Paelabang Danapan (; born 18 December 1953), also known as Sun Ta-chuan (), is an

aboriginal Taiwanese 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 ...

educator and politician. He had served as Minister of the

Council of Indigenous Peoples The Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP; ), formerly known as the Council of Aboriginal Affairs, is a ministry-level body under the Executive Yuan in Taiwan (Republic of China). It was established to serve the needs of the country's indigenous ...

from 2009 to 2013 and Vice President of the Control Yuan from 2014 to 2020. Sun is a member of the Puyuma tribe in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, and is also a Roman Catholic.

Education

Paelabang Danapan received his bachelor's degree in Chinese literature from

National Taiwan University National Taiwan University (NTU; ) is a public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. The university was founded in 1928 during Japanese rule as the seventh of the Imperial Universities. It was named Taihoku Imperial University and served d ...

, and bachelor's degree in philosophy from

Fu Jen Catholic University Fu Jen Catholic University (FJU, FJCU or Fu Jen; or ) is a private Catholic university in Xinzhuang, New Taipei City, Taiwan. The university was founded in 1925 in Beijing at the request of Pope Pius XI and re-established in Taiwan in 1961 at ...

. He then earned his doctoral degree in

sinology Sinology, or Chinese studies, is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of China primarily through Chinese philosophy, language, literature, culture and history and often refers to Western scholarship. Its origin "may be traced to th ...

from

Catholic University of Louvain The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Early career

Before entering the political world, Paelabang Danapan was a professor at the

National Chengchi University National Chengchi University () is a public research university in Taipei. The university is also considered as the earliest public service training facility of the Republic of China. First established in Nanjing in 1927, the university was subs ...

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...

References

1953 births Living people Puyuma people Taiwanese Members of the Control Yuan National Taiwan University alumni Fu Jen Catholic University alumni KU Leuven alumni Government ministers of Taiwan Taiwanese expatriates in Belgium Taiwanese politicians of indigenous descent National Chengchi University faculty {{Taiwan-politician-stub Taiwanese Catholics