Lee Teng-hui's Educational Journey
【Primary School】
During his primary school years, Lee Teng-hui attended four different schools due to his father, Lee Jin-long, being a police officer who was frequently transferred. He attended Xizhi Public School, Nangang Public School, Sanzhi Public School, and Danshui Public School. Because he changed schools frequently, he could not make many friends and had to focus on his studies. He graduated from Danshui Public School with the second-highest grades in the entire school.
【Junior High School】
At the time, junior high school was a five-year program. Lee Teng-hui applied to public junior high schools but was rejected due to the schools giving priority to Japanese students. He spent a year studying at a private school, Taipei High School (now known as Taipei Municipal Datong High School), before transferring to Danshui Junior High School (now known as New Taipei Municipal Tamkang Senior High School) upon recommendation by the principal of Danshui Public School. Lee Teng-hui studied day and night and achieved excellent grades.
In 1941, Lee Teng-hui did not complete the five-year program of junior high school. In his fourth year, he passed the entrance exam and entered Taipei High School. At the time, Taipei High School was the only path to university education for students in Taiwan, and Lee Teng-hui was the first person from Danshui Junior High School to pass the exam, causing a sensation in his hometown of Sanzhi.
【University】
In 1943, Lee Teng-hui graduated from Taipei High School, but instead of attending National Taiwan University (now known as Taiwan University), he went to Kyoto Imperial University to study agricultural economics. He originally wanted to major in history, but he remembered the hardships of the farmers from his childhood and wanted to fight for them. He also dreamed of one day going to Northeast China to solve the agricultural problem, which was the biggest issue in China at the time. During his university studies, World War II was still ongoing, and Lee Teng-hui was worried about food shortages. He did not graduate successfully from Kyoto Imperial University, so he went on to study at National Taiwan University, where he graduated with a degree in agricultural economics in 1946-1949 and worked as a teaching assistant in the College of Agriculture.【Graduate School】
In 1952-1953, Lee Teng-hui earned a Master's degree in agricultural research from Iowa State University. In 1965-1968, he earned a Ph.D. in agricultural economics from Cornell University.
▲ At the time of World War II, Lee Teng-hui (right) and his older brother, Lee Teng-qing (left), both participated in the war as Japanese soldiers.／Source: 《Wind Media》
▲ Lee Teng-hui (left) practicing kendo at Danshui Junior High School (now New Taipei Municipal Tamkang Senior High School).／Source: 《Election Encyclopedia》
