Taiwan's statesman : Lee Teng-Hui and democracy in Asia
"A well-known observer of Taiwan and East Asian scholar takes a close look at Lee Teng-hui, president of the Republic of China from 1988 to 2000, in this biography of the noted but often misunderstood statesman. As head of the Taiwanese government, Lee managed - without violence or major civil unrest - to reform an authoritarian state into a constitutional democracy with a multi-party political system. In highlighting Lee's accomplishments, the author puts to rest the idea that Asian values support only authoritarian regimes and reject human rights and political democracy in favor of economic success and military power." "Richard C. Kagan describes in detail Lee's struggle to reinvent Taiwan's culture and political system by advocating an independent sovereign nation with universal values of human rights, democracy, freedom, and economic justice. He offers new insights into the role Lee played in the volatile Taiwan Strait crisis and his skills as a diplomat to avoid open warfare with the People's Republic of China. Kagan defines Lee's life as a beacon for people looking for new ways to promote democracy and sovereignty. The author sees Taiwan as a vital part of America's national security interests in Asia and believes that the loss of Taiwan to Mainland China would seriously damage American economic and military power in Asia."--BOOK JACKET
Print Book, English, ©2007
Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Md., ©2007
Biographies
xii, 231 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm
9781591144274, 1591144272
137222855
Why Lee Teng-Hui?
Taiwan: archipelago, colony, stateless nation
Childhood: seeking a wider world
War, marriage, and the Christian gospel
The Cornell years: democracy experienced
Politicizing a technocrat
Goethe's Faust in Taiwan: transformed into a Zen-Christian governor
Dismantling the party state: from liberalization to democracy
Democracy in Taiwan
Military and cross-strait strategy, 1991-2000
Inventing the "new" Taiwan
Lee's stewardship of Taiwan: from one-party rule to democracy
Why is Lee a statesman?