Lee Teng-hui -- Former President

As introduced by the Office of the President of the Republic of China

President Lee Teng-hui was born on January 15, 1923, at Sanchih, a rural community on the outskirts of Taipei. After graduating from Taipei High School, he was admitted into Kyoto Imperial University in Japan, becoming one of a very limited number of Chinese allowed to receive higher education during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan (1895-1945). After the war, he returned home to continue his studies at National Taiwan University (NTU), majoring in agricultural economics. In 1951, Lee received a scholarship to study agricultural economics at Iowa State University in the United States. He returned to Taiwan with a master's degree to work with the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Forestry while teaching part-time at NTU.

In 1957, Lee transferred to the US-ROC Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction (JCRR). In 1970, he was appointed chief of its Rural Economics Division. While at JCRR, he made significant contributions to farmers' associations, irrigation systems, warehousing, rural health, and farm mechanization.

Lee served as a part-time professor of economics at NTU and at the Graduate School of East Asian Studies of National Chengchi University in Taipei between 1958 and 1978, except for three years when he went on leave to pursue advanced studies. He received a Ph.D. in agricultural economics from Cornell University in 1968. His thesis, "Intersectoral Capital Flows in the Economic Development of Taiwan," was cited as the best doctoral dissertation by the American Association for Agricultural Economics in 1969.

Lee was appointed a minister without portfolio in 1972 by Premier Chiang Ching-kuo. At the time, he was the youngest person ever to hold such an office. During his tenure, Lee was charged with completing a Five-Year Vocational Training Program, which ensured an adequate supply of trained manpower to meet the growing needs of industrialization. He was also instrumental in the writing of the Agricultural Development Act. Meanwhile, he was responsible for coordinating the efforts to develop this country's petrochemical industry as part of the Ten Major Construction Projects launched by the government in the 1970s.

As Mayor of Taipei (1978-81), Lee improved administrative efficiency by expanding office automation and streamlining management procedures. He also initiated an annual music festival in 1979, setting a precedent for large-scale cultural activities sponsored by the government.

During his administration, Lee presided over the completion of such major projects as the Feitsui Dam (a major water source for the city), expressways, relocation of factories to the countryside, and a modernized sewerage system, which greatly upgraded the quality of life.

As Governor of Taiwan Province (1981-84), Lee concentrated on introducing regional planning techniques and balancing the development of urban and rural areas. Drawing on his expertise as an agricultural economist, he promoted rice crop substitution and greatly improved produce marketing, ensuring a significant enhancement in the life of the rural people.

After Lee was elected vice president in 1984, he assisted President Chiang Ching-kuo in engineering various political and economic reforms. He also visited South Africa, Paraguay, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Panama and Guatemala, making notable contributions in the area of foreign relations.

On the sudden death of President Chiang Ching-kuo on January 13, 1988, Lee became president and completed the remainder of Chiang's term in accordance with the ROC Constitution. During his two years in office, he greatly impressed the people with his able leadership. On March 21, 1990, Lee was elected in his own right by the National Assembly as the eighth-term president of the Republic of China.

To continue the late president's commitment to the nation, President Lee pushed forward various democratic reforms. He convened a National Affairs Conference in July 1990 as a forum for building up consensus on constitutional reform. Then the members of the parliament who had been in office for over four decades were retired to make way for new elections. Later on, he proclaimed the end of the Period of National Mobilization for Suppression of the Communist Rebellion, and repealed the Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion based upon amendments to the Constitution. Constitutional democracy was back on track in the Republic of China. Lee also presided over the passage of local self-governance laws, the enactment of a constitutional amendment that ensured the direct election of the president and the vice president, and the completion of constitutional reform. These changes realized the ideal of popular sovereignty and ushered in a new era of freedom and openness in Chinese history.

