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2012 ELECTIONS: Nobel
laureate goes on stage to stump for Tsai
FORMER COLLEAGUES: Lee Yuan-tseh, a former head
of Academia Sinica, said that the DPP chairperson was the best of all the
government officials he had worked with
By Chris Wang / Staff Reporter
Former Academia Sinica president
Lee Yuan-tseh, right, and his wife, Lee Wu Jing-li, show their support for
Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen during a
campaign rally in Greater Taichung yesterday.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Nobel laureate Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲)
yesterday threw his support behind Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at a rally in Greater Taichung, urging
voters to support “a leader who is resolute, has a sense of responsibility and
excellent coordination skills.”
“Chairperson Tsai is an extraordinary person. I believe she will be one of the
most respected and renowned heads of state in the world,” Lee, 75, told the
rally, which the DPP said attracted about 50,000 supporters.
The former Academia Sinica president said Tsai was the government official who
left him with the best impression during his career at the institution because
of her problem-solving ability, communication skills and — most of all —
integrity.
“What surprised me and my colleagues the most is the strong determination under
her smile. And that’s the extraordinary thing about her,” Lee said.
Lee defended Tsai’s integrity in the “Yu Chang case,” in which the Chinese
Nationalist Party (KMT) accused Tsai of a conflict of interest in the formation
of Yu Chang Biologics Co (宇昌生技股份有限公司), now known as TaiMed Biologic Inc
(中裕新藥股份有限公司), when she served as vice premier in 2007. Lee said the
establishment of the company was a model for Taiwan’s development of
biotechnology.
“I am glad that she has decided to come back to the public policy field that she
knows best. She is capable of making a great contribution to the country,” Lee
said.
It was the third time since 2000 that Lee had endorsed a DPP presidential
candidate and the first time he appeared on stage in a DPP rally.
He endorsed former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in 2000 with a newspaper
advertisement and again in Chen’s re-election campaign in 2004 with a
pre--recorded video.
Lee was among the more than 200 professors and scientists who announced their
endorsement of Tsai in Taichung yesterday after 87 scientists, Lee included,
endorsed Tsai with a newspaper advertisement on Tuesday.
The eight-and-a-half-month campaign will draw to a close today at 10pm. Tsai is
scheduled to campaign today in northern Taiwan with a last motorcade beginning
in Keelung and traveling through Taipei City before winding up at her national
campaign headquarters in Banciao (板橋), New Taipei City (新北市).
The final rally will also be held in Banciao, where former president Lee
Teng-hui (李登輝) and former DPP chairperson Lin I-hsiung (林義雄) may appear on stage
to endorse Tsai, DPP aides said.
In Taoyuan yesterday, Tsai reiterated that every vote counts in this
neck-to-neck election, adding that it was important for supporters to mobilize
and encourage their families and friends to make it to the polling stations. She
also said that young people should return to their hometowns to cast their
votes.
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