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B.C. Lee

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B.C. Lee
黎拔佳
Lee after being awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal on January 6, 2013
Born
Bar Chya Lee

(1954-12-27)27 December 1954
Macau
Died11 September 2019(2019-09-11) (aged 64)
Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
NationalityTaiwanese
CitizenshipCanadian
Occupation(s)Actor, politician
HonoursQueen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal

Bar Chya Lee (Chinese: 黎拔佳; pinyin: Lí Bá Jiā; 27 December 1954 - 11 September 2019), known professionally as B.C. Lee, was a Taiwanese-Canadian actor and former politician who served on the Vancouver City Council from 2005 to 2008.[1][2]

Life

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Lee was born in Macau and attended the English Primary School of Yuet Wah College. He began to learn how to read and write Chinese at the age of 12 after moving to Taiwan with his family. He studied at Ren-Ai Junior High School in Taipei and Chengcheng Junior High School in Tainan before attending National Tainan First Senior High School, and went on to obtain a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in political science from National Chengchi University. In 1983, he moved to the United States to study at New York University (NYU) and obtained a master’s degree in public administration.

After graduation, he joined the New York City-based law firm Paul, Weiss as a compiler for their China Affairs Department. In 1991, he returned to work in Taiwan until he was dispatched in February 1992 by the Overseas Community Affairs Council to serve as the Secretary of Overseas Chinese Affairs in Western Canada at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada’s Vancouver branch. He eventually moved to live in Vancouver permanently in 1994.

After moving to Vancouver, he engaged in marketing and public relations consulting for businesses. He participated in the establishment of East Meets West Productions and Fireglo Strategic Marketing Communications Inc.,[3] and was an active figure in the Greater Vancouver community. He was also the vice president of the Taiwan Chamber of Commerce in B.C. (then known as the Taiwan Entrepreneurs Investors Association in B.C.). From 1997 to 2000, he helped East Meets West Productions hold large-scale New Year’s Eve events in Vancouver and Toronto, and remained a key member when it won Annual Best Cultural Festival in the 1998 Canadian Event Awards, and Second Annual Best Festival and Third Annual Best Festival in 1999 and 2000, respectively.

In 2005, Lee was elected to the Vancouver City Council.[2]

Lee was appointed as a board member of the BC Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture Administration by the British Columbia provincial government in 2012, and was subsequently elected to serve as vice chairman of the board until 2016.[4]

Aside from politics, Lee also displayed a passion for community affairs, participating in and promoting many public welfare causes such as fundraising for the BC Children’s Hospital, and was an advocate for immigration.[5]

Drawing on his academic background and practical experience in politics and public administration, Lee expressed unique and incisive views on public issues as a media commentator. He regularly authored columns for print media outlets, and both hosted and featured in digital current affairs programs such as Monday Forum on LS Times TV, for which he hosted 155 episodes between 2013 and 2019.[5][6]

In 2012, Lee was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his long-term contributions to communication, cooperation, and mutual understanding between ethnic communities.[7]

In addition to politics and public welfare, Lee had a passion for the performing arts. His roles spanned across theatre, television dramas, and movies,[8] and he was nominated for Best Supporting Performance Male Dramatic Series in the 2017 Leo Awards.[9]

Death

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On 11 September 2019, Lee died from liver cancer at Burnaby Hospital in British Columbia, Canada at the age of 64.[1]

Political career

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In 2002, Lee was nominated by the Non-Partisan Association to run for the Vancouver City Council but was not elected.[10] In 2005, he ran again and was elected, serving on the council from 2005 to 2008. At the time, he was the only fluent Mandarin speaker on the council.[5]

In 2015, Lee was elected President of the Non-Partisan Association.[11]

Acting credits

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1991 Pushing Hands Waiter Lee Cameo [12]
2015 The Blue Jet Old Ling (voice) Short film [13]
2017 Story Unbridled Wen Jie's Dad Short film [14]
2018 Fatal Visit Patrick [15]

Television

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Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2012 Fringe Chinese Customer 1 episode [16]
2015 Almost Human Leonard Li 1 episode [17]
2016-2018 Blood and Water Victor Li Nominated for Best Supporting Performance Male Dramatic Series Leo Award in 2017[9] [18]

Theatre

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Year Title Role Venue Ref.
2009 The Flower Drum Song Waiter Lee Waterfront Theatre [19]
2010 Jade in the Coal Wu Kwun Pangaea Theatre [20]
2017 Ga Ting Hong Lee Vancouver Asian Theatre [21][22]
2018 Chicken Girl Uncle Chan Orpheum Annex [23]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Former Vancouver councillor and actor B.C. Lee dead". vancouversun. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  2. ^ a b Vancouver, City of. "City of Vancouver Councils dating back to 1886". vancouver.ca. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  3. ^ "FIREGLO | WHO | MANAGEMENT". www.fireglo.ca. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  4. ^ "Annual Report | CTCMA - College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists". www.ctcma.bc.ca. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  5. ^ a b c "Former Vancouver city councillor B.C. Lee dies of cancer". Vancouver Is Awesome. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  6. ^ "B.C. LEE @ Monday Forum (黎拔佳@周一祥談) - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  7. ^ General, Office of the Secretary to the Governor. "Bar-Chya Lee". The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  8. ^ "B.C. Lee". IMDb. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  9. ^ a b "2017 LEO AWARDS, Nominees & Winners by Name". www.leoawards.com. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  10. ^ "City of Vancouver Elections". 8 September 2006. Archived from the original on 8 September 2006. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  11. ^ ""Amazing" B.C. Lee sings, dances & now NPA prez". Vancouver Is Awesome. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  12. ^ Lee, Ang (7 December 1991), Tui shou (Comedy, Drama), Ang Lee Productions, Central Motion Pictures, retrieved 9 September 2022
  13. ^ Lam, Lawrence Le, The Blue Jet (Short, Drama, History), retrieved 9 September 2022
  14. ^ Lin, Vincent Kuan, Story Unbridled (Short, Comedy, Drama), retrieved 9 September 2022
  15. ^ Poon, Yuen-Leung (25 September 2020), Sheng He Sai mou sha an (Thriller), Golden Gate Productions, Emperor Entertainment (Hong Kong), Lone House Films, retrieved 9 September 2022
  16. ^ Beeson, Charles (27 April 2012), Worlds Apart, Fringe, retrieved 9 September 2022
  17. ^ Thomas, Jeff T. (16 December 2013), Arrhythmia, Almost Human, retrieved 9 September 2022
  18. ^ Blood and Water (TV Series 2015– ) - IMDb, retrieved 9 September 2022
  19. ^ "Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre's Flower Drum Song at the Waterfront Theatre". The Georgia Straight. 27 May 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  20. ^ "Department of Theatre and Film at UBC | Theatre at UBC | Jade in the | On the Subject". archive.theatre.ubc.ca. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  21. ^ "Playwright Minh Ly uses family portrait in Ga Ting to reflect realities of being gay and Asian". The Georgia Straight. 2 March 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  22. ^ "Ga Ting | vAct". 22 March 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  23. ^ "Multilingual Chicken Girl is a playful and metaphysical meditation on essential human questions". The Georgia Straight. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
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