Chen Hsi-huang

Chen was born in Taipei (then known as Taihoku) on December 18, 1935. He graduated from National Taiwan University with a bachelor's degree in agricultural economics, then pursued doctoral studies in the United States. He earned a Master of Science (M.S.) in 1971 and his Ph.D. in 1974, both in agricultural economics and applied economics from the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.^[1]

Chen worked for the Sino-American Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction, a predecessor organization to the Council of Agriculture, upon his return to Taiwan.^[2] In 2000, he took office as head of the Minister of Agriculture. In this position, Chen was responsible for long-term disaster relief efforts resulting from the 1999 Jiji earthquake. He organized a disaster prevention center after a June 2000 aftershock,^[3] and worked to stop mudflows from causing further damage.^[4][5] Chen also ordered a six-year initiative to reduce the number of betel nut plantations in order to lessen the effects of soil erosion caused by betel nut trees.^[6] During his tenure as COA leader, Chen supported the work of rural credit cooperatives geared toward farmers and fishermen,^[7] and sought to lift restrictions on Chinese employees of Taiwanese fishermen.^[8] After Typhoon Toraji hit Taiwan in July 2001, Nantou County legislator Tsai Huang-liang stated that Chen's policies unfairly burdened betel nut producers, making them scapegoats for erosion.^[9] Chen recognized that Nantou County should be reforested to prevent future typhoon damage, but rejected a proposal to use helicopters, stating that there were more effective ways to seed the mountainous area.^[10] It was reported that Chen would step down from the COA in January 2002,^[11] and he was eventually succeeded by Fan Chen-tsung.