C. Y. Cyrus Chu (; born 29 October 1955) is a Taiwanese economist and politician. He holds a Bachelor of Law (Department of Business) from

National Taiwan University National Taiwan University (NTU; ) is a public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. The university was founded in 1928 during Japanese rule as the seventh of the Imperial Universities. It was named Taihoku Imperial University and served d ...

(1978) and PhD in economics from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

(1985). He joined the Department of Business Administration and Economics at National Taiwan University thereafter and was promoted to Professor in 1989. He has published 2 monographs on demography and family economics, respectively, both published by Oxford University Press, and more than 100 professional articles in journals including

American Economic Review The ''American Economic Review'' is a monthly peer-reviewed academic journal published by the American Economic Association. First published in 1911, it is considered one of the most prestigious and highly distinguished journals in the field of ec ...

and

Journal of Political Economy The ''Journal of Political Economy'' is a monthly peer-reviewed academic journal published by the University of Chicago Press. Established by James Laurence Laughlin in 1892, it covers both theoretical and empirical economics. In the past, the ...

. He was Vice President of

Academia Sinica Academia Sinica (AS, la, 1=Academia Sinica, 3=Chinese Academy; ), headquartered in Nangang, Taipei, is the national academy of Taiwan. Founded in Nanking, the academy supports research activities in a wide variety of disciplines, ranging from ...

(2000–2003) and Chairman of Board at Chung-Hwa Institution for Economic Research (2008-2011), and has been a Distinguished Research Fellow at the Institute of Economics, Academia Sinica since 2000. He was elected as an Academician of Academia Sinica (1998), a Member of

The World Academy of Sciences The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) is a merit-based science academy established for developing countries, uniting 1,000 scientists in some 70 countries. Its principal aim is to promote scientific capacity and excellence for sustainable devel ...

(2010), Foreign Associate of

the National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Natio ...

in the United States (2017). He recently joined the WID team of

Thomas Piketty Thomas Piketty (; born 7 May 1971) is a French economist who is Professor of Economics at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences, Associate Chair at the Paris School of Economics and Centennial Professor of Economics in the Int ...

, analysing the taxation and wealth-registration individual data of Taiwan. From 2011 to 2019, he served as

Minister without Portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...

, supervising science and technology, then Minister of National Science Council (renamed

the Ministry of Science and Technology ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

) of

Executive Yuan The Executive Yuan () is the executive branch of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Its leader is the Premier, who is appointed by the President of the Republic of China, and requires confirmation by the Legislative Yuan. ...

of Republic of China (Taiwan), then Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu to the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...

in Geneva.

National Science Council Ministry

Chu took office in February 2011.

Taiwan brain drain crisis

During an August 2012 conference, Chu commented on the growing brain drain in Taiwan, stating that more and more Taiwanese move to Mainland China due to better job offers and benefits. He added that due to the conservative nature of Taiwanese society, most foreign workers in Taiwan are

blue-collar workers A blue-collar worker is a working class person who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involving manufacturing, warehousing, mining, excavation, electricity generation and powe ...

, and the remaining

white-collar workers White collar may refer to: * White-collar worker, a salaried professional or an educated worker who performs semi-professional office, administrative, and sales-coordination tasks, as opposed to a blue-collar worker, whose job requires manual labor ...

typically teach English, and are not leaders of big companies. The National Science Council was later renamed the Ministry of Science and Technology, and in March 2014, Chu stepped down to be replaced by

Chang San-cheng Chang San-cheng or Simon Chang () (born 24 June 1954) is a Taiwanese politician who was Premier of the Republic of China from 1 February 2016 until 20 May 2016, appointed by President Ma Ying-jeou. Before assuming the Premiership, he had serve ...

Representative to the World Trade Organization

Chu succeeded

Lai Shin-yuan Lai Shin-yuan (, born 9 November 1956, in Taichung, Taiwan) is a Taiwanese politician who served as minister of the Mainland Affairs Council from 2008 to 2012. Education Lai earned an M.A. degree International Relations from the London School of ...

as Taiwan's representative to the

in July 2016. He was sworn in a month later, on 2 August. In March 2017, Chu was elected a member of the

United States National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

. Chu submitted his resignation on 23 August 2019, and it became effective on 31 August 2019.

Select Publications in English

Population Dynamics: A New Economic Approach, Oxford University Press, 1998.
Population and Economic Change in East Asia: a supplement to Population and Development Review, edited with Ronald Demos Lee, 2000.
Understanding Chinese Families: A Comparative Study of Taiwan and Southeast China, with Ruoh-Rong Yu, foreword by

James J. Heckman James Joseph Heckman (born April 19, 1944) is a Nobel Prize-winning American economist at the University of Chicago, where he is The Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor in Economics and the College; Professor at the Harris School of Pub ...

, Oxford University Press, 2009.

References

1955 births Living people Ministers of Science and Technology of the Republic of China National Taiwan University faculty Taiwanese educators University of Michigan alumni Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Members of Academia Sinica Taiwanese expatriates in the United States {{Taiwan-politician-stub