National Taiwan University (NTU) has agreed to house a memorial library to former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) at its College of Law building on Xuzhou Road in Taipei, the Lee Teng-hui Foundation announced yesterday.
On the eve of the first anniversary of the former president’s death, the foundation, the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other groups convened a news conference calling for the creation of a Lee Teng-hui memorial library.
Annie Lee (李安妮), Lee Teng-hui’s daughter and chairwoman of the foundation, said her father was unable to fulfill his dream of building a library before he died.
Photo: CNA
After members of the funeral committee stressed the importance of creating a library in his honor, NTU agreed to the proposal, she said.
Annie Lee said that the first time she met NTU president Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔), he gave his full support to the idea.
“At least we now have a location,” she said, adding that they would need government support.
After COVID-19 pandemic restrictions are eased, the foundation would exchange more ideas with the university, she added.
A national-level library involves a broad set of considerations, NTU Office of General Affairs president Louis Ge (葛宇甯) said.
From the facility to its collection and future operations, everything requires meticulous planning, but, most importantly, it requires long-term, stable government support, he said, adding that the university is willing to participate fully with the project.
As NTU is a public institution, the process of loaning out property is subject to numerous regulations, but if an agency supports the idea and commissions the university to assist in establishing a library, this complication could be avoided, Ge said.
Without government support, it would be difficult to rely on the university or foundation alone for the enormous undertaking, including renovations, operating expenses, maintenance, curation and acquisitions, he added.
Annie Lee said her father’s unsaid last words were a wish for Taiwanese democracy to deepen and for its people to become more united.
“We cannot tear Taiwan and its people apart because of a memorial library,” she said.
Separately yesterday, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and the Presidential Office support the creation of a memorial library to honor the former president’s great contributions to the nation.
Tsai and Vice President William Lai (賴清德) are to visit his grave this morning to pay their respects, he added.
Earlier, former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe told the Sankei Shimbun that he would also like to visit Taiwan to pay his respects to Lee Teng-hui, adding that no world leader ever thought more of Japan.
Whether speaking as leader of the foundation or as a family member, Annie Lee said they would do their best to make the visit a reality.
Considering Abe’s influence on Japanese politics and personal friendship with her father, Annie Lee said the foundation dearly hopes he can visit “no matter what.”
The timing is still being worked out, she said, adding that it does not necessarily need to happen on the anniversary of her father’s passing.
Taiwanese scientists have engineered plants that can capture about 50 percent more carbon dioxide and produce more than twice as many seeds as unmodified plants, a breakthrough they hope could one day help mitigate global warming and grow more food staples such as rice. If applied to major food crops, the new system could cut carbon emissions and raise yields “without additional equipment or labor costs,” Academia Sinica researcher and lead author the study Lu Kuan-jen (呂冠箴) said. Academia Sinica president James Liao (廖俊智) said that as humans emit 9.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide compared with the 220 billion tonnes absorbed
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
Taipei is to implement widespread road closures around Taipei 101 on Friday to make way for large crowds during the Double Ten National Day celebration, the Taipei Department of Transportation said. A four-minute fireworks display is to be launched from the skyscraper, along with a performance by 500 drones flying in formation above the nearby Nanshan A21 site, starting at 10pm. Vehicle restrictions would occur in phases, they said. From 5pm to 9pm, inner lanes of Songshou Road between Taipei City Hall and Taipei 101 are to be closed, with only the outer lanes remaining open. Between 9pm and 9:40pm, the section is
China’s plan to deploy a new hypersonic ballistic missile at a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) base near Taiwan likely targets US airbases and ships in the western Pacific, but it would also present new threats to Taiwan, defense experts said. The New York Times — citing a US Department of Defense report from last year on China’s military power — on Monday reported in an article titled “The missiles threatening Taiwan” that China has stockpiled 3,500 missiles, 1.5 times more than four years earlier. Although it is unclear how many of those missiles were targeting Taiwan, the newspaper reported
RSS