Jiang Wan'an
In 2022, the Chinese Taiwan Democratic Progressive Party and the Kuomintang once again fought head-to-head on the issue of "de-Chiangization". The Democratic Progressive Party proposed to reform the "Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall" and remove Chiang Kai-shek's head portrait in the hall, which was strongly opposed by the Kuomintang.
When everyone was arguing, the Kuomintang legislator stood up and said: "This memorial hall is the common memory of the citizens of Taipei, and no changes are allowed." As soon as
said this, the audience fell silent. The Kuomintang legislator who spoke is named Jiang Wanan, who is the fourth generation of the Jiang family. What is even more talked about is that Jiang Wanan was not born with an infinite aura, but "going home halfway".
Unexpected identity
In 1938, Chiang Kai-shek sent him to Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province in order to train Chiang Ching-kuo . It was also there that Jiang Jingguo met and became acquainted with a woman named Zhang Yaruo , and then quickly fell in love.
It's just that Chiang Ching-kuo already had a family at that time. The love affair between Zhang Yaruo and Jiang Jingguo is destined to be buried in the dust forever, without seeing the light.
In 1942, Zhang Yaruo was alone and gave birth to a pair of twin brothers in Guangxi, namely Jiang Xiaoyan and Jiang Xiaoci.
However, Zhang Yaruo was weak after giving birth, and because she could not stay with Jiang Jingguo, she was depressed all day long, and died shortly after giving birth to her child. In desperation, Jiang Xiaoyan and Jiang Xiaoci could only be sent to relatives' homes.
Jiang Jingguo
In this way, Jiang Xiaoyan and Jiang Xiaoci followed their mother's surname "Zhang" and lived an incognito life.
In 1949, Chiang Kai-shek was defeated and retreated to Taiwan, and Chiang Ching-kuo followed him. At the same time, under the arrangement of Jiang Jingguo, Jiang Xiaoyan and Jiang Xiaoci also came to Taiwan secretly.
Due to their status as illegitimate children, they were unable to meet Jiang Jingguo, and the monthly fixed living expenses were their only connection with their father.
In 1977, Jiang Xiaoyan's son was born, and Jiang Jingguo was equally delighted when he learned of this. He specially arranged for his subordinates to visit, and personally named him: Wan'an .
Jiang Xiaoyan
Wan'an, Wan'an County, Jiangxi, , is also the place where Jiang Jingguo and his lover Zhang Yaruo fell in love.
Jiang Jingguo’s move is a nostalgia for the past: "The child is named Wan’an, Xiaoyan, Xiaoci suffered a lot in Wan’an..."
It’s just that although Jiang Jingguo personally chose the name , When Jiang Wanan was young, he still lived under the name "Zhang Wanan".
For a long time, because people around him deliberately concealed it, Zhang Wan'an knew nothing about being a descendant of the Jiang family. However, there are many rumors outside, and there is always a moment of exposure.
In 1988, when Chiang Ching-kuo passed away, all schools in Taiwan, China lowered their flags to half-mast to express their condolences.
Zhang Wanan, who didn’t know anything about it, still played with his classmates as usual. The teacher couldn’t bear it, so he chose to tell the truth: "Your surname should be Jiang, and your grandfather is Jiang Jingguo."
Zhang Wanan was shocked when he heard this secret , originally wanted to verify. However, because he was afraid of being scolded, he finally gave up. It was just a seed of doubt that gradually took root in Zhang Wanan's heart.
Later, by chance, Zhang Wanan saw a book called "Jiang Jingguo and Zhang Yaruo" in the library. Out of curiosity, Zhang Wanan opened the book, and really saw the names of his uncle Jiang Xiaoci and his father Jiang Xiaoyan in it.
At that moment, Zhang Wanan truly believed that Jiang Jingguo was his grandfather, Chiang Kai-shek was his great-grandfather, and his father, Jiang XiaoYan is an illegitimate child who cannot see the light.
