang Ya-juo (traditional Chinese: 章亞若; simplified Chinese: 章亚若; pinyin: Zhāng Yāruò; Wade–Giles: Ch'ang Ya-jo; 1913–1942) was the mistress of Chiang Ching-kuo and bore twin sons for him, John Chiang and Winston Chang in 1942. She met Chiang when she was working at a training camp for enlistees in the fight against Japan while he was serving as the head of Gannan Prefecture.[1][2]

In this Chinese name, the family name is Chang.
Chang Ya-jo
章亞若
Born
章懋李

1 Jan, 1913
Yongxiu, Jiangxi, Republic of China
Died16 August 1942(1942-08-16) (aged 29)
Guilin, Guangxi, Republic of China
Resting placeGuilin, Guangxi
Known forbeing the mother of Chiang Ching-kuo's illegitimate twin sons
Spouse(s)Tang Yinggang (唐英刚 (married 1926)
Partner(s)Chiang Ching-kuo
Children
RelativesZhang Gongtao
Zhou Jinhua

The twins were born out of wedlock in Guilin, China, and took their mother's surname. Chang Ya-jo died in August 1942 when they were approximately six months old, under mysterious circumstances; after dining at a friend's house, she came home complaining of stomach cramps. She was admitted to the hospital and died the next day.[1]

After their mother's death, the twins were raised by Chang's brother and sister-in-law, Chang Hau-juo (章浩若; Zhāng Hàoruò) and Chi Chen (季琛; Jì Chēn), respectively, who were officially listed as their parents.[3] They escaped to Taiwan with their uncle and aunt in 1949 and settled near Hsinchu.

After a legal process[4] that included obtaining written declarations from Chi's sons, documents attesting to the father-sons relationship between Chiang Ching-kuo and the twins from retired general Wang Sheng (王昇; Wáng Shēng), the birth certificate listing Chang Ya-juo as his mother and DNA testing to prove that Chi was not his birth mother, John Chiang was able to obtain a new ID card listing Chiang Ching-kuo and Chang Ya-juo as his biological parents in December 2002.[3] John Chiang officially changed his surname to Chiang in March 2005.[5]

In 2006, Chiang stated he knew the identity of his mother's murderer, to be revealed as one of Chiang Ching-kuo's aides in his forthcoming memoirs, but that Chiang Ching-kuo had not ordered the murder and was not aware it was to take place.[6][7]

References

Notes
  1. Demick, Barbara (20 June 2003). "A Scion's Story Full of Twists". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  2. Bradsher, Keith (11 January 2003). "Taiwan Lawmaker's Skill May Be Hereditary". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  3. Hsu, Crystal (14 December 2002). "John Chang gets new identity". Taipei Times. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  4. Tsai, Ting-I (13 July 2002). "Legislator will have to clear hurdles in bid to alter ID card". Taipei Times. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  5. "Chang has become Chiang". Taipei Times. CNA. 8 March 2005. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  6. "John Chiang says he has solved mother's murder". Taipei Times. AFP. 27 Jan 2006. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  7. 蔣孝嚴; Chiang, John (2006). 蔣家門外的孩子 : 蔣孝嚴逆流而上 [The Chiang family's outside children : John Chiang's upstream journey] (in Chinese). Taipei: 天下遠見出版股份有限公司. ISBN 9789864176816. OCLC 70663153.
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