Wu Li-hua (; born 12 August 1969), known in the

Rukai language Rukai is a Formosan language spoken by the Rukai people in Taiwan. It is a member of the Austronesian language family. The Rukai language comprises six dialects, which are Budai, Labuan, Maga, Mantauran, Tanan and Tona. The number of speakers o ...

as Saidhai Tahovecahe, is a Taiwanese Rukai educator and politician. She is the first legislator of the

Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...

to represent the

Highland Aborigine Constituency The Highland Aborigine constituency () is a multi-member constituency of the Legislative Yuan. Taiwanese indigenous people Taiwanese indigenous peoples (formerly Taiwanese aborigines), also known as Formosan people, Austronesian Taiwanese, ...

, to which she was elected in 2020.

Early life and teaching career

Wu is from Wanshan Village, in

Maolin District Maolin District ( Rukai: Teldreka; ) is a mountain indigenous district of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Maolin is one of the least populated districts in Taiwan, since it is located just to the south of the Central Mountain Range. The height ranges from 23 ...

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...

. She was born on 12 August 1969, to a mother of Rukai descent, and a father of

Mainland Chinese Mainland Chinese or Mainlanders are Chinese people who live in or have recently emigrated from mainland China, defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (PRC) except for Hong Kong ( SAR of the PRC), Macau (SAR of the PRC), ...

descent. She earned degrees from the

National Pingtung University of Education National Pingtung University of Education (NPUE; ) was an institution of higher learning in Pingtung City, Pingtung County, Taiwan. It has now become part of National Pingtung University. Academics There were 14 departments at the univers ...

, and, during a 27-year career in education, served as a principal within two primary schools in

Pingtung County Pingtung County is a county located in southern Taiwan. It has a warm tropical monsoon climate and is known for its agriculture and tourism. Kenting National Park, Taiwan's oldest national park, is located in the county. The county seat is Pin ...

Political career

Wu worked in the

Pingtung County Government The Pingtung County Government () is the local government of Pingtung County, Taiwan. Organizational structures Departments * Civil Affairs Department * Finance Department * Urban and Rural Development Department * Public Works Department * W ...

under the administration of magistrate

Pan Men-an Pan Men-an (; born 15 August 1963) is a Taiwanese politician. He has been the Magistrate of Pingtung County since 25 December 2014. Early life Pan was born to a fishermen's family. Education Pan graduated from the graduate institute of continu ...

starting in 2016. She was credited with increasing the vote share among the indigenous population for Pan. In Pan's administration, Wu was the director-general of the Indigenous Peoples Department and later the director of the Bureau of Cultural Affairs. She was subsequently appointed to the Indigenous Historical Justice and Transitional Justice Committee. In this capacity, Wu was one of the signatories of an open letter addressed to

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, s ...

on behalf of

Taiwanese indigenous people Taiwanese indigenous peoples (formerly Taiwanese aborigines), also known as Formosan people, Austronesian Taiwanese, Yuanzhumin or Gaoshan people, are the indigenous peoples of Taiwan, with the nationally recognized subgroups numbering about 5 ...

in January 2019, shortly after he had commented on

Chinese unification Chinese unification, also known as the Cross-Strait unification or Chinese reunification, is the potential unification of territories currently controlled, or claimed, by the People's Republic of China ("China" or "Mainland China") and the ...

and the

political status of Taiwan The controversy surrounding the political status of Taiwan or the Taiwan issue is a result of World War II, the second phase of the Chinese Civil War (1945–1949), and the Cold War. The basic issue hinges on who the islands of Taiwan, Peng ...

. In August 2019, Wu was nominated by the

to run for legislative office in the multimember

. In January 2020, Wu was elected to the

Legislative Yuan The Legislative Yuan is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for 4-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a parallel v ...

as one of three representatives in the Highland Aborigine Constituency. She succeeded

Chien Tung-ming Chien Tung-ming (; born 4 June 1951) is a Taiwanese Paiwan politician. Also known by the Paiwan-language name Uliw Qaljupayare, he represented the Highland Aborigine district from 2008 to 2020, alongside Kao Chin Su-mei and Kung Wen-chi. E ...

, who did not run for reelection. With her electoral victory, Wu became the first Democratic Progressive Party legislator to represent the Highland Aborigine Constituency.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wu, Li-hua 1969 births Living people Members of the 10th Legislative Yuan Aboriginal Members of the Legislative Yuan Democratic Progressive Party Members of the Legislative Yuan Women school principals and headteachers Politicians of the Republic of China on Taiwan from Kaohsiung Heads of schools in Taiwan National Pingtung University of Education alumni Rukai people 20th-century Taiwanese educators 21st-century Taiwanese educators Politicians of the Republic of China on Taiwan from Pingtung County 21st-century Taiwanese women politicians 20th-century women educators 21st-century women educators