From a Dissident to a Diplomat

Lee Ying-yuan is a former dissident who advocated Taiwan's independence while in the US. But the first transfer of power in Taiwan following the presidential election in March has offered the talented incumbent legislator a precious opportunity to work on the diplomatic front-as the deputy representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO).

Probably nothing better characterized Lee Ying-yuan's personality than the trade-mark smile which he beamed through a beer house one September evening in 2000 when senior political reporters gathered to host a farewell party for him.

"It is just a new role for me," Lee, the lawmaker-turned diplomat shrugged, declining to make a big fuss about his new job as Taiwan's deputy representative to the US.

Throughout the banquet, Lee smiled and utilized his polished diplomatic skills to entertain a houseful of reporters, whose attempt to urge Lee to get drunk was thwarted by Lee's polite and skillful refusal. At the end of the party, however, everybody looked contented.

"Lee is such a talented, natural diplomat. He's always interested in people, and has the magic to get along with people from all walks of life," said one of Lee's senior assistants.

Early Years

Lee Ying-yuan was born on March 16, 1953, in Yunlin County, Taiwan, where he grew up in a farmer's family. 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 at Chapel Hill. From 1988 to 1990, he was an associate professor at the University of South Dakota.

Determined Dissident

Although NTU granted Lee and his wife Laura Huang letters of appointment in 1988 and 1989, the KMT authorities in Taiwan shut the door to the young, promising academics because Lee was blacklisted by the government for advocating Taiwan independence while in the US.

Lee's involvement, beginning in the early 1980s, in the World United Formosans for Independence (WUFI), then a US-based organization advocating Taiwan independence, led the couple down a rough road.

"I'd applied 13 times during two years for permission to return to my homeland... but to no avail," Lee recalled.

In 1990, Lee, then the Vice President of the WUFI, 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 Taiwan. He never visited a public place more than once and he used makeup to cover an obvious mole on his right cheek. And Lee always carried a razor, a toothbrush and toothpaste with him in case he was imprisoned.

To challenge the authorities, the leading independence advocate even took a picture of himself in front of the presidential office.

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.

Congressional Career

In 1995, Lee was elected to the Legislative Yuan for the first time and was quickly made part of the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) leadership. From July to December in 1999, he was the convener of the DPP caucus in the legislature, leading his party in the conduct of various inter-party negotiations in the legislature to ensure the DPP's partisan interests were ensured throughout the process.

In the Legislative Yuan, Lee was a tireless fighter as the veteran member of the Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee. His insightful understanding of Taiwan's foreign relations even led him to become convener of the committee, a move that has ensured his leadership position in the foreign relations committee.

To utilize his area of expertise in public health, Lee once joined the Sanitation, Environment, and Social Welfare Committee to lead efforts of legislation enactment aimed at improving people’s lives.

In April 1999, Lee joined a government delegation to Macedonia to deliver medical and humanitarian aid to that country. His close association with the Tibetan government-in-exile has also won him friendship from His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

After DPP's Chen Shui-bian won the presidential election in March, a move that ended the KMT's 54-year role as the ruling party in Taiwan, Lee traveled to the US, as part of a team representing Chen's new administration, to brief members of the US congress and think tanks on Taiwan's election.

Turning the Tables

Indeed, even before Lee began his new job as a diplomat representing the Taiwan government in the US, Lee already had no doubt abundant experience as a de facto diplomat.

And he knows clearly where his comparative advantages lie in terms of how to handle his upcoming tasks. "I understand the interests of the people in Taiwan, as well as the policy orientations outlined by the president and the new administration," Lee said with his trade-mark smile.

Lee sees his long-term involvement in WUFI as a "plus" to his new task in the US as the organization has over the years developed a large number of friendships with civic groups worldwide, a valuable asset that Lee will be able to utilize in the near future.

While admitting that the ultimate goal for Taiwan is to pursue reconciliation and peaceful coexistence with China, the former dissident considers it vital for Taiwan to expand its external relations, an effort he says can strengthen Taiwan's bargaining chips with China.

LEE, Ying-yuan
Deputy Representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office

Date of Birth:    March 16, 1953
Education:        B.S.     National Taiwan University
                  M.P.H.   Harvard University
                  Ph.D.    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Experience:       Vice President of World United Formosans for Independence
                  Assistant Professor at University of South Dakota 
                  Associate Professor at National Taipei College of Nursing
                  Legislator  
                  --convener of the DPP legislative caucus
                  --convener of the Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee
                  --convener of the Sanitation, Environment, and Social 
Welfare Committee
                  --member of the Judiciary Committee