He was president of the state-run Broadcasting Corporation of China from 1980 to 1986, and later headed the Republic of China mission to Singapore for two years,[6] starting in April 1986 as the deputy trade representative[7] before being transferred to the mission to Japan in 1990.[8][9] In a December 1985 speech, Hsiao-wu's father Chiang Ching-kuo declared ″If someone asks me whether anyone in my family would run for the next presidential term, my reply is, ′It can't be and it won't be.′″[10][11][12] Prior to the speech, Chiang Hsiao-wu was the only one of Chiang Ching-kuo's sons mentioned as a potential successor.[7]
He died at the age of 46, on July 1, 1991, at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan as a result of congestive heart failure brought on by chronic inflammation of the pancreas.[2][8][13] He was survived by his wife and two children.[2][3]
^"Singapore PM All Smiles In ROC". Taiwan Journal (Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Taipei, Taiwan. February 23, 1989. Archived from the original on 2014-11-07. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
^Jacobs, J. Bruce (2012). "Three: The Lee Teng-Hui presidency to early 1996". Democratizing Taiwan. Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill NV. p. 72. ISBN978-90-04-22154-3. Retrieved 19 May 2016. On February 13, 1990 a group of National Assembly members proposed Lin Yang-kang for president and the following day Chiang Wego denied that his brother Chiang Ching-kuo had said, ″Members of the Chiang family cannot and will not run for president.″ Footnote 19: [...] Chiang Ching-kuo made this statement on December 25, 1985.