First Taste of Power

Abstract

On June 2, 1972 when the cabinet position appointment of Lee Teng-hui’s was announced, Lee was attending an international conference in Wellington, New Zealand. But before he was a “rookie” minister, he was required to attend an orientation in a Kuomintang (KMT) cadres school where Lee learned about government regulations, protocol, office management, and so on, as well as listening to various briefings on the “state of the Republic of China.” Soon after the orientation, Lee resigned his full-time job with the JCRR, serving from then on only as a consultant, so that he could continue to use its office and research resources. However, he decided to retain his adjunct professorship at National Taiwan University. Thus, before the summer was out, Chiang Kai-shek swore in the 49-year old Lee as the youngest minister of state without portfolio.