C.J. (Chien-Jen) Chen

    C.J. Chen assumed the duties of Representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office TECRO in the United States on July 7,2000. Such a position is equivalent to that of the former Ambassador of the Republic of China ROC in Washington, D.C. Immediately prior to this appointment, Representative Chen served as the ROC�s Minister of Foreign Affairs in Taipei.

    During Representative Chen�s long and distinguished career in Foreign Service, he has had extensive experience representing his nation in the United States. He began his first tour of duty in Washington, D.C. as a Third Secretary in ROC Embassy in 1971 and finished it as First Secretary in 1979. Thereafter, he was appointed Director of Public Affairs for the Coordination Council for North American Affairs CCNAA Office in the United States, the succeeding agency to the former embassy. From 1980 to 1982, he worked concurrently as the Director General of the Department of North American Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs MOFA and a Lecturer in the Graduate School of Diplomacy at National Chengchi University in Taipei. In 1982, he was again assigned to Washington first as an Adviser to the CCNAA office in the USA, and the next year he began a seven-year stint as Deputy Representative of that same office.

    Upon returning to Taipei in 1989, he was appointed Administrative Vice Minister of MOFA, a position that he held until 1993. Then he was selected by his party, the Kuomintang KMT , to be an at-large member of the Legislative Yuan. As a Legislator, he served as the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and concurrently as Director-General of the KMT�s Overseas Affairs Department and was named Assistant Chairman of the International Democratic Union IDU in 1995. Back to Foreign Service in 1996, he was appointed Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Also appointed Associate Professor at the Department & Graduate School of Diplomacy at National Chengchi University in 1998, he holds that title to this day. From 1998to 1999, he was Director-General of the Government Information Office and the official spokesman of the government of the R.O.C.

    Born in 1939, Representative Chen�s list of professional accomplishments is mirrored by his sterling academic background. In 1960, he earned an LL.B. in Diplomacy form National Chengchi University. At the same institution, he attended the Graduate School of Diplomacy in 1962. In 1965, he earned an LL. B. form King�s College, Cambridge University, and then in 1966, he studied at the School of Political and Economic Science at the University of Madrid. In 1976, he continued his advanced studies at Georgetown University.

    He is married to the former Yolanda Ho, now a renowned designer in Taiwan�s textile and apparel industry, and has one son and one daughter.