Chiang Pin-kung (; 16 December 1932 – 10 December 2018) was a Taiwanese politician. He led the Ministry of Economic Affairs from 1993 to 1996, when he was named Minister of the

Council for Economic Planning and Development The Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD; ) was a government agency responsible for drafting overall plans for national economic development in Taiwan (ROC). It also assessed development projects, proposals and programmes submitted ...

, where he served until 2000. Chiang was subsequently elected to consecutive terms on 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 ...

from 2002 to 2008. During his first term as a legislator, Chiang was

Vice President of the Legislative Yuan The vice president of the Legislative Yuan (Chinese language, Chinese: 立法院副院長) is the Speaker (politics), deputy presiding officer of the Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China. The current Vice President is Tsai Chi-chang, a Demo ...

. He was Chairman of the

Straits Exchange Foundation The Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF; ; often abbreviated as 海基會) is a semiofficial organization set up by the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to handle technical and/or business matters with the People's Republic of China (P ...

from 2008 to 2012.

Biography

Chiang received his Ph.D. from the

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project b ...

in 1971. He was Assistant Commercial Attaché at the ROC Embassy in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

from 1967 to 1974, Commercial Attaché at the ROC Consulate General in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

from 1974 to 1979, Economic Counsellor at the ROC Embassy in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

from 1979 to 1981, Deputy Director-General of the

Board of Foreign Trade Board or Boards may refer to: Flat surface * Lumber, or other rigid material, milled or sawn flat ** Plank (wood) ** Cutting board ** Sounding board, of a musical instrument * Cardboard (paper product) * Paperboard * Fiberboard ** Hardboard, a ty ...

(BOFT) from 1982 to 1983, Secretary-General of the

China External Trade Development Council The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA; ) is a non-profit government co-sponsored trade promotion organization in Taiwan. It was founded in 1970 as China External Trade Development Council (CETRA). However, it changed its English ...

from 1983 to 1988, and Director-General of the BOFT from 1988 to 1989. At the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Chiang served as Administrative Vice Minister from 1989 to 1990, Political Vice Minister from 1990 to 1993, and Minister from 1993 to 1996. From 1996 to 2000 he was Chairman of the

. In this capacity, he was the

special envoy Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...

Lee Teng-hui Lee Teng-hui (; 15 January 192330 July 2020) was a Taiwanese statesman and economist who served as president of the Republic of China (Taiwan), President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) under Constitution of the Republic of China, the 1947 C ...

at the 1998 and 1999

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economy, economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

leader's summits (Lee was, because of pressure from the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, not permitted to attend). From 1998 to 2000 he was a

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 ...

Family

Chiang was born in Nantō District,

Taichū Prefecture was one of the administrative divisions of Japanese Taiwan. The prefecture consisted of modern-day Taichung City, Changhua County and Nantou County. It is also the origin of the name of modern-day Taichung. The Taichū Prefecture was the scene ...

Japanese Taiwan The island of Taiwan, together with the Penghu Islands, became a dependency of Japan in 1895, when the Qing dynasty ceded Fujian-Taiwan Province in the Treaty of Shimonoseki after the Japanese victory in the First Sino-Japanese War. The sho ...

. He is married to Mei-Fuey Chen with two sons and one daughter.

Political career

Chiang was elected to the Legislative Yuan in 2001 and was selected vice president of the legislature, a post he held until the Fifth Legislative Yuan adjourned in 2005. Chiang was re-elected to the Legislative Yuan in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

but did not take on the vice president post, which went to the KMT's alliance People First Party. There were ongoing negotiations for Chiang to join the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

of Premier

Frank Hsieh Frank Hsieh Chang-ting (; born May 18, 1946) is a Taiwanese politician and former defense attorney. A cofounder of the Democratic Progressive Party, he has served on the Taipei City Council, the Legislative Yuan, as the mayor of Kaohsiung Cit ...

as vice premier, but talks fell apart between the KMT and the administration over Chiang's specific responsibilities for the post. In March 2005, Chiang led the KMT's first official delegation to

mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the China, People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming Island, Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territorie ...

since the end of major hostilities in the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on main ...

in 1949. The delegation paid homage to the 72 martyrs of the Tenth Revolution in Huanghuagang before travelling to the

Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum () is situated at the foot of the second peak of Purple Mountain (Nanjing), Purple Mountain in Nanjing, China. Construction of the tomb started in January 1926, and was finished in spring of 1929. The architect was L ...

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...

and to

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

. During the trip, Chiang promoted opening the three links and economic development. On 14 March 2007, Chiang became acting chairman of the KMT after Wu Po-hsiung, who had been acting chairman since

Ma Ying-jeou Ma Ying-jeou ( zh, 馬英九, born 13 July 1950) is a Hong Kong-born Taiwanese politician who served as president of the Republic of China from 2008 to 2016. Previously, he served as justice minister from 1993 to 1996 and mayor of Taipei fro ...

's resignation earlier in the year, resigned the acting chairmanship so that he could run for chairman in the upcoming party election.

Straits Exchange Foundation

Following 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 Ta ...

's landslide win in the presidential election in 2008, Chiang was designated as chairman of the

, the semi-official body responsible for negotiation on non-political matters with the

. This made him responsible for the front line negotiations with the PRC government. He stepped down from this position in 2012.

Death

Chiang collapsed at a restaurant on 8 December 2018, and was subsequently sent to hospital. He died of multiple organ failure at

Mackay Memorial Hospital Mackay Memorial Hospital (), established on 26 December 1912, is one of the largest medical centers in Taiwan. It is a private Christian hospital in Zhongshan District, Taipei, Taiwan, mostly associated with George Leslie Mackay, the first mod ...

in Taipei on 10 December 2018.

Honours

Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd Class, Gold and Silver Star (2015)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chiang, Pin-Kung 1932 births 2018 deaths Politicians of the Republic of China on Taiwan from Nantou County University of Tokyo alumni Party List Members of the Legislative Yuan Taiwanese Ministers of Economic Affairs Taiwanese people of Hoklo descent Kuomintang Members of the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan Members of the 5th Legislative Yuan Members of the 6th Legislative Yuan Commercial attachés Deaths from multiple organ failure