When Deputy Secretary-General to the President Eugene Chien (簡又新) was designated as Minister of Foreign Affairs, many said the 55-year-old Chien has now accomplished his long-cherished goal to become foreign minister.
"It's no secret that Chien has longed for the post," said an old friend of former president Lee Teng-hui (
It's Chien's desire to lead the foreign ministry and the trust he won from President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) -- as well as longstanding support from Lee -- that made Chien ideal to replace incumbent minister Tien Hung-mao (田弘茂), sources said.
"He developed good relations with A-bian and Lu. He also had good ties with former president Lee. He presented himself as an energetic and competent aide, and this able and vigorous image of Chien's contrasted with that of Tien," an insider at the Presidential Office said.
During the past 18 months, Chien was in charge of diplomatic affairs for Chen and Lu and has accompanied his superiors to visit many of Taiwan's diplomatic allies.
Although Tien has ranging support at the foreign ministry, some in the DPP administration criticized him for what they saw as tardy reform measures orchestrated by Tien, sources said.
Chien, however, has yet to garner support from the civil servants at the foreign ministry, sources said.
"Every time we heard rumors that Chien was to lead the foreign ministry, there would be misgivings among us," commented a foreign ministry official, who refused to be named.
"The diplomats at the foreign ministry do not really support Chien. They ... edged him out because they didn't consider his performance in London to be good," the insider said.
Chien served as Taipei's top representative to London from 1993 to 1998 after stepping down from his post as minister of transportation and communications in 1993 -- amid his alleged involvement in a scandal surrounding a project for the expansion of the Sun Yat-sen Freeway.
Chien was nearly awarded the post of foreign minister in August of 1997, when he was ordered by Lee to return from London to prepare to head the ministry.
But Lee changed his mind and nominated Jason Hu (
"Because of the scandal, even the DPP as the opposition party frowned upon him, and the New Party saw him as an enemy," commented one government source.
But Chien's supporters have voiced their trust in him.
Recalling Chien's work in London, Chien's wife Wang Kuei-jung (
The vice president lauded Chien last Saturday, saying: "Chien used to work for the previous administration and is a man with sound credentials."
Chien is indeed a man with sound credentials, brought up in a well-bred circle.
Born in 1946, Chien is the descendent of a family in Taoyuan County's Tashi township, which rose to prominence during the Japanese Colonial Era.
According to a book entitled The President's Relatives (
Chien's grandfather, Lin Cheng-lu (林呈祿), was lauded as the well-known anti-Japan Taiwanese activist during the Japanese occupation period. Moreover, Chien was also a remote relative of Chen-fu Koo (辜振甫), leader of the Koo's group as well as Taiwan's top negotiator with China, according to the book.
With a PhD in Aeronautics and Astronautics from New York University in 1973, Chien first served as professor of chemistry in the department of Aeronautical Engineering at Tamkang University from 1976 to 1978.
After serving as a KMT lawmaker from 1984 to 1987, Chien climbed the political ladder to lead the Environmental Protection Administration for four years before becoming transportation minister.
After his post in London, Chien joined the National Security Council from 1998 to 2000 before taking his current post at the Presidential Office under the DPP administration. Chien then gave up his KMT membership after joining the DPP-led government, sources said.
Others had mixed views on Chien, who has developed a zealous passion for horse-riding during the past two years.
"He is a pragmatic man and is able to handle various tasks in the way an engineer would," said Wang, active in Taipei's beau monde.
"This is a very tough job, a very difficult job," the insider said.
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