Lee made the remarks in Taipei as he presided over the opening ceremony of "The Henry C. Lee Forensic Science Foundation" and the 2007 International Conference on Physical Evidence, which was sponsored by the foundation. Nearly 100 coroners and forensic experts participated in the conference.

Lee said initial estimates are that the foundation will need NT$30 million (US$928,800) to finance its operation, adding that some people in the United States have begun to chip in and domestic businesses will also follow suit.

Lee noted that the "cold case" center will be a private group, but will cooperate with the government in its investigations. He will invite retired professors, criminal police and experts to join the center.

Lee expressed the desire that the center will provide a "ray of hope" to family members of the victims, although it has yet to target any specific cases.

He said the foundation is planning to hold international seminars on a regular basis in a bid to upgrade Taiwan's forensic standards, nurture forensic talents, and arrange for interested students to study overseas. Lee assisted in the investigations of numerous prominent cases, including war crimes in Bosnia and Croatia, the suicide of President Clinton's former White House attorney, Vince Foster, a review of the JFK assassination, and the death of Jon Bennet Ramsey, over the years.

He came to Taiwan several times to help in the investigation of the presidential election-eve shooting of President Chen Shui-bian and Vice President Annette Lu in March 2004, which slightly injured the two, but had not been able to help solve the case because the crime scene had not been kept intact.