In his second year of high school, Zhang Wanan was suddenly called into the house by his father. After thinking for a long time, Jiang Xiaoyan decided to confess his true identity to his son.
Later, Jiang Xiaoyan spent half his life running around, and finally changed his surname from "Zhang" to "Jiang." In 2005, Zhang Wanan, who had graduated from university, officially changed his name to Jiang Wanan. Since then, Jiang Wanan, as the fourth generation descendant of the Jiang family, has completely revealed the truth.
It was just this sudden change that made Jiang Wanan and his friends very uncomfortable. Friends still used to call him Zhang Wanan, and Jiang Wanan readily accepted it.
The disclosure of the identity of the descendants of the Jiang family seems to have had no major impact on Jiang Wanan's life. After graduating from high school, Jiang Wan'an entered Taiwan National Chengchi University to study in , and then went to the United States to study in University of Pennsylvania , studying for a master's degree in .
Later, Jiang Wanan successfully obtained a doctorate in law. In just a few years, he became a lawyer and joined the Silicon Valley law firm ebay.
Jiang Wanan used his identity as a Chinese to establish a customer network in Asia to help the company open up the Asian market.
Not long after, with the help of Jiang Wanan, eBay acquired Gmarket, the largest comprehensive shopping website in South Korea, with an annual turnover of 4.7 trillion won. After
ebay ended his tenure, Jiang Wanan decided to set up his own company. He teamed up with several other friends to set up an international law firm in San Francisco . There are countless offices in San Francisco and fierce competition, but Jiang Wan'an and his team broke through the siege and gradually gained a firm foothold. While
was enjoying a successful career, Jiang Wanan also started his own family and had a child.
People originally thought that Jiang Wanan's life trajectory might have been determined. However, not long after, shocking news came: in 2013, Jiang Wanan moved his family to Taiwan, China. At the same time, Jiang Wanan announced that he would set foot in the political circle.
Jiang Wanan, the fourth-generation descendant of the Jiang family, gave up his high-paying job in the United States and returned to Taiwan to participate in politics. This news was like a heavy bomb, detonating public opinion in Taiwan, China.
The return of Jiang Wan'an has also intensified the pace of open and secret struggles among various forces in Taiwan's political circles.
The fourth generation of rebellion
It is obvious that Jiang Wanan chose to return to Taiwan to pursue politics, which has a great relationship with his father. Soon after changing back to "Jiang" surname, Jiang Xiaoyan appeared in the election of Taipei mayor.
's undisguised behavior this time makes people suspect that Jiang Xiaoyan's real purpose, may not be "recognizing the ancestors and returning to the clan", but just wanting to use the reputation of the Jiang family dynasty to add luster to his political path.
Cousin Jiang YoubaimotherJiang FangzhiyiBluntly said:"I am quite disappointed." The father and son who have gone through hardships and returned to the Jiang family, their various behaviors, are somewhat out of place compared with other official descendants of the Jiang family. Like Jiang Wanan,
, Jiang Youbai, Jiang Yousong, and others are also the fourth generation of the Jiang family. However, the turmoil in Taiwan's political circles has disappointed the descendants of the Chiang family.
Therefore, they have stated in public more than once that they will never step into Taiwan's political arena.
The fourth generation of the Jiang family has indeed kept this promise. Jiang Youbo has his own commercial company and is engaged in design work; Jiang Yousong has devoted himself to venture capital , and also has his own industry in Taiwan.
Jiang Youbo
Jiang Youbai, Jiang Yousong, Jiang Wanan... It is undeniable that the three of them have more or less the shadow of Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo in the past, but their attitudes towards politics are quite different.
After Jiang Wanan recognized his ancestors and returned to his family, Jiang Wanan showed up in public, which not only broke the promise of the "fourth generation of the Jiang family" not to enter politics, but also dragged the Jiang family, which had gradually faded out of Taiwan's political circle, into the vortex of power again.
