Taiwan'S Statesman

An important contribution to the study of Taiwan's political development over the past 25 years. Kagan's contribution remains a positive and valuable one to the history of Taiwan's march toward democracy." -- Strategic Studies Quarterly "Professor Kagan has re-conceptualized Taiwan's history in this cultural and intellectual study of Lee Teng-hui's life. His study provides the spiritual and philosophical context for Lee's democratic reforms. Kagan's perceptive analysis of Lee explains why the former president attempted to invent a new Taiwan identity. Drawing upon Lee's seminal education in Japan, his acceptance of Christianity, and his baptism in student movements at Cornell University, Kagan provides an original approach to Lee's achievements and personal reformulations. In addition, he has produced new information on Lee's life, and on the history of Taiwan. His work is aware of the common arguments about Taiwan's identity and history, but he steps outside of them to create a new and valuable way to discuss Taiwan's past, present, and future. Professor Kagan's book would be a valuable addition to the understanding of Taiwan's democratization." -- Wen-yen Chen, PhD, Executive Director, Formosan Association for Public Affairs "This should be translated at once and made required reading for all of today's Chinese leaders. This is the book for them to study if they want to do reform right." -- Arthur Waldron, PhD, Lauder Professor of International Relations, University of Pennsylvania "Complex, dedicated, and controversial, Lee Teng-hui--Taiwan's president from 1988 to 2000--remains a key and crucially pivotal person of this period. In Taiwan's Statesman: Lee Teng-hui and Democracy in Asia, Kagan gives an insightful analysis of Lee's formative background, mind, and spirit. Lee is not your ordinary Asian; the obstacles he had to overcome and the minefields he had to negotiate were formidable and numerous yet democracy did come to Taiwan. Few writers manage to capture this totality blending appreciation with objectivity as does Kagan." -- Jerome F. Keating, PhD, author of Taiwan the Struggles of a Democracy "This volume represents an important contribution to the literature on one of the most complicated and controversial figures in East Asian politics." -- Dennis V. Hickey, PhD, author of Foreign Policy Making in Taiwan: From Principle to Pragmatism