Lee Teng-hui's dramatic re-emergence on the political stage, one year after retirement, in order to "help out" President Chen Shui-bian, triggered a barrage of attacks against him for stoking ethnic polarization. In response, figures in the pro-Taiwan camp stressed that while Lee's intervention may have taken an "improper" form, it was quite "proper" in essence.
退休一年，李登輝以「輔助」陳水扁總統的姿態戲劇化地「復出」政壇，對於外界一片討伐他搞族群分立的指責聲，新政團陣營強調，李登輝的抉擇容或形式上缺乏正當性，但卻有著實質上的正當性。