Lung Ying-tai: Minister on a quest for understanding

"Oh my God, why should I be here?"

That was the thought that went through the mind of Taiwan's first culture minister, Lung Ying-tai, every day for about six months when she returned to the island after leaving an academic job in Hong Kong in February.

As cultural critic and head of a new Ministry of Culture, the well-known author of more than 30 books faces a series of daunting tasks few would envy. Her to-do list includes building up the ministry, which was formally established in May, liaising with the international community and engaging in exchanges with the mainland and Hong Kong - a city she still calls home.

Before her appointment as a minister, Lung had lived in Hong Kong since 2003, experiencing the growing pains of the special administrative region, which she called an eye-opening experience. She came to the city as a visiting scholar at the University of Hong Kong "to get an education and an understanding of greater China and what it means".

Now she is returning to Hong Kong, but in a more significant capacity for a six-day visit which begins today. It is seen as a breakthrough for her to visit as a government minister, an issue that was still under negotiation just three weeks ago when she gave an exclusive interview.

"No minister of the Republic of China has ever visited China since 1949, and the major issue at stake is the title [to travel under]," Lung, 60, said.

The mainland's minister of culture, Cai Wu , made an historic visit to Taiwan in 2010, and Lung said she would like very much to pay a return visit.