Former president Lee Teng-hui's (
As reflected in recent reports about the formation of what has been called "Lee's political group," and the victory of Liu Tai-ying (
In the past, Lee was able to control the massive KMT-owned enterprises and state-owned financial institutions. Although Lee's heyday is past, the KMT still dreads him. Anticipating that Lee's visit to the US would make headlines, the KMT tried to stage a pre-emptive strike by throwing a grand reception for Lien Chan (
Looking back over Lee's 12 years as president, one characteristic is noteworthy. His power was inflated by others. It was rooted in his ability to cleverly take advantage of his political rivals' excessive imagination about his "greatness." The book An Account of Lee Teng-hui in Power (
According to the book, "Lin Yang-kang (林洋港), Hau Pei-tsun (郝柏村) and others, believed that their plan [to reverse Lee's nomination of Li Yuan-zu (李元簇) as vice president in the plenary session of the KMT's Central Committee (臨中全會)] was leaked because their phones had been tapped by Soong Hsin-lian (宋心濂), then chief of the National Security Bureau (國安局). Lee felt afterwards that [their belief] was ludicrous..." Lee felt this way because he had little control over the military intelligence system at that time. Soong did not, in truth, provide Lee with any valuable information beforehand.
Lee successfully foiled a coup plot that was already taking shape, in the same way as he engineered Hau's fall. He was able to do these things, not because he was particularly cunning or had real power. He simply roared at Hau, who then submitted his resignation and stepped down as premier.
Thirteen years ago, Lee was merely the acting KMT chairman, playing it by ear and carrying the day by sheer enthusiasm. The problem at the time was that elderly KMT members lacked the stomach for either revolution or democracy. Having revered former presidents Chiang Kai-shek (蔣中正) and Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) with awe for 40 years, the mere sight of the party chairman's empty seat scared them out of their wits. Facing a KMT that was single-mindedly trying to consolidate its leadership, Lee used theatrics to conjure up an image of reality and tried to overcome his own mental obstacles.
Now, Lee is repeating his familiar maneuver of "manipulation by the minority" (弱勢操作) as he works to carry out his goals of achieving "a stable political situation and a growing economy." He must be warmly welcoming China and Taiwan's own pro-unification advocates and media to criticize, speculate on and seriously analyze his "intentions." These will once again inflate Lee's imagined power.
Chen Ro-jinn is a freelance writer.
Translated by Jackie Lin
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