Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Lee was born in Jiangsu province, China, and came to Taiwan at the end of the Chinese Civil War when he was six.
He graduated in 1960 from the Taiwan Central Police College with a degree in Police Science.
Lee became the youngest captain in modern Chinese history when he was promoted at the age of 22 during his service at the Taipei City Police Headquarters.
Ma said Lee has in recent years, helped the Taipei City Police Headquarters train a new generation of forensic professionals.
"The conferment of honorary citizenship represents our gratitude for Lee's contributions to our forensic-investigation work," Ma said.
Lee is the ninth non-Taipei citizen to obtain the honor since the Taipei City Government set up the system for individuals who have made significant contributions to the city.
Lee, who is currently on an eight-day visit to Taipei, said he was honored to receive the honor.
Earlier in the day, Lee visited the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) to discuss preparations for an international seminar on forensic science to be held in Taiwan next year.
Lee, who conducted a forensic investigation into the March 19 presidential election-eve shooting of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) this summer, said that if time permits, he will also visit the Criminal Investigation Bureau to learn the latest developments in the case.
Asked about his view on the controversial "319 truth commission" formed by the opposition-controlled Legislative Yuan to pursue look into the mysterious shooting, Lee said he recognizes the necessity of setting up a special commission to look into the high-profile incident, but he added that the investigative work itself should be handled by the CIB.
"It's all too common in foreign countries to form a supra-ministerial and non-political commission to pursue the truth behind major cases that have caused widespread public concerns, " Lee said, adding that the most important thing is that the commission should transcend "ministries and politics."
Noting that the gist of forensic work lies in "letting the evidence speak for itself," Lee said the conclusion of his forensic investigation of the March 19 shooting is that President Chen indeed sustained a gunshot wound.
Lee stressed that the conclusion has nothing to do with whether he sympathizes with Taiwan's "pan-green camp" of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and its pro-independence allies or the opposition "pan-blue alliance" of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the People First Party.
If local individuals or groups have different views about the March 19 shooting, Lee said, they can convey their views to the 319 Truth Commission.
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by
RSS