Government Information Office Director-General Chung Chin

I'm a wild child who grew up like wild grass. My childhood was not easy. Tragedy struck my family when I was 11, as a great fire in Taipei took my father's life. I remember clearly that it was the day before Chinese New Year's eve, and how at dusk, when my mother took my older brother with her to identify the body, people were setting off firecrackers outside. When she returned, my mother said to me 'From this day on you must become independent.' I was just a muddleheaded kid at the time, but I can clearly recall everything that happened that night and what my mother said to me. I grew up having to figure out practically everything for myself, which helped foster my independent personality.

In elementary school I got the highest grades every year, yet I wasn't really diligent. By junior high school I started to play on the school basketball team, continuing as well in high school. Although I regret not forming excellent study habits, in another respect I feel fortunate that I had a broad range of interests that caused me to spend a lot of time coming into contact with different things. After testing into Taipei First Girls' Senior High School, I started dating, going to dances, and just generally having a good time. The school's drillmasters all knew me well, and my name was often spoken over the public address system when I was called to the disciplinary office. I really only began to study as a senior in high school, and by studying my guts out three months before the university entrance examination I managed to test into National Taiwan University, angering a few of my classmates. I continued to slack off at NTU, skipping class often and running off with a bunch of boys to play pool.

Benefiting the people

From an early age I had two aspirations, the first to study economics, the second to write editorials. I hoped to approach issues from the macroscopic perspective of country and society. This desire can be traced back to junior high school and the first time I looked at an economics textbook that had been one of my father's possessions. My interpretation of economics is that it is a means by which to govern and benefit the people. In my view, economics is not a tool, nor an academic discipline, but rather a framework for thinking and attending to objectives.

In addition, back in the early days my father ran a magazine in mainland China and worked as a reporter, which instilled in me a passion for working with words. Unlike many of my classmates, who went to work at banks after university graduation, I chose to enter a publishing company.

I met my husband during high school, when we were both involved in organizing extracurricular activities. After our wedding, we headed off together to the United States for graduate school at Cornell University, but I subsequently learned that I'm not the right type to work for a PhD. Given the disciplinary division in Western academics, the doctoral scope is too narrow for my broad range of interests. Poor communication with my thesis adviser kept me from finishing my PhD. After changing thesis topics twice, I made poor progress on the third topic. What's more, after living in the US for seven years, I wanted so much to come home and see my family, so the PhD just got left behind.

Research field broadens

After returning to Taiwan in 1987, I entered the mainland China economics research center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research. This happened just as the ROC government lifted restrictions on visits to the mainland, and the trend towards cross-strait exchanges was already evident. My research concentrated on cross-strait trade. I conducted competitive analyses and trend assessments from Taiwan's perspective, and my research was essentially cross-disciplinary.

For me, taking on a new position was not a change of research fields, but rather an expansion into other realms, as my interests were not limited to economics or cross-strait issues.

Work at the Government Information Office is also quite broad. I hope to apply the rational analysis and the impartial perspective of a scholar to my decision-making and judgements. I think of GIO tasks on three general levels. First is interaction with the Executive Yuan and assisting the premier as much as possible. Second is task management. Finally, there is interaction with the media.

Although I have already told my husband to treat me as a missing person for two years, I still want the new cabinet to run efficiently, and to cut out unnecessary socializing so that working in politics does not mean having to sacrifice one's entire family life. After exchanging initial views with my fellow cabinet members, I discovered that no one is fond of socializing or extensive paperwork and bureaucracy. I think this cabinet will be a more approachable, less bureaucratic cabinet, and that its policy formulation will be more professional than previous cabinets.

The public has great expectations for the new administration. On one hand this is advantageous to us, as the public might give us a little more leeway; yet on the other hand, there are a lot of explosive issues, such as the fourth nuclear power plant, that will test whether we make good on past promises. Each issue requires rational consideration by the cabinet to make the best choice with overall public opinion in mind.