Regarding this, Jiang Youbai's helplessness is very obvious, "I don't have any opinion on this." With a light word, is also drawing a "Chu River Han boundary" between the fourth generation of the Jiang family represented by himself and Jiang Wan'an.
Facing the disapproval of his brothers, Jiang Wanan also showed indifference.
In public, Jiang Wanan never concealed his "birth relationship" with the Jiang family. In an interview with reporters, Jiang Wanan also said, "The Jiang family is just a blood relationship to me."
The implication is that the already down and out Jiang family has no help for him, and it can even be called a "burden".
"I didn't use the identity of the Jiang family to run for the election, but everyone knows this identity," Jiang Wanan said.
As for the statement that "the fourth generation of the Jiang family will not engage in politics", Jiang Wan'an said calmly: "This is a completely false statement."
As if to prove himself, Jiang Wanan also brought out his late grandfather Jiang Jingguo, saying: "If Mr. Jingguo sees that I want to participate in affairs, he will definitely not stop him."
Count the classics and forget your ancestors?
Some people say that Jiang Wan'an seems to have inherited the blood of Chiang Kai-shek's political struggle. When Jiang Wanan was a teenager, 's father once ran for "Taiwan Representative of Public Opinion".
In order to attract voters, Jiang Wanan took his whole family to roam the streets of Taiwan, China, canvassing for his father. Later, when Jiang Xiaoyan ran for the representative of the Kuomintang public opinion, he was defeated by Luo Shulei by a narrow margin.
After that, the number of times people saw Jiang Xiaoyan in Taiwan's political circles became less and less. Just when everyone thought that the descendants of the Jiang family had disappeared completely, Jiang Xiaoyan seized the opportunity and pushed Jiang Wanan out.
Luo Shulei
Facts have proved that Jiang Wanan lived up to Jiang Xiaoyan's expectations. Soon after returning from the United States, Jiang Wanan publicly participated in the election of the representative of public opinion in the third constituency of Taipei City, and became an opponent of Luo Shulei.
Jiang Wan'an knew that Luo Shulei's influence in Taiwan was deeply entrenched, so he did the opposite to attract the attention of young people in Taiwan. He drove a taxi to meet and mingle with voters.
After two rounds of elections, he became a monk halfway, and actually defeated Luo Shulei.
After this battle, Jiang Wan'an completely became famous in Taiwan's political circle. Jiang Wan'an's such a strong way of entering the arena made the supporters of the Kuomintang secretly applaud.
In the eyes of countless people, how ambitious Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo were back then. Unfortunately, most of the descendants of the Chiang family have no talent in politics and cannot fulfill the wishes of Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo.
However, the appearance of Jiang Wan'an has added hope for the Jiang family to return to the power center again. In this regard, the supporters of the Jiang family are gearing up and expressing their expectations.
However, the political direction controlled by Jiang Wanan has completely deviated from their imagination...
In January 2019, Tsai Ing-wen delivered a New Year speech, between the lines, showing her hostility towards the mainland.
However, it is an indisputable fact that Taiwan has been an inalienable part of the Chinese nation since ancient times.
Tsai Ing-wen's move is intended to split China, with ulterior motives. This speech also completely stood on the opposite side of the mainland and the people on both sides of the strait.
All of a sudden, patriots from the mainland and Taiwan expressed their criticism of Tsai Ing-wen.
To everyone's surprise, Jiang Wanan, who belongs to a different camp from Tsai Ing-wen, publicly expressed his support for Tsai Ing-wen on the program, claiming that his speech was very correct.
's obvious intention to split China's Taiwan has made people angry: "Unworthy descendants will shame the Chiang family"! At the same time, insults such as "forgetting the ancestors after counting the classics" and "acknowledging the thief as the father" came one after another.
Patriot's insults are not groundless.
At that time, Chiang Kai-shek was defeated and retreated to Taiwan. Even though he was attached to the United States and tried his best to flatter him, he did not dare to separate Taiwan from the mainland because he was afraid of leaving his reputation forever.
