Item number: M436

Year: AD 1979

The results after XRF testing (round part)

The results after XRF testing (radial part)

Material: Copper Alloy

Size: 35.3 x 35.3 x 9.7 mm

Weight: 14.55 g

Manufactured by: Department of Minting, Central Engraving and Printing Plant

Provenance: Chang Ming-Chuan Collection 2015

This piece is a commemorative medal of President Chiang Kai-shek, presented by the Office of the President of the Republic of China.

The obverse consists of a two-layer construction comprising radiating star points and a circular central panel. The central panel bears a direct metal print of former President Chiang Chung-cheng’s portrait, produced through a photographic metal-printing process. The image used is his well-known “casual attire portrait”, frequently selected for presentation to guests. Surrounding the panel are four cruciform star rays; each ray is flanked by overlapping luminous beams, and the interstices between the four arms contain semi-profile representations of plum blossoms, the national flower.

The reverse is flat. The upper perimeter bears the inscription “總統 蔣公紀念章” (“Presidential Medal in Honour of President Chiang”), read from right to left, while the lower line reads “總統府贈” (“Presented by the Office of the President”). At the centre is a stud fastening used to distinguish it from chest-worn decorations.

This medal was likely produced for distribution to overseas Chinese communities during the Republic of China’s Southeast Asian goodwill missions around AD 1979.

During the years surrounding AD 1979, Southeast Asia was undergoing a profound reconfiguration amid the late-Cold War strategic order. After completing national reunification in AD 1975, Vietnam rapidly became the Soviet Union’s principal ally in the region. Its AD 1978 military overthrow of the Khmer Rouge triggered severe regional insecurity. In early AD 1979, escalating Sino-Vietnamese tensions resulted in China launching a border war against Vietnam, prompting Hanoi to rely even more heavily on Soviet support. At the same time, the influx of Cambodian refugees into Thailand turned the latter into a frontline hub for international assistance and anti-Soviet–Vietnamese coordination. ASEAN member states, facing shared security pressures, deepened cooperation, making AD 1979 a pivotal moment in the remaking of regional politics.

Against this backdrop, the circumstances of ethnic Chinese communities diverged sharply across Southeast Asia. The Hoa in Vietnam, long influential in urban commerce and industry, were struck by socialist economic reforms and, amid deteriorating Sino-Vietnamese relations, were increasingly regarded as politically suspect. From AD 1978 to AD 1979, they faced confiscation of property and forced relocation, culminating in the mass exodus known internationally as the “boat people” crisis. By contrast, Chinese communities in Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore—despite pressures arising from language policies, national identity formation and educational reforms—maintained comparatively stable socio-economic positions; in Singapore, state-directed language planning even reinvigorated certain forms of Chinese cultural subjectivity. In Laos and Cambodia, however, Chinese communities suffered far more severe repression under revolutionary regimes, and their social structures nearly collapsed.

During this same period, the Republic of China faced an increasingly precarious international position. After losing its United Nations seat in AD 1971, diplomatic recognition contracted year by year, culminating in the rupture of relations with the United States in AD 1979, which pushed Taiwan into unprecedented diplomatic isolation. In response, the government intensified its engagement with overseas Chinese and reinterpreted long-standing anti-communist mobilisation work within the diaspora as a form of “quasi-diplomacy”. It is important to note that Southeast Asian goodwill missions had been integral to Kuomintang overseas-Chinese policy since the early post-war decades. From the AD 1950s onward, the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and various Chinese associations conducted regular慰僑 missions, cultural propaganda tours, and educational outreach, treating overseas Chinese as a transnational geopolitical asset and cultivating their identification with “Free China”. After the diplomatic crisis of AD 1979, this pre-existing僑務 apparatus was imbued with heightened political purpose: through mission visits, promotional materials, commemorative medals and symbolic rituals, the government sought to preserve emotional and political ties between overseas Chinese and the Republic of China, using cultural and symbolic means to compensate for shrinking formal diplomatic space. During this period,僑務 networks were mobilised more vigorously to disseminate political messages and reinforce narratives of state legitimacy.

Meanwhile, the People’s Republic of China, benefiting from reform and opening and from the establishment of diplomatic relations with the United States in AD 1979, rapidly integrated into the international system. China became a key strategic partner for the United States in containing the Soviet Union, and its foreign economic and technological cooperation expanded swiftly. The Sino-Vietnamese War also recast China’s role within ASEAN, prompting regional states to pursue more flexible diplomatic and economic engagement with Beijing. In this context, the PRC significantly enhanced its international visibility through economic reform, diplomatic outreach and geopolitical manoeuvring, whereas the ROC relied on strengthened僑務 networks, economic development and civil-society connections to sustain its informal international presence. The political transformations associated with the late Cold War thus directly shaped the modern international configuration of Southeast Asia.

