Lee made the remarks when speaking at a gathering of global members of the Lee Teng-hui Friends Association.

The former president said that imports of melamine-contaminated milk powder and other related products from mainland China has undermined national health, and therefore the government should work out clear-cut regulations on which food products can be imported into Taiwan and which can’t.

On the occasion, Lee was reluctant to comment on the possible visit to Taiwan by Chairman Chen Yun-lin of the Association of Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), but the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), of which Lee is a spiritual leader, has planned to visit the Strait Exchange Foundation (SEF) to protest Chen’s scheduled visit.

Meanwhile, Lee also instructed the Taiwan Advocates, a think tank associated with the TSU, to invite representatives of opposition parties and those associations concerned about the future of Taiwan to a national affairs meeting slated for December.

Lee stressed that Taiwan’s sovereignty is an international issue and Taiwan’s status quo cannot be unilaterally changed, adding that the future of Taiwan cannot be determined through closed-door meetings between Taiwan’s Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party.

The former president also criticized the current government’s policy of economically relying on mainland China, saying such a policy can hardly save Taiwan’s economy, and instead will make Taiwan fail to get rid of China’s policy of using economic means to promote unification of both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

Lee also lashed out at his successor Chen Shui-bian for undermining Taiwan’s democratization efforts with a spate of corruption scandals.

He said “somebody” has repeatedly voiced his love for Taiwan, but actually, what the “somebody” really loved is money.

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