Fredrick Chien

He wrote his thesis on Qing Dynasty China's diplomacy in Joseon Dynasty Korea during the opening of Korea, focusing on the period between the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1876 until the 1885 Convention of Tientsin.

Fredrick F. Chien, or Fred Chien, Chien Foo (born 21 March 1935), is a retired Taiwanese diplomat and politician who served as the President of the Republic of China Control Yuan from 1999 to 2005.

He was born in Peking's Shou Shan Hospital, a hospital of the Peking Union Medical College, on March 21, 1935 (February 17 on the lunar calendar).

In the fall of 1937, at the age of two, as the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out, his family moved to Shanghai to live with his paternal grandfather.

His grandfather was assassinated during the Wang Jingwei regime in July 1940 after refusing to go along with a Japanese attempt to control the court system.

After the war ended, his family moved back to Peking, where his father became the chair of Peking University's Chemistry Department at the invitation of President Fu Ssu-nien.

With the Chinese Civil War, his family moved to Shanghai in mid-January 1949 and then to Taiwan with the Nationalist Government in mid-February.

In Taiwan, Chien continued his studies at Jianguo High School, where he graduated in 1952.

He also joined the China Youth Corps, where he visited Turkey and Spain in 1955.

He attended National Taiwan University as an undergraduate, graduating in 1956 with a bachelor's degree with honors in Political Science.

During his time at the National Taiwan University, he was elected as the president of the student government and held the first Model United Nations conference in Taiwan.

Chien passed the foreign service examination in 1956.

After completing his conscription, he pursued advanced studies in the United States, first earning an M.A. degree from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1959 and then a Ph.D. in international relations in 1962.

Chen was engaged to Julie Tien on September 16, 1961, with Madame Hu Shih presiding over the ceremony in New York.

Hu Shih was close to the Chien family, having mentored Chien since his time in Peking.

Upon returning to Taiwan in 1961, Chien interned at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for three months and subsequently joined the Ministry in early 1962.

Within months, he transferred to the Executive Yuan, as a secretary and the English interpreter for Premier and Vice President Chen Cheng.

Chien was an executive officer for the Ministry from 1962 to 1963 and section chief of the 1st Section of the Department of North American Affairs from 1964 to March 1967.

Chien taught at the National Chengchi University as an adjunct associate professor between 1962 and 1964, and as an adjunct professor at National Taiwan University from 1970 to 1972.

On September 22, 1963, the couple were married at Taipei's Armed Forces Officers Club with Wang Yun-wu officiating their marriage.

In 1963, Chien was awarded the 1st Annual Ten Outstanding Young Persons Award of the Republic of China along with other figures such as businessman Wu Yao-ting and politician Peng Ming-min.

Chien also served as the English secretary and interpreter for President Chiang Kai-shek from 1965 to 1975.

Remembering his experience as an aide to President Chiang Kai-shek, Chien once said: "Sometimes I did oral translation four to five times a day. I was lucky to come into contact with the late President and leaders of many other nations. I was greatly enlightened by listening to their conversations."

He served as the deputy director-general of the Department from March 1967 to July 1969 and then as director-general from July 1969 to June 1972.

As Director-General in Taipei, he pushed to accelerate congressional liaison work in Washington.

He also helped initiated massive invitational programs for senators, members of the House, and Congressional aides to visit Taiwan.

On August 18, 1969, Chien graduated from the 10th class of the.

In September 1971, Chien attended the Twenty-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly as an advisor to the Permanent Mission of the Republic of China to the UN.

After the US-sponsored "Important Question Variation" Resolution was defeated by a vote of 55–59, on October 25, the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 2758 and recognized the People's Republic of China (PRC) as "the only legitimate representative of China to the United Nations."

After graduating from Yale University, he assumed a series of governmental positions include Director-General of the Government Information Office from 1972 to 1975, Republic of China Representative to the United States from 1982 to 1988, Chairman of the Council for Economic Planning and Development from 1988 to 1990, and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1990 to 1996.

Two months prior to Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China, Chien interpreted for Deputy Premier Chiang Ching-Kuo during a two-hours long conversation with US Ambassador Walter P. McConaughy.

In March 1972, he met with his counterpart, Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs Marshall Green, in Taipei and discussed the after-effects of Nixon's visit to the mainland.

During their conversation, the two discussed the meaning of the "normalization" of relations with the mainland.

Green claimed that the US would maintain diplomatic ties and the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty with the ROC.

In June 1972, Chien was appointed as the 7th Director-General of the Government Information Office (GIO) by Premier Chiang Ching-kuo, succeeding James Wei.

He was also the Speaker of the National Assembly between 1996 and 1999.

Chien and his parents originate from Hangzhou, Zhejiang.

Chien's paternal grandfather, Chien Hong-Yeh, was a Chief Judge of the Criminal Court in Shanghai.

Chien's father, Chien Shih-Liang, was a chemist and educator, and the former President of the National Taiwan University and Academia Sinica.

Chien's mother was Chang Wan-tu.