Ku Cheng-kang
Ku Cheng-kang or Gu Zhenggang was a Chinese politician, scholar and ranking member of the Kuomintang in service to the Republic of China. He was the co-founder of both Chinese Association for Relief and Ensuing Services and World League for Freedom and Democracy and widely regarded as the "Father of Disaster Relief in the Republic of China", "Social Welfare Advocate" and the "Iron Man of Anti-Communism".
Early life and education
Ku Cheng-kang was born in Anshun, Guizhou Province during the late Qing Empire. He had an older brother, Ku Cheng-lun, a general known as the "Father of the Republic of China's Military Police," and a younger brother, Ku Cheng-ting, who, along with his wife Pi Yi-shu, served as a member of the first Legislative Yuan.Ku attended school in Germany where many of the Kuomintang's elite were also educated. He obtained his bachelor's degree from Humboldt University of Berlin. In 1924, whilst still a student, Ku and his younger brother joined the Kuomintang.
In 1925, the two brothers traveled to the Soviet Union to continue their studies at Moscow Sun Yat-sen University, a comintern school.
In 1926, as tensions emerged within the First United Front, Ku and his younger brother Ku Cheng-ting, then studying at Sun Yat-sen University in Moscow, were deeply affected by the political crisis. Together with a number of KMT students, they became active in forming the “Sun Wen'ism Society, Sun Yat-sen University Branch,” which openly criticized the Chinese Communist Party. Their activities provoked resentment among KMT students sympathetic to the CCP. After the group’s activities were exposed, the Ku brothers and their associates were expelled and sent back to China.
Early Political career
The brothers returned to China in 1926. In 1928, they fell in with Chen Gongbo and Ku Meng-yu to form the Reorganization Group, a faction loyal to Wang Jingwei.In May 1927, Ku was appointed a member of the Preparatory Committee for the Central Political School, established under Chiang Kai-shek, and was charged with related organizational work. After the school opened, he served as Deputy Director of the Moral Training Department. Because Director Ding Weifen was unable to be present at the school to oversee daily affairs, Ku effectively managed the department’s work. Known for his oratorical skill and strong persuasive appeal, he gained considerable influence among the students.
On 22 November 1927, during a public mass rally in Nanjing celebrating the Northern Expedition’s recent victories, Ku—representing the Central Political School—called on the crowd to “support Generalissimo Chiang’s reinstatement” and to “overthrow the Central Special Committee and the Western Hill faction.” Demonstrators then set out on a coordinated protest march. Troops aligned with the Western Hill faction intervened to halt the procession and opened fire, resulting in dozens of casualties.
In 1928–1929, amid the intra-party power struggle between Chiang Kai-shek and Wang Jingwei, Ku Cheng-kang, then a member of the Reorganization Group, became directly involved in opposition to Chiang’s consolidation of power. Chiang and his close ally Chen Guofu announced plans to alter the selection of delegates to the Kuomintang’s Third National Congress, changing the process from elections held by local party branches to direct appointment by the central leadership, a move widely criticized as authoritarian.
On 14 March 1929, Ku presided over a protest rally in Nanjing under the slogan “Oppose dictatorship, oppose centrally appointed representatives,” an event organized in line with the speeches delivered by Wang Jingwei and Chen Gongbo three days earlier, which called for resistance against Chiang Kai-shek’s attempt to centralize control of party representation. The demonstration was violently suppressed by police dispatched by Chen Guofu; Ku was reportedly beaten so severely that his life was nearly endangered. However, he was spared from imprisonment, reportedly due to the political connections of his elder brother, Ku Cheng-lun, who was an ally of Chiang Kai-shek.
Throughout 1929, Ku remained an active supporter of Chen Gongbo and Ku Meng-yu in their efforts to resist Chiang’s dominance within the party. On 25 May, he published a strongly worded article condemning Chiang’s leadership, accusing him of usurping control of the Kuomintang and abandoning its revolutionary ideals. In this piece, Ku argued that since Chiang’s rise, “the party’s revolutionary doctrine has been discarded, its program destroyed, its forces broken, and its spirit lost. The present Kuomintang has become merely the instrument of warlords and bureaucrats, a conglomeration of corrupt elements.”
In 1931, following the Mukden Incident, Chiang Kai-shek sought to consolidate the Kuomintang by fostering cooperation between his own faction and that of Wang Jingwei. As part of this rapprochement, Ku was assigned to Beijing and Tianjin to assist with party organization work, and in December he was elected to the Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang.
In December 1934, Ku was appointed as the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Industry and in 1935, he secured a promotion to serve as vice minister of the Kuomintang Central Executive Committee. During this period, he continued to support the political interests of the Wang Jingwei faction, while also moderating the intensity of his earlier attacks on Chiang Kai-shek.
