Road to democracy is full of obstacles, says Lee

Just 10 days before he steps down as Taiwan's head of state, President Lee Tung-hui (李登輝) yesterday attended his final official farewell banquet at the Grand Hotel (圓山飯店), held in recognition of his 12-year rule of the country.

Speaking in Taiwanese at the banquet hosted by former Taipei City Council Speaker Chen Chien-chih (陳健治), Lee expressed his gratitude to the some 500 municipal KMT guests, including Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), City Council Speaker Wu Pi-chu (吳碧珠), political adviser to the president Wu Po-hsiung (吳伯雄) and former Taipei City Mayor Huang Ta-chou (黃大洲).

Lee likened the road of democracy to a road which is walked by everybody.

"The road to democracy is bumpy, but it is necessary. If Taiwan hadn't gone through a painstaking stage, the international community wouldn't have known that Taiwan is a democratic country," Lee said.

Lee said that the past 12 years have not been easy.

"I've encountered many obstacles along the way, including from within the party," he said. "But the people's voices have been the driving force and the source of my courage during hardships."

People are the real bosses of a democratic country, he said, and democracy is something new to Taiwanese people and in modern Chinese history.

"What I have done for Taiwan's democratization is just a small step on the road to democracy. There's still a long way to go to reach a satisfactory level," he said.

Lee also said that a peaceful transition of political power is something unique in the history of Taiwan, as well as of China.

"We learn from our history that whenever there was a power transfer, there were wars. Peaceful power transition is something novel in Chinese society, but I'm not the only one who made it happen; it's the joint effort of the 20 million Taiwanese people," he said.

Lee said that he hopes Taiwan's liberalization serves as an example for China to emulate and that China eventually becomes a democratic country like Taiwan.

Finally, he made three toasts to thank the party members for their support, to wish them good health, and to wish good health to the nation.