A memorial library in honor of former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) is to be located in a property owned by National Taiwan University’s College of Bio-Resources and Agriculture, Lee’s daughter Annie Lee (李安妮) said yesterday.
The former president’s daughter made the announcement at the opening ceremony of “100 years of Lee Teng-hui and Taiwan,” an exhibition on Taiwan’s history and the former president’s contributions to the nation, at the Taipei Main Public Library.
“At first, we thought the idea was dead in the water. To our surprise, it just took a different turn. Throughout the process, we have been sensing that Taiwanese have a consensus on building a memorial library in honor of the former president,” she said.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
“Our father is an alumnus of what was previously the College of Agriculture in National Taiwan University,” she said. “The college is very proud and receptive to the idea of having the library built on its property; it is under such an atmosphere that the project is to proceed very smoothly.”
Instead of adopting a top-down approach, in which the government arbitrarily funds the construction process, the library should be designed and built following democratic principles, she said.
“Such a library is not built to worship an idol. It could generate more value, which would cause Taiwan to be seen,” she said.
Although some people consider historians to be “sixth-class citizens,” there would not be a civilization without those who study history, Annie Lee said, referring to former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) comments on historians. “We study history not to worship heroes or idols, but to be a Taiwanese with memory.”
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