Up until Lee Teng-hui
Since the KMT's unprecedented election defeat, he has yet to carry out a critical self-examination, at least in public. On the other hand, he has reiterated that "the alien regime
He even said that though he had been the KMT chairman, he had felt "powerless" in dealing with the party.
When he met with DPP legislators, he not only urged them to take a strong stance against Beijing, but even hinted at the possibility of supporting DPP legislator Shen Fu-hsiung
Lee has appeared to be perfectly unperturbed by the KMT's defeat, as if it had nothing to do with him. After stepping down as KMT chairman, Lee has been beaming with vitality as one released from his troubles.
Lee has been infused with the ideology of rebellion ever since childhood and joined the KMT late, at the age of 43.
He loves Taiwan, not the KMT. In view of this, Lee may simply be showing his true nature. However, the historical irony is that it took the president 12 years to speak his mind -- and only after the DPP came to power.
Seen from another perspective, Lee's actions reveal Taiwan's divided national identity, which crosses party boundaries. Though Lee is in the KMT, he rejected it in his heart. It was only the DPP's own mistakes that kept him in the KMT, as the opposition party continuously said things that contradicted his will.
Lee and the DPP are enemies and friends at the same time, much as are James Soong
These kind of relationships appropriately reflect the fundamental divisions of national identity, as well as different ethnic cultures and political ideologies.
Lee's stepping down has finally allowed him to expose his inner nature of being "more DPP than the DPP itself." However, the KMT he left behind is still struggling with ethnic differences and the issue of indigenizing the party. The People First Party, assembled after the election by Soong, shares a similar nature -- full of contradictions and in desperate need of sorting out old complexes to figure out a new path.
However, as the new government kicks off its reforms, the cross-strait crisis gradually returns to the spotlight and new scandals are exposed, Lee may not enjoy the people's sympathy. On the contrary, his political influence and personal reputation may go into a downward spiral.
Amid the fast-changing politics of Taiwan, Lee has long been an old-fashioned figure. He will probably be out of date by the 2001 legislative elections, not to mention the 2002 Taipei mayoral election. It is highly possible that he will become "box office poison" in metropolitan constituencies.
Therefore, it may not be accurate to say that Lee retains his charisma. It may be that with his recent comments, Lee was trying to get closer to the DPP, to arouse public curiosity as to how the DPP will play the "Lee Teng-hui card" in the coming year.
However, Lee's honeymoon with the DPP may not last if he continues to act like the host of a party or describes his relationship with Chen as similar to that of Moses and Joshua.
Julian Kuo is an associate professor of political science at Soochow University.
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