Joseph Wu Jaushieh (; born October 31, 1954) is a Taiwanese politician currently serving as the

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

under current President

Tsai Ing-wen Tsai Ing-wen (; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician serving as president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since 2016. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Tsai is the first female president of Taiwan. She served as ...

since February 26, 2018. He was formerly the

Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

to the

President of the Republic of China The president of the Republic of China, now often referred to as the president of Taiwan, is the head of state of the Republic of China (ROC), as well as the commander-in-chief of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The position once had aut ...

and the Secretary-General of the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...

of the

. From 2007 to 2008, he was Chief Representative of

to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

as the head of the

Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO), also known as Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO), Taipei Representative Office (TRO) or Taipei Mission, is an alternative diplomatic institution serving as a ''de facto'' e ...

in Washington, D.C., having been appointed to that position by President

Chen Shui-bian Chen Shui-bian (; born 12 October 1950) is a retired Taiwanese politician and lawyer who served as the president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) whic ...

to succeed his predecessor, David Lee. On February 26, 2018, he took over the position of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, again succeeding David Lee.

Educational background

Prior to entering politics, he was an academic

political scientist Political science is the science, scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of politics, political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated c ...

, finishing his PhD in political science in 1989 at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

. He wrote his doctoral thesis on progress and obstacles to democratization in Taiwan. He served as a teacher and

research assistant A research assistant (RA) is a researcher employed, often on a temporary contract, by a university, a research institute or a privately held organization, for the purpose of assisting in academic or private research. Research assistants are not in ...

in the

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

department of

in the United States, and as deputy director of the Institute of

International Relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

National Chengchi University National Chengchi University () is a public research university in Taipei. The university is also considered as the earliest public service training facility of the Republic of China. First established in Nanjing in 1927, the university was subs ...

in Taiwan.

Rise in politics

Formerly the Deputy Secretary General of the Presidential Office for President

, Wu was appointed the chairman of the

Mainland Affairs Council The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) is a cabinet-level administrative agency under the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China in Taiwan. The MAC is responsible for the planning, development, and implementation of the cross-strait relations po ...

, the body charged with coordinating relations with

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

(

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 ...

), by Chen in May 2004. His appointment as Chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council proved somewhat controversial due to his reputation as a supporter of

Taiwan independence Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

, especially in light of the simultaneous appointment as foreign minister of former independence activist

Mark Chen Mark Tang-shan/Tan-sun Chen (), born September 16, 1935, in Tainan Prefecture (now part of Tainan City), Taiwan, is a Taiwanese politician, former Secretary-General of the Office of the President of Taiwan under former President Chen Shui-bian. ...

. His tenure as head of TECRO lasted one year and three months.

Cross-strait relations

On April 11, 2013, the ROC Cabinet approved a bill to establish a

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 ...

(SEF) branch office in

and an

Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits The Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS; ; often abbreviated as 海协会 / 海協會) is an organization set up by the People's Republic of China for handling technical and business matters with the Republic of ...

(ARATS) office in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. Wu - who was once the ROC Minister of

- said that for the ARATS office to be established in Taiwan, it would need to have three prerequisites: the office should never evolve to become like the PRC Liaison Office in Hong Kong; the office's mandate must be clearly defined; and the officers must adhere to international diplomatic regulations. In May 2021, he became the first person listed on the “diehard supporters of

” blacklist proposed by the Chinese government.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wu, Joseph 1954 births Living people Ohio State University Graduate School alumni Taiwan independence activists Democratic Progressive Party (Taiwan) politicians Politicians of the Republic of China on Taiwan from Changhua County Representatives of Taiwan to the United States Taiwanese political scientists Taiwanese Ministers of Foreign Affairs