Yu Tian (; born 18 February 1947), born Yu Tsing-yuan (), is a Taiwanese politician and pop singer in

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

and

Hokkien Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...

. A member of the

Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a centre to centre-left Taiwanese nationalist political party in Taiwan. As the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition, one of the two main political camps in Taiwan, the DPP is currently the ...

, Yu currently serves as a member of 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 four-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a ...

and previously held the same seat from 2008 to 2012.

Early life and education

Born in

Hsinchu Hsinchu (, ), officially Hsinchu City, is a city located in northwestern Taiwan. It is the most populous city in Taiwan that is not a special municipality, with estimated 450,655 inhabitants. Hsinchu is a coastal city bordering the Taiwan ...

, Yu Tian graduated from .

Music career

Yu is best known for his 1977 release "Under the Banyan Tree", a Mandarin cover version of the Japanese song , and remained popular throughout the 1980s. In 2003, Yu founded the Taiwan Cultural Entertainment Development Association. Four years later, he launched a Kaohsiung-based entertainment labor union. Yu worked with

Chthonic In Greek mythology, deities referred to as chthonic () or chthonian () were gods or spirits who inhabited the underworld or existed in or under the earth, and were typically associated with death or fertility. The terms "chthonic" and "chthonian" ...

on the 2011 album ''

Takasago Army ''Takasago Army'' is the sixth studio album by Taiwanese extreme metal band Chthonic, released in 2011. The title is a reference to the Takasago Volunteers in the Imperial Japanese Army, recruited from the Taiwanese aboriginal tribes during Wor ...

'' and formally announced a return to the entertainment industry upon losing the 2012 legislative elections.

Political career

Within the

, Yu Tian is allied with

Yu Shyi-kun You Si-kun (; born 25 April 1948), also romanized Yu Shyi-kun, is a Taiwanese politician. He was one of the founding members of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and is known to be a strong advocate of Taiwan independence. He led the DPP ...

. He is also known for his support of former president

Chen Shui-bian Chen Shui-bian ( zh, t=陳水扁; born 12 October 1950) is a Taiwanese former politician and lawyer who served as the fifth president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progres ...

. Yu ran for New Taipei 3 in 2008, and defeated Kuomintang incumbent Chu Chun-hsiao by approximately 2,000 votes. Chu filed an unsuccessful lawsuit in an attempt to annul the election results. A separate case was brought against Yu supporter Wang Ying-lan, who was charged with making threats to the opposition. Wang was later released on bail. In November 2008, Yu and other DPP politicians publicly protested

Ma Ying-jeou Ma Ying-jeou ( zh, t=馬英九; pinyin: ''Mǎ Yīngjiǔ''; ; born 13 July 1950) is a Taiwanese politician, lawyer, and legal scholar who served as the sixth president of the Republic of China from 2008 to 2016. A member of the Kuomintang (KMT ...

's meeting with

Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait The Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS; ; often abbreviated as ) is a united front organization set up by the Taiwan Affairs Office of the People's Republic of China for handling technical and business matters with Tai ...

Chairman

Chen Yunlin Chen Yunlin (; born December 1941) was the chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), the body responsible for negotiations with Taiwan in the People's Republic of China in 2008–2013. Early life Chen was bor ...

. The next year, Yu's DPP membership was suspended because he had failed to fulfill a fundraising quota. In 2010, Yu was named to

Tsai Ing-wen Tsai Ing-wen (; pinyin: ''Cài Yīngwén''; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician and legal scholar who served as the seventh president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2016 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party ...

's New Taipei mayoral campaign team. Though there was speculation that Yu would not receive DPP backing in a reelection bid, Yu was listed fourteenth on the Democratic Progressive Party's proportional representation party list, and expected to win. During the campaign, Kuomintang politicians accused Yu and others of gambling, and in response, Yu charged them with defamation. The Taiwan Competitiveness Forum regarded Yu Tian as a controversial figure prior to the start of his first legislative term. During his first term, Yu was ranked highly by the Citizen Congress Watch. In 2018, Yu was the only candidate to run in elections for the DPP chapter leadership in New Taipei. After Gao Jyh-peng was removed from office, Yu Tian was named the DPP candidate for by-elections held in March 2019. Yu won 56,888 votes, and defeated Kuomintang candidate as well as independent Su Ching-yen. Yu took office on 21 March 2019. Yu was reelected to a full term in 2020.

Personal life

Yu is married to fellow entertainer . Yu and Lee have two daughters, Yu Shiao-ping and , and one son, . His family was the target of extortion by the

Bamboo Union The United Bamboo Gang (UBG; ), also known as the Bamboo Union, is the largest of Taiwan's three main criminal Triads. They are reported to have roughly 20,000 members. The membership consists largely of ''waishengren'' (Mainland Chinese) and ...

in 2005. Yu Tian's adopted younger brother was sentenced to death by Chinese authorities for attempting to smuggle heroin into the country in March 2005. Yu Tian's second daughter, Yu Yuan-chi, died with a late stage of

rectal cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

Taipei Veterans General Hospital Taipei Veterans General Hospital () is a national first-class medical center and a teaching hospital that provides tertiary patient care, undergraduate medical education programs and residency programs in Taiwan. It was founded in 1958 and admin ...

on August 21, 2022, aged 39.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yu, Tian 1947 births Living people Taiwanese Hokkien pop singers Taiwanese Mandopop singer-songwriters Taiwanese actor-politicians Taiwanese Protestants Taiwanese people of Hoklo descent Converts to Protestantism from Buddhism Politicians of the Republic of China on Taiwan from Hsinchu New Taipei Members of the Legislative Yuan Members of the 7th Legislative Yuan Democratic Progressive Party Members of the Legislative Yuan Members of the 9th Legislative Yuan Members of the 10th Legislative Yuan