(Ecns.cn)--As the great grandson of Chiang Kai-shek, former leader of the Kuomintang (KMT)， Demos Chiang grew up in one of China's most famous families. However, staying away from Taiwan politics as he was told to do, he has rocked the fashion world as a successful Taiwanese businessman.
Demos, or Chiang Yu-bou, was born to Chiang Hsiao-yung, the third son of Chiang Ching-kuo, who succeeded his father Chiang Kai-shek as leader of the KMT from 1978 until his death in 1988.
Though often referred to as the fourth generation of the Chiang family, Demos has repeatedly said that he wants to be known as the first generation—the first to find and follow another way of life completely different from his ancestors, revealed Demos in an interview with the Global Times.
He indeed fulfilled his dream by finding his talents in design and fashion. Starting as an entrepreneur, Demos founded DEM Inc. in July 2003, which turned into a popular design studio both in and out of Taiwan with clients from big global brands such as Sony and Microsoft.
Handsome, successful, and a little noble as he is, Demos has become an idol to many youngsters, and is even sometimes addressed as the "Prince William of Taiwan."
Aladdin's lamp
Born with a silver spoon in his mouth in 1976, Demos once led a rather comfortable life before he was 12, tenderly cherished by his family, carefully protected by bodyguards, and even well respected by his classmates.
"When I was a little child, I always thought I had Aladdin's lamp, which would bring me whatever I wanted. Until one day, somebody took it away from me. It seemed that I was thrown in a boundless desert. Everything suddenly disappeared," Demos recalled in his book The Path under the Cliff.
Following his grandfather Chiang Ching-kuo's death in 1988, Demos moved to Montrealm, Canada with his father due to political disruptions, which made life in the Chiang family much harder than before.
"We left in a hurry. I felt that the drivers, housekeepers, and bodyguards evaporated overnight. I had to speak English every day after getting up," said Demos.
Duo to language barriers, he also had difficulties getting along with his classmates and "was never invited to join a class activity," like "someone who was totally forgotten by the world," revealed Demos Chiang: Another Expression of the Chiang Family, a book, according to the Global Times, by Zhou Weijun, which outlines Demos' ups and downs while shedding a new light on the lives of Chiang Kai-shek's family at a time when the family fell from a position of popularity and power.
However, misfortune never comes alone. In 1996, Demos' father died of cancer, which completely smashed his Aladdin's lamp, and left the then 20-year-old at a crossroads in his life.
"I had pinned my hope on my father to find me a job. The dream was broken suddenly, and I felt I was totally useless," he explained.
