The Ministry of Culture has proposed awarding a presidential citation posthumously to Taiwanese theater director and actor Hugh Lee (李國修), who passed away on July 2 at the age of 57, in recognition of his life-long contribution to the performing arts in Taiwan.
The official proposal is scheduled to be made and reviewed at the Executive Yuan on Thursday, two days after the announcement of Lee's death.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Culture Minister Lung Ying-tai called Lee 'the peoples' artist' and said she felt as if 'an elementary school classmate has passed away' upon hearing of his death.
Hugh Lee, founder of one of Taiwan's leading theater groups - the Ping-Fong Acting Troupe - died in Taichung after battling cancer for the past three years.
Lee, born in Taipei in 1955, set up Ping-Fong in 1986 and was the group's main actor, director and writer before announcing in December 2011 that he was taking a break from the stage because of the bowel cancer he was diagnosed with the previous year.
Lee's works, such as 'Can Three Make It,' were known for satirizing contemporary political and social events and for using a few actors to play a score of different characters.
He was the first recipient of the National Award for Arts in the drama category when the award was established in 1997. Lee received the honor for his works combining traditional and modern art formats, as well as for his efforts to build a professional theater group.
His legacy comprises of 27 scripts written with a total of 939,869 words.
Taiwanese theater director and actor Hugh Lee (left) is pictured with his family in this undated photo provided by Ping-Fong Acting Troupe.