Former President Lee Teng-hui (
Speaking at the launch of his new book, Witness Taiwan: President Chiang Ching-kuo and Me (
However, Lee said "people within the KMT only followed Chiang's ideas on the surface. They didn't truly carry out those ideas. The KMT leaders couldn't appreciate Chiang's expectations [for localization and democratization], but were only reminiscing about the benefits they reaped in the party-state era."
"The March 20 presidential election signified the final termination of the KMT's party state. Those people in the KMT trying to secure their party-state privileges don't understand Chiang. If the KMT wants to regain its power, it must change its direction," Lee said.
He noted that Taiwan is embarking on a journey to become a normal country and that writing a new constitution is necessary to complete this goal, which should be jointly carried out by all political parties.
Meanwhile, People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) yesterday slammed Lee's book as an attempt to usurp Chiang's political aura.
"Former president Lee launched the book wanting to prove that he is Chiang's torch-bearer," Soong said in a letter published yesterday in the Chinese-language United Daily.
"But people's eyes are open, and other than proving once again the lasting impression of Chiang's spirit and style, [Lee's effort in launching the book] cannot aid anyone who tries to seize Chiang's political popularity and prestige," Soong said. The letter was published in an apparent effort to coincide with the launch of Lee's book yesterday.
The book narrates how Lee was chosen by Chiang to be his vice president and how Chiang, in the last years of his presidency, ushered in policies for the democratization and localization of the KMT party state.
To support his claim that Lee is not Chiang's torch-bearer, Soong compared and contrasted Chiang and Lee in his letter.
Soong said that Chiang, being steadfast and honest, had strived during his tenure as president to emphasize the distribution of wealth, promote ethnic harmony, eradicate corruption and safeguard the Republic of China (ROC).
Soong claimed that Lee, on the other hand, knew many political tricks and that he accelerated the widening gap between the nation's rich and poor, promoted disunity, created "black gold" politics and worked to destroy the ROC.
"The Chinese culture which Chiang had strived to exalt and enhance during his term was neglected by Lee. [Would you] consider that as inheriting Chiang's [spirit and political ideals]?" Soong asked rhetorically.
"If Chiang in heaven knows [what Lee had done,] I am afraid he might be shedding tears," Soong said.
Soong also lambasted Lee as "one who, for the sake of winning, would do things by hook or by crook ... the KMT lost its unity because of Lee, Lee pulled out the party's assets, ruined and spoiled the party and led it into financial dire straits, and eventually, lost the position as ruling party."
The book, compiled by the Academia Historica, contains Lee's oral narration of his interactions with Chiang, as well as 156 written memos Lee took during each conversation he had with Chiang during his years as vice president. This relationship lasted from May 20, 1984, when Lee assumed the vice presidency, to Jan. 13, 1988 when Chiang passed away.
Lee said he only gave an account in the book of the time he worked under Chiang, and the purpose of the book was not only to satisfy the public's curiosity about Chiang, but also to let people understand Chiang's contributions to a new Taiwan.
He said the publication of the book was aimed at restoring history, but was not a judgment of Chiang's legacy, which should be left to the people.
"Although many Taiwanese have harshly criticized Chiang's legacy because of the White Terror era, I have to say I am a pupil of the Chiang Ching-kuo school. He was really nice to me and I learned a lot from him," Lee said.
Lee yesterday spoke of how Chiang had chosen him to take up important positions, from that of minister without portfolio and Taipei City mayor to Taiwan provincial governor at a time when very few Taiwanese had the opportunity to be close to the KMT's top leadership.
Recalling how Chiang had paid close attention to his training, Lee said "one month before I took up the office of Taipei City mayor, Chiang would come to my house three or four times a week to personally give me training and instructions. He even came to my house on the first day of my mayoral tenure. I came home from work seeing him sitting in my living room. I was shocked. Even my wife didn't know he was coming over. She was out grocery shopping."
"Chiang had given me much care. That's why I put on the final page of my notes that when Chiang died, a leader and mentor was lost," the former president said.
Regarding the realization about the necessity to do localization work after he took up the presidency, Lee said he didn't dare to disclose he had such ideas until he secured his leadership status in the KMT.
"I didn't show my true intentions at all when I was still vice president. I did very well to hold back my opinions. Not until my status as the president was fully assured in 1993 did I start to speak about the sorrow of the Taiwanese people to the Japanese author Riotaro Shiba (
The sorrow of the Taiwanese people Lee referred to was that the people of Taiwan had never been their own masters and had been ruled by foreign regimes for centuries. The remark has often been taken as Lee's endorsement of the goal of Taiwan independence.
The new book is the first published personal oral history account by a former president of Taiwan. Lee said he will continue to publish books to detail his 12 years as president, as well as about the forging of a Taiwanese identity.
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