He and his identical twin brother, John Chang, were born the sons of Chiang Ching-kuo and Chang Ya-juo in Guilin, but took their mother's surname as they were born out of wedlock, although they both were given the generation name of Hsiao shared by all of Chiang Ching-kuo's children, legitimate or otherwise. Chang Ya-juo died when the brothers were one in August 1942, and they were raised by his Chang Ya-juo's younger brother, Chang Hau-juo (章浩若) and his wife Chi Chen (紀琛). Their uncle and aunt were listed as their parents on official documents until December 2002.
The brothers fled to Hsinchu, Taiwan in 1949 and both studied law in Soochow University. Winston Chang received his master's from Southern Methodist University, and his doctorate from Tulane University Law School. After returning to Taiwan, he was mostly involved in teaching and research. He later became the chairman of the Soochow University College of Law as well as the President in 1992.
On 20 August 1993, he visited his mother's tomb in Guilin and attended a cross-straits Buddhist conference. In late 1994, Chang suffered a stroke in Beijing and entered into a coma. His devastating coma eventually caused his death. He was flown back to Taiwan via Hong Kong in his comatose condition. Despite the fact that he never recovered from the coma, he continued to officially serve as President on medical leave until his death two years later.
