Editing James Soong (section)

== Early life and education ==
Soong was born in China on April 30, 1942,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shih |first=Hsiu-chuan |date=2006-12-18 |title=NewsMaker: Soong remains a force to be reckoned with |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2006/12/18/2003340907 |access-date=2025-03-16 |website=[[The Taipei Times]]}}</ref> in [[Xiangtan]], [[Hunan]], province.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Xing |first1=Zhigang |last2=Jiao |first2=Xiaoyang |title=Hometown gives Soong a heroic welcome |url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-05/10/content_440523.htm |access-date=16 November 2019 |work=China Daily |date=10 May 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Ni |first1=Yanshuo |title=Increasing Connections |url=http://www.bjreview.com.cn/90th/2011-10/18/content_398889.htm |access-date=16 November 2019 |work=Beijing Review |date=2005}}</ref> His father, {{ill|Soong Ta|zh|宋達}}, was a career military officer staunchly loyal to [[Republic of China]] (ROC) President [[Chiang Kai-shek]] and rose to the rank of [[major general]] in the [[National Revolutionary Army]] from an enlisted sailor.<ref name="faces"/> Ta had left Hunan to join the [[Kuomintang]] army at age 14 and was a close aide to Chiang and his son, [[Chiang Ching-kuo]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Bo |first=Tedards |date=2000-03-15 |title=The many faces of James Soong |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/insight/archives/2000/03/15/0000027929 |access-date=2025-03-15 |website=[[The Taipei Times]]}}</ref> 

Soong's mother and two younger sisters were [[Protestant Christians]] while his father was a [[Buddhist]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=1980-08-01 |title=Free and responsible religion |url=https://taiwanreview.nat.gov.tw/Culture/Taiwan-Review/25724/Free-and-responsible-religion |access-date=2025-03-15 |website=[[Taiwan Today]] |language=en}}</ref> He was his father's first son and his childhood was largely defined by the [[Chinese Civil War]].<ref name=":1" /> After the [[Kuomintang]] (KMT) defeat in the [[Chinese Civil War]], the family fled to [[Taiwan]] in 1949 during the [[Retreat of the government of the Republic of China to Taiwan|Retreat of the government of the Republic of China]].<ref name="bbcprofile2012">{{cite news |title=Profile: James Soong |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-16482207 |access-date=16 November 2019 |publisher=BBC |date=12 January 2012}}</ref><ref name="bloomberg2019">{{cite news |last1=Ellis |first1=Samson |title=Pro-China Veteran's Taiwan Election Bid Deals Blow to Beijing |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-11-13/pro-china-veteran-s-taiwan-election-bid-deals-blow-to-beijing |access-date=16 November 2019 |work=Bloomberg |date=12 November 2019}}</ref> Soong then began his early schooling in [[Taipei]], where classmates remembered him as a "taciturn boy who stayed out of most of the usual social activities" and was "buried in his books."<ref name=":1" />

In 1964, Soong graduated first in his class from [[National Chengchi University]] with a [[Bachelor of Laws]] (LL.B.) degree specializing in diplomacy.<ref name=":1" /> He then went to complete graduate studies in the United States, where he earned a [[Master of Arts]] (M.A.) in [[political science]] from the [[University of California, Berkeley]], in 1967, then a [[Master of Science]] (M.S.) in [[library and information science]] from the [[Catholic University of America]] in 1971. He remained in [[Washington, D.C.]], to study for his doctorate and earned his [[Ph.D.]] in political science from [[Georgetown University]] in 1974.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=October 2017 |title=James Chu-Yul Soong: Resume |url=https://www.roc-taiwan.org/uploads/sites/100/2017/10/Dr.-James-C.Y.-Soongs-resume.pdf |access-date=February 14, 2025 |publisher=[[Executive Yuan]]}}</ref> His doctoral dissertation was titled, "An Elite Perspective On Developmental Crisis: China's Experiences in Inner Mongolia."<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Soong |first=James Chu-yul |title=An elite perspective on developmental crisis: China's experiences in Inner Mongolia |date=1974 |degree=PhD |publisher=[[Stanford University Libraries]] |url=https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/980997}}</ref> During his time studying in the U.S., Soong acquired "a near-perfect command of English."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Yu |first=Miles |date=July 2, 2015 |title=Inside China: James Soong shakes up Taiwan presidential election again |url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jul/2/inside-china-james-soong-shakes-up-taiwan-presiden/ |access-date=16 March 2025 |work=[[The Washington Times]]}}</ref>