Lee Ying-yuan

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Lee Ying-yuan

MLY
李應元
李應元 (cropped).JPG
ROC Representative to Thailand
Assumed office
13 August 2020
Preceded by [zh]
Minister of Environmental Protection Administration of the Republic of China
In office
20 May 2016 – 1 December 2018
DeputyChang Tzi-chin, Thomas Chan[1]
Preceded byWei Kuo-yen
Succeeded by (acting)
Chang Tzi-chin
Member of the Legislative Yuan
In office
1 February 2012 – 20 May 2016
Succeeded byShih Yi-fang
ConstituencyRepublic of China
In office
1 February 1996 – August 2000
ConstituencyYunlin County
Deputy Yunlin County Magistrate
(as acting from 5 November 2008 to 17 November 2008)
In office
2008–2009
MagistrateSu Chih-fen
Secretary-General of the Democratic Progressive Party
In office
15 January 2008 – 15 May 2008
ChairpersonChen Shui-bian
Preceded byCho Jung-tai
Succeeded byWang Tuoh
Minister of the Council of Labor Affairs
In office
19 September 2005 – 20 May 2007
Preceded byChen Chu
Succeeded byLu Tien-ling
Secretary-General of the Executive Yuan
In office
1 February 2005 – 19 September 2005
Preceded by
Succeeded byCho Jung-tai
In office
1 February 2002 – 1 July 2002
Deputy ROC Representative to the United States
In office
September 2000 – 21 January 2002
Serving with Shen Lyu-shun
RepresentativeStephen S.F. Chen
Chen Chien-jen
Succeeded byMichael Tsai
Personal details
Born (1953-03-16) 16 March 1953 (age 68)
Yunlin County, Taiwan
Political partyDemocratic Progressive Party
Alma materNational Taiwan University
Harvard University
University of North Carolina
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionHealth economist

Lee Ying-yuan (traditional Chinese: 李應元; simplified Chinese: 李应元; pinyin: Lǐ Yìngyuán; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lí Èng-goân; born 16 March 1953) is a Taiwanese politician. He was elected to the Legislative Yuan in 1995 and stepped down in 2000. In 2005, Lee was appointed the Minister of Council of Labor Affairs, which he led until 2007. Lee has also served as Secretary-General of the Executive Yuan and the Democratic Progressive Party, and was reelected to the Legislative Yuan in 2012. He was appointed the Minister of Environmental Protection Administration in 2016. He left the EPA in 2018, and subsequently served as Taiwan's representative to Thailand from 2020 to 2021.

Early life, education and activism[]

Lee Ying-yuan was born into a family of farmers in 1953. He studied public health at National Taiwan University and earned a master's degree in health policy from Harvard University before receiving his PhD in health economics in 1988 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.[2] Upon Lee's graduation, he was slated to teach at NTU, but was placed on a blacklist and barred from returning to Taiwan by the Kuomintang-led government, stemming from his pro-democracy activities in the Formosa Incident during Taiwan's martial law period. During Lee's time as a student in the United States, he was also an active member of the World United Formosans for Independence, which attracted more of the KMT's attention.[3]

Return to Taiwan[]

After returning to Taiwan through illegal channels and avoiding intelligence agents for fourteen months, Lee was arrested in September 1991, and charged with violation of Article 100 of the Criminal Code. He was released in May 1992, after would-be colleagues at National Taiwan University intervened on his behalf. Revisions to Article 100 were also passed that month, and meant that evidence of possible threats had to be submitted to the Commission of Violence prior to indictment or arrest.[4][5]

Political career[]

Lee was elected to the Legislative Yuan in 1996. He then became the youngest convener of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus in the legislature. Following DPP’s successful presidential election in 2000, Lee was appointed by President Chen Shui-bian to be the Deputy Representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in the U.S. and then Secretary-General of the Executive Yuan.[3] He was then named the DPP candidate for Taipei City's 2002 mayoral election, losing to incumbent mayor Ma Ying-jeou in a landslide.[6]

