Taiwan's former representative to Thailand Lee Ying-yuan (???) died Thursday at the age of 68, his wife Huang Yueh-guey (???) confirmed with CNA, after reports of his passing were posted on social media.

Lee passed away at 6:30 p.m. at National Taiwan University Hospital, according to a Facebook post by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chuang Jui-hsiung (???).

Born in Yunlin in 1953, Lee earned his bachelor's degree in public health at National Taiwan University (NTU) and then a master's degree in health care management at Harvard University. In 1988, he received a doctorate in health economics from the University of North Carolina.

He was blacklisted by the then Kuomintang government for advocating Taiwan's independence while he was in the United States.

Lee was among a large number of expatriate pro-independence advocates who returned to Taiwan after martial law was lifted in the country in 1987. He was arrested for alleged anti-state activities a year after he returned home in 1990 and was imprisoned for nine months.

Lee served as minister of labor from 2005 to 2007 and as head of the Environmental Protection Administration from 2016 to 2018.

He was appointed to serve as Taiwan's representative to Thailand in 2020 but resigned and returned home in August this year due to poor health.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel