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Academia Sinica chief stays mum on March poll

Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲), who was believed to be pivotal in swaying undecided voters to support Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) bid for the presidency in 2000, was non-committal yesterday about who he would back in March's election.

Lee made the remarks when attending a meeting of the Sci-tech and Information Committee at the Legislative Yuan after he was asked if he will stump for Chen in next year's election.

The Nobel laureate in chemistry stepped forward during the final days of the 2000 presidential election and called for a transfer of political power to help upgrade the nation, a move that helped enable the Democratic Progressive Party to unseat the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).

People First Party Legislator Lin Cheng-yi (林政義) asked Lee if he will again support Chen or stump for him.

Lee said that as an academician, "This is not my business; voters are smart, and they will make their own choice."

Lee said that during the 2000 election, he thought that the next five years would be crucial for the nation's development. He said that improving the nation still requires concerted efforts from all sides.
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