President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said that when he worked for then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) secretary-general Lee Huan (李煥), both of them were branded as “Red Guards” because they were trying to push for major political reforms.
At a memorial for Lee, who died on Dec. 2 at the age of 93, Ma reflected on the days when the late KMT leader and government official was his boss.
Their main duties at the time were to prepare for the lifting of martial law, to allow for the formation of political parties and to replace a whole generation of National Assembly members, Ma said.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Ma said that because the later task affected many senior politicians, he and Lee were criticized and labeled “Red Guards” — a name drawn from the forces unleashed by former Chinese Communist Party leader Mao Zedong (毛澤東) to purge his political enemies in China during the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976.
Ma praised Lee for contributing greatly to the process of retiring senior members of the National Assembly, amending the Constitution and pushing through other political reforms.
Acting on a directive by then-president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), Lee also worked in particular to cultivate Taiwan-born politicians, which was a major achievement that helped “build energy” for further political development, Ma said.
“It is necessary to illustrate Lee’s important role in helping to achieve the Republic of China’s transition to democracy,” Ma said.
The president issued a special citation in honor of Lee, which was accepted by Lee Ching-chung (李慶中), Lee Huan’s eldest son.
Lee Huan was born in Hubei Province, China, on Sept. 24, 1917. In addition to his KMT party posts, he served as education minister and premier before retiring.
Honoring his wishes for no altars, public mourning, condolence committees, obituaries or funeral services, his children held a “non-funeral service” yesterday.
Although it was an informal gathering, it was attended by a number of prominent politicians, including Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), Examination Yuan President John Kuan (關中), former KMT chairmen Lien Chan (連戰) and Wu Po-hsiung (吳伯雄), as well as New Party Chairman Yok Mu-ming (郁慕明).
Rain is to increase from Wednesday morning as Severe Tropical Storm Kong-Rey approaches, with sea warnings to be issued as early as tomorrow afternoon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. As of 8am, Kong-Rey was 1,050km east-southeast of the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) heading in a northwesterly direction toward Taiwan, CWA Forecast Center Director Lin Po-tung (林伯東) said. Rainfall is to increase from Wednesday morning, especially in northern Taiwan and Yilan County, he said. A sea warning is possible from tomorrow afternoon, while a land warning may be issued on Wednesday morning, he added. Kong-Rey may intensify into a moderate typhoon as it passes
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
Taiwan yesterday issued warnings to four Chinese coast guard vessels that intruded into restricted waters around the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen Islands, according to the Coast Guard Administration (CGA). The four China Coast Guard ships were detected approaching restricted waters south of Kinmen at around 2 pm yesterday, the CGA’s Kinmen-Matsu Branch said in a statement. The CGA said it immediately deployed four patrol boats to closely monitor the situation. When the Chinese ships with the hull numbers "14512," "14609," "14603" and "14602" separately entered the restricted waters off Fuhsing islet (復興嶼), Zhaishan (翟山), Sinhu (新湖) and Liaoluo (料羅) at 3 pm, the Taiwanese patrol
A former member of the US Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), formerly known as SEAL Team 6, said in an interview with Business Insider that the elite unit’s role in a Taiwan Strait conflict would be more limited than some might expect. The report follows an earlier one in September by the Financial Times, which said the “clandestine US Navy commando unit” has been training for missions to help Taiwan if it is invaded by China. “You don’t use a scalpel for a job a hammer can do,” the former Navy Seal said to Business Insider on condition of anonymity.
RSS