Taiwan at the Birth of Lee Teng-hui

Abstract

On the eve of Mother’s Day, May 11, 2002, some 20,000 Taiwanese held a parade in Taipei, urging every person who lived on the island to honor their motherland—Taiwan. Before the parade got started, the organizers of the parade read a statement issued by the 79-year-old Lee Teng-hui, former president of the Republic of China. It read: “Our mother is Taiwan, and we are the masters of Taiwan. For hundreds of years, our mother’s tolerance and kindness persevered and nurtured every generation of Taiwanese. Therefore, every one of us needs to have courage today and openly and loudly shout it out, ‘I am Taiwanese!’ ”¹