Dr Ma Ka-fai, assistant director of the Chinese Civilisation Centre at City University, said Lung had occasionally embarrassed mainland leaders with her blunt criticism.

In 2006, she challenged President Hu Jintao over the closure of mainland current affairs magazine Freezing Point - writing an open letter entitled 'Please use civilisation to convince us'.

Her 2009 book Da Jiang Da Hai 1949 (Big River, Big Sea - Untold Stories of 1949), about the civil war and Kuomintang supporters' escape to Taiwan in 1949, was banned by mainland authorities.

'Lung is now not only an author or commentator, but a minister, and the Beijing leadership has to deal with her face-to-face now,' Ma Ka-fai said. 'We are very interested in what Beijing's response will be to such a culture minister.'

Lung will leave for Taiwan to prepare her new job in the middle of this month, according to a spokesman for HKU's public affairs office. Lung has been the Hung Leung Hao Ling Distinguished Fellow in Humanities at HKU since 2008.

In a farewell statement released by the public affairs office, Lung said her Hong Kong experiences had broadened her vision and would help her deal with future challenges.

'Hong Kong is one of my favourite cities, as HKU has provided me a safe and free environment for speaking [and writing],' Lung said in the statement. 'The Hong Kong experiences have broadened my vision, and I am full of gratitude for Hong Kong.'

Through the public affairs office, Lung declined to comment further yesterday.

Leung Man-tao, a Hong Kong-based writer and cultural critic, said Lung was a rare and valuable cultural expert with a broad perspective.

'Lung would be the most capable person to help President Ma come up with valuable cultural strategies to counterattack against the mainland with Taiwan's soft power,' Leung said.

'Lung has earned a prestigious reputation among mainland youth in the past few years because she has been based in Hong Kong, which has provided her with a lot of face-to-face encounters with mainland scholars and even her mainland fans.'

Ma Ka-fai said Lung was also a specialist in promoting cultural products, especially her books.

'Lung is good at using her personal connections and influence to promote her cultural products. She is a that rare author or cultural figure who is good at planning and promoting cultural products,' he said.

'She knows how to deal with the media and publishers to fit her publication schedules.'

The Council of Cultural Affairs, set up in 1981, is the highest institution for the planning and oversight of Taiwan's cultural establishments - including promoting local arts groups to mainland audiences.

Wang Hsing-ching, a Taipei-based political commentator who writes under the name Nan Fang- shuo, said that while Lung was good at promoting her own cultural products, she now had to lead other Taiwanese cultural experts to seek business opportunities in the mainland market without relying on Taipei's economic support.

He said it would be a 'tough challenge' for Lung to convince cultural-sector colleagues to change their traditional mindsets.

Lung gained right of abode in Hong Kong by living here since 2004, but has reportedly relinquished it in order to take up her new position as culture minister, to avoid any political controversy due to Hong Kong's status as part of the People's Republic of China.

'Lung was invited to join Ma's cabinet because Ma's administration failed to find another qualified person to fill such a challenging position,' said Professor Chang Ling-chen, a political scientist at National Taiwan University.

'Cultural workers are all cynical people who are not easy to serve. She could share a lot of thankless work with Ma if she shakes up Taiwan's cultural policies because she is also a cynical person.'