Chen Shih-chung
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Chen Shih-chung (; born December 1952) is a Taiwanese politician. He served as Minister of Health and Welfare from 2017 to 2022, gaining wide recognition in 2020 as the public face of Taiwan's COVID-19 efforts. He was the
Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...
candidate for Taipei Mayor in the 2022 election.


Early life

Chen graduated from the School of Dentistry of
Taipei Medical College Taipei Medical University (TMU; ) in Taiwan is located in Taipei's Xinyi District. Founded as Taipei Medical College in 1960, it was renamed as Taipei Medical University in 2000. TMU has expanded into a world class university with ten colleges, ...
in 1977.


Early career

Chen became the director of Taipei City Dentists Association in 1987 and stayed in the position until he was promoted to executive director in 1991. In 1993–1995, he was the president of the association. In 1995–1999, he was the president of Taiwan Dental Association and in 1995-2005 executive director and CEO of the association.


Political career

In 1995–1996, he was the commissioner of the medical review committee of the Health Department of
Taipei City Government The Taipei City Government (TCG) is the municipal government of Taipei. History The Taihoku City Government was founded on 10 October 1920 in Taihoku Prefecture during Japanese colonial rule. The original city hall was located at the site of ...
. In 1993-1998 and 1999–2000, he was the commissioner of the dentist advisory committee of the
Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their ow ...
. In 1996-1999 and 2005–2006, he was the commissioner of the national health insurance supervisory committee of the department. At the same time (1996-2008), he was also the commissioner of the national health insurance medical expenditure negotiation committee of the department.


Ministry of Health and Welfare

At a press conference after being sworn in as the health and welfare minister on 8 February 2017, Chen said that he would continue the current policy of the ministry and would try to avoid big personnel changes.


2017 World Health Assembly

Chen flew to
Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
,
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, and arrived on 20 May 2017 despite the absence of invitation for Taiwan to attend the
World Health Assembly The World Health Assembly (WHA) is the forum through which the World Health Organization (WHO) is governed by its 194 member states. It is the world's highest health policy setting body and is composed of health ministers from member states. T ...
in 2017. The
Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...
made the arrangement for Chen to attend bilateral meetings outside the assembly including other events, such as press conference, interviews and Taiwan Night held by non-governmental organization.


COVID-19 pandemic

Chen has become widely recognized in Taiwan as the main speaker at daily press conferences given by the Taiwan Centre for Disease Control (CDC). His approval rating in a poll released on 26 March 2020 was 91%. A 26 April 2022 poll revealed that Taiwanese were split over the government's policy to "coexist with COVID", with slightly more people opposed than in favor. Among the respondents, 46.3% percent stated that they disapproved of the policy, and 45% indicated their approval.
On 7 May 2022, Taiwan reported 46,377 new cases, overtaking the United States as the highest daily new case region. Chen said it is on track to reach up to 100,000 new infections daily. Chen tested positive for COVID-19 on 12 June, and recovered on 24 June.


Later political career

Chen was named the
Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...
candidate for the Taipei mayoralty in July 2022. On 14 July 2022, Chen announced his resignation from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, citing a need to focus on his first campaign for electoral office. He formally stepped down on 18 July 2022. In the election held November 26 2022, Chen lost to
Chiang Wan-an Chiang Wan-an (; born 26 December 1978), also known as Wayne Chiang, is a Taiwanese politician who is the mayor of Taipei. He is the son of former Vice Premier John Chiang, and is believed to be a great-grandson of former President of the Repub ...
.


Personal life

Chen raised two children. His family also has a dog, Yenpa.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Shih-chung 1953 births Living people Taipei Medical University alumni Taiwanese Ministers of Health and Welfare Taiwanese dentists 21st-century Taiwanese politicians COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan