Newsmakers: Chen Shih-meng makes return to president's side

Chen Shih-meng (陳師孟), who on Feb. 1 took the post of secretary-general to the president, is a peculiar kind of Taiwanese politician.

Born to a mainland-Chinese family, Chen is the oldest grandson of Chen Bu-lei (陳布雷), one of the KMT's founding fathers. At one time, he even worked as a research fellow at the Institute of the Three Principles of the People at the Academia Sinica -- a right-wing institute that advocates the thoughts of China's founding father, Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙). However, he stands at the opposite end of the unification-independence spectrum from most of his family.

"Even though my grandfather played a part in creating China's modern history, we have always been told by family elders `not to get involved in politics' because of the extreme instability. I never expected that I would get involved in politics. All I can say is that many things in life are beyond prediction."

Chen, with a doctoral degree in economics from Ohio State University, was a professor of economics at the National Taiwan University before taking a role in the social movements that were sweeping the country 11 years ago. He then became acquainted with the DPP through his co-founding of The Mainlanders Advocating Taiwanese Independence Association (外省人台灣獨立促進會) with Liao Chung-shan (廖中山) and active participation in the pro-democratization movement. In particular, he opposed the military's interference in politics and he advocated the abolishment of Article No. 100 of the Criminal Code. These last two positions brought him into close contact with the nation's fast-growing group of political dissenters.

Chen became the DPP's secretary-general in 1992. Then in December 1994, he served as the deputy to then Taipei mayor Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁). When the latter took the presidency in May 2000, Chen, with his expertise in finance and economics, was appointed vice president of the nation's central bank.

Chen's personality is in sharp contrast to that of his predecessor, Yu Shyi-kun. Yu tends to be low-key, is cautious in his speech and likes to maintain a certain degree of ambiguity. Chen, however, is straightforward, quick-tempered and his public statements often stir a hornets' nest of controversy.

"But Chen Shih-meng is very much trusted by the president for his uprightness, toughness and lack of intimidation in the face of confrontation," said one of the president's senior aides. "In addition, Chen's mainland background and his expertise in financial and economic issues both complement A-bian's weaknesses."

While a Taipei City deputy mayor, Chen's performances were much approved by the then mayor Chen Shui-bian. On many occasions, Chen stood up and took the flak for his boss. And one of the the more important build-operate-transfer (BOT) projects at the time -- the construction of the NT$20.6 billion Taipei International Financial Building (台北國際金融大樓) -- was clinched under Chen's coordination.

But the quick-tempered deputy mayor's political career has not been a smooth one. He has often harshly criticized members of the media. Under questioning in the City Council, he often quarreled with city councilors and quickly quit the deputy mayor's post and returned to teaching.

In fact, shortly after President Chen appointed Tang Fei (唐飛) to premier, Chen Shih-meng had been in the running to head the financial and economic departments of the Cabinet. But Chen, contending that this would be inconsistent with his opposition to military interference in politics, refused to join Tang's Cabinet. He said this had nothing to do with Tang's ability, but with his own principles and integrity. His decision took many people by surprise.