Shortly after taking office as permanent secretary of the Ministry of Industry between February and March 1935, Ku became involved in the widely publicized “Seventh Shenxin Mill Incident.” Although the dispute was framed publicly as a debate between laissez-faire and state-controlled economic approaches—represented by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry respectively—the underlying issue reflected a political contest between Chiang Kai-shek’s faction, led by Minister of Finance H. H. Kung, and the Wang Jingwei faction, represented by Minister of Industry Chen Gongbo.
Following an Executive Yuan directive, the National Economic Council was ordered to investigate the matter. The Cotton Industry Control Committee, together with representatives from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry, and managers of the Shenxin Company, jointly drafted a preliminary rescue plan. Chen Gongbo subsequently proposed reorganizing the company and converting it into a state-run enterprise. Chen argued that China’s industry was “still in an infant state” and that “industrial organizations were scattered and weak,” insisting that only state control—not liberal economic measures—could provide an effective remedy.
Rong Zongjing, seeking to retain control of the Shenxin mills, mobilized his political connections and enlisted senior KMT figure Wu Zhihui to oppose Chen’s proposal for state management. As a result, Chen’s industrial control plan was set aside. Ku, however, continued to speak in support of Chen’s position. While defending Chen’s統制 policy, he criticized the Ministry of Finance for inaction. Writing in the Ministry of Industry’s official publication, Ku stated that “although the case of the auction of Shenxin Mill No. 7 by the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation concerns only a commercial loan of two million yuan, its implications for law, diplomacy, and the economy are extremely serious.”
After analyzing the internal and external factors behind the textile crisis triggered by the Shenxin incident, Ku argued that responsibility did not lie with the Ministry of Industry. He wrote that “when the Shenxin crisis erupted last year, the government appointed specialists to devise a detailed plan and determined a method of reorganization. Yet due to Rong Zongjing’s opposition and the words of so-called ‘party elders,’ the government’s plan became nothing more than a painted cake.” He sharply criticized Shanghai’s financial sector, declaring that because investment in industry did not yield profits comparable to “government bonds, bidding fees, or speculative real estate,” and because industrial loans carried the risk of non-repayment, financiers were “unwilling to assist the industrial sector in its difficulties.”
As a remedy for future crises in the textile industry, Ku advocated the implementation of “cotton-yarn control,” arguing that “industrial control is the latest policy adopted by industrial nations to consolidate their productive forces in resisting foreign economic aggression or pursuing economic expansion abroad.”
Personal life
Ku married Wang Mai-hsiu, whom he met through a mutual friend named Lucy. Wang later served as his English translator. The couple had two daughters and five sons:- Ku To-yi
- Ku To-lin
- Ku Chia-tai
- Ku Chia-hua
- Ku Chia-sung
- - he went on to become director of Taiwan Cyanamid Company
- Ku Chia-heng
Wartime service
In November 1939, Ku was appointed as the minister of social affairs and was placed in charge of all wartime social welfare projects. In 1940, the ministry was reorganized into the National Social Department where Ku continued to serve as Minister of National Government Social Affairs, a position he held until March 1949.
As the only Minister of Social Affairs under the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China. Ku’s state-published biography asserts that Ku played a formative role in the origins of modern social welfare administration in the Republic of China. At the time, most legislation and regulatory frameworks concerning social affairs had yet to be created. While overseeing wartime relief and the resettlement of displaced populations, Ku simultaneously initiated studies on national social security policy and welfare institutions. The biography states that, through Ku’s efforts and personal appeals, a number of scholars and intellectuals participated in the drafting of early social policy proposals.
During his tenure, a series of social laws were promulgated, including the People’s Organizations Act, Social Relief Act, Employment Service Act, Child Welfare Act, Mining and Industrial Inspection Act, Trade Union Act, and Farmers’ Association Act. According to the biography, Ku not only promoted legislation but also sought practical implementation by establishing social administration organs in both rear-area and frontline provinces. He further advocated cooperative economic institutions, encouraging local communities to establish production, marketing, labor, credit, and consumer cooperatives.
In 1941, Ku was in charge of casualty processing during the Japanese bombing of Chongqing and in 1944, he was in charge of Chinese military and civilian casualties on the Guangxi, Guizhou warfronts.
In 1945, Ku was elected to the Chinese Kuomintang Central Executive Committee and the 6th Standing Committee. He also served as Chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang Central Committee of agricultural workers.
In May 1945, with the end of the Second Sino–Japanese War approaching, the Kuomintang convened its Sixth National Congress in Chongqing. Based on wartime administrative experience, Ku submitted to the congress four major social policy programs—national protection, rural policy, labor policy, and preliminary postwar social security measures—proposed as a framework for postwar reconstruction. His biography claims that these policies, organized around clear objectives, implementation items, and procedural steps, were adopted by the congress and incorporated into the party platform. When the Constitution of the Republic of China was later drafted, provisions relating to social security were included in the chapter on Fundamental National Policies; the biography attributes this development partly to Ku’s advocacy.
In 1947, he began involvement with Chen Lifu, Fang Chih and the CC Clique and became active in the Shanghai political scene.
Ku retreated with the nationalists to Taiwan in 1949.
