Senior presidential advisor Li Kwoh-ting (
Li, 92, had been in a coma since May 21 after suffering a stroke.
TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO
After learning of Li's death, Secretary-General to the President Yu Shyi-kun, on behalf of President Chen Shui-bian (
The Institute for Information Industry (
Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲) said yesterday: "Li was a remarkable person. Many people admire his contribution [to the country] and we are not likely to find another role model like Li again," Lee said.
Having served as head of the government's economic, financial and high-technology ministries for over 35 years, Li has been dubbed the country's "father of technological development" and "father of finance and the economy."
As a major economic policy-maker under former president Chiang Ching-kuo (
Li also helped develop Taiwan's semiconductor industry by asking the present chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), Morris Chang (張忠謀), to return from the US and head Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (工研院).
"If it had not been for Li, TSMC's achievements would never have been possible," Chang once told the media.
One of the key architects of Taiwan's economic miracle, Li was invited to attend several international conferences in China and met with Chinese President Jiang Zemin (
Li, who had put particular emphasis on information technology, however, also attracted severe criticism for ignoring the development of small and medium-sized enterprises by favoring larger firms with more government resources.
"In terms of a lack of government financing to small and medium-enterprises, [Li's policies] forced them to go to the black market for capital," Wu Hui-lin (
Wu added that Li's emphasis at the time on only cultivating talent in the fields of technology and electronics put undue strain on the progress of educational reform, shifting funds away from school programs that taught subjects other than technology and electronics.
Industry tycoon Wang Yung-ching (
But the overwhelming consensus is that Li was a driving force in leading Taiwan to become, as of last year, the 14th-largest trading nation in the world.
CIVIL DEFENSE: More reservists in alternative service would help establish a sound civil defense system for use in wartime and during natural disasters, Kuma Academy’s CEO said While a total of 120,000 reservists are expected to be called up for alternative reserve drills this year, compared with the 6,505 drilled last year, the number has been revised to 58,000 due to a postponed training date, Deputy Minster of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said. In principle, the ministry still aims to call up 120,000 reservists for alternative reserve drills next year, he said, but the actual number would not be decided later until after this year’s evaluation. The increase follows a Legislative Yuan request that the Ministry of the Interior address low recruitment rates, which it made while reviewing
DETERRENCE: Along with US$500 million in military aid and up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees, the bill would allocate US$400 million to countering PRC influence The US House of Representatives on Friday approved an appropriations bill for fiscal year 2025 that includes US$500 million in military aid for Taiwan. The legislation, which authorizes funding for the US Department of State, US foreign operations and related programs for next year, passed 212-200 in the Republican-led House. The bill stipulates that the US would provide no less than US$500 million in foreign military financing for Taiwan to enhance deterrence across the Taiwan Strait, and offer Taipei up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees for the same purpose. The funding would be made available under the US’ Foreign Military
WARNING: China has stepped up harassment of foreign vessels after its new regulation took effect last month, an official said, citing an incident in the Diaoyutai Islands The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday linked China’s seizure of a Taiwanese fishing vessel illegally operating in its territorial waters to Beijing’s new regulation authorizing the China Coast Guard to seize boats in waters it claims. Chinese officials boarded and then seized a Taiwanese fishing vessel operating near China’s coast close to Kinmen County late on Tuesday and took it to a Chinese port, the CGA said. The Penghu-registered squid fishing vessel Da Jin Man No. 88 (大進滿88) was boarded and seized by China Coast Guard east-northeast of Liaoluo Bay (料羅灣), 17.5 nautical miles (32.4km) from Taiwan’s restricted waters off Kinmen,
As eight basketball-playing international students appealed to the Taiwanese basketball industry after they were excluded from the draft of an upcoming new league merging the P.League+ and the T1 League, the new league’s preparatory committee spokesperson Chang Shu-jen (張樹人) yesterday said the committee would tomorrow discuss the supplementary measures and whether the international students can join the draft. The students on Tuesday called for support on their right to play in the upcoming new league, after a merger involving the two leagues impacted their eligibility for the draft. The international players from the University Basketball Association (UBA), led by first pick prospect