Chao Tzu-chi

Chao Tzu-chi ( zh, c=趙自齊, p=Zhào Zìqí; February 14, 1915 – August 4, 2020) was a Chinese politician, athlete and novelist. He was a member of the Tsotanhui Clique of the Kuomintang. He served as leader of the Kuomintang caucus in Legislative Yuan from 1970 to 1988 and Chairman of the World League for Freedom and Democracy from 1989 to 1997.

Biography

Chao was born in Suidong, Rehe Province. He described his hometown as a desolate village surrounded by vast stretches of yellow sand, where more than half of the residents were Mongols. Chao himself could speak some Mongolian. Chao's father owned a silk shop, and his elder sister married the younger brother of the wife of Wu Peifu's elder brother.

In 1932, while studying at Nankai University, Chao participated in the student movement opposing the government's abandonment of Manchuria. As a representative of the movement, he traveled to Nanjing to protest against Chiang Kai-shek, which led to him being pursued by the police. In early 1933, Chao, along with other student representatives, voluntarily joined the Defense of the Great Wall after only three months of training. However, following several battles, he decided to return to his studies.

Chao was selected for the Jilin basketball team and the Rehe volleyball team in the 1933 National Games of the Republic of China, an event with anti-Japanese sentiment. Later that year, he attempted to return to Rehe, which had been incorporated into Manchukuo, disguised as a merchant. However, Japanese police identified him and, citing his participation in the Games, imprisoned him for five months as a suspected dissident. He later called this a turning point in his life.

After graduating from Nankai University, Chao was admitted to the Officer Training Corps in 1936, the deputy commander was Chen Cheng, while the class supervisor was Kang Tse. As a result, Chao was perceived as acknowledging his long-standing membership with this faction. During this period, he frequently participated in activities of the Blue Shirts Society, admiring its ideology without join it. This steadfast adherence led to his recognition as a hardliner within the Kuomintang.

Following the conclusion of the Xi'an Incident, he was entrusted with the personal protection of Chiang Kai-shek for a period of time.

Following the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, Chao served as a platoon leader under General Sun Yuanliang in the Battle of Shanghai. From 1937 to 1944, he was assigned to training duties. In 1944, alongside Wang Zhiyun, Li Yinguo, and Wang Shulin, he planned to organize a resistance movement in Rehe Province, which had been occupied by Manchukuo. However, on the eve of their departure, the mission was canceled as an Allied victory appeared imminent, and Chao was recalled.

After the surrender of Japan, Chao returned to his hometown in Rehe Province to oversee the post-war administrative takeover. He claimed that while the local population trusted the Kuomintang, the Chinese Communist Party assassinated those who followed Kuomintang directives at night, making the takeover increasingly difficult. In 1948, he was elected as a legislator representing the Rehe constituency.

In 1964, Chao visited the United States and other 11 European countries, where he toured the U.S. House of Representatives and Chinatown in Hawaii. Upon returning to Taiwan, he published a spy novel titled ''Crossing the Baltic Sea''.

From 1970 to 1988, Chao served as the Secretary-General of the Central Policy Committee.The committee was responsible for overseeing the operations of party caucuses, leading policy discussions, and formulating key party policies, effectively serving as the party's whip. His tenure was marked by controversy due to his decision to deploy the Taiwan Garrison Command to investigate newspaper agencies and his own deputy, Liang Su-yung.
Pro-democracy dissident Cheng Nan-jung even claimed that Chao was the "President of the Legislative Yuan behind the scenes".

In the 1988 Legislative Yuan presidential election, Chao, as military-backed hardliner, was originally chosen by Liu Kuo-tsai as his running mate
. Since Liu planned to retire in two years, his vice president would have been positioned to assume the presidency of the Legislative Yuan in 1990. However, with the intervention of President Lee Teng-hui, human rights lawyer Liang Su-yung, a member of the CC Clique, secured the nomination instead.

Chao’s replacement was not solely due to Lee’s preference. According to contemporaneous reports, Ma Shu-li, chairman of the Broadcasting Corporation of China, and other influential figures advocated for Chao to bypass Liu and directly run for Legislative Yuan president in 1988. Chao’s ambiguous stance toward this suggestion created a rift between him and Liu. Around the same time, an anonymous letter surfaced accusing Liang of having collaborated with the Japanese during World War II. Liang publicly claimed that Chao was behind the smear campaign, further deepening the political divide. These developments paved the way for Lee Teng-hui to successfully maneuver the nomination in Liang’s favor. Chao had a very antagonistic relationship with Liang, and in his memoirs, Chao referred to Liang as ungrateful and a spreader of rumors.

In 1990, after Chao took over the World League for Freedom and Democracy, he changed its name from the original "World League for Anti-Communist" to "World League for Freedom and Democracy." This move was strongly opposed by its founder, Ku Cheng-kang, who denounced Chao as reckless and audacious.

Chao shifted the league's mission from "anti-communism" to the "promotion of freedom and democracy", transforming its approach from mass movements to an academic focus. He collaborated with the Claremont Institute to organize an exhibition on the new world order after the Gulf War. Additionally, Chao was invited by the United Nations to participate as an observer in the Fourth Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

In 1994, Chao was invited by Russian President Boris Yeltsin to hold a conference of the World League for Freedom and Democracy in Moscow. During the event, Chao was invited to give a speech at the Kremlin.

In 2015, Chao established the Chao Tzu-chi Education Foundation, which provides scholarships to students of Rehe Province origin.

Chao died on 4 August 2020 at the age of 105. On 23 September, President Tsai Ing-wen issued Presidential Decree No. 1472 in commemoration of Chao. The contents of the decree are as follows:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chao, Tzu-chi
Senior advisors to the Office of the President of the Republic of China
Nankai University alumni
1915 births
2020 deaths
Taiwanese men centenarians
Kuomintang Members of the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan
Members of the 1st Legislative Yuan
Members of the 1st Legislative Yuan in Taiwan
Chinese men centenarians
Chinese anti-communists
Republic of China politicians from Hebei
Recipients of the Order of Propitious Clouds