2002 Taipei City Mayoral Election Result
Party # Candidate Votes Percentage
Democratic Progressive Party 1 Lee Ying-yuan 488,811 35.89%
Emblem of the Kuomintang.svg Kuomintang 2 Ma Ying-jeou 873,102 64.11% Vote1.png
Total 1,374,862 100.00%
Voter turnout 70.61%

He was named the head of the Council of Labor Affairs in 2005, and stayed on in the Su Tseng-chang cabinet.[7] Under his leadership, the CLA sought to decrease the number of job-related deaths and injuries causing disabilities.[8][9] In 2008, Lee was named the Secretary-General of the Democratic Progressive Party and deputy Yunlin County magistrate under Su Chih-fen. He resigned the deputy magistracy to run in a legislative-by election caused by the annulment of Chang Sho-wen's election. However, Lee lost a primary to Liu Chien-kuo.[10] He was reelected to the Legislative Yuan in 2012. During the summer of 2015, Lee accompanied DPP chairperson and 2016 presidential nominee Tsai Ing-wen on her visit to the United States, along with DPP General Secretary Joseph Wu.[11] Lee was named Tsai's Environmental Protection Administration minister after she won the election. He stated that his goal was to transform the EPA into a full-fledged ministry within 18 months of taking office.[12] On 1 December 2018, Lee stepped down from the EPA.[13] In June 2020, Lee was appointed representative of Taiwan to Thailand, succeeding  [zh], and formally took office on 13 August 2020.[14][15] Lee's resignation from the position was approved on 4 August 2021, and will take effect on 1 September 2021.[15]

Private life[]

Lee is married to Laura Huang (黃月桂).[16]

References[]

  1. ^ http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2016/04/13/2003643829[bare URL]
  2. ^ Chang, Yun-ping (May 16, 2003). "Lee Ying-yuan faults response at Hoping Hospital". Taipei Times. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Chu, Monique (September 4, 2000). "Lee Ying-yuan: the dissident who became a diplomat". Taipei Times. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  4. ^ Snyder, Charles (February 19, 2001). "DPP looks to a new era of relations with the US". Taipei Times. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  5. ^ Lee, Shyu-tu; Williams, Jack F. (2014). Taiwan's Struggle: Voices of the Taiwanese. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 53–54. ISBN 9781442221437.
  6. ^ "Lee is down but not out after defeat". The China Post. December 8, 2002. Retrieved April 22, 2011.
  7. ^ "The New Cabinet". Taiwan Today. March 1, 2006. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  8. ^ Shan, Shelley (February 20, 2006). "Labor council seeks to lower job fatality and disability rates by 20 percent each". Taipei Times. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  9. ^ Tsai, June (March 3, 2006). "Council of Labor Affairs sets target of 20% fewer job-related accidents". Taiwan Info. Archived from the original on August 6, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  10. ^ "DPP to nominate Liu in legislative by-election". Taiwan Today. July 13, 2009. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2016. Alt URL
  11. ^ Strong, Matthew (May 28, 2015). "Tsai adds Facebook and Cisco to US trip". Taiwan News. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  12. ^ Chen, Wei-han (June 7, 2016). "EPA's Lee to turn agency into full-fledged ministry". Taipei Times. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  13. ^ Lu, Hsin-huei; Lee, Hsin-Yin (December 1, 2018). "3 ministers resign in wake of DPP's landslide election loss". Central News Agency. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  14. ^ "Foreign envoys announced". Taipei Times. June 12, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b Chung, Yu-chen; Lu, Hsin-hui; Yeh, Joseph (August 4, 2021). "Taiwan's top envoy to Thailand resigns citing health reasons". Central News Agency. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  16. ^ Tsai, Ting-i (September 11, 2002). "Annie Lee supports Lee Ying-yuan for Taipei mayoral post". Taipei Times. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
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