Tsai Ing-wen
Afterwards, Chiang Ching-kuo also publicly adhered to the one-China principle. Jiang Wan'an disregarded the wishes of Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo, and publicly supported anti-China forces.
Perhaps it was the anger of the people in Taiwan that made Jiang Wanan feel pressured. On the second day of publicly supporting Tsai Ing-wen, Jiang Wanan stood up again, claiming that the " 1992 Consensus " is the foundation of cross-strait exchanges, and he could not accept Tsai Ing-wen. English statement.
It's just Jiang Wanan's actions, which undoubtedly left a knot in the hearts of patriots that cannot disappear.
That's right, the identity of the descendant of the Jiang family, whether it is a help or a burden, is a label that Jiang Wan'an can't get rid of in his life.
Because of this, any behavior of Jiang Wan'an will be branded as Jiang's. The descendants of the Chiang family publicly supported Taiwan independence, and the image that Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo had tried to maintain collapsed instantly.
Jiang Wanan is well aware that his behavior has aroused public outrage, and has kept a low profile ever since. In 2020, Jiang Wanan gave up running for the mayor of Taipei City and left the opportunity to others.
In the following two years, Jiang Wanan continued to accumulate experience, and his reputation in Taipei gradually improved.
What is the future?
In 2022, with the passage of time, no one has frequently brought up the turmoil of that year. Jiang Wanan, who is now active in the political circle, will go in the future?
In fact, since Ma Ying-jeou left office, the KMT where Jiang Wanan belongs has been oppressed by the Democratic Progressive Party. Now KMT chairman Zhu Lilun's support rate in the party has once fallen to the bottom.
In order to win the favor of the people in Taiwan, Zhu Lilun has been trying his best to win over Jiang Wanan, and praised: "Jiang Wanan is the most important and most promising person in the Kuomintang."
At the same time, Jiang Wanan never stopped his "struggle for power". In 2022, Jiang Wanan announced his candidacy for the "nine-in-one" local county and mayor elections to be held at the end of this year. Everyone has speculated that Jiang Wanan's move may be his first step in integrating the internal forces of the Kuomintang.
Facts have proved that the identity of the descendants of the Jiang family has indeed added a lot to Jiang Wanan. In the online opinion poll, Jiang Wanan is far ahead with a support rate of 31.9%, followed by Chen Shizhong, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party, with a support rate of 26.2%.
At the same time, Taiwan experts analyzed that because of Chen Shizhong's ineffective prevention and control of the epidemic, the favorability of the people in Taiwan has shown a downward trend. From this point of view, Jiang Wanan seems to have more opportunities.
Chen Shizhong
However, the truth is that there are not a few opponents of Jiang Wanan.
Opponents have questioned that his political path in Taiwan, China is not firm: "doesn't even have the courage to publicly admit that he is the Chiang family."
At the same time, on issues such as "anti-Lai pig imports" that are of concern to the people of Taiwan, Jiang WananIt has been ambiguous and there is no positive answer, which also makes the people feel dissatisfied.
According to the current data, there is not much difference between Jiang Wanan and his competitors. There are many accidents in democratic elections, and if you are not careful, you will lose everything.
However, no matter how complicated the internal relations among parties in Taiwan Province are, and no matter who is in power, the one-China principle should be adhered to.
Taiwan, China has been an inalienable part of the Chinese nation since ancient times, and the reunification of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait is the general trend and the aspiration of the people.
From this point of view, Jiang Wanan still faces many challenges in his political career in Taiwan, China. We will wait and see where the future political road of this upstart who recognizes his ancestors and returns to his clan and carries the hope of the Kuomintang will go.
References
[1] "Unified Forum", "Xinke Public Opinion Representative Jiang Wanan"
[2] "Global Times", "Jiang Wanan's Lineage Questioned by the Green Camp"
[3] "Zhi News", "Jiang Wanan's Candidacy: "Jiang Wanan "Descendants of the family" is a halo, or a curse? 》
