He's had to break that promise now.

President Chiang Ching-kuo passed away on January 13th. At eight o'clock that evening, Lin Yang-kang, president of the Judicial Yuan, swore in Vice President Lee as the seventh president of the Republic of China.

President Lee, bearing the grave responsibility of taking over from President Chiang and "maintaining the operation of the Constitution without cessation," immediately become the focus of national and world attention.

Born 65 years ago in a farming village in Taipei County and the holder of a doctoral degree in agricultural economics from Cornell University, Mr. Lee Teng-hui has previously served as minister without portfolio in the Executive Yuan, mayor of Taipei, governor of Taiwan, and the R.O.C.'s seventh vice president. During his sixteen years in public office, because of his slight political background, his every move has always received a great deal of attention.

A political commentator once wrote that Mr. Lee could be considered the leadership's most carefully groomed product since the Retrocession.

President Chiang was a wise leader. He must have had good reasons for repeatedly promoting him!

In most people's minds, Dr. Lee is a statesman in the mold of a scholar, imposing in figure yet modest and unassuming. As mayor of Taipei and then as governor of Taiwan, whether faced with hectoring legislators or a recalcitrant citizenry, he always managed to turn dissension into harmony and get "good marks." Many people may not know that he first earned the favorable notice of the reform-minded Mr. Chiang for a bold and substantive critical report that he made on agricultural policy as a consultant with the Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction. In 1972, after Mr. Chiang became president of the Executive Yuan, he brought Mr. Lee into the cabinet as the nation's youngest minister without portfolio, to the surprise of many.

The boldness of Mr. Lee's criticism came from what his friends call his "tough-mindedness." The substantiveness came from his years of research into the agricultural development of Taiwan.

Dr. Lee graduated from National Taiwan University with a degree in agricultural economics and has worked in the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Forestry and the Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction. At age 42, the father of a son and two daughters, he assiduously went off to the United States to study for a doctorate, earning it three years later with a paper of more than 400 pages called Intersectoral Capital Flows in the Economic Development of Taiwan. His thesis was awarded a prize as one of the three best written that year in the entire U.S.

As a cabinet minister he made full use of his expertise in agricultural economics, contributing to modernization of Taiwan's agriculture, at the same time setting up a five-year plan for vocational training to meet the needs of a nation in transition from an agricultural to an industrial society.

As mayor of Taipei (1978-81 ), Dr. Lee strove to improve the city's transportation systems, promoted the arts, encouraged popular participation at the committee level, and introduced scientific management principles in government.

As governor of Taiwan Province (1981-84), he concentrated on solving administrative problems and introducing regional planning. His efforts led to a wide range of agricultural reforms, village renovation, and the construction of sewer and irrigation systems.

A scholar by background, Mr. Lee has risen swiftly through the ranks to become the R.O.C.'s seventh president, but his task now will not be an easy one. The late President Chiang Ching-kuo, who boldly strove to promote democratic, constitutional government and march down the road of liberalization, left unfulfilled aspirations behind. At a time when our nation faces dramatic changes in its economic and political situations, how will President Lee fuse the conservative and reform forces, adapt to domestic and foreign trends, and lead the nation along the road to advancement? The question is not a small one. "History has not abandoned Taiwan," President Lee has said. "How can Taiwan abandon history?" At this difficult time he will certainly shoulder the burden that history has left him.

[Picture Caption]

In addition to possessing rich administrative experience, President Lee holds high academic credentials internationally.

Dr. Lee was sworn in as the nation's seventh president at the Presidential Office Building on January 13th. At his side is Lin Yang-kang, president of the Judicial Yuan.

With a background in agricultural economics, President Lee views agricultural modernization as highly important. The picture shows him as governor of Taiwan Province awarding prizes to ten outstanding young people from rural villages.

This shows Mr. Lee as mayor of Taipei, inspecting a plan for new construction in the city along with then Vice President Hsieh Tung-min.

Mr. Lee Teng-hui's Rise to the Top

Birthplace: Sanchih Village, Taipei County, Taiwan Province.

Birth date: January 15, 1923.

Height: 6'.

Weight: 187 lbs.

Hobbies: Music, violin, golf, chess.

Education: Sanchih Elementary School, Tamsui Elementary School, Tamkang Middle School, Taipei High School.

1943 (age 20) Studied agricultural economics at Kyoto Imperial University.

1946 (age 23) Transferred to National Taiwan University (NTU), majoring in agricultural economics.

1949 (age 26) Graduated from NTU, where he stayed on as an instructor. Married Tseng Wen-hui, his hometown sweetheart.

1951 (age 28) Received a scholarship to study at Iowa State University, where he received a master's degree.

1953 (age 30) Returned to Taiwan and continued teaching at NTU, while serving as research fellow of the Provincial Cooperative Bank.

1954-6 (age 31-3)Continued teaching at NTU, while serving for two years as a specialist in the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Forestry.

1957-64 (ages 34-41) Senior specialist and consultant, Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction (JCRR), later chief of the Agricultural Economics Division. Also professor at NTU.

1965 (age 42) Went to Cornell University to study for a doctorate.

1968 (age 45) Received a Ph.D. in agricultural economics from Cornell. His thesis Intersectoral Capital Flows in the Economic Development of Taiwan, won a prize as one of the three best that year in the entire U.S.

1969 (age 46) Professor at NTU and consultant at JCRR.

1971 (age 48) As JCRR expert, reported on Taiwan's agriculture problems to Chiang Ching-kuo, then vice premier.

1972 (age 49) Named minister without portfolio in the Executive Yuan.

1973-8 (age 50 to 55) As minister without portfolio, promoted agricultural development, the petrochemical industry, and vocation training.

1978 (age 55) Appointed in June as mayor of Taipei. Resigned positions at NTU and JCRR.

1981 (age 58) Appointed in December as governor of Taiwan Province.

1984 (age 61) Elected in March as the nation's seventh vice president.

1988 (age 76) Sworn in as the nation's seventh president upon the death of the late President Chiang Ching-kuo on January 13th.

Major Published Works: Agricultural Development and Its Contributions to Development in Taiwan; An Economic Analysis of Agricultural Development on Taiwan; Instersectoral Capital Flows in the Economic Development of Taiwan; Initial Conditions of Agricultural and Development Policy; The Process and Pattern of Growth in the Agricultural Production of Taiwan; Agricultural Diversification and Development; A collection of his works was published in three volumes, 100 chapters, and 2,800 pages in 1983.

Dr. Lee was sworn in as the nation's seventh president at the Presidential Office Building on January 13th. At his side is Lin Yang-kang, president of the Judicial Yuan.

With a background in agricultural economics, President Lee views agricultural modernization as highly important. The picture shows him as governor of Taiwan Province awarding prizes to ten outstanding young people from rural villages.

This shows Mr. Lee as mayor of Taipei, inspecting a plan for new construction in the city along with then Vice President Hsieh Tung-min.