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Li Yuan (writer)

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This article is about the writer. For the Tang dynasty official, see Xiao Ye. For other people, see Li Yuan (disambiguation).
Li Yuan
李遠
Official portrait, 2024
6th Minister of Culture
Incumbent
Assumed office
20 May 2024
Prime MinisterCho Jung-tai
Preceded byShih Che
Personal details
Born (1951-10-31) 31 October 1951 (age 73)
Monga, Taipei, Taiwan
Political partyIndependent
EducationNational Taiwan Normal University (BS)
State University of New York at Buffalo (MS)
AwardsGolden Horse Award for Best Original Screenplay (1986)
Golden Horse Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (1990)
Writing career
Pen name小野
Years active1974–present

Li Yuan (Chinese: 李遠; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lí Oán; born 31 October 1951), also known by his pen name Hsiao Yeh (Chinese: 小野; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Sió-iá), is a Taiwanese novelist, screenwriter and politician who is the minister of Culture since 2024.

Early life and education

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Li's family is of Hakka descent and originates from Wuping County, moving to Taiwan in 1949. Li Yuan was born in Monga, Taipei, on 31 October 1951.[1] His father was a statistician and his mother taught writing at National Taiwan Normal University, later becoming a journalist. Li's father gave his eldest son the pen name Hsiao Yeh, and both parents encouraged him to write. Li read classics such as War and Peace and The Old Man and the Sea at the age of 11, at the behest of his father and was forced to write reports on them afterward, though Li preferred to draw cartoons and perform plays instead.[2]

After studying biology at NTNU, Li earned a graduate degree in microbiology from the State University of New York at Buffalo in the United States. Upon his return to Taiwan, Li became a teaching assistant at National Yang Ming University.[1]

Career

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Hsiao Yeh published his first book in 1974, and was hired by the Central Motion Picture Corporation in 1981. In 1986, Hsiao Yeh won his first Golden Horse Award for Best Original Screenplay. The next year, he and Edward Yang shared the 1987 Asia-Pacific Film Festival Award for best screenplay after co-writing Terrorizers.[1] Hsiao Yeh stated in 2001 that, while he was at CMPC, many of his superiors came from military backgrounds and films were often made according to Kuomintang-led governmental directives.[3] There, Hsiao Yeh also met Wu Nien-jen, with whom he founded May Productions in 1989. Shortly after starting May Productions, Hsiao Yeh won the 1990 Golden Horse Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Later that decade, he became a television writer and presenter. Hsiao Yeh worked for Taiwan Television from 2001 to 2004 and served as general manager of Chinese Television System from 2006 to 2008.[1] He contributed to the book Touring Taiwan, released in 2008.[4] Hsiao Yeh was the artistic director of the musical "Hey! Atiku", which was based on one of his stories and debuted in 2010, the first such Hakka production geared toward children.[5]

In politics

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Activism

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Shortly after Tsai Ing-wen founded Thinking Taiwan in August 2012, Li was one of the first invited to join.[6] In March 2013, Li participated in an anti-nuclear demonstration planned by the Green Citizens' Action Alliance [zh] and held around the Presidential Office.[7] Days later, he and another former CMPC colleague, Ko I-chen [zh], among others, started the Five Six Movement, in opposition to nuclear technologies.[8][9] A wide-ranging group that included Li Yuan, Lee Yuan-tseh, Wei Te-sheng, Giddens Ko, and Kevin Tsai founded the Anti-Nuclear Fathers Front with the same goal, on Father's Day.[10] In November, Li was invited to the Zero-Nuke Festival hosted by the Green Citizens’ Action Alliance.[11] He was largely supportive of the Sunflower Student Movement in 2014.[12][13] Li joined the 2018 Taipei mayoral campaign of political independent Ko Wen-je as campaign director.[14]

Formal political career

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On 12 April 2024, Li Yuan was appointed the Minister of Culture in the incoming cabinet led by Cho Jung-tai.[15] Li himself has no party affiliation.[16]

Personal life

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Li Yuan's son Lee Chung [zh] is a writer and film director.[17]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Lee, Daw-Ming (2012). Historical Dictionary of Taiwan Cinema. Scarecrow Press. pp. 196–197. ISBN 9780810879225.
  2. ^ Ter, Dana (3 November 2016). "Taiwan talent to debut at Singapore Writers Festival". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  3. ^ Yu, Sen-lun (17 June 2001). "Standing against the tide". Taipei Times. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  4. ^ Shan, Shelley (18 February 2008). "Celebrities share travel stories in 'Touring Taiwan'". Taipei Times. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  5. ^ Lu, Deborah (10 September 2010). "First-ever Hakka children's musical set to stir imaginations". China Post. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  6. ^ Wang, Chris (6 August 2012). "Tsai launches Web forum to discuss policies". Taipei Times. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  7. ^ Lee, Joy (9 March 2013). "Anti-nuclear protest to block Bo-ai Special District". China Post. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2016. Alt URL Archived 2018-05-01 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Tseng, Te-jung; Ling, Mei-hsueh; Hsu, Stacy (11 August 2013). "Actor Joseph Cheng makes first anti-nuclear film". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  9. ^ Hsu, Stacy (6 March 2013). "Nuclear Power Debate: Directors call on public to join anti-nuclear protests". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  10. ^ Lee, I-chia (9 August 2013). "Fathers form alliance for a nuclear-free homeland". Taipei Times. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  11. ^ Tang, Chia-ling; Chung, Jake (23 November 2013). "Anti-nuclear filmmakers' festival opens in Taipei". Taipei Times. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  12. ^ Ling, Mei-hsueh; Pan, Jason (3 April 2014). "TRADE PACT SIEGE: Ex-Ma adviser starts pro-Sunflower art campaign". Taipei Times. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  13. ^ "TRADE PACT SIEGE: Mayors divided by party line over protesters' decision". Taipei Times. 9 April 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  14. ^ Lee, I-chia (8 November 2018). "ELECTIONS: Ko ends term to focus on election, defends director". Taipei Times. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  15. ^ Hou, Elaine; Lai, Sunny; Hsieh, Hsing-en; Yeh, Kuan-yin (12 April 2024). "New education, justice and culture ministers announced". Central News Agency. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  16. ^ Hsiao, Alison (12 April 2024). "Li Yuan sees broad background as key to being named culture minister". Central News Agency. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  17. ^ Han Cheung (21 August 2015). "Movie releases: The Laundryman 青田街一號". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
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