Former Taiwan President Li Teng-hui Passes Away... Waves of Condolences from All Walks of Life

The Father of Taiwan's Democracy Passes Away
U.S. State Department Mourns, "A Figure Who Opened a New Era of Economic Prosperity and Rule of Law"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Cho Young-shin] Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), former President of Taiwan who led Taiwan's democracy, passed away on the 30th. He was 97 years old.

Local media including Taiwan Central News Agency reported that former President Lee died at 7:24 PM (local time) on the same day. Former President Lee, who showed symptoms of pneumonia, had been hospitalized recently but his condition reportedly worsened rapidly.

Former President Lee is regarded as having greatly contributed to Taiwan's democratization, to the extent that he is called the "Father of Taiwan." He served as Taiwan's president from 1988 to 2000, following Chiang Kai-shek and his son Chiang Ching-kuo. During his presidency, he ended the Kuomintang dictatorship and introduced a multi-party system and direct presidential elections. He was also the first president directly elected by the people of Taiwan in the 1996 presidential election held by direct vote.

Born in Taiwan rather than mainland China, he was a Kuomintang president with roots in the mainland, but toward the end of his term, he advocated the "two states theory," asserting that China and Taiwan are separate countries.

During his presidency, he secretly entrusted the then-scholar Tsai Ing-wen, the current president, with a project to redefine the two states theory, which led her into politics.

Upon hearing the news of his passing, the U.S. government immediately issued a statement mourning him. On the 30th (local time), the U.S. State Department praised former President Lee as Taiwan's first democratically elected president who ended authoritarianism and ushered in a new era of economic prosperity and rule of law in Taiwan.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also expressed his deep condolences on Twitter, saying, "We deeply mourn the passing of former President Lee" and "We will continue to cherish his dedicated efforts to strengthen U.S.-Taiwan relations."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.