President Lee Teng-hui of the Republic of China on Taiwan is traveling to the United States for Cornell's alumni reunion weekend June 8 through 11 and will be presenting a lecture on Friday, June 9 at 3 PM EST. His lecture will be broadcast live via CU-SeeMe using the Cornell reflector (132.236.91.204).
Below is part of the Cornell News Service press release. The complete announcement is available on the Cornell News Service Web http://www.news.cornell.edu.
President Clinton Monday authorized the visit of President Lee Teng-hui of the Republic of China on Taiwan to travel to the United States for Cornell's alumni reunion weekend June 8 through 11.
"It is a happy day in Ithaca," Cornell President Frank H.T. Rhodes told a contingent of Taiwanese press gathered for the announcement at the Statler Hotel.
Lee, who received his Ph.D. in agricultural economics from Cornell in 1968, had been invited to present the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Lecture at reunion. But he had not been expected to be permitted to make the visit. The trip will mark a significant shift by Washington, which has stonewalled since last year on Lee's request to go visit his alma mater.
Rhodes, who has visited Lee in Taiwan three times in the past three years, told the press that details of the trip and Lee's schedule at Cornell have not been worked out. He assured them, however, that a round of golf at Cornell's Robert Trent Jones golf course, where Lee learned the game, most likely would be on the agenda.
"I am delighted at the news that President Clinton has authorized President Lee Teng-hui of the Republic of China on Taiwan to travel to the United States to present the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Lecture at Cornell University's alumni reunion," Rhodes said in a prepared statement. "Cornell has long had personal and institutional ties with President Lee, who received his Ph.D. in agricultural economics here in 1968. His doctoral dissertation was cited by the American Association of Agricultural Economics as the best doctoral dissertation of that year, and his research provided the rationale for investment in agriculture during the early years of Taiwan's economic expansion.