Lung Ying-tai

Prof. Lung Ying-tai ( _zh. 龍應台) (born 13 february 1952 in Kaohsiung), is a celebrated essayist and cultural critic, with a total of 17 published titles to her credit in Chinese. Essays in other languages had appeared in European newspapers such as the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung before she accepted the appointment as the first Cultural Minister of Taipei in 1999. During her 4-year term as cultural architect of the city she has designed as well as practiced a new concept of cultural policy, which has had a great impact on contemporary culture in Taiwan and greater China. Lung's poignant and critical essays contributed to the democratization of Taiwan and as the only Taiwanese writer with a column in major Chinese newspapers, she is considered one of the most influential writers in Mainland China as well.

Lung received her bachelor degree from the National Cheng Kung University and Ph.D. from the Kansas State University. She joined the Journalism and Media Studies Centre of the University of Hong Kong in August 2004 and took up the position of Chair Professor of arts and humanities at National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan in 2005.