VZCZCXRO0392
RR RUEHGH
DE RUEHIN #2634 2160921
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 040921Z AUG 06
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1439
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
INFO RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 3368
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 5516
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 7991
RUEHGP/AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE 6545
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 7899
RUEHML/AMEMBASSY MANILA 9772
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 3902
RUEHKL/AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR 3542
RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI 3107
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 4265
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 1538
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 6726
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 0296
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 9476

UNCLAS TAIPEI 002634 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PLEASE PASS USTR 
 
STATE FOR EAP/RSP/TC, EAP/EP 
 
USTR FOR ALTBACH 
 
USDOC FOR 3132/USFCS/OIO/EAP/WZARIT 
TREASURY FOR OASIA/LMOGHTADER 
TREASURY PLEASE PASS TO OCC/AMCMAHON 
TREASURY ALSO PASS TO FEDERAL RESERVE/BOARD OF 
GOVERNORS, AND SAN FRANCISCO FRB/TERESA CURRAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EINV EFIN ECON PINR TW
SUBJECT:  Steve Chen Promoted to Economic Minister 
 
 
¶1.  On the afternoon of August 4, Premier Su Tseng-chang announced 
that Economic Minister Hwang Ing-san (Morgan) had resigned due to 
poor health and Vice Minister Chen Ruey-long (Steve) would be 
promoted to Economic Minister.  A brief bio of Mr. Chen is as 
follows: 
 
¶2.  Steve Chen, 58, has been Vice Economic Minister for six years, 
including Administrative Vice Minister for two years and Political 
Vice Minister for four years.  Prior to his promotion to Vice 
Economic Minister in May 2000, Mr. Chen spent 25 years working with 
the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT), broken only by an interruption 
for two years when he worked for a private company from 1981 to 
¶1983.  For 15 of his years at the BOFT, Mr. Chen focused on trade 
consultations and international economic organizations. 
 
¶3.  Mr. Chen led all bilateral consultations with the 26 WTO members 
requesting such negotiations prior to Taiwan's WTO accession.  His 
work to promote Taiwan's accession to WTO can be traced back to the 
middle of the 1980's when he was appointed as Deputy Director of the 
BOFT's Third Department, in charge of affairs in connection with 
acceding to the GATT.  In March 1987, Mr. Chen was sent to Zurich as 
Director of Taiwan's Representative Office there to do a feasibility 
study on accession to GATT.  Subsequently, he served as Director of 
Taiwan's Representative Office to Geneva on a concurrent basis.  The 
Geneva office was charged with bilateral and multilateral 
consultations regarding Taiwan's accession to GATT/WTO after Taiwan 
submitted its application for accession in 1989.  Mr. Chen's efforts 
during the period led to the acceptance of Taiwan as an OECD 
observer in September 1992. 
 
¶4.  Mr. Chen was a protg of Premier Vincent Siew when the KMT was 
a ruling party.  In March 1983, then BOFT Director General Vincent 
Siew recruited Mr. Chen from a private trading company to serve as 
Mr. Siew's personal secretary.  Prior his quitting BOFT in 1981, Mr. 
Chen was posted for seven years at the Belgium Office of the Far 
East Trade Service Inc., an unofficial agency under the BOFT's 
control. 
 
¶5.  Mr. Chen, a native Taiwanese, earned his bachelor's degree in 
economics from National Chunghsin University in 1970.  He speaks 
fluent English, French and German. 
 
YOUNG