Apr 28, 2006, 10:56 GMT
Taipei - Taiwan-born director Ang Lee returned home Friday to celebrate his mother's 80th birthday, and his hometown Tainan City welcomed him by declaring April 28 as 'Ang Lee Day.'
Tainan Mayor Hsu Tain-tsair made the announcement at a welcome party for Ang Lee at the Tainan City Government office, in south Taiwan. Lee made hand prints which will be displayed at the Tainan Film and Image Museum, and signed autographs for his fans.
Two Tainan cinemas were showing Lee's films Brokeback Mountain and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon on Friday - free of charge - as part of the Ang Lee Day activities.
Lee grew up in Tainan and embarked on the road of film-making in 1973 when he enrolled in the Film & Drama Department of National Arts School near Taipei.
At 23, he went to the US to study film-making at New York University and has lived in the US since then.
Though he is a US citizen, Taiwan people still consider Lee, now 51, a Taiwan director and take pride in his cinematic achievements.
After Ang Lee won best-director for Brokeback Mountain on March 5, President Chen Shui-bian called Lee 'the pride of Taiwan.'
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