Former vice president Lee Yuan-tsu (李元簇) died at the age of 94 in the early hours of yesterday morning at his home in Chiayi County’s Toufen City (頭份) after developing kidney disease.
Lee, who was known as “the silent vice president,” served under former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) from 1990 to 1996, after which he retired to Chiayi.
Lee Yuan-tsu was nominated vice president by Lee Teng-hui in the wake of political conflict within the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), which began after former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) died without appointing a successor on Jan. 13, 1988.
Photo: CNA
Known as the February Political Struggle, the conflict divided the KMT into two camps: The so-called “mainstream faction” led by Lee Teng-hui that was perceived to be pro-reform, and the “non-mainstream faction” that was comprised of his opponents.
In 1989 Lee Teng-hui said his vice president must be a waishengren (外省人), a term referring to people who fled to Taiwan with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in 1949; an outsider to the KMT’s inner circle; have no presidential ambitions and have a reputation for being circumspect and trustworthy.
Lee Yuan-tsu was considered a favorable nominee because of his expertise in jurisprudence, which Lee Teng-hui considered indispensable to his constitutional and legal reforms.
Lee Yuan-tsu was elected vice president by the National Assembly on March 21, 1990, becoming the last waishengren to hold that office and the last vice president elected by the National Assembly.
During his tenure, Lee Yuan-tsu was known for his laconic and restrained public style.
“A good vice president is a silent vice president” Lee Teng-hui reportedly once said of Lee Yuan-tsu.
After retiring in 1996, Lee Yuan-tsu resumed teaching at National Chengchi University. Following his wife’s death in 1998, he lived alone.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) offered her condolences to Lee Yuan-tsu’s family and her support for his funeral arrangements.
“The Executive Yuan is deeply saddened at the passing of former vice president Lee Yuan-tsu,” Executive Yuan spokesperson Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said on Facebook.
Lee Yuan-tsu died of renal failure and had issued a “no resuscitation order,” former charge d’affaires at Lee Yuan-tsu’s official residence Chen Chin-ting (陳進丁) said.
Additional reporting by CNA
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it is fully aware of the situation following reports that the son of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) has arrived in Taiwan and is to marry a Taiwanese. Local media reported that Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), son of the former member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is to marry the granddaughter of Luodong Poh-Ai Hospital founder Hsu Wen-cheng (許文政). The pair met when studying abroad and arranged to get married this year, with the wedding breakfast to be held at The One holiday resort in Hsinchu
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon this morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan between Friday and Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The storm, which as of 8am was still 1,100km southeast of southern Taiwan, is currently expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, the CWA said. Because of its rapid speed — 28kph as of 8am — a sea warning for the storm could be issued tonight, rather than tomorrow, as previously forecast, the CWA said. In terms of its impact, Usagi is to bring scattered or
An orange gas cloud that leaked from a waste management plant yesterday morning in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) was likely caused by acidic waste, authorities said, adding that it posed no immediate harm. The leak occurred at a plant in the district’s Environmental Science and Technology Park at about 7am, the Taoyuan Fire Department said. Firefighters discovered a cloud of unidentified orange gas leaking from a waste tank when they arrived on the site, it said, adding that they put on Level A chemical protection before entering the building. After finding there was no continuous leak, the department worked with the city’s Department
MESSAGE: The ministry said China and the Philippines are escalating regional tensions, and Taiwan should be included in dialogue mechanisms on an equal footing Taiwan has rejected renewed sovereignty claims over the South China Sea by the Philippines and China by reaffirming its sovereignty and rights under international law over the disputed area. “The Republic of China [ROC] enjoys all rights to island groups and their surrounding waters in the South China Sea in accordance with international law and maritime laws,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said in a statement yesterday. Other countries’ attempts to claim sovereignty over the South China Sea do not change the fact that the ROC holds sovereignty over the region, the ministry said. The MOFA statement came after
RSS