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Li Ao (Chinese: 李敖; pinyin: Lǐ Áo; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lí Ngô͘, also spelled Lee Ao; 25 April 1935 – 18 March 2018) was a Chinese-Taiwanese writer, historian and independent politician.[1]
Li Ao | |
|---|---|
李敖 | |
 Li Ao at Fayuan Temple in Beijing in 2005 | |
| Member of the Legislative Yuan | |
| In office 1 February 2005 – 31 January 2008 | |
| Constituency | Taipei 2 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 April 1935 Harbin, Manchukuo |
| Died | 18 March 2018 (aged 82) Taipei, Taiwan |
| Cause of death | Brain tumor |
| Spouses | |
| Children | Hedy Lee [zh] (1964, daughter) Li Kan [zh] (1992, son) Li Chen (1994, daughter) |
| Parent(s) | Li Dingyi Zhang Kuichen |
| Education | National Taiwan University (BA) |
| Occupation | Writer, social commentator, historian, independent politician |
| Known for | Civil rights movement, Activism, Chinese culture criticism |
| Courtesy name | Aozhi (敖之) (Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Ngô͘ Chi) |
Li rose to fame in the early 1960s for his articles in Wenxing (1957-1988), an intellectual Taiwan magazine where he defended Hu Shih, criticized traditional Chinese culture, and advocated for total Westernization, sparking a major cultural debate between Chinese and Western ideologies. In his early years, Li rarely addressed contemporary political issues. However, he gradually became a vocal critic of the Kuomintang’s (KMT) authoritarian one-party rule and its promotion of personality cult propaganda in Taiwan. Li also opposed the recognition of the Republic of China’s sovereignty over Taiwan. During the 1970s, he participated in the pro-democracy Tangwai movement, eventually becoming a political prisoner and serving two jail terms.
After martial law was lifted in Taiwan in 1987, Li frequently ran for public office. In 2000, he ran for president as a candidate representing the New Party in the Republic of China presidential election. From 2004 to 2008, he served as an independent legislator in the Legislative Yuan. After leaving office, Li engaged in writing and teaching, and became a media personality hosting shows such as Li Ao Speaks His Mind (李敖有话说) and Li Ao’s Wit and Humor (李敖语妙天下).
Li espoused liberalism, Chinese nationalist ideals, and anti-American and anti-Japanese sentiments. He was a prominent critic of the Chiang family and, following Taiwan’s democratization in the 1990s, he also criticized the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), opposing Taiwanese independence and advocating for cross-strait reunification. In his later years, Li praised the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for revitalizing China but also condemned and mocked its authoritarianism.
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Li was born in Harbin, Manchukuo to Li Dingyi (李鼎彝), a professor of Chinese, and Zhang Kuichen (張桂貞).[1] His family had ancestry in Wei County (modern-day Weifang), Shandong Province, and Fuyu County, Jilin Province. When Li was two years old, the family moved to Beijing, where Li's father worked in the government's opium suppression bureau.[2]
There, Li's father was accused of being a traitor to the Kuomintang by his superiors.[2] Li then began feeling enmity towards the party.[2] The entire Li family, except for two children, moved to Taiwan at the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.[1] Li received his bachelor's degree from National Taiwan University's Department of History in 1959.[3]
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Li participated in the democratic movement in Taiwan between the 1960s and 1980s. In the 1960s, he was the editor-in-chief of Wenxing (文星), a magazine that promoted democracy and personal freedom.[1]
He was jailed by the Kuomintang government from 1971 to 1976,[4] for helping a pro-Taiwan independence legal scholar, Peng Ming-min, escape to Japan in 1970;[5] even though Li himself had a long history of being an advocate of reunification. Li was also imprisoned from 1981 to 1982 over a dispute with a former employer.[6]
Throughout the 1970s, Li received much international attention for his imprisonment. He was highlighted by Amnesty International as one of the three most important political prisoners in Taiwan in 1974.
After his release, Li continued to publish articles in magazines and newspapers, criticizing the Kuomintang government. Ninety-six of his books were banned in Taiwan until 1991.[7] In the 1980s he also sponsored numerous anti-Kuomintang magazines.
His novel Mountaintop Love (上山．上山．愛), about a mother and a daughter who fall in love with the same man, though several years apart, established Li's status as a prominent novelist. His novel Martyrs' Shrine: The Story of the Reform Movement of 1898 in China (北京法源寺), is about the beginning and the failure of the Hundred Days' Reform. Li also published his autobiography in 2001, revealing more than ten of his romantic affairs.[7] However, the bulk of his work is non-fiction and consists mainly of essays and historical commentaries.
