Former president Lee Teng-hui (
Lee made the remarks in a speech to members of the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association and the Lee Teng-hui Academy in Kaohsiung.
The speech was Lee's first public attempt at explaining himself in the face of mounting opposition after an article last week cast doubt over his commitment to Taiwan's independence.
PHOTO: CHANG CHUNG-YI, TAIPEI TIMES
Lee has faced an avalanche of complaints in the wake of an article which quoted him as saying that he had never been an advocate of official independence for the country. The article, which appeared in the Chinese?language tabloid Next Magazine on Jan. 31, also quoted Lee as saying he hoped to visit China.
Lee yesterday said that some people had deliberately distorted his thoughts.
"Recently, some people have called me capricious. But I have always made the people my first priority, thinking about how to bring wellbeing and happiness to people. I never change these basic beliefs. What I care about is how to solve people's problems in the new era we're in," he said.
Lee also attempted to clarify the magazine article during an interview with TVBS and ran an advertisement in the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times' sister newspaper) on Friday.
In an interview with the Liberty Times on Saturday, published yesterday, Lee told the paper it was unlikely he would visit China.
"On the one hand, [it is because of my] physical condition. On the other hand, one cannot imagine the consequences [of my visiting China] for Taiwan," Lee was quoted as saying in the interview.
Elaborating on why he had decided to make his recent remarks regarding Taiwan's status, Lee told the Liberty Times he hoped the ruling and opposition parties would drop the debate over independence for the moment so that they could devote themselves to addressing issues affecting the nation's economic development and the daily lives of the people.
Lee said he was in favor of Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Chairman Huang Kun-hui's (黃昆輝) recent proposal that the party adopt a more "moderate" approach in its pursuit of democracy.
"The approach ... is a matter of class, which has nothing to do with the debate over unification [with China] or [Taiwanese] independence," Lee said.
Enraged by the Next Magazine article, pro-independence supporters such as Lee Shiao-feng (李筱峰), a professor of Taiwanese history at Shih Hsin University and Chih Heng-wei (金恆煒), the editor-in-chief of Contemporary Monthly, announced on Saturday that they would withdraw from organizations affiliated with Lee.
Tsai Shu-mei (蔡淑美), executive director of the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, said on Thursday that seven chapters of the group had considered disbanding in reaction to Lee's alleged remarks.
But after Lee's address yesterday morning, Hwang Kun-hu (黃崑虎), president of the association, told the press that the group would not disband.
"We had a happy conversation and we've all accepted [Lee's explanations]," Hwang said.
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