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 (
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 (
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 (
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.
Even though he tried to keep his public utterances in relation to the central bank to a minimum after taking up the post of the bank's vice president in August 2000, Chen's characteristic outspokenness on other issues still caused him trouble.
"Chen Shih-meng has never disguised his distaste for the Beijing authorities, which he regards as a monster preparing to swallow up Taiwan," a close aide to the president said.
In May 2000, Chen advocated levying a "national security tax" on Taiwanese businessmen intent on investing in China.
Though his habit of speaking bluntly offends some people and often brings him criticism, the official said, he seems to have learned the art of being diplomatic after his experience at the central bank.
"The reason to summon Chen Shih-meng back to the president's policy-making team is that President Chen believes he can not only fend off attack by the opposition but also has the ability to coordinate the differing opinions swirling about at this time," said the aide.
His love for the humble pig reflects the change in his personality. A high level official from the central bank revealed that Chen wore ties with pigs on them almost every day and collected pig objects -- some brought by his friends -- from all over the world.
"My love for pigs is due to the influence of English politician Winston Churchill," Chen once told reporters, "because Churchill said in his book that pigs always look squarely and steadily at others and not arrogantly or in a self-abased way. It is a way to remind myself to keep my integrity within political circles," Chen said.
Taiwan’s Lee Chia-hao (李佳豪) on Sunday won a silver medal at the All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham, England, a career best. Lee, 25, took silver in the final of the men’s singles against world No. 1 Shi Yuqi (石宇奇) of China, who won 21-17, 21-19 in a tough match that lasted 51 minutes. After the match, the Taiwanese player, who ranks No. 22 in the world, said it felt unreal to be challenging an opponent of Shi’s caliber. “I had to be in peak form, and constantly switch my rhythm and tactics in order to score points effectively,” he said. Lee got
‘CROWN JEWEL’: Washington ‘can delay and deter’ Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plans for Taiwan, but it is ‘a very delicate situation there,’ the secretary of state said US President Donald Trump is opposed to any change to Taiwan’s “status quo” by force or extortion and would maintain that policy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Hugh Hewitt Show host on Wednesday. The US’ policy is to maintain Taiwan’s “status quo” and to oppose any changes in the situation by force or extortion, Rubio said. Hewitt asked Rubio about the significance of Trump earlier this month speaking with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) at the White House, a meeting that Hewitt described as a “big deal.” Asked whether the meeting was an indication of the
‘RELATIVELY STRONG LANGUAGE’: An expert said the state department has not softened its language on China and was ‘probably a little more Taiwan supportive’ China’s latest drills near Taiwan on Monday were “brazen and irresponsible threats,” a US Department of State spokesperson said on Tuesday, while reiterating Washington’s decades-long support of Taipei. “China cannot credibly claim to be a ‘force for stability in a turbulent world’ while issuing brazen and irresponsible threats toward Taiwan,” the unnamed spokesperson said in an e-mailed response to media queries. Washington’s enduring commitment to Taiwan will continue as it has for 45 years and the US “will continue to support Taiwan in the face of China’s military, economic, informational and diplomatic pressure campaign,” the e-mail said. “Alongside our international partners, we firmly
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it has lodged a protest with Pretoria after the name of the Taipei Liaison Office in South Africa was changed to the “Taipei Commercial Office” on the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation’s (DIRCO) Web site. In October last year, the South African government asked Taiwan to relocate the Taipei Liaison Office, the nation’s de facto embassy, out of Pretoria. It later agreed to continue negotiating through official channels, but in January asked that the office be relocated by the end of this month. As of the middle of last month, DIRCO’s Web
RSS