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Lee Tung-hui

Lee Teng-hui
李登輝
Lee Teng-hui photo.jpg
Lee in 1994
President of the Republic of China
In office
13 January 1988 – 20 May 2000
Premier Yu Kuo-hwa
Lee Huan
Hau Pei-tsun
Lien Chan
Vincent Siew
Vice President Li Yuan-tsu
Lien Chan
Vice President of the Republic of China
In office
20 May 1984 – 13 January 1988
President Chiang Ching-kuo
2nd Chairman of the Kuomintang
In office
27 July 1988 – 24 March 2000
Acting: 13 January 1988 – 27 July 1988
11th Chairman of Taiwan Provincial Government
In office
5 December 1981 – 20 May 1984
Mayor of Taipei
In office
9 June 1978 – 5 December 1981
Minister without portfolio
In office
1 June 1972 – 1 June 1978
Premier Chiang Ching-kuo
Personal details
Born (1923-01-15) 15 January 1923 (age 94)
Sanshi Village, Taihoku Prefecture, Japanese Taiwan
Nationality Empire of Japan (1923-1945)
Republic of China (1945-)
Political party Independent (2001–present)
Other political
affiliations
Communist Party of China (1946–1948)
Kuomintang (1971–2001)
Spouse(s) Tseng Wen-hui (m. 1949)
Alma mater National Taiwan University (B.S.)
Iowa State University (M.S.)
Cornell University (Ph.D.)
Religion Presbyterian
Signature
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 李登輝
Simplified Chinese 李登辉
Japanese name
Kanji 岩里政男
Kana いわさと まさお

Lee Teng-hui (Chinese: 李登輝; pinyin: Lǐ Dēnghuī, Mandarin pronunciation: [lì tə́ŋ.xu̯éi̯]; born 15 January 1923), sometimes called the "father of Taiwan's democracy", is a Taiwanese politician. He was the President of the Republic of China and Chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT) from 1988 to 2000. He presided over major advancements in democratic reforms including his own re-election which marked the first direct presidential election for Taiwan. The first Hakka person to become ROC president and KMT chairman, Lee promoted the Taiwanese localization movement and led an aggressive foreign policy to gain diplomatic allies. Critics accused him of betraying the party he headed, secret support of Taiwanese independence, and involvement in corruption (black gold politics).

After leaving office Lee was expelled from the KMT for his role in founding the pro-independence Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), which forms part of the Pan-Green Coalition alongside Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party. Lee is considered the "spiritual leader" of the TSU, and has recruited for the party in the past. Lee has been outspoken in support for Taiwan to be a normalized country. In 2013, a first trial cleared him for his hypothetical involvement in a corruption scandal. Lee has regularly defended Japanese sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands since he left office.

Lee was born to a Hakka family in the rural farming community of Sanshi Village, Taihoku Prefecture, Japanese Formosa. As a child, he often dreamed of traveling abroad, and became an avid stamp collector. Growing up under Japanese colonial rule, he developed a strong interest for Japan. His father was a middle-level Japanese police aide, and his brother joined police academy and soon volunteered as for the Imperial Japanese Navy and died in Manila. Lee—one of only four Taiwanese students in class—graduated with honors and was given a scholarship to Japan's Kyoto Imperial University.


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