Zeng Wenhui, 96, attended the concert accompanied by her family and nurses.Photo: Courtesy of the Lee Teng-hui Foundation
The Lee Teng-hui Foundation held the “Taiwan-Japan Friendship: 2022 Lee Teng-hui Memorial Concert” at the National Concert Hall on the evening of the 13th to commemorate former President Lee Teng-hui’s contribution to Taiwan-Japan relations. Mrs. Lee Teng-hui, Zeng Wenhui, who has not appeared in public for a long time, also appeared at the concert venue. The 96-year-old, accompanied by her family and a nurse, attended the concert.
Li Annie, daughter of Lee Teng-hui, said with a smile, “My mother was very excited to know that I might go out and listen to the concert today. I stayed up all night last night! It’s been N years since my mother went to the concert hall to enjoy a concert last time.” The Lee Teng-hui Memorial Concert held at the National Concert Hall this year was performed by the Formosa Choir. Blending and interacting, the song commemorates Lee Teng-hui’s contribution to Taiwan-Japan relations.
Representative of Japan in Taiwan, Izumi Yutai, Minister of Culture, Li Yongde, Secretary-General of the Legislative Yuan, Lin Zhijia, Secretary-General of the National Security Council, Gu Lixiong, Director of the National History Museum, Chen Yishen, DPP Taipei mayoral candidate Chen Shizhong, former Taiwan Federation Chairman Huang Kunhui, DPP Legislators Guan Biling, Guo Guowen, Zhong Jiabin and others attended the event in person, and the Lee Teng-hui Foundation also invited teachers and students from Taipei Japanese Overseas School to participate.
In the concert, the Formosa Choir sang three encores at the end, the first one “花は咲く” (flowers are blooming), especially dedicated to the former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who died in July, as a tribute to him Contributions to Taiwan-Japan relations; the second song is “A Thousand Winds” (Song of a Thousand Winds), which was loved by former President Li before his death; the last song is Taiwan’s famous song “Beautiful Island”.
Zheng Muqun, CEO of the Lee Teng-hui Foundation, said that although the severance of diplomatic relations between Taiwan and Japan in 1972 was a historical fact, in the past 50 years, due to special historical ties and the efforts of everyone, the relationship between Taiwan and Japan has become closer, and “Taiwan-Japan friendship” is a fact, not a fact. slogan. Behind this increasingly close relationship, former President Lee is a figure of absolute relationship, promoting the interaction and exchanges between the two countries. As Li Annie, chairman of the foundation, described in the preface to the concert, Taiwan and Japan are a friendly relationship that is “continuously cut and undisturbed”.
Li Anni mentioned in the article, “Even today, when the ‘Taiwan-Japan friendship’ is at its peak, there are still issues such as ‘Fukushima food’, ‘ownership of Diaoyutai’, and ‘overlapping economic areas’. But it is like a pair of Good friends, no matter how good it is, there are occasional arguments and quarrels, right? The key is to be able to recognize and accept each other’s friendly attitude and commitment, face the problem sincerely, and walk hand in hand on the future road!”