After World War II ended, and the Republic of China took over Taiwan, Lee enrolled in the National Taiwan University, where in 1948 he earned a bachelor's degree in agricultural science. Lee joined the Communist Party of China (CPC) for two stints, in September 1946 and October or November 1947, both times briefly. Lee began the with four others. This group was absorbed by the CPC, and Lee officially left the party in September 1948. In a 2002 interview Lee himself admitted that he had been a Communist. In that same interview Lee said that he had strongly opposed Communism for a long time because he understood the theory well and knew that it was doomed to fail. Lee stated that he joined the Communists out of hatred for the KMT.