I would like to welcome back to Seattle the new Director General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Seattle, Daniel Kuo-ching Chen. A few years ago Daniel served as Senior Consular Officer in the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Seattle so he knows our region well. We hope Daniel will now think of Seattle as his “second home” in the U.S. Daniel arrived in Seattle in August moving from his prior diplomatic post in Taipei where he most recently served as Deputy Secretary-General of the Taiwan Council for U.S. Affairs seconded to Foreign Minister’s Office. Daniel has served as Deputy Director in the Political Division at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States. He has also served as the Section Chief in the Department of Northern American Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of China, and was awarded the Model Civil Servant of the Ministry in 2011. He was also a platoon leader as a second lieutenant in the Army of the Republic of China and was awarded Excellent Mandatory Service Officer in 1997.
Daniel earned a Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS) with an International Business Diplomacy honorary certificate from Georgetown University in 2000 where he studied several years and so knows Washington, DC, and Maryland well. He also earned a Bachelor of Arts with award of Valedictorian in Diplomacy from National Chengchi University, Taiwan, in 1995. His work and travel has taken Daniel to Japan, Palau, Nauru, Czech Republic, Belgium, Germany, and the Caribbean.
Daniel is married to May Shih and together they have a daughter, Cheryl, and a son, Sean. Both of the kids were born in the U.S. and are in school on the East Side now. Daniel comments that he “tries to be a golfer” with multiple sets of clubs, and also loves the water. He and Cheryl plan to do a lot of hiking in the area. Daniel’s focus of his second tour in Seattle will be on supporting the local Taiwanese population, both expats and residents, strengthening cultural and economic ties between the U.S. and Taiwan, and in particular implementing a major new program in partnership with the University of Washington in Chinese language and culture education.
As Rotarians we also have a unique opportunity this year to collaborate with Daniel in planning for the attendance at the RI convention next June in Taiwan! Daniel’s return to Seattle comes at the perfect time and we’re excited to have him and Hisao join Seattle Rotary and the Blue Ribbon Panel of our Diplomacy Initiative Task Force, especially on Diplomacy Day!
