State funeral held for former Taiwan president

A state funeral was held for Taiwan's former President Lee Teng-hui on Wednesday, attended by president Tsai Ing-wen and high-ranking government officials.

Lee was buried at the military cemetery in Taipei.

At the funeral service, Tsai paid her last respects and laid a white wreath before Lee's tomb while military honor guards fired a three-volley salute to bid a farewell to Lee.

National flags at government and public facilities are flying at half-mast.

Lee Teng-hui, the former president who led the island's transition to democracy, died at age 97 in July.

Lee had built a separate Taiwanese political identity, distinct from mainland China, which claims Taiwan as part of its own territory to be reunited by force if necessary.

Lee's carving out of a non-Chinese identity and insistence that the island be treated as an equal country brought him into direct conflict with Beijing.

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