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.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
ANOTHER OPTION: The 13-year-old, whose residency status was revoked for holding a Chinese passport, could still apply for residency on humanitarian grounds, the government said The Executive Yuan has rejected an appeal from a 13-year-old Chinese student surnamed Lu (陸), whose permanent residency was revoked after immigration officers discovered he held a Chinese passport. Lu in December 2023 applied to settle in Taiwan to be with his mother, surnamed Lin (林), who is a Taiwan resident, an appeal decision released this month by the Executive Yuan showed. Lin settled in Taiwan after marrying a Taiwanese man in 2003, but the two divorced in 2011, and after marrying a Chinese man, she had Lu, the Executive Yuan’s appeals committee said. Lu’s application was approved in December 2024, and in
RSS