The future of ‘Ghost Island’ and the enduring legacy of late President Lee Teng-hui

The song plays on the endearing yet self-depreciating slang for Taiwan, ‘Ghost Island’, which adeptly captures its wonderful contradictions: rowdy and confident which regularly punches above its weight internationally in the face of hostility from People’s Republic of China (PRC, China), while consistently dejected for its exclusion from the international community. The song exudes pride in Taiwan’s uniquely ‘chaotic’ democracy, but implicit is a sense of both despair and fear of an aggressively nationalistic China.

In 1998, during a campaign speech in support of Ma Ying-jeou's Taipei mayoral campaign, President Lee publicly spoke of the 'New Taiwanese' an idea rooted in civic-nationalist terms and deeply embedded as an essential part of Taiwanese democracy. The inevitable link between democratisation and self-determination naturally led to the emergence of a Taiwan consciousness inherently at odds with Chinese irredentism. While in office, Lee declined to endorse Taiwanese independence but in his later years, without the pressure and responsibilities of public office, he was explicit in his support for Taiwanese nationalism and backed a referendum for constitutional change in support of an independent Taiwan. It is therefore unsurprising, that Lee is considered a 'sinner' by both Chinese nationalists and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Two weeks after the death of former President Lee, a retired entertainer known for her Han-Chinese chauvinistic views, defaced a portrait of the deceased statesman with red paint at the historic Taipei Guest House ( ). It probably did not occur to the defiant repeat offender, that her freedom to publicly criticise a former head of state was only possible due to the reforms introduced by the subject of her As part of the response to demands for more Taiwanese representation in politics, Chiang, who had survived an assassination attempt by Taiwan independence activists in 1970, later introduced a localisation policy ( with the intended aim of co-opting Taiwanese youth and elites into the KMT. Lee, a trained agricultural-economist with a PhD from Cornell University, was recruited by Chiang in 1972 to serve in his cabinet as a minister without portfolio, responsible for agricultural affairs. Lee's meteoric rise within the ranks saw him promoted to several critical roles including Taipei Mayor (1978Mayor ( -1981, Provincial Governor of Taiwan (1981Taiwan ( -1984, Vice President (1984)(1985)(1986)(1987)(1988), and finally, Chairman of the KMT and President of the ROC (1988ROC ( -2000.
The last dictator of Taiwan, Chiang-Ching Kuo may have initiated the early stages of political liberalisation by lifting martial law in 1987, just months before his death; but it was his successor Lee Teng-hui who is rightfully remembered as 'Mr.
Democracy'. During his twelve-year presidency, Lee strengthened Taiwan's de facto existence as the "ROC on Taiwan," a democratic republic distinct from China.
However this practical but temporary arrangement which stops short of formally declaring de jure independence means that Taiwan continues to be tangled up in the messy One-China policy.

Dismantling the KMT State and democratising the ROC
Lee came into office through succession in 1988 following the death of Chiang Ching-kuo. Despite his later reputation as a political giant, the first Taiwan-born KMT Chairman and ROC President was initially written off by the KMT's old guard as a lame duck. The KMT's non-mainstream faction ( ), led chiefly by a group of mainland Chinese nationalists, were keen to prevent Lee's controls over the levers of power in the KMT party-state. Lee however shrewdly navigated the intricacies of KMT's factional politics. Through the strategic embracement of societal forces, and the implicit tolerance of the corrupt black gold politics, Lee ultimately fended off the non-mainstream faction's backlash, which eventually lead to the exodus of the most committed Chinese nationalists, who established the New Party.
The 1990 student-led Wild Lily movement ( ) was a critical moment which allowed Lee to adopt and implement a democratic agenda. He banked on the zeitgeist of the 'democratic waves', and during his meeting with student representatives, promised that he would meet their demands for democratic reform, beginning with the convocation of a National Affairs Conference.
In sharp contrast to the CCP's violent 1989 crackdown of student-led protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square only nine months earlier, Lee's positive reaction to student activism highlighted the very different type of consensual politics that would materialise during the remainder of his presidency. As opposed to the increasingly polarised political scene, following his exit from formal politics in 2000, Lee was able to work with a diverse group of stakeholders during his presidential tenure (1988)(1989)(1990)(1991)(1992)(1993)(1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000), which included academics, lawyers and opposition politicians from the

Pillars of Taiwan's democracy: a welfare and human rights regime
Taiwan's resilient democracy is rooted not only in these political reforms but is also strengthened by Lee's efforts to build a more humane, progressive Taiwan After the KMT's long neglect of local history and culture, Taiwan's educational curriculum also went through a series of critical reforms in line with Lee's push to normalise Taiwanese consciousness in the public sphere. One of the most tangible outcomes of mainstreaming is the introduction of the contested Getting to Know Taiwan ( ) textbooks into the public school curriculum in 1997; today Taiwanese students continue to learn about the history, society and geography of Taiwan in direct contrast with previous generation's China-centric education.
Finally, the National Health Insurance, recognised as one of the world's best public health systems, was implemented on March 1 st 1995, five years earlier than originally planned at the personal insistence of President Lee. Despite initially facing strong opposition by labour groups and the health sector, the single payer universal health plan has proven to be remarkably successful in managing the COVID-19 pandemic. This is in part, related to the foundations of a strong cohesive society that emerged from Taiwan's pluralism and tolerance of dissenting views, with the Taiwanese public largely trusting of the government's efforts to combat the pandemic.

Taiwan's international status and addressing the 'China' issue
The serious discussions about the government's responsibilities to its citizens, the debates about unification/independence and the emergence of socio-political pluralism inevitably led to conversations about Taiwan's status and its place in the international community. To counter the PRC's diplomatic victories, and to halt Taiwan's continued isolation from the broader international community, Lee adopted a pragmatic approach to diplomacy. Taiwan would no longer insist that its diplomatic allies adhered to the so-called One China principle or cut ties with the PRC.
The Lee administration also expanded Taiwan's unofficial international relations by increasing the number of representative offices in several countries usually in the guise of economic, social, and cultural affairs. This diplomatic modius vivendi has since become the common practice adopted by subsequent administrations from Chen Shui-bian to Tsai Ing-wen. In particular, the New Southbound Policy, the centrepiece of President Tsai Ing-wen's foreign policy agenda since 2016, is effectively a continuation and evolution of the direction that developed from Lee's "Go South" policy, first articulated in 1993; Lee's attempt to redirect the investment of Taiwan's private capital away from China to Southeast Asia. Another signature international campaign introduced during the Lee presidency was the push for ROC membership in the UN and the World Health Organization; a campaign that the Tsai administration has actively renewed since the advent of her presidency.
Although Taiwan