Ex-President Lee's memorial service to be held in New Taipei

Taipei, Sept. 11 (CNA) The memorial service of former President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) will be held at three venues in New Taipei on Sept. 19, and President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) will award Lee a posthumous citation during the event.

The main venue of the service will be the chapel of Aletheia University in Tamsui, according to a statement released by the Presidential Office on Friday.

Around 800 people, including Tsai and Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), government officials, representatives of political parties, foreign envoys, and the late president's family members and relatives, have been invited to attend the service there.

The second venue will be the chapel of Tamkang Senior High School, next to Aletheia University, for alumni of the high school that Lee attended and members of the public. Up to 500 people will be allowed to enter the venue, according to the statement.

Anyone wishing to attend the memorial service at the Tamkang school can register online at http://www.tksh.ntpc.edu.tw, or by calling at 02-2621-8850 from Sept. 11-16.

The third venue will be the concert hall of Tamkang Senior High School, where the memorial service at the main venue will be broadcast live, the Presidential Office said.

The memorial service will start at 9:30 a.m. and be held based on Christian protocols and conventions fit for a former president, including the honor of a presidential citation and a national flag covering ceremony and a 21-gun salute.

The memorial service is scheduled to end at 11:50 a.m. when the hearse carrying Lee's ashes departs to return to the late president's residence in Taipei.

Lee's ashes will be buried at Wuzhi Mountain Military Cemetery on Oct. 7, in an area reserved for people who have made significant contributions to Taiwan's development, according to the Presidential Office.

The former president died at the age of 97 on July 30 at Taipei Veterans General Hospital, after being hospitalized for over five months. Lee served as Taiwan's president from 1988-2000.