In this week’s episode of Newsmakers, we took a brief look at Taiwan’s Deputy Health Minister Lee Li-feng. Lee was in the news this week because she is the leader of the Taiwanese delegation currently visiting Geneva, during this year’s World Health Assembly. But before we get to the circumstances of their visit, let’s take a look at Lee herself.
Lee was born in 1968 in Taiwan’s southern Yunlin County. She obtained a degree in sociology from Tunghai University. In 1996, she became the Secretary General of ECPAT Taiwan, which is a part of a network of civil society organizations around the world working to end sexual exploitation of children.
In that role, she pushed for legislation protecting and improving the welfare of children and adolescents. She ran for the Legislative Yuan on the Democratic Progressive Party’s ticket and became a legislator in 2016. During her four-year term, she continued focusing on children’s welfare and education. She was not nominated for a second term, and was instead offered the position of Deputy Health Minister in 2020.
Lee was in the news this week as a Taiwanese delegation under her leadership went to Geneva for this year’s World Health Assembly. The WHA is the World Health Organization’s governing body. Taiwan enjoyed an observer status with the WHA from 2009 to 2016, but has not been invited in any capacity since 2017 due to pressure from China.
Regardless, Taiwan sent a delegation from the health ministry to meet with officials from other countries and share Taiwan’s COVID-19 experience at the sidelines of the event. Lee delivered a letter of protest Health Minister Chen Shih-chung, but she says it’s unlikely to get a response.