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Yu Tian
Taiwanese singer and politician From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Yu Tian (Chinese: 余天; pinyin: Yú Tiān; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Û Thian; born 18 February 1947), born Yu Tsing-yuan (Chinese: 余清源; pinyin: Yú Qīngyuán; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Û Chheng-goân), is a Taiwanese politician and pop singer in Mandarin and Hokkien. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party, Yu currently serves as a member of the Legislative Yuan and previously held the same seat from 2008 to 2012.
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Early life and education
Born in Hsinchu, Yu Tian graduated from Hsinchu Chien Hua Junior High School.[1][2]
Music career
Yu is best known for his 1977 release "Under the Banyan Tree", a Mandarin cover version of the Japanese song Kitaguni no haru, and remained popular throughout the 1980s.[3][4] In 2003, Yu founded the Taiwan Cultural Entertainment Development Association.[5] Four years later, he launched a Kaohsiung-based entertainment labor union.[6] Yu worked with Chthonic on the 2011 album Takasago Army and formally announced a return to the entertainment industry upon losing the 2012 legislative elections.[7][8]
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Political career
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Within the Democratic Progressive Party, Yu Tian is allied with Yu Shyi-kun.[9] He is also known for his support of former president Chen Shui-bian.[10][11] Yu ran for New Taipei 3 in 2008, and defeated Kuomintang incumbent Chu Chun-hsiao by approximately 2,000 votes.[12] Chu filed an unsuccessful lawsuit in an attempt to annul the election results.[13] A separate case was brought against Yu supporter Wang Ying-lan, who was charged with making threats to the opposition.[14] Wang was later released on bail.[15] In November 2008, Yu and other DPP politicians publicly protested Ma Ying-jeou's meeting with Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin.[16] The next year, Yu's DPP membership was suspended because he had failed to fulfill a fundraising quota.[17] In 2010, Yu was named to Tsai Ing-wen's New Taipei mayoral campaign team.[18]
Though there was speculation that Yu would not receive DPP backing in a reelection bid,[19][20] Yu was listed fourteenth on the Democratic Progressive Party's proportional representation party list, and expected to win.[21][22] During the campaign, Kuomintang politicians accused Yu and others of gambling, and in response, Yu charged them with defamation.[23]
The Taiwan Competitiveness Forum regarded Yu Tian as a controversial figure prior to the start of his first legislative term.[24] During his first term, Yu was ranked highly by the Citizen Congress Watch.[25][26]
In 2018, Yu was the only candidate to run in elections for the DPP chapter leadership in New Taipei.[27] After Gao Jyh-peng was removed from office,[28][29] Yu Tian was named the DPP candidate for by-elections held in March 2019. Yu won 56,888 votes, and defeated Kuomintang candidate Cheng Shih-wei as well as independent Su Ching-yen.[30][31] Yu took office on 21 March 2019.[32][33] Yu was reelected to a full term in 2020.[2]
Personal life
Yu is married to fellow entertainer Lee Ya-ping.[34] Yu and Lee have two daughters, Yu Shiao-ping and Yu Yuan-chi,[3][35] and one son, Ken Yu.[36] His family was the target of extortion by the Bamboo Union in 2005.[37]
Yu Tian's adopted younger brother was sentenced to death by Chinese authorities for attempting to smuggle heroin into the country in March 2005.[38][39][40]
Yu Tian's second daughter, Yu Yuan-chi, died with a late stage of rectal cancer at Taipei Veterans General Hospital on August 21, 2022, aged 39.[41][42]
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References
External links
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