TAIPEI: Taiwan’s former president Lee Teng-hui, who defied China and earned the nickname "Mr Democracy" for the part he played in the island’s transition away from authoritarian rule, died on Thursday aged 97.
He was credited with paving the way for Taiwan to become a modern, free society after decades of one-party dictatorship and became a champion of the island’s bid to be treated as a sovereign state internationally. Lee had been in hospital since February after choking on some food and had a history in recent years of chronic illnesses.
"He died of septic shock and multiple organ failure today despite the medical team’s all out efforts to revive him," Taipei Veterans General Hospital vice president Hwang Shinn-jang told reporters. Lee’s 12 years in office from 1988 to 2000 were marked by growing cross-strait tensions as he pitched himself against Beijing, infuriating Chinese authorities for daring to carve out a separate identity for Taiwan.
