Chen Yu-jen

Chen was born on 29 October 1973 in Kinmen, Taiwan. She has a younger brother, Chen Chi-lung, and a sister, Chen Yu-ling. Their father, Chen Shui-mu, was a politician who served as the speaker of the Kinmen County Council.^[2] After attending a gifted children's program in junior high school,^[3] she graduated from Kinmen High School in 1991 as the top female student of her class.^[4]

After high school, Chen graduated from National Taiwan University with a Bachelor of Arts in Chinese literature with a minor in law in 1995, and spent a summer studying English at Harvard University. During her time in the U.S., Chen traveled to New York, Washington, and Florida.^[5] She left the U.S. in February 1996 to enroll at Peking University and earned a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the Peking University Law School, where she had studied international law, public international law, international economic law, and the World Trade Organization.^[6] Her master's thesis, completed under jurist Wang Tieya,^[7] was titled, "A study of the Chinese telecommunications market based on foreign investment regulations in China, the U.S., and Japan".^[8]

After graduating from Peking University, Chen received a scholarship to study law in Japan and earned a second LL.M. in international economic law from Kyushu University in 1998.^[5] In October 2017, Chen began studying at the Harvard Kennedy School,^[5] where she earned a degree in government and public policy.^[4]

Chen was elected as a member of the legislature for the first time in 2016.^[9] She has continued as a representative since.

In 2025, a group campaigning to recall Chen failed. They said they were unable to gain 1% support from Chen's constituency.^[10]