Wang Tuoh

Wang Tuoh 王拓
Secretary-General of the Democratic Progressive Party
In office 20 May 2008 – 20 May 2009
Chairperson	Tsai Ing-wen
Preceded by	Lee Ying-yuan
Succeeded by	Wu Nai-ren
Minister of Council for Cultural Affairs of the Republic of China
In office 1 February 2008 – 19 May 2008
Preceded by	Wong Chin-chu
Succeeded by	Huang Pi-twan
Personal details
Born	(1944-01-09) January 9, 1944 Kirin, Taihoku Prefecture, Empire of Japan
Political party	Democratic Progressive Party
Alma mater	National Taiwan Normal University National Chengchi University
Occupation	Politician
Profession	Writer Philologist

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Wang.

Wang Tuoh (Chinese: 王拓; pinyin: Wáng Tuò; born January 9, 1944) is a Taiwanese writer, intellectual, literary critic and politician. He was born in Badouzi (八斗子), then a small fishing village near the northern port city of Keelung. His name was originally Wang Hung-chiu (王紘久).

Writing career

Wang Tuoh published his first short story, The Hanging Tree in 1970, and went on to write a series of stories set in his home village of Badouzi that drew heavily on his own experiences in a small, insular village where everyone is part of a larger family that has been there for five generations. The most well-known of these stories is the novella Auntie Jinshui (金水嬸; published September 1976) which describes the story of the eponymous Auntie Jinshui. Auntie Jinshui is a street peddler who has successfully raised and educated six sons, but falls upon especially hard times after being swindled by a priest introduced to her by one of her sons. She then falls behind on her payments to her Hui (會), an informal village credit network, and finds herself gradually ostracized from her friends and family. This novella was also later made into a movie.

His novels are The Story of Cowbelly Harbor (牛肚港的故事; published 1982) and Taipei, Taipei! (台北，台北!; published 1983), both written while he was in jail as a political prisoner.

Political career

After being freed from prison in 1984, he joined the political opposition to the ruling Kuomintang and in 1991 was elected to Taiwan's Legislative Yuan as a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member for Keelung City.

Wang was nominated by the DPP to run for Keelung City mayor in 2005. The Pan-Green Coalition had two candidates in the election, with both the Democratic Progressive Party and the Taiwan Solidarity Union nominating their own candidate. Wang lost the election, getting only 2,771 votes. He got the least votes out of all four candidates.

Commenting on the 2007 summit between South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, Wang noted that their talks offered a model for negotiations between China and Taiwan held on an equal footing and based on mutual respect. Lamenting that China refuses to recognise Taiwan as a sovereign, independent state, he urged China to support a bid for UN recognition for Taiwan also called for the removal of the 900 Chinese missiles deployed along its southeastern coast that threaten Taiwan militarily.

After losing his seat in the legislature in January 2008, Wang was appointed chairman of the Council for Cultural Affairs, a cabinet-level position. From this position, Wang has pushed for substantial increases to the culture budget. In May 2008, Wang was appointed by chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen to serve as the Secretary General of the DPP.