Stephen M. Young On Taiwan: A tribute to Lee Teng-hui

News reports out of Taipei suggest my long-time friend President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) is ailing. So I want to take this opportunity to share some personal thoughts on the role of this great Taiwan figure of the past century.

First, some basic facts. Lee was born in Taiwan in January, 1923, grew up during the Japanese occupation, and studied at Kyoto University during the war years. I would characterize him as a Japanophile, based on many discussions we had over the years. President Lee felt he had gotten the opportunity to get a first-class education in Kyoto. Even though he lost a brother in the war, I never detected animosity toward the former colonial power. In fact, when I visited him in Wai Shuang Hsi (外雙溪) during his retirement, he would proudly give me a tour of his extensive library. Lee boasted of his huge collection of Japanese books, covering the spectrum from economics and politics to literature and culture. It is said that Japanese rivaled Taiwanese as his first language, and well ahead of Mandarin. That alone could account for the mainland’s longstanding animosity toward President Lee.

Lee was a polyglot before that word became popular. He studied agricultural economics at Cornell University in the US, earning a PhD from that prestigious Ivy League University. He was an astute economist and made many contributions to Taiwan’s agricultural and economic development over the years, both as a scholar and a politician.

More significantly, Lee played a pivotal role in the democratization of Taiwan. As Chiang Ching-kuo’s (蔣經國) successor, he carefully propelled the island nation toward the first free and fair national elections in its history. He also became the first Taiwan leader to voluntarily step down and transfer power to his freely elected successor, Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), in 2000. I had the honor, as AIT Deputy Director, to attend the ceremony when Lee stepped down.

Thereafter I made it a point, first as Deputy Director, and again when I returned as Director from 2006-9, of visiting Mr. Lee, either in his suburban Taipei home or sometimes the home he kept south of Taipei. He was always gracious and astute in his commentary. I must admit, by his choice our conversations often shifted uncomfortably from Mandarin to English and back again, occasionally making it difficult to elicit all the nuances of this cultivated man’s thinking.

Among my many interactions with President Lee, I think none was more dramatic than in the summer of 1999, when in an interview with a German newspaper, he spoke of a potential “state-to-state relationship” between Taiwan and the mainland. I was Acting Director of AIT at the time, and the storm this kicked up in China and Washington came as something of a surprise to many observers. Beijing, which had long been hostile to Lee, orchestrated a firestorm, suggesting this was nearly tantamount to an act of war. President Clinton in Washington, already engaged in a gradual post-Tiananmen rapprochement with the mainland, sent me stiff talking points to deliver.

Some of my conversations with then President Lee were conducted one-on-one, without interpreter or notetaker, so I could be blunt without forcing him to lose face before others. But my goal was always to avoid embarrassing or humiliating the elected leader of Taiwan, while at the same time making it clear we needed to work together to ratchet down the cross-strait tension this had kicked up. Looking back, I believe Lee was genuinely surprised by the ruckus this had fomented. With the frequent support of his Secretary General of the National Security Council, Ting Mao-shih (丁懋時), we worked out public statements that over time helped to defuse the situation.

Lee and I shared the Episcopalian faith, and I saw in him a devout and humble Christian who understood his obligation to both the secular and spiritual worlds. He often told me he hoped to preach again when he retired from politics. I suspect he did so, though I cannot document this assumption.

I believe it is accurate to term Mr. Lee one of the leading founders of modern Taiwan. Taking his cue from his mentor, President Chiang Ching-kuo, Lee skillfully led Taiwan into the community of democratic nations. Taiwan’s successful democratization represented one of the earliest such transitions in the East Asian region. His unparalleled example of stepping down from the Presidency ended decades of “authoritarian rule until death” that had preceded him.

Though perhaps he was occasionally a bit clumsy in his execution, Lee shepherded Taiwan’s transition into the modern free and open democratic society we all know today. This involved leading his own party, the Kuomintang, despite intense internal opposition. Lee later broke with the KMT and created his own party, but by then he was in retirement and less of a player than he had been during his twelve years as the island’s President.

We have now witnessed three successive heirs to the Lee tradition in Taiwan politics, from both major political parties. Chen Shui-bian, Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) all owe a debt to President Lee for the high example he set for democratic leadership in Taiwan.

In sum, Lee Teng-hui is one of the key founders of today’s prosperous and democratic Taiwan, a country that is the marvel of observers throughout Asia and the world. I salute him for his unparalleled contributions to the modern and self-confident Taiwan of today!

Ambassador Stephen M. Young (ret.) lived in Kaohsiung as a boy over 50 years ago, and served in AIT four times: as a young consular officer (1981-’82), as a language student (1989-’90), as Deputy Director (1998-2001) and as Director (2006-’9). He visits often and writes regularly about Taiwan matters. Young was also US Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan and Consul General to Hong Kong during his 33-year career as a foreign service officer. He has a BA from Wesleyan University and a PhD from the University of Chicago.