物件編號: M436

年代: 公元 1979 年

XRF分析結果: (圓盤部分)

XRF分析結果: (星芒部分)

材質: 銅合金

尺寸: 35.3 x 35.3 x 9.7 mm

重量: 14.55 g

製造地: 中央印製廠鑄製所

來源: 張明泉 2015

這是中華民國政府總統府贈與的總統蔣公紀念章。

獎章正面以二層組合，即星芒與圓盤上蓋：圓盤上蓋以金屬印刷之技術將前總統蔣中正的肖像照直接印製於金屬上。所採用的相片是贈送賓客常用的「總統蔣中正著便裝肖像」；圓盤周圍則有四道星芒，呈十字，每道星芒兩側均有重疊相錯的光芒。星芒四臂間各有國花梅花呈半側面狀。

背面為平背，上方環列「總統 蔣公紀念章」，由右向左順讀。下方橫列「總統府贈」。中央有用以別於胸前的釘釦。

該紀念章可能是用以於公元1979年前後的東南亞訪問團行程中，用以贈發予當地僑胞而製作的。

公元1979年前後的東南亞正處於冷戰後期格局重塑的關鍵時刻。越南在公元1975年完成南北統一後迅速成為蘇聯在東南亞的主要盟友，公元1978年又以武力推翻赤柬政權，引發區域安全結構劇烈震盪。公元1979年初，中越關係惡化導致中國對越南發動邊境戰爭，越南旋即更加依賴蘇聯。此外，大量柬埔寨難民湧入泰國，也使泰國成為國際援助與反蘇越政治協調的前線；而東協國家在共同安全壓力下強化合作，使公元1979年成為區域政治重新編組的重要節點。

東南亞華人的處境在此歷史背景下呈顯著差異化。越南華人因掌握城市工商業而受到社會主義改造衝擊，再加上中越關係惡化，被視為不可靠的政治群體，公元1978至公元1979年更遭財產查禁、強制遷移，最終形成震撼國際社會的「船民潮」。相比之下，馬來西亞、泰國與新加坡華人雖仍面臨語文政策、國民身分建構與教育改革的壓力，經濟與社會地位卻相對穩定；其中新加坡甚至透過國家語文工程重新強化華人文化的主體性。而寮國與柬埔寨的華人在革命政權下受到更嚴苛的壓迫，社群結構幾近瓦解。

在兩岸國際地位分化之時，中華民國於公元1970年代末所面臨的外交處境尤為嚴峻。自公元1971年失去聯合國席位後，外交承認逐年萎縮，至公元1979年美國與中華民國斷交，更將台灣推入前所未有的外交孤立。也正因此，政府重新強化對海外華僑的經營，並將既有的反共動員僑務工作，視為「準外交」的重要替代工具。然而，值得強調的是，自戰後初期，東南亞訪問團即已成為國民黨僑務政策的一部分；僑務委員會、外交部與華僑組織自公元1950年代起便透過慰僑訪問、文化宣傳與僑教巡迴等方式，將華僑視為跨國地緣政治資源，形塑海外社群對「自由中國」的政治認同。在公元1979年外交危機加深後，這套既有的僑務運作反而被賦予更強烈的政治任務——透過訪問團、宣傳資料、紀念章與象徵儀式，維繫海外華人對中華民國的情感連結，並以文化與政治象徵彌補正式外交空間的縮減。政府在此時期更積極透過僑務網絡傳遞政治訊息，以鞏固其正統性敘事和國家形象。

中華人民共和國則因改革開放與公元1979年美中建交而迅速融入國際體系，成為美國牽制蘇聯的重要戰略夥伴，其對外經貿與科技合作並因此快速擴展；同時，中越戰爭使中國在東協國家中獲得新的戰略角色，區域國家逐漸願意與北京建立更靈活的外交與經濟聯繫。在這一時期，PRC透過改革、外交開放與地緣政治操作大幅提升國際能見度，而ROC則透過強化僑務、發展經濟與民間連結維繫非正式的國際存在。冷戰的政治變遷，因而成為當代東南亞國際政治格局的直接原因。