According to a brief statement from the Presidential Office, Chen appreciated Lee’s advice, and thought that it was only a minor matter concerning his personal career.

The president would also listen opinions from all walks of life, the statement said.

Lee, who was a chief adviser to Chen, sent shockwaves across the political spectrum by issuing an open letter from Paris Thursday night urging the president to consider resigning in the wake of first lady Wu Shu-chen’s indictment on corruption and document forgery charges.

“If President Chen wants to act on the will of the people, which is to safeguard Taiwan’s democracy, he must carefully consider that whether he should tender his resignation,” the highly respected scholar said in the letter.

Lee said now “Taiwan faces one of the most serious challenges it has had in her democratic history” because of the indictment, which he nevertheless hailed as the “fruit” of Taiwan’s democratization.

But he stressed that it must not be taken to mean that the first lady is guilty.

Local media reports claimed that the Presidential Office had tried in vain to stop Lee from issuing the letter.

Premier Su Tseng-chang both revealed yesterday that they had been aware Thursday morning of Lee’s plan to release the open letter later that night.

Su said he went to the president’s office yesterday morning to break the news about Lee’s plan.

The premier said “a good friend’s advice” must be taken seriously and that he believes the president will handle it with care.

Vice President Annette Lu, who would take over the helm of the country if Chen resigned, said the government would “humbly” listen to all advice.

“As a democratic country, we respect everybody’s opinions,” she said.

After the letter was made public, Lee declined to elaborate his points when he was asked for further comments in Paris by reporters from Taiwan, according to the United Evening News.

But he was cited by the paper as remarking that “I don’t know whether President Chen will accept my advice.”

Kuomintang Chairman and Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou, who is also currently in Paris to attending a meeting, lauded Lee’s courage in writing the open letter.

Ma’s People First Party counterpart, James Soong, expressed welcome to Lee’s call.

But he also urged former Premier Frank Hsieh and former chairman of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party Lin Yi-hsiung to speak up in support of Lee’s call.

Lin, a highly influential political leader, has rarely commented on the corruption scandals involving Chen and his family.

Hsieh, who is running in the Taipei mayoral election against Soong and others, said the president should “calmly face the letter and contemplate.”

But Hsieh claimed that Lee did not think Chen was actually involved in corruption.

The Nobel laureate, like another former presidential adviser, Kao Chih-ming, hoped Chen would step down for the sake of national stability even though the president was “wrongly accused,” Hsieh said.

The DPP has analyzed more than 20 scenarios that are similar to what Lee has pointed out in the letter, the former premier said.

In the worst case, internal power struggle would go on in Taiwan, stalling the administration and reforms.

But DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun said Lee was “biased” and “unfair” to the ruling party.

“The resignation of the president is a grave matter that will cause many problems for the country and society,” Yu said.

He urged “outsiders” to understand why the DPP has decided to back the president, who has promised to step down if his wife is found guilty in the first trial.

Yu stressed that the DPP has the ability to locate and solve its own problems.

“More than 100 elite members of the party have reached a resolution to support the president at two expanded Central Executive Committee meetings for the sake of political stability,” he said.

Chen Chu, the DPP candidate for Kaohsiung mayor, called on Lee to “think from another perspective” and give the DPP another chance to rule Taiwan.

Legislator Wang Shih-chien, who is a strong defender of Chen, accused Lee of being an “opportunist” in the disguise of a “gentle scholar.”

Wang claimed that Lee had failed to offer timely advice when he had been needed.

DPP Legislator Lee Wen-chung said party leaders and supporters should contemplate on Lee’s advice.

DPP Legislator Cheng Yun-peng, who previously had urged Chen to be suspended from office, said the nation now had better wait for the outcome the first lady’s trial.

Independent Legislator Li Ao said that Lee owes the people of Taiwan an apology for having endorsed Chen presidential campaign in 2000, and that Lee’s criticism of the president came too late and so will not have much effect.

Lee, who just retired from the leadership at the Academia Sinica, was a strong supporter for Chen in the 2000 campaign. Many political observers believe that Lee’s backing was one of the major reasons for Chen’s victory.