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Ma seeks advice on visit to Lee

Staff reporter

President-elect Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) began an advice-seeking tour yesterday by visiting former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) to discuss policies and the political situation after the presidential election.

Recounting the content of their conversation, Ma told reporters after the 100-minute meeting that Lee approved of the nationwide tour Ma and vice president-elect Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) carried out during their election campaign ito gain a better understanding of ordinary people's daily lives.

Lee also stressed the importance of discipline and integrity for a national leader, Ma said.

"Former president Lee stressed the importance of integrity and urged me to establish a clean government," Ma said.

Siew, who arranged the meeting, accompanied Ma on the visit yesterday.

Ma said he had expressed his gratitude to Lee for the compliments he made during an interview with Japan's Sankei Shimbun that described him as "self-righteous, but also modern," and said that he would seek more advice from Lee in the future, especially on the nation's relations with Japan.

Ma said they did not touch on the issue of the proposed "cross-strait common market," Ma and Siew's economic policy which Lee has previously criticized.

When asked to comment on Lee's open support for Ma's rival in the presidential election, the Democratic Progressive Party's Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), Ma said he respected Lee's decision and that they had not discussed the issue during their meeting.

Ma's visit to Lee was unusual as the two have not met for the past eight years because of their problematic relationship.

When Lee was the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman he campaigned for Ma when he ran for Taipei mayor against President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in 1998. At the election eve party, Lee held Ma's hand high and called him a "new Taiwanese." That open endorsement was seen as a major factor behind Ma's victory.

The relationship, however, went sour when then KMT presidential candidate Lien Chan (連戰) lost the presidential election in 2000. Facing a crowd of angry pan-blue supporters, who attributed the KMT's defeat to Lee's leadership, Ma promised to talk to Lee but his request for a meeting was rejected.

Lee was forced out of the KMT and later became the spiritual leader of the pro-independence Taiwan Solidarity Union and condemned Ma and the KMT for seeking closer ties with China.

Ma, who took a box of Japanese apples and four of his own books as gifts, thanked Lee for his encouragement and promised to pay more visits to his former boss.

In return, Lee gave Ma and Siew four books each which were about leadership and Taiwanese independence.

Ma served as justice minister during the 1990s in Lee's KMT administration.

Ma said he would also seek visits with Hsieh, Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and outgoing President Chen in the near future.
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