1. Chien Foo, known by his English name Fredrick Foo Chien, is a Taiwanese diplomat and politician who served as the president of the Control Yuan from 1999 to 2005.
59 Facts About Fredrick Chien
1. 2.
Fredrick Chien was the Speaker of the National Assembly between 1996 and 1999.
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Chien's paternal grandfather, Chien Hong-Yeh, was a Chief Judge of the Criminal Court in Shanghai.
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Fredrick Chien's father, Fredrick Chien Shih-Liang, was a chemist and educator, and the former President of the National Taiwan University and Academia Sinica.
5.
Fredrick Chien was born in Peking's Shou Shan Hospital, a hospital of the Peking Union Medical College, on March 21,1935.
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Fredrick Chien's 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.
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In Taiwan, Fredrick Chien was a student at Jianguo High School, where he graduated in 1952.
8.
Fredrick Chien attended National Taiwan University as an undergraduate, graduating in 1956 with a bachelor's degree with honors in political science.
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Fredrick Chien joined the China Youth Corps, where he visited Turkey and Spain in 1955.
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Fredrick Chien 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.
11.
Hu Shih was close to the Fredrick Chien family, having mentored Fredrick Chien since his time in Peking.
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Fredrick Chien served as the English secretary and interpreter for President Chiang Kai-shek from 1965 to 1975.
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In 1963, Fredrick 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.
14.
Fredrick 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.
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Fredrick Chien 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.
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Fredrick Chien helped initiated massive invitational programs for senators, members of the House, and congressional aides to visit Taiwan.
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In September 1971, Fredrick 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.
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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.
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Fredrick 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.
20.
In June 1972, Fredrick Chien was appointed as the 7th Director-General of the Government Information Office by Premier Chiang Ching-kuo, succeeding James Wei.
21.
On June 11,1974, Fredrick Chien presided over the opening ceremony of the 20th Asian Film Festival held in Taipei.
22.
Fredrick Chien traveled abroad seven times as Director-General, with four trips to the United States, two to Europe, and one to Korea.
23.
On March 18,1975, Fredrick Chien delivered an address to a Joint Session of the New Hampshire State Legislature, speaking about the friendship between the two nations and ROC's goal towards economic equality.
24.
On February 14,1978, Fredrick Chien began an eight-country diplomatic tour to strengthen ties with European nations.
25.
Fredrick Chien was promoted to the Deputy Foreign Minister position on July 26,1979, while serving concurrently as the Director-General of the Department of Policy Planning.
26.
In December 1979, Fredrick Chien visited Thailand and met with Prime Minister Kriangsak Chamanan and discussed the economic outlook and the status of refugees in Thailand.
27.
In early June 1981, Fredrick Chien made a trip to Singapore and met with Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and discussed issues around regional stability.
28.
In 1982, Fredrick Chien became the first ROC Deputy Foreign Minister to visit Japan after the break of diplomatic relations ten years prior.
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Fredrick Chien then passed the message on to President Chiang Ching-kuo.
30.
Fredrick Chien remained as Deputy Foreign Minister until November 19,1982, when he was appointed as the ROC Representative to the United States by President Chiang Ching-kuo.
31.
Fredrick Chien had to check in with the State Department on everything he did, such as accepting invitations and giving interviews.
32.
Shortly upon arriving at the United States, on January 12,1983, Fredrick Chien met with Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Paul Wolfowitz on Secretary George Shultz's forthcoming trip to the mainland.
33.
Fredrick Chien said that arms sales are essential to the confidence of Taiwan's public.
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Fredrick Chien referenced that Taiwan is willing to help the US assist the economic developments in the Central America region and that joint projects with American funds would be undertaken by Taiwanese personnel and technical teams.
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Fredrick Chien toured prestigious universities and gave speeches at Yale, Cornell, Michigan, and Georgetown.
36.
When Fredrick Chien was scheduled to leave his post in 1988, over 50 congressmen and senators gave farewell speeches on the floor and paid tribute to Fredrick Chien's work as the ROC representative.
37.
When Fredrick Chien arrived in Washington, DC, in 1983, Twin Oaks, ROC ambassador's former residence, required extensive repairs upon the transfer of the property back to the ROC Government from the Friends of Free China Association a few months prior.
38.
In 1988, Fredrick Chien was elected as a member of the Kuomintang Central Standing Committee at the 13th National Congress serving in the role until 1998.
39.
On June 1,1990, as part of the new Hau Pei-tsun cabinet, Fredrick Chien was appointed the Minister of Foreign Affairs replacing Lien Chan.
40.
On June 29,1992, Fredrick Chien announced that the ROC resumed diplomatic relations with the African nation of Niger, without asking the Niger government to sever ties with the mainland.
41.
Fredrick Chien made a "private visit" to Japan as the ROC foreign minister in February 1993, marking the first ministerial visit to Japan since 1972 when the two nations broke its relations.
42.
Later on towards his term as foreign minister, it was reported that Fredrick Chien had quarrels with President Lee over the key elements of pragmatic diplomacy, leading Lee to shift more decision making directly to the Office of the President.
43.
Fredrick Chien was elected Speaker on July 8,1996, four days after the 3rd National Assembly began.
44.
On December 3,1998, President Lee Teng-hui announced his intention to nominate Fredrick Chien to replace Wang Tso-jung as the President of the Control Yuan.
45.
In 2001, after the September 11 attacks, Fredrick Chien was asked by President Chen Shui-bian to visit New York on behalf of the ROC government and to present a $1 million check for the people of the United States.
46.
On March 9,2005, Fredrick Chien received the Order of Chiang Chung-Cheng from President Chen Shui-bian for his service as the President of the Control Yuan.
47.
Since 2011, Fredrick Chien succeeded Lee Huan as the Chairman of the Pacific Cultural Foundation.
48.
Fredrick Chien serves along with Morris Chang and Lien Chan as a board member for the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange.
49.
Fredrick Chien is a Distinguished Chair Professor at Chung Hua University, a private university Hsinchu City, Taiwan, and the Honorary Dean of the university's Chung Hua College.
50.
In 2010, Fredrick Chien was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award by National Taiwan University.
51.
On March 24,2015, Fredrick Chien accompanied President Ma Ying-jeou to Singapore to pay last respects to Singapore's founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, at the private wake at Sri Temasek.
52.
Fredrick Chien is married to Julie Tien, with whom he has a son and a daughter, Carl and Carol.
53.
Carl Fredrick Chien received an MBA from Georgetown University and now serves as the Vice-chairman Asia Pacific and Senior Country Officer Taiwan for JPMorgan.
54.
Fredrick Chien is the youngest of the three siblings, the others being Robert and Shu.
55.
Fredrick Chien's eldest brother, Robert Fredrick Chien, was an economist and government official who served as the Minister of Finance, and the Secretary-General of the Executive Yuan.
56.
Chein's second brother, Shu Fredrick Chien, is a physiologist and bioengineer, a recipient of the National Medal of Science, and a professor at the University of California, San Diego.
57.
Fredrick Chien is known as one of the "four princes of Taiwan" along with Lien Chan, Chen Li-an, and Shen Chun-shan, all of whose fathers attained prominence in politics prior to their sons' successes.
58.
Fredrick Chien is a member of the American University Club in Taipei and an honorary member of the Club of Rome.
59.
Fredrick Chien once said that he is always serious in his attitude to life, study, work, and self-improvement.