Lee Ming-liang

Lee was appointed Director-General of the Department of Health in April 2000 and took office on 20 May.^[2] He launched a committee tasked with improving Taiwan's National Health Insurance, which was in severe debt at the time.^[4][5] Soon after Lee assumed his post, an outbreak of enterovirus 71 affected seven counties, during which Lee promoted hand hygiene.^[6][7] In June 2000, the Tobacco Hazards Act was revised. Lee promised proper enforcement of the new standards, including members of the Executive Yuan who smoked.^[8] In November, the Department of Health approved orlistat, and it became the first diet drug made without phenylpropanolamine to be marketed in Taiwan.^[9] The next month, a ban on mifepristone was lifted.^[10] During Lee's tenure, microchip health insurance cards were developed and distributed.^[11][12]

While he led the Department of Health, Lee worked to expand Taiwan's participation in the World Health Organization. In October 2000, Lee submitted a written protest to the agency for leaving Taiwan off a list of polio-free countries, stating that Taiwan should be listed separately from China, which had not yet succeeded in eradicating the disease.^[13] Following support from US Representative Sherrod Brown,^[14] Lee traveled to Geneva in April 2001 to petition for a larger Taiwanese presence at the World Health Assembly.^[15] Though publicly confident, Lee personally admitted that chances of Taiwan securing observer status were "minuscule" and the bid was unsuccessful, as it was never placed on the agenda for discussion.^[16][17] The government of the Republic of China announced its intention to donate US$1 million to a WHO health fund under the name Taiwan in April 2002.^[18][19] That year the United States again supported Taiwan's bid for WHA observer status.^[20][21] Though United States Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson promised to support Taiwan prior to the 2002 World Health Assembly,^[22] it was difficult for him to meet Lee during the assembly itself.^[23] Lee again stated that it was unlikely for Taiwan to gain observer status in the WHO;^[24] though the government applied as a "health entity," it did so under the name Taiwan.^[25] Subsequently, Taiwan's sixth overall attempt to join the WHO was denied.^[26][27]

Lee, who had first expressed his desire to resign his position in February 2002, did so on 31 August for health reasons.^[28][29]

After leaving the Department of Health, Lee continued efforts to admit Taiwan as a World Health Assembly observer.^[30] He also directed a government task force on SARS.^[31][32] In 2012, Lee met with Central Tibetan Administration health minister Tsering Wangchuk.^[33] He supported the Democratic Progressive Party ticket during the presidential election of 2016.^[34] Lee signed a petition in April 2019 calling for William Lai and Tsai Ing-wen, contestants in the 2019 Democratic Progressive Party presidential primary, to join forces and form the party's ticket for the 2020 presidential election.^[35][36] Following the formation of a Tsai–Lai ticket, Lee signed a second petition backing the Democratic Progressive Party in the 2020 election.^[37] In the 2022 local elections, Lee and Liaw Yun-fan jointly organized a petition supporting Chen Shih-chung's bid for the Taipei mayoralty.^[38]