Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 2005

The 62nd Congregation for the Confermen t OF Degree s Lien Chan was born i n 1936 in the city o f Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. Deeply influenced by the p r o f o u nd p a t r i o t i sm a nd public spirit o f his grandfather a sw e l l a s hi s father's deep affection f o r his country and native place, th e y o u n g Lien Chan g r ew u pto b ea person o f i mp e c c a b l e m o r a l r e c t i t u d e d e s t i n ed f o r lifelong service to his people. In 1957 Lien Chan graduate d i n political science f r om t h e Un i v e r s i ty o f Ta i wan a n d proceeded to further his studies i nthe United States. He o b t a i n ed a Ma s t e r 's degree i n International L aw and Diplomacy i n 1961 and a Ph.D. i nPolitical Science i n 1965, both f r om the Un i v e r s i ty o f Chicago. H e then ma r r i ed M i s s Fa n g Yui, a l a d y blessed w i t h b o t h beauty and talent. A f t er his marriage he took u p teaching and research at the University o f Wisconsin and the University o f Connecticut. In 1968 a strong v o c a t i on f o rpub l i c service called h i m back t oT a i wa n. H e t o o k u p a v i s i t i ng professorshi p i nPolitical Science a t the Un i v e r s i ty o f Taiwan, and later became chairman of the department and the Graduate Institute o f Political Science. For seven years he contributed significantl y to his department, spending his t i me o n teaching, research and administrative w o r k, an d f r om time t o time, offering advice to the government on diplomatic issues a nd i n t e r n a t i o n al relationships. H i s views and opinions came t o be highly valued by those i n authority, and his dazzling, trailblazing political career took off w h e n he was appointed a sambassador t othe Republic o f El Salvador i n 1975. In 1976 Dr. Lie n Chan was recalled an d a p p o i n t e d a s t h e D i r e c t oro f Comm i t t ee o f Youth Affairs, Kuomintang. Two years later he became the De p u t y Secretary-General o f the Central Committee, and the Commissioner o f the National Youth Commission of the Executive Yuan. A t this time he wo r k e d closely w i t h the relevant au t ho r i t i e s t o recruit o u t s t a n d i ng scholars f o rv a r i o us f i e l d s a n d sectors i n Taiwan, including the humanities, economics, science a n d technology, a nd the industries. T h r o u gh these efforts h e laid the f o u n d a t i o n for the r a p id social, politica l a nd economi c g r ow t h of Taiwan. Hi s unswervin g dedication to nu r t u r i ng and supporting th e development of y o u n g t a l e n ts ha s w o n h im t h ef i n e reputation o f being the Me n t o r of Youths. Dr. Lien Chan soon had the a dm i r a t i o n a n d t r u st o fthe authoritie s f o r c o n d u c t i ng business w i t h firmness and flair, and his rise to the u p p er echelons o f the Taiwan government was rapid. Since 1981 h e h ad heldthe posts o f Minister o fTransportation an d Communications, Vice-Premier o f the Executive Yuan, M i n i s t er o fForeign Affairs , Governor of t h e T a i w a n P r o v i n c e , P r em i er o f t h e Executive Yuan, Vice-President of Taiwa n and c h a i r ma n o f the K u om i n t a n g. H i s po l i t i c al career spans mo r e t h an 3 0 years. H i s experience i n ma t t e rs o fstate covers b o t h domestic and d i p l oma t ic affairs, a n d he has dealt w i t h bo th regional affairs a n d overall policy. On al lo fthese he has accumulated a rich store o fexperience, and he understands these issues intimately. Today, as w es u r v e y the ma n y policies and measures i mp l eme n t e d f o r the g o o d o f the people o fTaiwan, we are witnessing the f r u i t o f Dr. L i e n 's ma g n i f i c e n t l a b o u r s i n various public offices over the years. Taiwan is n o w v e r y a d v a n c ed i n t e c h n o l o g y a n d telecommunication. The seeds were planted by Dr. Lien as Minister o fTransportation and Commu n i c a t i o n s ; a ta t i me w h e n f e wwere aware o fthe o v e r w h e l m i ng i mp o r t a n ce o f such technology, h ev o w e d t o b r i n g three m i l l i on citizens to the internet w i t h i n four or five years, a decision o f the most p r o f o u n d foresight. A n d as M i n i s t e r o f Foreign Affairs he p u t into practice a pragmatic d i p l oma c y, t a k i n g a steadfast a nd g r a d u a l course that p r o v ed effective i n i mp r o v i ng a n d fostering external relations. A s Go v e r n or o f T a i wa n Province he was a great advocate o fthe rule of law, and ma k i n g decisions on the basis o f the pub l ic w i l l . A s Premier o fthe Executive Yuan h e devised innovative and reformative policies i n economics, diplomacy, culture and e d u c a t i o n, e n v i r o nme n t al p r o t e c t i o n a n d social welfare. A s a leader a n da senior g o v e r nme n t official it w o u l d not have been possible for Dr. Lien t o b econversant w i t h each a n d every aspect o fa dm i n i s t r a t i ve w o r k f o r w h i ch he was responsible. I ngoing about his business 3 4 Chinese University Bulletin Autumn • Winter 2005