Rick Allen: “a good friend of the Senate Taiwan caucus, Ambassador C.J. (Chien-Jen) Chen, will soon be leaving Washington, D.C.…”

“a good friend of the Senate Taiwan caucus, Ambassador C.J. (Chien-Jen) Chen, will soon be leaving Washington, D.C., after having served for nearly 4 years here as Taiwan's principle representative. We are going to miss him very much. As chairman of the Taiwan caucus, I would like to bring special attention to his accomplishments for his country and his commitment to the advancement of freedom. Ambassador Chen brought a wealth of experience to his job. He was first assigned to Washington, D.C. in 1971, and he spent most of his distinguished 37-year career promoting good relations between Taiwan and the United States. Over the years, he won many friends for himself and for his country. An eloquent speaker and polished diplomat, Ambassador Chen also has a reputation for being a 'straight shooter.' He was always prepared to provide an informed, balanced, and fair opinion on the complex relationship between Taiwan and the United States as well as the broad range of political, economic, cultural and other issues of common interest to our two countries. Ambassador Chen's skill and determination as a representative of Taiwan have been made plain in many ways, but I want to mention one in particular. He has persistently pushed for Taiwan to have a role in international organizations. That is a real challenge, because Beijing opposes it at every turn, but Mr. Chen has pressed on. Owing in large part to his efforts, much progress has been made on these issues.”