Editing Soong Mei-ling (section)

==Later life==
[[File:Chiang Kai-shek and Soong May-ling in 1955.jpg|thumb|right|Soong Mei-ling and [[Chiang Kai-shek]] in [[Taipei]], [[Taiwan]], in 1955.]]
After the death of her husband in 1975, Madame Chiang assumed a low profile. She was first diagnosed with [[breast cancer]] in 1975 and would undergo two mastectomies in [[Taiwan]]. She also had an ovarian tumor removed in 1991.<ref>Pakula 2009, p. 659</ref>

[[Chang Hsien-yi]] claimed that Soong Mei-ling and military officials loyal to her expedited the [[Taiwan and weapons of mass destruction|development of nuclear weapons]] and even set up a parallel chain of command to further their agenda.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sui |first1=Cindy |title=The man who helped prevent a nuclear crisis |work=BBC News |date=May 18, 2017 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-39252502 |access-date=September 27, 2020}}</ref>

Chiang Kai-shek was succeeded to power by his eldest son [[Chiang Ching-kuo]], from a previous marriage, with whom Madame Chiang had rocky relations. In 1975, she emigrated from [[Taiwan]] to her family's 36 acre (14.6 hectare) estate in [[Lattingtown, New York]], where she kept a portrait of her late husband in full military regalia in her living room. She kept a residence in [[Wolfeboro, New Hampshire]], where she vacationed in the summer. Madame Chiang returned to Taiwan upon Chiang Ching-kuo's death in 1988, to shore up support among her old allies. However, Chiang Ching-kuo's successor, [[Lee Teng-hui]], proved more adept at politics than she was, and consolidated his position. She again returned to the U.S. and made a rare public appearance in 1995 when she attended a reception held on [[United States Capitol|Capitol Hill]] in her honor in connection with celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. Madame Chiang made her last visit to Taiwan in 1995. In the [[2000 ROC presidential election|2000 Presidential Election on Taiwan]], the [[Kuomintang]] produced a letter from her in which she purportedly supported the KMT candidate [[Lien Chan]] over independent candidate [[James Soong]] (no relation). James Soong never disputed the authenticity of the letter. Soong sold her [[Long Island]] estate in 2000 and spent the rest of her life in the [[10 Gracie Square]] apartment on the [[Upper East Side]] of [[Manhattan]] owned by her niece. An open house viewing of the estate drew many Taiwanese expatriates. When Madame Chiang was 103 years old, she had an exhibition of her Chinese paintings in New York.<ref>Pakula 2009, p. 670</ref>