Li was educated at Hurstpierpoint College, an independent school near the village of Hurstpierpoint in West Sussex, before attending the University of Bath in the city of Bath in the UK, where he studied engineering, and at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in 'New York City'.
It is an unconventional choice of subject matter for Hong Kong cinema in both its examination of male homosexual love and the marital strain resulting from self-denial of that love; it examines the 'limits of life', while the second in the trilogy, Amphetamine, explores this theme further in the 'limits of passion'.
Li appeared in an earlier film, City Without Baseball, which tentatively explores a similar theme, although in a much more diffused way.
In Permanent Residence, Li's character, named Ivan, is a young gay man who seeks a long-term relationship with a straight friend.
The friend is aware of Li's inclination, and is happy to befriend him, but is very reluctant to express open affection for him or to become emotionally involved.