Chen Chien-jen (程建人), who served as minister of foreign affairs from 1999 to 2000, has died, a source said yesterday.
Chen was 86.
The source, who requested anonymity, said that Chen passed away at 10pm on Friday.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
No further details were provided.
The diplomat was born in Shanghai in 1939. He moved to Taiwan as a child and graduated from National Chengchi University’s Department of Diplomacy in 1960. He later pursued advanced studies at the University of Cambridge.
In 1967, Chen joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and held diplomatic posts throughout his career, including serving as first secretary in the political section of Taiwan’s embassy in Washington.
During former US president Jimmy Carter’s administration, when the US severed official diplomatic ties with the Republic of China (Taiwan), Chen frequently accompanied then-vice minister of foreign affairs Yang Hsi-kun (楊西崑) to negotiations at the US Department of State.
Chen later recalled that it was the “coldest winter” he had ever experienced during his years in Washington.
After his time in the diplomatic service, Chen was a lawmaker from 1993 to 1996. In the following years, he served as minister of the now-defunct Government Information Office and as representative to the US from 2000 to 2004.
Even after retiring, Chen frequently gave media interviews, reflecting on Taiwan-US ties and offering commentary on the country’s foreign policy decisions.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
Fast food chain McDonald's is to raise prices by up to NT$5 on some products at its restaurants across Taiwan, starting on Wednesday next week, the company announced today. The prices of all extra value meals and sharing boxes are to increase by NT$5, while breakfast combos and creamy corn soup would go up by NT$3, the company said in a statement. The price of the main items of those meals, if ordered individually, would remain the same. Meanwhile, the price of a medium-sized lemon iced tea and hot cappuccino would rise by NT$3, extra dipping sauces for chicken nuggets would go up
Yangmingshan National Park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) nature area has gone viral after a park livestream camera observed a couple in the throes of intimate congress, which was broadcast live on YouTube, drawing large late-night crowds and sparking a backlash over noise, bright lights and disruption to wildlife habitat. The area’s livestream footage appeared to show a couple engaging in sexual activity on a picnic table in the park on Friday last week, with the uncensored footage streamed publicly online. The footage quickly spread across social media, prompting a tide of visitors to travel to the site to “check in” and recreate the
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
RSS