20110331 Taiwan’s great statesman

Taiwan’s great statesman

Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) is one of the few on the world stage with enough courage to state the obvious truth — a truth so obvious, it could bite you on the nose (“Lee calls for Constitution to be scrapped,” March 22, page 1).

The Republic of China (ROC) Constitution is an ossified, petrified relic of another era far removed from our own. It is a patchwork of often absurd and mutually exclusive laws. Many of it laws are anathema to democratic principles. In short, this “document” is absurd.

Were I on my dying bed and allowed one miraculous dying wish, it would be this: That Lee should once again be elected president of the ROC. In Taiwan’s short, blood-drenched history, it is my opinion that the former president is the only person to have ever come close to deserving the title of “statesman.”

A statesman (or stateswoman) is a person who has the courage, leadership ability and integrity to consistently strive for the betterment of his or her nation.

A politician, on the other hand, cares only about — and looks after — his/her own opportunities for wealth, power, fame, status and ambition, as well as those of his/her political party/faction.

Statesmen are a rare breed. Politicians, who are really nothing but worthless frauds and simulacra of statesmen, are a dime a dozen, especially in Taiwan. Take Taiwan’s current president — “call me Mr Ma [Ying-jeou] (馬英九)” for example. In my view, Ma does not even make the grade as a politician. He aspires to be a politician, just as a maggot hopes to become a worm.

The more one reads about Lee, the more one comes to admire him. In my view, he had the courage to stand up for Taiwan’s dignity as well as his own.

I remember one incident when Lee was president. He was in the US (Hawaii, I believe) and he was being treated most shamefully because of pressure exerted by China. In response to this ill treatment, Lee remained in his pajamas on the plane and on the tarmac. Can anyone imagine the toady “footstool Mr Ma” having the courage to do the same?

What courage Lee displayed. Basically, he was telling the US authorities: “It takes two to tango, I’ll play along in this game. If you show me no face, I’ll show you no face.”

I have always admired Lee’s integrity and courage. History will prove him a great man and most likely the best statesman to have ever led Taiwan.

Of course, what the former president is calling for — the scrapping of the ROC Constitution — will prove to be well nigh impossible. Then again, miracles have been known to happen.

MICHAEL SCANLON
East Hartford, Connecticut