Yet Singapore's senior minister and former premier has denied that he could play the role of mediator between China and Taiwan, saying that Beijing's leaders insist that relations across the Taiwan Strait are a "family matter," and that Lee is "not family."

Still, speculation persists that the founder of modern Singapore could again offer his good offices to help unclog communications between Beijing and Taipei, as he did when the two sides first met in historic talks in Singapore in 1993. "We know that something's going on," says Joseph Wu of the Institute for International Relations in Taipei. "Many hope that Lee Kuan Yew can do it again, as he did in 1993, though that possibility is not very high."

One reason for the low expectations this time, says Wu, is the change of ruling parties in Taiwan with this year's presidential election and Lee's strong support for Beijing's "one China" policy. President Chen and his Democratic Progressive Party don't accept "one China" and dispute Lee's endorsement of Taiwan's unification with China.

Lee's intention to visit the island was first announced during a visit to Beijing in June. Taiwanese observers note that it was initiated by Lee himself, without an invitation from Taipei. According to a Singaporean official, his stay, from September 23-26, was a "strictly private holiday"--his first visit in six years, after a long record of regular trips to the island during the 1980s.

In a Taiwanese television interview before his arrival, Lee explained that he was visiting to understand how Taiwan had changed. He also emphasized his concern that the entire Asian region could be destabilized if the cross-strait conflict turned violent. "My interest in the cross-straits problem is to avoid conflict, which I think will be very damaging for Taiwan and China and for East Asia," he told the Taipei-based Chinese Television System. "And the danger of conflict is very real."

In a vain attempt to keep a low profile, the senior minister stayed at a golf resort an hour's drive from Taipei. There, he met with most of the island's top politicians and senior government officials in meetings closed to the press, although he did work in two long private chats with President Chen at an official guest house in the city.

Political observers believe that what Lee learned from these meetings will likely be passed along to Beijing at a future date. Indeed, one Taiwanese official has said that Chen sees Lee as a channel to help Beijing understand that it has been difficult for the new president to strike a more accommodating line because of the strong pro-independence views of his core supporters.

Despite his friendships with many of Taiwan's political elite, Lee no longer enjoys a reputation as a neutral party among many Taiwanese because of his strong views on "one China" and his criticism of former President Lee Teng-hui. Indeed, doubts about the Singaporean minister's goodwill were heard in the streets during his stay. Protesters from the Taiwan Independence Party displayed banners that denounced any effort by Lee to broker a deal between Taiwan and China, claiming he was a "puppet" of Beijing who would "betray" the island.

The protesters were shrill expressions of a widespread Taiwanese disapproval of the Singaporean minister's low valuation of the island's democratic achievements during the past decade and of his advice that Taiwan should get on with the task of unification with China. In an editorial, the Taipei Times commented that such views were "morally contemptible."

The Singaporean's critical opinions of former President Lee, on public display in the second volume of his memoirs, add to the perception that he doesn't understand Taiwan, say political analysts. Lee writes that the former president was responsible for fuelling a destabilizing pro-independence movement in Taiwan during the 1990s and for allowing corruption to rage unchecked. He also accuses Lee Teng-hui of underestimating the determination of China's leaders to bring about unification, and forcing the Taiwan issue to the top of China's agenda while relying on the United States to come to Taiwan's rescue. And he further describes Chen Shui-bian's presidency as a "continuation of the Lee Teng-hui era without Lee Teng-hui."

The former Taiwanese leader pointedly arranged a trip out of town during Lee Kuan Yew's stay and commented tersely that his visit would be "no help" in resolving the cross-strait problem. Frank Hsieh, chairman of Taipei's ruling party, also declined to see Lee, saying Lee's request that the content of any discussions should not be revealed contradicted the ruling party's commitment to transparency on the sensitive issue of relations with China.