As of yesterday afternoon, 206 foreign dignitaries from 45 countries and organizations had expressed sadness over Lee’s death, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. “President Lee’s death is truly regrettable, and I pray for his soul from the bottom of my heart,” Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said yesterday, as well as writing it on Twitter. “An alumnus of Iowa State University and Cornell University, President Lee also epitomized the strong people-to-people ties which bind the United States and Taiwan,” the AIT said in a statement. “Throughout his life, President Lee was a superlative leader, reformist and public servant,” said Project 2049 Institute chairman Randall Schriver, former US assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, in a statement. The British Office Taipei, the European Economic and Trade Office and other local representative offices also honored Lee’s role in building Taiwan’s vibrant democracy.

Source: Taipei Times July 31, 2020 15:56 UTC