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SCMP Reporter

Tributes to late warlord Chang Hsueh-liang poured in from the mainland and Taiwan yesterday.

The Chinese Ambassador to the US, Yang Jiechi, was to deliver President Jiang Zemin's message of condolence to the Chang family in Hawaii, the China News Service reported. Chang died on Monday at the age of 101.

He left his mark on Chinese history by kidnapping Kuomintang leader Chiang Kai-shek in 1936 and forcing him into an

alliance with the communists against the invading Japanese.

The family had not confirmed the funeral date, but the general was to be buried at a graveyard in Honolulu alongside his wife, Chao Yi-tih, who died last year.

According to the Web site of the Taiwan-based United Daily News,  the Chang family has rented a funeral home with a capacity of 500 people.

However, thousands of people from across the globe were expected to attend.

Official and private memorial ceremonies will be held at Chang's former home in northeastern Liaoning province, where he fought the Japanese.

A ceremony would be held today at Chang's residence in Shenyang, a spokesman for the Liaoning-based Chang Hsueh-liang Studies Association said.

Mainland media yesterday devoted extensive coverage to Chang's death and his legendary past. Wang Qin, 57, a grand-niece who lives in Beijing, was quoted by the China News Service as saying he had been homesick and considered visiting Liaoning.

A spokesman for the Liaoning provincial Government said it had wanted to invite Chang home but the plan was dropped because of his deteriorating health.

Chang's sister-in-law, Zhu Luojun, 90, who was a librarian at the archive office of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, also lives in Beijing.

Ms Wang and Ms Zhu will not attend the funeral in Honolulu.

In a commentary, the Communist Party's mouthpiece, the People's Daily,  reiterated the official stance that Chang was seen by Chinese people as a 'great patriot', referring to his role in the 1936 kidnap which led to Chiang Kai-shek's co-operation with foe Mao Zedong.

Leaders of the pro-unification camp in Taiwan, including Kuomintang chairman Lien Chan and People First Party chairman James Soong Chu-yu, sent messages of condolence to the Chang family yesterday. Liang Su-rong, former Speaker of the island's legislature and a friend of the general, said friends of Chang in Taiwan would also hold a memorial.

Chang was taken to Taiwan in 1949 and remained under house arrest until the early 1990s. Despite the animosity between him and Chiang Kai-shek, Chang was well respected within the KMT and even became a good friend of Chiang's son, Chiang Ching-kuo.



Memorial services to be held on mainland as thousands expected to attend funeral in Hawaii