KMT pans Lee Teng-hui Japan remarks

People First Party presidential candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜) said that as a former president, Lee should have exercised discretion when making such a remark.

“I have not read the entire article, so I am afraid I am not in a position to comment on information disseminated by others. Nevertheless, given that Lee was once a leader of Taiwan, he should have been more discreet with his comments,” Soong said on the sidelines of a news conference held for the release of his latest campaign video in Taipei yesterday morning.

As for Lee’s remarks made last month during his trip to Japan that the disputed Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台), known as the Senkakus in Japan, belong to Japan rather than Taiwan, Soong said the comments violated basic positions of Taiwan’s head of state.

“The Republic of China’s sovereignty claims over the Diaoyutai Islands are clear and explicit and we must adhere to this position,” Soong said, adding that Lee had said that the disputed islands belonged to the Taiwan Province.

However, KMT Legislator Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞), who has openly endorsed Soong, took a harsher tone on the matter.

“We are all citizens of the ROC. I wonder what Lee Teng-hui’s motives were behind his remarks. He needs and should give the public an explanation, particularly given that he has been receiving courtesy payments as a former president,” Lee Hung-chun said.

He added that Lee Teng-hui’s comments were detrimental to the nation’s dignity and were utterly unbearable.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) — who has been repeatedly asked by the KMT to respond to Lee Teng-hui’s comments — said it is his own “personal experience and feelings” about history.

“[We should] tolerate each other’s historical interpretations. After all, Taiwanese had not been able to govern themselves for the previous few hundred years. We should cherish the freedom of choice we now have under the mechanism of democracy,” Tsai said.