Shih Che (; born 14 July 1969) is a Taiwanese politician. He was the

Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organiza ...

under the

Chen Chien-jen cabinet The following is the cabinet of Chen Chien-jen, who was appointed as Premier of Taiwan on 31 January 2023 by President Tsai Ing-wen. He succeeded Su Tseng-chang, who had resigned in response to the Democratic Progressive Party's poor performance ...

. Before his ministerial office, he had served as the deputy mayor of

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...

and the director of the Department of Information and the Bureau of Cultural Affairs of the

Kaohsiung City Government The Kaohsiung City Government is the municipal government of Kaohsiung. It was formed after the merger of Kaohsiung County and Kaohsiung City in December 2010. Its chief administrator is the directly elected mayor of Kaohsiung. History In ...

Early life and education

Shih Che is the son of , an academic and advocate of educational reform. Shih Che earned a degree within

Tunghai University Tunghai University (THU; ) is a private university in Xitun District, Taichung, Taiwan, established in 1955. It was founded by the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia (UBCHEA). The university is known for its liberal arts educati ...

's computer science department. While he was attending Tunghai, Shih participated in the

Wild Lily student movement Taiwan's Wild Lily student movement () or March student movement was a six-day student demonstration in 1990 for democracy. The sit-in at Memorial Square in Taipei (since rededicated as Liberty Square in commemoration of the movement) was in ...

Political career

Shih Che was a private secretary for Liao Yung-lai. In 2004, he was appointed to head the Bureau of Labor Insurance. He resigned that position in 2006. He served in several positions within the

. During

Chen Chu Chen Chu (; born 10 June 1950) is a Taiwanese people, Taiwanese politician serving as List of presidents of the Control Yuan, president of the Control Yuan and Chairperson, chairwoman of the National Human Rights Commission (Taiwan), National ...

's mayoralty, Shih was the director-general of the municipal through 2009, then led the city's . By 2017, Shih had become deputy mayor of Kaohsiung. He was replaced during the mayoralty of

Han Kuo-yu Han Kuo-yu (Chinese language, Chinese: 韓國瑜, born 17 June 1957), also known as Daniel Han, is a Taiwanese politician and retired Republic of China Army officer who is the current president of the Legislative Yuan. Han graduated from the ...

, and returned to the deputy mayorship when

Chen Chi-mai Chen Chi-mai (; born December 23, 1964), also known as Comay Chen, is a Taiwanese politician and physician and the current mayor of Kaohsiung since August 24, 2020. He has served as spokesperson of the Democratic Progressive Party and the chief ...

succeeded Han. In January 2023, Shih was appointed minister of culture. Republished as: In May 2024, Shih was appointed a minister without portfolio in

Lai Ching-te Lai Ching-te (; pinyin: ''Lài Qīngdé''; born 6 October 1959), also known as William Lai, is a Taiwanese politician and former physician who is currently serving as the eighth president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since May 2024. He is ...

's incoming presidential administration.

References

Living people Deputy mayors of Kaohsiung Tunghai University alumni 1969 births 21st-century Taiwanese politicians Ministers of culture of Taiwan {{Taiwan-politician-stub