Chen Shu-chu (; born 1950) is a retired Taiwanese vegetable vendor known for her

donations A donation is a gift for charity, humanitarian aid, or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including money, alms, services, or goods such as clothing, toys, food, or vehicles. A donation may satisfy medical needs such as blo ...

to the fields of

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

, health care, and social welfare.

Biography

Chen Shu-chu was born in

Yunlin County Yunlin is a Counties of Taiwan, county in Regions of Taiwan, western Taiwan. Yunlin County borders the Taiwan Strait to the west, Nantou County to the east, Changhua County to the north at the Zhuoshui River, and Chiayi County to the south at th ...

. She moved to

Taitung County Taitung () is the third largest county in Taiwan, located primarily on the island's southeastern coast and also including Green Island, Orchid Island and Lesser Orchid Island. The seat is located in Taitung City. Name While its name means "East ...

at the age of seven. She completed her education at Jen-Ai Elementary School.

Philanthropy

After her father died in 1993, Chen Shu-chu donated NT$1 million to Fo Guang

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

Academy. In 1997, she donated NT$1 million to her alma mater, Jen-Ai Elementary School. In 2005, she donated NT$4.5 million to Jen-Ai Elementary School to build a library. As of 2014, she had donated over NT$10 million (equivalent to $350,000 American dollars or £210,000 British pounds). Chen Shu-chu provides support for three abandoned children at the

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

Kids Alive International Association, donating NT$36,000 annually to the organization. In 2018, Chen Shu-chu was invited to attend the flag-raising ceremony during the

National Day of the Republic of China The National Day of the Republic of China, also referred to as Double Ten Day or Double Tenth Day, is a public holiday on 10 October, now held annually as national day in the Republic of China (ROC, commonly known as Taiwan). It commemorates ...

held by the Taitung City Government. At the ceremony, she announced the donation of her two life insurance policies to the East-based Medical Foundation of Taitung Christian Hospital and

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 mode ...

Taitung Branch. These policies were used to establish the "Ms. Chen Shu-chu Medical Fund for Poor and Cancer Patients" and "Ms. Chen Shu-chu Medical Fund for Charities", respectively, worth NT$16 million together. The funds are to be allocated posthumously to support medical care for underprivileged patients. In 2021, Chen Shu-chu donated NT$15 million in honour of her mother to create a fund providing financial aid to pregnant women and scholarships to children who lose their mothers in childbirth.

Personal life

Chen Shu-chu is a

adherent and a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

. She has never married. In 2018, Chen Shu-chu retired after recovering from

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the Appendix (anatomy), appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and anorexia (symptom), decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these t ...

early in the year and moved to

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...

Book

''Sensational Kindness'' is a 2011 biography of Chen Shu-chu written by Liu Yung-yi.

Accolades

She was selected as one of the ''Time'' 100 for 2010 in the heroes category. She was also one of the 48 heroes of philanthropy chosen by ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' in 2010. ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

'' also honoured her as the winner of the 2010 Asian of the Year. In 2012, she was selected as a recipient of the

Ramon Magsaysay Award The Ramon Magsaysay Award (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Gawad Ramon Magsaysay'') is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in governance, courageous service to the people, ...

. She donated her US$50,000 prize to

. In 2018, the asteroid 278986 Chenshuchu was named after her.Alt URL
/ref> In 2025, National Taitung University awarded Chen an honorary doctorate.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Shu-chu Taiwanese Buddhists Taiwanese philanthropists Taiwanese people of Hoklo descent Living people People from Taitung County Ramon Magsaysay Award winners 1951 births People from Yunlin County