National Taiwan University (NTU) has agreed to house a memorial library to former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) at its College of Law building on Xuzhou Road in Taipei, the Lee Teng-hui Foundation announced yesterday.
On the eve of the first anniversary of the former president’s death, the foundation, the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other groups convened a news conference calling for the creation of a Lee Teng-hui memorial library.
Annie Lee (李安妮), Lee Teng-hui’s daughter and chairwoman of the foundation, said her father was unable to fulfill his dream of building a library before he died.
Photo: CNA
After members of the funeral committee stressed the importance of creating a library in his honor, NTU agreed to the proposal, she said.
Annie Lee said that the first time she met NTU president Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔), he gave his full support to the idea.
“At least we now have a location,” she said, adding that they would need government support.
After COVID-19 pandemic restrictions are eased, the foundation would exchange more ideas with the university, she added.
A national-level library involves a broad set of considerations, NTU Office of General Affairs president Louis Ge (葛宇甯) said.
From the facility to its collection and future operations, everything requires meticulous planning, but, most importantly, it requires long-term, stable government support, he said, adding that the university is willing to participate fully with the project.
As NTU is a public institution, the process of loaning out property is subject to numerous regulations, but if an agency supports the idea and commissions the university to assist in establishing a library, this complication could be avoided, Ge said.
Without government support, it would be difficult to rely on the university or foundation alone for the enormous undertaking, including renovations, operating expenses, maintenance, curation and acquisitions, he added.
Annie Lee said her father’s unsaid last words were a wish for Taiwanese democracy to deepen and for its people to become more united.
“We cannot tear Taiwan and its people apart because of a memorial library,” she said.
Separately yesterday, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and the Presidential Office support the creation of a memorial library to honor the former president’s great contributions to the nation.
Tsai and Vice President William Lai (賴清德) are to visit his grave this morning to pay their respects, he added.
Earlier, former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe told the Sankei Shimbun that he would also like to visit Taiwan to pay his respects to Lee Teng-hui, adding that no world leader ever thought more of Japan.
Whether speaking as leader of the foundation or as a family member, Annie Lee said they would do their best to make the visit a reality.
Considering Abe’s influence on Japanese politics and personal friendship with her father, Annie Lee said the foundation dearly hopes he can visit “no matter what.”
The timing is still being worked out, she said, adding that it does not necessarily need to happen on the anniversary of her father’s passing.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
RSS