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Li participated in the presidential election in 2000 as a candidate for the New Party. Li usually played the role of a political gadfly, and his campaign was largely symbolic. He took the election as an opportunity to "educate" the people of Taiwan. Both Li[8] and his party[citation needed] publicly encouraged people to vote for James Soong. During the presidential debates, Li even stated that he was not planning to vote for himself and that people should vote for Soong.
| 2000 Republic of China Presidential Election Result | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Political affiliation | Candidate | Votes | ||||
| President | Vice President | Total votes | Percentage | |||
 Democratic Progressive Party |
Chen Shui-bian | Annette Lu | 4,977,737 | 39.3% |  | |
| Independent | James Soong | Chang Chau-hsiung | 4,664,932 | 36.8% |  | |
 Kuomintang |
Lien Chan | Vincent Siew | 2,925,513 | 23.1% |  | |
| Independent | Hsu Hsin-liang | Josephine Chu | 79,429 | 0.63% |  | |
| New Party | Li Ao | Elmer Fung | 16,782 | 0.13% |  | |
| Total | 12,786,671 | 82.69% voter turnout | ||||
| Valid votes | 12,664,393 | |||||
| Invalid votes | 122,278 | |||||
Since the 2000 presidential election, Li had bitterly spoken out against pro-independence Nobel laureate Yuan T. Lee, who publicly supported Chen Shui-bian. He also accused former President Lee Teng-hui of corruption. In October 2004, Li ran in the December 11 legislative election as a non-partisan candidate of the South Taipei constituency, and was subsequently elected to be the last winning place. He took office as an independent legislator on 1 February 2005.
In February 2005, Li held a press conference, accusing the PFP leader, James Soong of having changed his opposition towards military weapons purchase from the United States under the influence of people of pro-American inclination, people with CIA backgrounds and arms traders who would receive kick-backs. Li threatened Soong that he would reveal the names of the people with CIA backgrounds, who were influencing Soong, to the general public unless Soong reverted to his previous opposition position.[9] PFP legislators dismissed the accusation and responded that Li Ao should reveal his evidence to support his story.[10]
Later that year, in June, Li claimed to the Taiwanese press that he had exclusive information from the CIA concerning the 3-19 shooting incident.[citation needed] He alleged that the real motive of the killer was to assassinate the Vice-President Annette Lu in order to garner sympathy votes for Chen Shui-bian, and that the killer had been condoned by the governing party for ulterior political reasons. After flashing several allegedly CIA-endorsed documents to reporters, he mailed them to Annette Lu, claiming that she needed to know the truth about the assassination attempt to the full extent.[citation needed]
On 19 September 2005, Li returned to Mainland China for the first time in 56 years.[citation needed] He was invited to give speeches at Peking University, Tsinghua University and Fudan University where he was warmly received, and the trip was claimed to have had significant impact on observers of Cross-Strait relations.[11][12][13]
Li was a candidate for the 2006 Taipei Mayoral election, and a candidate for the 2012 Legislative Yuan elections, campaigning in Taipei City District 8 under the People First Party (PFP) banner. Li also satirized Mao Zedong's Little Red Book in his article.
| 2006 Taipei City Mayoral Election Result | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Candidate | Party | Votes | % | ||
| 1 | Li Ao | Independent | 7,795 | 0.61% | ||
| 2 | Clara Chou[a] | Taiwan Solidarity Union | 3,372 | 0.26% | ||
| 3 | Frank Hsieh | Democratic Progressive Party | 525,869 | 40.89% | ||
| 4 | James Soong[b] | Independent | 53,281 | 4.14% | ||
| 5 | Hau Lung-pin | Kuomintang | 692,085 | 53.81% | ||
| 6 | Ke Tsi-hai | Independent | 3,687 | 0.29% | ||
On 24 October 2006, Li sprayed tear gas and wielded a stun gun during a Legislative Yuan National Defense Committee meeting, forcing several members of the parliament to flee. He was attempting to stop debate on purchasing attack submarines and Patriot anti-aircraft missiles for $16 billion from the U.S.[16] He was also wearing the Guy Fawkes mask from V for Vendetta.[17]
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On 6 May 1980, Li married Taiwanese writer, translator and film actress Terry Hu. Their love story even featured in Time.[18] But the couple divorced on 28 August 1980, after 115 days in total.[19][20]
On 8 March 1992, Li married his second wife, Wang Zhihui (王志慧). They had one son and one daughter together. Their son, Li Kan (李戡), is a PhD student in Chinese Studies of Cambridge[21][22] and an alumnus of Peking University.[23][24]
Li also had an elder daughter, Hedy W. Lee, from a previous relationship.[25]
Li died of a brain tumor at Taipei Veterans General Hospital on 18 March 2018.[26][27]
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- Despite Chou's expulsion from the Taiwan Solidarity Union on November 9, 2006, the party could not withdraw their recommendation for Chou under Republic of China's Public Officials Election and Recall Law. She would still contest the elections as a TSU candidate.[14]
- James Soong was Chairman of the People's First Party at the time of the elections, but entered the elections as an independent.[15]
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