Editing Soong Mei-ling (section)

==Allegations of corruption==
Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Soong's family embezzled $20 million.<ref name=":92">{{Cite book |last1=Marquis |first1=Christopher |author-link=Christopher Marquis |url= |title=Mao and Markets: The Communist Roots of Chinese Enterprise |last2=Qiao |first2=Kunyuan |date=2022 |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |isbn=978-0-300-26883-6 |location=New Haven |doi=10.2307/j.ctv3006z6k |jstor=j.ctv3006z6k |oclc=1348572572 |s2cid=253067190}}</ref>{{Rp|page=40}} During this period, the Nationalist Government's revenues were less than $30 million per year.<ref name=":92" />{{Rp|page=40}} One of the key reasons was that Soong Mei-ling ignored her family's involvement in corruption.<ref name="TT Dragon Lady2">{{Cite web |last1=Chieh-yu |first1=Lin |last2=Wu |first2=Debby |last3=Liu |first3=Cody |last4=Wen |first4=Stephanie |last5=Chang |first5=Eddy |date=25 October 2003 |title=The Dragon Lady who charmed the world |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2003/10/25/2003073291 |publisher=Taipei Times}}</ref> The Soong family's eldest son, [[T.V. Soong]], was the Chinese premier finance minister, and the eldest daughter, [[Soong Ai-ling]], was the wife of [[Kung Hsiang-hsi]], the wealthiest man in China. The second daughter, [[Soong Ching-ling]], was the wife of Sun Yat-sen, China's founding father. The youngest daughter, Soong Mei-ling, married Chiang in 1927, and following the marriage, the two families became intimately connected, creating the "Soong dynasty" and the "Four Families". However, Soong was also credited for her campaign for women's rights in China, including her attempts to improve the education, culture, and social benefits of Chinese women.<ref name="TT Dragon Lady2" /> Critics have said that the "Four Families" monopolized the regime and looted it.<ref name="Enclopedia of Dictators">{{cite book |last=Coppa |first=Frank J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gTv99LBYSL4C&pg=PA58 |title=Encyclopedia of modern dictators: from Napoleon to the present |publisher=Peter Lang |year=2006 |isbn=0820450103 |page=58 |access-date=15 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727210704/https://books.google.com/books?id=gTv99LBYSL4C&pg=PA58 |archive-date=27 July 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> The US sent considerable aid to the Nationalist government but soon realized the widespread corruption. Military supplies that were sent appeared on the black market. Large sums of money that had been transmitted through T. V. Soong, China's finance minister, soon disappeared. President Truman famously referred to the Nationalist leaders, "They're thieves, every damn one of them." He also said, "They stole $750 million out of the billions that we sent to Chiang. They stole it, and it's invested in real estate down in São Paolo and some right here in New York."<ref name="Truman Quote2">{{Cite web |author=Seth Faison |date=25 October 2003 |title=Madame Chiang Kai-shek, a Power in Husband's China and Abroad, Dies at 105 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/25/world/madame-chiang-kai-shek-a-power-in-husband-s-china-and-abroad-dies-at-105.html |website=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref name="The Sorc2">{{Cite web |author=Jonathan Fenby |date=5 November 2003 |title=The sorceress |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/nov/05/china.jonathanfenby |website=[[TheGuardian.com]]}}</ref> Soong Mei-ling and Soong Ai-ling lived luxurious lifestyles and held millions in property, clothes, art, and jewelry.<ref name="Jewelry">{{Cite web |author=Bernice Chan |date=22 May 2015 |title=Soong sisters' jewellery and art heirlooms to be auctioned in Hong Kong |url=https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-luxury/article/1805301/soong-sisters-jewellery-and-art-heirlooms-be-auctioned-hong}}</ref> Soong Ai-ling and Soong Mei-ling were also the two richest women in China.<ref name="Peterson">Peterson, Barbara Bennett (ed.). (2000). ''Notable Women of China: Shang Dynasty to the Early 20th century''. M.E. Sharp publishing. {{ISBN|076560504X}}.</ref> Despite living a luxurious life for almost her entire life, Soong Mei-ling left only a $120,000 inheritance, and the reason, according to her niece, was that she donated most of her wealth when she was still alive.<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 May 2022 |title=高齡106歲去世！宋美齡死後「銀行帳戶餘額曝光」驚呆了 &#124; 新奇 &#124; 三立新聞網 SETN.COM |url=https://www.setn.com/News.aspx?NewsID=1109885 |website=www.setn.com}}</ref> 

During [[Chiang Ching-kuo]]'s enforcement campaign in Shanghai after the war, Chiang Ching-kuo arrested her nephew [[David Kung Ling-kan|David Kung]] and several employees of the Yangtze Development Corporation on allegations of holding foreign exchange. Mei-ling called Chiang Kai-shek to complain and also called Chiang Ching-Kuo directly.<ref name=":022">{{Cite book |last=Coble |first=Parks M. |author-link=Parks M. Coble |title=The Collapse of Nationalist China: How Chiang Kai-shek Lost China's Civil War |date=2023 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-1-009-29761-5 |location=Cambridge New York, NY}}</ref>{{Rp|page=181–183}} Kung was eventually freed after negotiations.