HE'S not only a prolific writer, but a controversial one as well. Lee Ao's satirical books were banned during Chiang Kai-shek's rule in Taiwan, and now with the Chiang legacy officially over in Taiwan, the author has taken all-out revenge on the former Kuomintang (KMT) leader.
His latest book, Chiang Kai-shek: A Critical Biography, a joint work with Wong Young-tsu, a Chinese history professor at Virginia State University in the United States, shatters any rosy image some might still have of the generalissimo. Chiang is portrayed as an opportunist, a brutal military leader who owed his leadership role to circumstance and political ploys. Although the two-volume work attracted mixed reviews in Taiwan, it has sold an impressive 10,000 copies since its launch on April 5, marking the 20th anniversary of Chiang's death. It is also available in the territory.
'Chiang managed to climb to the top because of his predisposition; he was the kind of person who would resort to every means, moral or not, to achieve his purpose,' said Lee. 'Most Chinese politicians are huai dongxi [bad elements]. The situation is better in the West because of better political systems there.
'Democracy has always been a weak concept in Chinese societies. Ancient rulers had the mandate to protect, but not love their people.' Chiang is described by Lee and Wong as lacking in military or economic knowledge. Taiwan owed its prosperity mainly to sound infrastructure left behind by the Japanese, the influx of talent from the mainland and generous economic aid from the US to contain the influence of communism.
Among Chiang's most horrifying decisions was his order in 1938 to breach a dyke on the Yellow River to deter the Japanese invaders. The result was that a million people drowned, and five million starved to death in a flood-induced famine in Henan province years later.
'I'm only telling the truth in my book,' said Lee, who was jailed by Chiang's men for seven years in the 70s for running a pro-democracy magazine and, not least, for his alleged involvement in the pro-independence movement which had been banned by the KMT.