Born in 1934 in Taiwan Province, Yu earned a doctorate in agricultural economics from Purdue University.
[1] He was appointed to lead the Taiwan Provincial Government Department of Agriculture and Forestry in December 1981.
[2] In this position, Yu developed an advertising campaign to increase the rate of consumption of fruits grown in Taiwan, and decrease waste resulting from overproduction.
[3] He accomplished the same for excess rice, by reallocating land to be used for growing other grains.
[4] Yu was named agriculture minister in July 1988, and retained his office when Hau Pei-tsun assumed the premiership in 1990.