Renowned American poet Emily Dickinson wrote: "Fame is a bee. It has a song. It has a sting. Ah, too, it has a wing."
Reminiscing about his life, 47-year-old DPP Legislator Lee Ying-yuan (
"Fame, like cars and watches, is merely a worldly possession that can evaporate at any time," said Lee, a follower of the Taoist belief that one should lead a simple life. "It takes a lot of personal experience, reflections on readings as well as societal observations to formulate such a life's philosophy," said Lee, one of the few legislators in Taiwan who prefer taking the MRT to work and dining in cafeterias.
But although Lee's new job as Taiwan's deputy representative to the US has earned him some fame, Lee himself declines to make a big fuss about it. "It is just a new role for me," he said. "And this transformation of roles -- which I share with many dissidents worldwide -- is simply a historic irony," Lee said.
A former dissident blacklisted by the KMT government for advocating Taiwan independence while in the US, Lee admitted that some might find his new role as a diplomat under Taiwan's new administration a bit strange.
Determined dissident
But such a transformation is merely a product of history, Lee claims. It was Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) victory in March's presidential election that ended the KMT's five-decade rule of Taiwan. Were it not for this transfer of power, Lee would not have been offered his current position, some have claimed.
"Where we once belonged to the opposition camp, we've now turned into members of the ruling team. It's indeed hard to describe in simple terms my feelings about this change," said Lee's wife Laura Huang (
Lee and Huang have every reason to smile at the irony. The couple's original plan, like many Taiwanese students studying overseas, was to remain in an ivory tower by teaching after graduating from university.
But Lee's involvement, beginning in the early 1980s, in the World United Formosans for Independence (WUFI), then a US-based organization supporting Taiwan independence, led the couple down a rough road.
Born to a farmer's family in Taiwan in 1953, Lee earned his first degree in public health at National Taiwan University (NTU). He then found his way to Harvard University where he received his master's degree in health policy and management. In 1988, he earned his PhD in health economics from the University of North Carolina. Although NTU granted the couple letters of appointment in 1988 and 1989, the authorities in Taiwan shut the door to the young, promising academics.
"I'd applied 13 times during two years for permission to return to my homeland ... but to no avail," Lee recalled.
In 1990, Lee decided to return to Taiwan through illegal channels as part of the WUFI's plan to move its headquarters back to the island. During the following 14 months, Lee played hide-and-seek with intelligence agents around the island. He never visited a public place more than once and he used makeup to cover an obvious mole on his right cheek. To challenge the authorities, the leading independence advocate even took a picture of himself in front of the presidential office, his wife recalled. And Lee always carried a razor, a toothbrush and toothpaste with him in case he was imprisoned.
Even after he was arrested on charges of sedition, Lee remained calm. "To all dissidents worldwide, it's easier to be put in prison than be insulted for your beliefs," Lee wrote in a September 1991 newspaper article, two weeks after his arrest.
"I found myself composed and considered life in prison bearable as it was the result of staying true to my beliefs," Lee wrote.
A suitable candidate
In 1995, Lee was elected as a legislator for the first time. For the following five years, he was a member of the Foreign Relations Committee at the Legislative Yuan. In April 1999, Lee joined a government delegation to Macedonia to deliver medical and humanitarian aid to that country. After Chen's victory in March, Lee traveled to New York and Washington, as part of a team representing the new administration, to brief members of congress about Taiwan's election. Lee also joined the president last month on his tour of Taiwan's six diplomatic allies in Central America and Africa.
When the president offered Lee the position as deputy representative to the US, insiders said Chen's choice came as no surprise. "Within the DPP, he is a well-qualified candidate in terms of his personality and his special interest in foreign affairs," said KMT spokesman Jason Hu (胡志強), a former minister of foreign affairs and himself a former representative to the US.
WUFI Chairman Ng Chiau-tong (
"I believe he can effectively combine both the diplomacy conducted by civil groups and that carried out by the government representative office," Ng said.
Huang echoed Ng's view. "People sometimes find it hard to persuade hard-liners [that Taiwan should be independent], but Lee's association with the WUFI may help him get the job done. While the WUFI was once a liability for him, it now turns out to be an asset," she said.
Challenges ahead
But Lee knows the challenges that lie ahead. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the most conservative government agency in Taiwan where many officials simply stick to obsolete ideas. And this is exactly why we need people like Lee to work among these traditional diplomats," said Ng.
Hu said it's unlikely Lee would have any major problems working with the team as he is "a man of great pragmatism and enthu-siasm."
Hu believes Lee's greatest challenge will be working within the new administration, which Hu said is still groping in the dark.
"He has never worked with the government. And his greatest challenge will be working with a team that lacks coordination and sense of direction," Hu predicted.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
RSS