Ep 218 | Dr. Mark Chen Talks About His Years of Service in Taiwan

Dec 16, 2022

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A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

In part one of my interview with Dr. Mark Chen (episode 212) we talked about his advocacy work for Taiwan in the U.S. and the impact of the Kaohsiung Incident on Taiwan’s democratization. Several of the people who were tried and sentenced in connection with the Kaohsiung Incident later became prominent leaders in Taiwan’s first opposition party, the Democratic Progressive Party. The incident happened 43 years ago in 1979 on December 10th, which just passed, making it a good time to share part two of my interview with Dr. Chen.

In the second half of my interview with Dr. Mark Chen, we talked about his work in Taiwan as an elected official and public servant. He became a member of the Legislative Yuan in 1992; that year was the first time that elections were held for all 161 seats of the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan. Dr. Chen has also been elected Magistrate of Tainan County, and served in that position from 1993-2001. He was the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2004-2006, the Secretary General in the Office of the President from 2006-2007, the Secretary General of the National Security Council from 2007-2008 and a Legislator in Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan from 2001-2004 and 2012-2016. Currently he is the chairman of the Prospect Foundation.

This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.

NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:

to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.

To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

1992 was the first time that elections were held for all 161 seats of the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan
Dr. Chen was born in Tainan, Taiwan
In 1992 Dr. Chen resigned from his job at the Department of Commerce to return to Taiwan and served as a congressman at large
Dr. Chen ran for County Governor of Tainan in 1992, and he made history as first Democratic Progressive Party candidate (and non-Kuomintang candidate) County Governor of Tainan ever elected to the position
He was rated the top County Governor in Taiwan and served as Country Governor of Tainan for two terms (eight years in total)
Dr. Chen was a member of the Legislative Yuan but gave up his position when President Chen Shui-bian invited him to serve as the Minister of Foreign Affairs
How Taiwan’s transition to democracy has been relatively peaceful
The importance of Taiwan having the support of like-minded democratic nations
Challenges that Dr. Chen had to deal with as the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Taiwan
Dr. Chen’s work as a legislator in Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan
ECFA (Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement) and the Sunflower Movement
What happened during the 2014 occupation of the Legislative Yuan by activists and students during the Sunflower Movement
Dr. Chen’s thoughts on his work as an elected official vs. a public servant at the highest levels of the government in Taiwan
How Dr. Chen was inspired by the words of Former U.S. President John F. Kennedy
The work of the Prospect Foundation, of which Dr. Chen is the chairman
Dr. Chen’s thoughts on Robert Tsao, founder of UMC’s (United Microelectronics Corp) pledge of 100 million U.S. dollars to help Taiwan defend itself
What overseas Taiwanese can do to advocate for Taiwan