Leaders of pro-Taiwan civic organizations and independence advocates yesterday called for government funding to establish a Lee Teng-hui presidential library and museum, saying that it would be the best way to commemorate the former president’s achievements and preserve his legacy.
Members of Taiwan Society, the Lee Teng-Hui Foundation, the Taiwan Association of University Professors (TAUP) and other groups observed a three-minute silence to commemorate Lee’s death on July 30 before commencing a media briefing in Taipei yesterday.
The idea is modeled after the US practice of setting up presidential libraries to house papers, records, collections and other historical materials after the president leaves office, Taiwan Society deputy chairman Chang Yeh-shen (張葉森) said.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
The libraries are managed by the US National Archives and Records Administration, with the more famous ones including the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California, and the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum in Atlanta, Georgia, he added.
“It is also the wish of [former] president Lee. After leaving office, he worked with friends and associates on this project and searched for a suitable site. Lee was actively engaged in its planning in 2005, and picked it up again in 2013, but it was stalled due to insufficient funds and political interference. We regret that the work was not finished and are now pushing for its fulfilment,” he said.
The project would require state funding and the power of the government to see through its completion, Taiwan Society chairman Li Chuan-hsin (李川信) said.
“Yes, it could be a huge task — but it is not too difficult and can be done under the current political environment and prevailing social milieu in Taiwan,” he said, adding that many have proposed university research centers or other places across the nation as a potential site for the project.
“Lee was the key figure in Taiwan’s transition from a one party-state dictatorship to a democracy. He spurred people on to strive for self-determination, leading to the blossoming of Taiwanese consciousness and national identity,” Li said. “We are calling for state funding, because it is money from taxpayers, and a vast majority of people want to commemorate Lee’s legacy.”
Lee loved to study and read books, Lee Teng-Hui Foundation chairman George Chang (張燦鍙) said.
“He was a well-read scholar, as well as a philosopher. It is most suitable to have a library and museum dedicated to him, which would be full of books, government documents and historical papers, and it would be a place for people and academics to research his life’s work and Taiwan’s political development,” he added.
“Lee is recognized around the world as Mr Democracy, and our society recognizes him as the first president for Taiwanese people. The library should collect Lee’s papers and personal materials, along with records of drafting a new constitution from other countries, as it was one of Lee’s stated goals for Taiwan to have a new constitution, to overhaul the Republic of China framework and draft a new one to build a new Taiwan nation,” Taiwan New Constitution Foundation executive director Lin Yi-cheng (林宜正) said.
“This presidential library can instill Lee’s love for reading books in the public and the younger generation and pass on his legacy of fighting for freedom and democracy, and promoting the Taiwanese identity, striving for nationhood and taking its place within the international community,” TAUP interim chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said.
Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is aware of the proposed project and would discuss it with Lee’s family.
Tsai will respect the Lee family’s wishes and their decision on this matter, he said, adding that the current priority is arranging for Lee’s funeral and public memorial service next month.
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