Postwar career in Taiwan
After the central government’s relocation to Taiwan in 1950, the Kuomintang undertook a major party reorganization. During this period, Ku served as Director of the Second Department of the Party Reform Program, overseeing youth, industrial, agricultural, labor, and social movements. His biography states that he formulated guiding programs for the party’s youth, industrial, agricultural, labor, and social mobilization efforts, and directed their implementation throughout party organizations.The biography further asserts that Ku encouraged the establishment of Taiwan’s early labor insurance system, and promoted the creation of industrial party branches within public and private enterprises. Based on the principles of “balanced economic and social development” and the coordination of “production and welfare,” the party undertook a range of social programs in coordination with government initiatives on social security and welfare. According to the biography, Taiwan’s social development during the subsequent decades was closely connected to Ku’s administrative and organizational work.
In January 1950, Ku was appointed minister of the interior. He served as director of the Mainland Disaster Relief Organization together with Fang Chih. Together with Fang, Ku set up the Free China Relief Agency, and the Sino-Laotian Friendship Society and the ROC branch of the Asian People's Anti Communist League. The pair were active in South Korea, Vietnam, Burma, Laos, Camboadia and Thailand on various KMT special projects.
In 1951, he was appointed as a presidential adviser and in 1952, he was elected to the 7th Standing Committee.
As the leader of the WACL, Ku invited right-wing military figures from various countries to establish WACL chapters and actively organized mass anti-communist movements. While presiding over the January 23rd Freedom Day rallies, he led crowds in chanting slogans such as "Down with Communism" and "Oppose Enslavement." It is believed that Ku demanded loyalty from every WACL member, specifically towards himself personally.
In 1958, following the death of Hung Lan-yu, the first secretary-general of National Assembly, Ku was personally appointed by Chiang Kai-shek as his successor the following year, later officially elected in 1960. In 1966, he received the highest number of votes—100 in total—in the election to select the 85-member Presidium of the Assembly, making him the top-ranking chair. Ku's growing power sparked controversy, with critics arguing that he had accumulated excessive influence within the National Assembly. According to New News Weekly, Chiang Kai-shek himself remarked: " wants to run for president now."
In 1987, during the Iran-Contra Affair, Ku's covert military aid to the Contras was exposed and later confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Ku died on 11 December 1993 in Taipei at the age of 91.
Personality
A widely circulated account, documented in Ku Cheng-kang's state-published biography, describes how he twice gained trust and power through tears.The first occurred in 1939 after Wang Jingwei's defection. As a member of Wang's Reorganization Group, Ku wept before Chiang Kai-shek, declaring his loyalty to the party-state and proclaimed: "I once served Wang out of loyalty to the party and the nation; now, I will serve you with the same loyalty." and
the second time took place during the Chinese Civil War when Li Zongren pressured Chiang to step down. Ku again used tears to affirm his unwavering support. This story is frequently cited in modern books.
According to Ku's state-published biography issued by the Legislative Yuan, he maintained a deliberately austere lifestyle throughout his life. The biography records that Ku declined government-assigned official housing for senior officials and instead rented modest accommodation. In 1964 he was reportedly sued over unpaid rent, declared bankrupt and relocated to Minsheng New Village, then a rural, flood-prone area. The same source notes that Ku used second-hand furniture inherited from his younger brother Ku Cheng-ting and at times sold personal gifts—such as pens and radios he had received from President Park Chung-hee and Prime minister Nobusuke Kishi—to help pay his children's tuition fees.
The same biography portrays Ku as an assertive and confrontational public figure who cultivated close contact with the press and frequently used it to expose and denounce political opponents. The biography recounts a widely cited incident during a 1985 trip to South America in which Ku discovered that his sun hat had been manufactured in the Mainland China and, in protest, threw the hat to the ground.
Chen Kewen, a close colleague and friend of Ku, recorded sharply critical views of Ku in his diary. Chen described him as a “revolutionary ruffian” and a “party hoodlum,” and further noted that among members of the Reorganizationist Group, “hardly any were satisfied with Ku; only Mr. Wang seemed to rely heavily on him.” Chen added that he himself “could not understand the reason for this contradiction.”
Literary works
- The following is an incomplete list of the literary works of Ku Cheng-kang
- Ku Cheng-kang 谷正綱編，世盟重要文獻，台北市：世界反共聯盟中華民國分會，1967年
- Ku Cheng-kang 谷正綱，發揚胞愛精神團結反共力量，台北市：中國大陸災胞救濟總會，1973年
- Ku Cheng-kang "Expose and Destroy Peiping's "Peaceful Unification" Intrigue", World Anti-Communist League, China Chapter, 1979, Taipei.
- Ku Cheng-kang "The 12th C.C.P. Congress and the Future of Teng's Line", World Anti-Communist League, China Chapter, 1982, Taipei.
- ''Ku Cheng-kang 谷正綱，為人類自由而奮鬥：世盟榮譽主席谷正綱博士言論選集，世盟榮譽主席谷正綱言論選集編委會，1985年''