OFF THE BEAT

President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), speaking at a memorial concert yesterday in Taipei honoring recently-deceased DPP luminary Huang Hsin-chieh (黃信介), praised the former opposition activist in glowing terms -- so much, it appeared, that it came at the expense of his own party, the KMT.

"For a long time, Taiwanese have been unable to be the masters of their own fate and unable to contribute to their own birthplace," Lee said. "They have experienced Japanese (colonial) control, as well as authoritarian rule -- and it was not until the last 10 years that they have been able to enjoy a `people's sovereignty.'"

Perhaps the best measure of a national leader's integrity is the ability to reflect on and make judgments of his or her own leadership. Lee has been president of Taiwan for nearly 12 years.

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