Here is the summary, typed as someone who is pro-Chinese. Lee Teng-hui was a pioneer in his introduction of proper democracy to part of greater China. The first president who directly elected in Chinese history, he introduced a system which is unique. The closest equivalent in greater China is Hong Kong which is only democratic in title only, with Carrie Lam being a puppet head of government only, a stark contrast to Tsai Ing-wen, president of the Republic of China (Taiwan).
On the occasion of his passing, the official state media in the PRC is full of its usual printed ranting, due to linking democracy with a separate identity from mainland China.
However, there is a sizable blemish on his record, which is his pro-colonial Japan viewpoints. He once visited the Yasakuni shrine in Tokyo, which I made sure to avoid because many that it honours were also war criminals. Furthermore, he claimed that many atrocities were lies. Having visited the memorial to the Nanjing Massacre, I fail to understand how he had been daring enough to make such outlandish claims.
