Taiwanese romance writer Chiung Yao's husband dies at 92

Taiwanese publishing and movie mogul Ping Shin-tao, who is romance novelist Chiung Yao's husband, died on May 23 at the age of 92. PHOTO: WEIBO

Taiwanese publishing and movie mogul Ping Shin-tao - who is best known as romance novelist Chiung Yao's husband - has died in May at 92.

Crown Publishing - the company that was founded by him and is now run by his son - released a statement on Tuesday (June 4) saying that he died on May 23. It said the family respected his wishes not to publish an obituary and not to hold a funeral wake after his death.

Chiung, 81, wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday that his body was cremated shortly after his death, as she opted for flower burial for him.

Ping has been married to Chiung for 40 years, and it was his second marriage. He was previously married to painter Lin Wan-chen, 89. He suffered from vascular dementia in recent years.

Chiung fell out with her three stepchildren in 2017 over intubating Ping, who also suffered a stroke. They insisted on intubation - the insertion of a feeding tube into the nose and stomach - and Chiung said she had to break her promise to let Ping die with dignity.

Chiung, a household name in the Chinese-speaking world, made her name with Outside The Window (1963), a teacher-student romance drawn from her own relationship with a teacher. The book was adapted into a 1973 film of the same name, starring Lin Ching-hsia and Chin Han.

Chiung and Ping were a media power couple for decades. He published her romance novels, including Misty Rain (1964), Six Dreams (1966) and Deep Garden (1969), many of which were also made into movies and television dramas.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.