Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) said yesterday in Yunlin County that he is working on a new book on Taiwan’s future, which he would dedicate to young Taiwanese.
The 89-year-old said he wanted to write about the topic because he was wondering which direction Taiwan would go in the new century as its economy — along with those of the US and EU — have been declining, but “neither people nor the media would talk about this.”
The book will begin with a review and analysis of the past century, as one can never understand the future without knowing what has happened in the past, Lee said.
Lee observed three important developments in the past century, with the first being technological advances, which have had a great impact on people’s lives, followed by what he called “the failed experiment of socialism,” beginning in post-World War I Russia.
The third critical development was the economic and political rise of the “third world,” in particular countries in Asia and Africa, Lee told reporters on the last day of his three-day visit to central Taiwan.
The economic activities of Africa, which now has 37 member states in the UN, will likely be a stimulus for more opportunities in the future, he said.
Lee said that although people would benefit from information technology and the Internet in the new century, it would control and limit their lives and create a new set of problems.
“Young men nowadays, I would say, are happy and tormented at the same time,” Lee said, as they are able to enjoy the convenience of technology, but they are also unsure about their future in these turbulent times.
“That will be something for which politics is unable to find a solution. A solution will only be found in the cultivation and deliberation of culture, art, religion and living,” he said.
The book, Lee said, aims to be a guide for young people to help them find happiness, the answer to who he or she is and their position in the world, as well as a reminder that everyone should “break the constraint of modern day technology.”
The former president did not begin to work on the book until weeks ago, according to a staffer at his office.
The contents of the book were written as a speech to be delivered at a seminar, but Lee later added more and more of his thoughts on the subjects, the staffer said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS