Renowned Taiwanese film director Li Hsing (李行) passed away on Aug. 19 at the age of 91. In remembrance of his life-long dedication to the film industry and contributions to the promotion of Taiwanese films, Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te will apply for a posthumous presidential citation.
Li, whose birth name was Li Tse Tah (李子達), was born in Shanghai in 1930. His 70 years of career as a filmmaker started with a Taiwanese dialect film that he directed in 1959 - "Brother Wang And Brother Liu Tour Taiwan (王哥柳哥遊台灣)," which was a success in Taiwan. His other film works include "The Autumn Execution (秋決)," "Beautiful Duckling (養鴨人家)," "He Never Gives Up (汪洋中的一條船)," "The Story of a Small Town (小城故事)" and "Where the Seagull Flies (海鷗飛處)." The films of different genres that Lee directed were trendsetters and part of Taiwan's film history, whether it is inspirational film, healthy realism, Qiong Yao's romance novels, films about culture and ethnicity or other themes.
At the same time, Li spared no effort in promoting cross-strait film exchanges, film restoration and preservation. In 1989, Li was elected as the first chairman of the "Directors Guild of Taiwan, R.O.C," and was appointed as the chairman of the executive committee of the Golden Horse Film Festival the following year. During his tenure as the chairman of the Golden Horse executive committee in 1993, he facilitated the filmmakers from China to participate in the Golden Horse event, which became an indicative event for the Chinese-language films.
Li has won the Best Director award three times, with seven of his works have winning Best Feature Film awards. He also received the Lifetime Achievement award at the 32rd edition of Golden Horse Film Festival. After that, he established a studio with the intention of volunteering in the film industry for life.
Minister Lee stated that Li had been active in the film industry for many years, bringing glory to Taiwanese films, adding that Li was also an important driving force behind the development of Taiwan's film industry who will be missed by many.