Steve Chan (; born 9 July 1948) is a Taiwanese physician and politician. He served as health minister from 1997 to 2000, and as vice chairman of the Kuomintang from 2016 to 2017.

Early life

Born in Yuanlin Township,

Changhua County Changhua County (Mandarin Pinyin: ''Zhānghuà Xiàn''; Wade-Giles: ''Chang¹-hua⁴ Hsien⁴''; Hokkien POJ: ''Chiang-hòa-koān'' or ''Chiong-hòa-koān'') is the smallest county on the main island of Taiwan by area, and the fourth smallest ...

in 1948, Chan attended high school alongside Jason Hu and graduated from Chungshan Medical and Dental College in 1972.

Career

Chan left Taiwan for the United States to begin his medical career. He was surgical resident at the

Hospital of Saint Raphael The Hospital of Saint Raphael or Saint Raphael Hospital, located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States, was a 511-bed community teaching hospital founded by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth in 1907. On September 12, 2012, Yale New Hav ...

from 1975 to 1977, when he moved to Mercy Catholic Medical Center, which was affiliated with

Jefferson Medical College Thomas Jefferson University is a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. To signify its heritage, the univer ...

. In 1980, Chan began working at the Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, returning to Taiwan in 1989 for a position at Feng Chia Hospital. After one year, Chan joined Chi Mei Medical Center until he was named the minister of the Department of Health in 1997. Though a member of the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...

, Chan took the position as an independent. As health minister, Chan repeatedly addressed the World Health Assembly and asked for Taiwan to be granted observer status. Chan stepped down three years later, and returned to Chi Mei. During Chan's second stint at Chi Mei, President Chen Shui-bian was

shot Shot may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Shot'' (album), by The Jesus Lizard *''Shot, Illusion, New God'', an EP by Gruntruck *''Shot Rev 2.0'', a video album by The Sisters of Mercy * "Shot" (song), by The Rasmus * ''Shot'' (2017 fi ...

and taken there for treatment. In 2007, Chan was named Ma Ying-jeou's campaign manager, taking him out of consideration for election to the

Legislative Yuan The Legislative Yuan is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for 4-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a parallel v ...

via party-list proportional representation. Ma won the 2008 presidential election, and named Chan an adviser. While a presidential adviser, Chan was also a Kuomintang deputy secretary-general and president of Adimmune Corporation. Chan stepped down from his party position in December 2009. Under Chan's leadership since 2008, Adimmune secured a government contract to produce an H1N1 vaccination, was listed on the

Taiwan Stock Exchange The Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation (TWSE; ) is a financial institution, located in Taipei 101, in Taipei, Taiwan. The TWSE was established in 1961 and began operating as a stock exchange on 9 February 1962. It is regulated by the Financial S ...

, and expanded vaccination distribution to mainland China. Chan was appointed a Kuomintang vice chairman in June 2016, and resigned the post in January 2017. Later that month, Chan announced his candidacy for the top party position. He placed fifth in the election held on 20 May.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chan, Steve 1948 births Living people Kuomintang politicians in Taiwan Politicians of the Republic of China on Taiwan from Changhua County Taiwanese surgeons Senior Advisors to President Ma Ying-jeou Taiwanese Ministers of Health and Welfare Chung Shan Medical University alumni Taiwanese expatriates in the United States 20th-century surgeons Taiwanese hospital administrators