Under the leadership of President Lee, a comprehensive and forward-looking Six-Year National Development Plan was introduced in 1991 to promote industrial upgrading, balance regional development, and accelerate national modernization. In 1994, the government undertook a mid-term review and identified Twelve National Development Projects as priorities, including transportation, environmental protection and housing. Meanwhile, to stimulate private investment, the government unveiled in 1993 an Economic Revitalization Program, which has since yielded very fruitful results. In addition, to cope with drastic economic changes both at home and abroad, in 1995 the ROC government started to implement an Asia-Pacific Regional Operations Center Plan, aiming to establish Taiwan as a regional center of manufacturing, air transportation, sea transportation, finance, telecommunications and mass media for multinational corporations operating in the Asia-Pacific. This plan is designed to inject new vitality into the economy of Taiwan, while liberalizing and globalizing it.

Through the pragmatic diplomacy successfully promoted by President Lee, the Republic of China now plays an increasingly active role in the international community. To further expand this country's foreign relations, the president has made quite a number of groundbreaking visits abroad. In February 1994, he visited the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand; in May of the same year, he paid an official visit to Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Swaziland and South Africa. In April 1995, he visited the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, and the United States the following June. In 1997, President Lee paid official visits to Panama, Honduras, El Salvador and Paraguay. These visits expanded high-level contacts and enhanced substantive bilateral relations, thus raising the international profile of this country.

National unification and the relations between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland have also been President Lee's major concern. In 1990, the National Unification Council was established under the Office of the President, and the Guidelines for National Unification were promulgated in the following year to give Taipei's Chinese mainland policy direction. In recent years, restrictions on private exchanges across the Taiwan Strait have been relaxed, resulting in increased unofficial contacts and indirect trade and investment between both sides. President Lee has expressed his sincere hope that the Chinese people on both sides of the strait would promote the ideal of one people living together in prosperity and foster a strong sense of brotherhood, thus ushering in a new era of pride for the Chinese people.

In the light of his outstanding performance in public service, President Lee's alma mater Cornell University in 1990 awarded him its first Outstanding International Alumnus Citation. He was also rated the most outstanding leader in Asia in early 1991 by the Japanese daily Mainichi Shimbun, awarded the International Distinguished Achievement Citation by his alma mater Iowa State University of the United States in 1993, and granted the degree of Doctor of Laws honoris causa by Southern Methodist University of the United States in 1994. In addition, during President Lee's return to Cornell in June 1995, he received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

In 1994, the Second National Assembly adopted ten Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China, which stipulated that "the President and the Vice President shall be directly elected by the entire populace of the free area" of the country and "this shall be effective from the election for the ninth-term President and Vice President in 1996." Driven by a sense of obligation to this country and its people, Lee has always advocated reform, leading the country into a new epoch in democracy. After careful consideration, he decided to run for the ninth-term president. He was nominated as presidential candidate by the KMT's 14th National Congress in August 1995. Meanwhile, KMT Vice Chairman Lien Chan became his running mate. On March 23, 1996, the first-ever direct presidential election in the Republic of China took place. The Lee-Lien ticket won a landslide victory, garnering 54 percent of the vote. They were sworn in as the ninth-term president and vice president of the Republic of China on May 20.

President Lee continued to push forward constitutional reform to establish a sound central government and raise administrative efficiency. In 1997, he oversaw the revision of the Constitution in an effort to heighten accountability in the political system. These amendments include a number of significant changes: The president's choice of premier no longer requires the consent of the Legislature; the president now has the power to dissolve the Legislature; and the Legislature is endowed with the power to initiate a no-confidence vote against the premier. In addition, in order to streamline the functions and organization of the Taiwan Provincial Government, provincial-level elections will be suspended.

On a more personal note, even at a very young age Lee showed great interest in literature, history and philosophy, and was especially fascinated by Immanuel Kant and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. In recent years, he has been taking time to study Chinese philosophy and promote Confucian humanism. His publications include Agricultural and Economic Development in Taiwan (in Chinese and English), Love and Faith (in Chinese and English), A Collection of Lee Teng-hui's Speeches (in Chinese), and Managing the Great Taiwan (in Chinese).

Lee Teng-hui and Tseng Wen-fui were married in 1949 and had one son and two daughters. The couple gave their children an open and free environment at home in which to grow and learn. The two of them love the arts, especially music, and enjoy sports. Similar in mind and character, they morally support and possess deep affection for each other.