MADAME CHIANG KAI-SHEK, 1898-2003: A Flower Made of Steel

MADAME CHIANG KAI-SHEK, 1898-2003

Her temperament and the times were well matched. It was early 1943, and the Republic of China was struggling to resist the invading forces of imperial Japan. Soong Mei-ling, then 45 and the wife of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, happened to be in the U.S. for medical reasons. Seizing the opportunity to champion her country's cause, she summoned all her energy and flashing-eyed eloquence to the task of urging the U.S. to side with her embattled land. For five months Madame Chiang Kai-shek seemed to be everywhere: speaking at Madison Square Garden; traveling to San Francisco; talking on the radio. In an...

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