Yen Chia-kan (; 23 October 1905 – 24 December 1993), also known as C. K. Yen, was a

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 ...

politician. He succeeded

Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...

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 au ...

on 5 April 1975, being sworn in on 6 April 1975, and served out the remainder of Chiang's term until 20 May 1978.

Early life

He was born in

Mudu Mudu (; Suzhou Wu: Moh doh, ) is a town in Wuzhong District, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China. It takes about 1.5 hours to drive from the downtown in Suzhou to Mudu. Mudu is a small town which is famous for its history. During the Qing dynast ...

, Wu County,

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its c ...

province in 1905. He came of a prestigious

Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trad ...

family, the Yan (Yen) Family of Dongshan (). He graduated from

Saint John's University St John's University may refer to: * St. John's University (New York City) **St. John's University School of Law ** St. John's University (Italy) - Overseas Campus *College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, St. Joseph, Minnesota and C ...

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

with a degree in chemistry in 1926.

Political career

In 1931, Yen began serving as a manager of the Shanghai railway administration. Yen started to work as director of the finance department of

Fujian Provincial Government The Fujian Provincial Government was the former government that governed Fujian Province of the Republic of China. Since 2018, it has been superseded and its duties have been transferred to the Kinmen-Matsu Joint Services Center, the Nationa ...

in 1938. During his term, he initiated a policy of land tax payment for farmers with their agricultural produce. This policy was then adopted nationwide across China and contributed significantly for the nation food supply during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. When he arrived in Taiwan in October 1945, Yen was appointed transportation director for the Taiwan Provincial Government. He was later named provincial finance director. From the provincial government, Yen was subsequently elevated to chairman of the

Bank of Taiwan The Bank of Taiwan (BOT, , see below) is a commercial bank headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan. It is owned by the government of Taiwan. History The Bank of Taiwan was established as Taiwan's central bank in 1899, during Japanese rule. Th ...

. In this position, Yen became known as "father of the

New Taiwan dollar The New Taiwan dollar ( code: TWD; symbol: NT$, also abbreviated as NT) is the official currency of Taiwan. The New Taiwan dollar has been the currency of Taiwan since 1949, when it replaced the Old Taiwan dollar, at a rate of 40,000 old dolla ...

," as the currency was introduced in June 1949, during his tenure at the bank. Yen then served as Minister of Economic Affairs, minister of finance, and Governor of

Taiwan Province Taiwan Province (; PFS: ''Thòi-vàn-sén'' or ''Thòi-vân-sén'') is a nominal administrative division of the Republic of China (ROC). Its definition has remained part of the Constitution of the Republic of China, but the province is no lon ...

. He became

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

on 16 December 1963. In 1966 the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

elected Yen as Vice President and re-elected him in 1972. As vice president, Yen served as the most senior government official of the Republic of China to travel aboard, as

had stated that he would not leave Taiwan until 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 ...

was resolved by unification of the Republic of China. In May 1967, Yen toured the United States, during which he met US President Lyndon B. Johnson. On the afternoon of January 5, 1973, Yen visited Washington, D.C. and met with US President Richard Nixon. In December 1974, Yen traveled throughout Central America and the Caribbean, during which he attended the inauguration of

Anastasio Somoza Debayle Anastasio "Tachito" Somoza Debayle (; 5 December 1925 – 17 September 1980) was the President of Nicaragua from 1 May 1967 to 1 May 1972 and from 1 December 1974 to 17 July 1979. As head of the National Guard, he was ''de facto'' ruler of ...

, who was starting his second stint as President of Nicaragua. Yen became the second President following the death of Chiang Kai-shek. During his presidency, the Kuomintang worked on the "Chang'an Project" (), which was to design, manufacture, and test defensive missiles. On 9 July 1977, he visited

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries by area, fifth-largest country in Asia ...

, becoming the first Republic of China president to visit another country after the government moved to Taiwan. On 20 May 1978, Yen resigned and was succeeded by Chiang's son, KMT Chairman and Premier

Chiang Ching-kuo Chiang Ching-kuo (27 April 1910 – 13 January 1988) was a politician of the Republic of China after its Retreat of the Republic of China to Taiwan, retreat to Taiwan. The eldest and only biological son of former president Chiang Kai-she ...

. Yen served as chairman of the Council on Chinese Cultural Renaissance during his presidency. Though he wished to resign after leaving the presidency, the organization's bylaws were amended so that Yen could retain the post. He was also chairman of the board of the National Palace Museum until 1991.

Death

Yen had been bedridden since a brain hemorrhage in 1986. He suffered a second brain hemorrhage in 1992 and died at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital on 24 December 1993 the age of 88. He was buried at the Wuchih Mountain Military Cemetery in

New Taipei City New Taipei City is a special municipality located in northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 3,974,683 as of 2022, making it the most populous city of Taiwan, and also the second largest special municipality by area, be ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yen, Chia-Kan 1905 births 1993 deaths Politicians from Suzhou Premiers of the Republic of China on Taiwan Presidents of the Republic of China on Taiwan Vice presidents of the Republic of China on Taiwan Taiwanese Ministers of Finance Republic of China politicians from Jiangsu Taiwanese Ministers of Economic Affairs Taiwanese Ministers of the Veterans Affairs Council Chairpersons of the Taiwan Provincial Government St. John's University, Shanghai alumni Chinese Civil War refugees Taiwanese people from Jiangsu

Early life

Political career

Death

See also

References