Steve Chen Promoted to Economic Minister

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