Chairman and President: Hung-mao TIEN

Born in Tainan, Taiwan, Dr. Hung-mao Tien received his Ph.D. degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He is a Senior Advisor to the President of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Besides, he also serves as President and Board Chairman of the Institute for National Policy Research in Taipei, a non-partisan think tank. In addition, he is the Chief Advisor to the National Federation of Industries, Advisor to the Third Wednesday Club (San San Fe), and National Association of Industry and Commerce.

Dr. Tien has played important roles in the process of Taiwan’s democratic reforms throughout the 1990s, as  the Presidential Policy Advisor to former President Lee Teng-hui. In 1995, he transferred from his US academic life to leading think tank activities and political careers in Taiwan where he was born. He joined the cabinet as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Taiwan’s first rotation of power in 2000. Two years later, he was appointed Representative (Ambassador) to the United Kingdom. Dr. Tien’s last official position was the Chairman of Straits Exchange Foundation, appointed by President Tsai Ing-wen in 2016.

Dr. Tien’s academic specializations include international political and economic affairs in general, comparative politics and governments, Indo-Pacific regional security, Chinese political development, and Taiwan domestic politics as well as the cross-strait relations. His numerous publications in English (author, editor and co-editor) include: Government and Politics in Kuomintang China 1927-37 (Stanford University Press); The Great Transition: Social and Political Change in the Republic of China (Stanford: Hoover Institution Press); Democratization in Taiwan, Implications for China (St. Anthony’s Series, Oxford University), Consolidating the Third Wave Democracies, Themes and Perspectives (Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press), China Under Jiang Zemin (Rienner), and The Security Environment in the Asia-Pacific (M.E. Sharpe). Numerous articles have been published in a variety of academic journals.

In light of his rich academic experiences and government services, Dr. Tien has been invited to participate in many international academic conferences as well as second-track dialogues. He also has given speeches at many leading universities and policy research institutions in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Dr. Tien is honored with Distinguished Alumni Global Achievement Award by the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Executive Director: Yujen KUO

Education: Ph.D. in Political Science, University of Southern California

Title: Professor, China and Asia Pacific Regional Institute, Sun Yat-Sen University

Experience: He is currently a member of the Advisory Committee of the Continental Commission, a consultant to the Straits Exchange Foundation, and the vice president of the Institute of Contemporary Japanese Studies. He was a researcher at the Institute of Social Sciences at the University of Tokyo, a visiting researcher at the Japan Institute of International Studies, and a member of Japanese research center at the National Sun Yat-Sen University. He was invited to give speeches at the US Department of State's Foreign Affairs and Consular Training Institute and the Japanese Defense Ministry. He was awarded the 2015 Special Young Scholar Award and the 2017 Academic Research Excellence Award by National Sun Yat-sen University.

Research areas: Asia-Pacific security issues, US-Japan relations and military alliances, Japanese defense policy and defense industry.

Senior Advisor: Ting SHIH

Education: Master of Science for Foreign Affairs, Washington D.C., Georgetown University, USA

Main experience: The positions he served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China included Deputy Director and Director General of the Department of Asia-Pacific Affairs, Chancellor of the Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs, and the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In his foreign posts, he served as Deputy Representative of the Taipei Representative Office in South Africa, Ambassador, ROC Embassy in Belize, Representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New Zealand and Representative of Taipei Mission in South Korea.

Research areas: international relations, Asia-Pacific situation

Senior Advisor: Rong-chuan WU

Education: MSFS, Georgetown University, Washington D.C. USA

Experience: He had been a police officer in Tanan County for 5 years before joining foreign services. In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei, he had served as the Chief Liaison Officer of the Office of Parliamentarian Affairs and Director General of the Department of Non-governmental Organization International Affairs. He held positions in foreign services abroad includes Charge De Affairs, ROC Embassy in the Commonwealth of Dominica, Director General of Taipei Economic Office in Atlanta, U.S.A., Ambassador to St. Kitts and Nevis, Representative of Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Canada and Representative of Taipei Mission in the Republic of Latvia.

Research areas: International relations, NGOs international participation

Senior Advisor: Hseik-wen SOONG

Education: Ph.D. in Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh, USA

Title: Professor and Dean of the Academy of Social Sciences, Director of Center for National Policy Research, National Chung Cheng University

Experience: He had held positions as the consultant of Jinmen County Government, Chiayi County Government, Kaohsiung City Government and Tainan County Government respectively. He served as professor of the National Chung Cheng University, Adjunct Professor of National Institute of Public Affairs Management, National Sun Yat-Sen University, and Adjunct Professor of Hakka Culture Institute of Kaohsiung Normal University. He used to be the Secretary-General of the Republic of China International Relations Society.

Research areas: international relations theory, cross-strait relations and mainland policy, decision-making process, security in the Asia-Pacific region, Globalization and global governance

Senior Advisor: Yuxiang LIN

Education: Master of East Asian Studies, Florida State University, USA

Experience: He was a lecturer at the Soochow University as a lecturer and Cultural university. He served as councilor of Taipei City Council, Legislator of the Legislative Yuan repectively. In the Koumintang, KMT, he served as Member of Deputy Directors of the Department of Policy Research and Department of Policy Coordination and member of Policy Committee.

Research areas: Constitution, international relations, Japanese studies, East Asian studies, domestic politics

Senior Advisor: Szu-chien HSU

Education: Ph.D. in Political Science, Columbia University, USA

Title: Vice Secretary General, National Security Committee

Experience: He served as Associate Professor, Institute of Mainland China Studies, Chinese Culture University, Assistant Research Fellow, 3rd Research Center of the Institute of International Relations, National Chengchi University, Assistant Professor, Jointly Appointed, Master Program of China Studies, National Tsing-Hua University and Associate Professor, Jointly Appointed, Master Program of China Studies, National Tsing-Hua University. He also was a research fellow at the Preparatory Office and then Associate Research Fellow of the Institute of Political Science in the Academia Sinica. He was the President of Taiwan Foundation for Democracy and Political Vice Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Research areas: Comparative politics, Chinese mainland internal affairs research, and international relations in Greater China.

Senior Researcher, Peizhen CHANG

Education: Master in Economics, National Taiwan University, Research Fellow, National University of Columbia

Experience: She served as the Special Research Fellow and the Associate Research Fellow of Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research. She was Consultant of Committee of the Mainland Affairs Council and the Guest Research Fellow of Tokyo University, Japan.

Research areas: International economy, international finance, economic development theory, mainland Chinese economy.  

Senior Researcher: Xianchao CHANG  

Education: Doctor of Law, University of Wisconsin, USA

Present: Professor, Institute of China and Asia-Pacific Studies, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Deputy Executive Director, Asia-Pacific Peace Research Foundation

Experience: He served as the Associate Researcher and then the Researcher of the Law Office of the Mainland Affairs Council of the Executive Yuan. He was the Associate of the International Investment Department of Lianding Attorneys-at-Law.

Research areas: Mainland policy and cross-strait relations, international economic law, cross-strait legal research, international investment law, mainland economic and trade law, international law and cross-strait relations.