View source for Lien Chan

{{Short description|Taiwanese political scientist and politician (born 1936)}}
{{family name hatnote|[[Lian (surname)|Lien]]|lang=Chinese}}
{{use mdy dates|date=January 2013}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Lien Chan
| native_name         = {{nobold|連戰}}
| native_name_lang    = zh-tw
| image               = 連戰院長.jpg
| order               = 7th
| office              = Vice President of the Republic of China
| president           = [[Lee Teng-hui]]
| term_start          = May 20, 1996
| term_end            = May 20, 2000
| predecessor         = [[Lee Yuan-tsu]]
| successor           = [[Annette Lu]]
| office1             = [[Premier of the Republic of China]]
| president1          = [[Lee Teng-hui]]
| vicepremier1        = [[Hsu Li-teh]]
| term_start1         = February 27, 1993
| term_end1           = August 31, 1997
| predecessor1        = [[Hau Pei-tsun]]
| successor1          = [[Vincent Siew]]
| office2             = 3rd [[Chairman of the Kuomintang]]
| deputy2             = {{collapsible list
| titlestyle = font-style:italic; font-weight:normal;
| title      = {{If mobile||}}
| bullets    = on
| [[Vincent Siew]]
| [[Wang Jin-pyng]]
| [[Chiang Chung-ling]]
| [[Wu Po-hsiung]]
| [[Lin Cheng-tze]]
| [[Chiang Pin-kung]]
| [[Ma Ying-jeou]]
}}
| term_start2         = March 24, 2000
| term_end2           = August 19, 2005
| predecessor2        = [[Lee Teng-hui]]
| successor2          = [[Ma Ying-jeou]]
| office3             = [[Governor of Taiwan Province]]
| term_start3         = June 16, 1990
| term_end3           = February 25, 1993
| predecessor3        = [[Chiu Chuang-huan]]
| successor3          = [[James Soong]]
| office5             = [[Vice Premier of the Republic of China]]
| premier5            = [[Yu Kuo-hwa]]
| term_start5         = May 1, 1987
| term_end5           = July 22, 1988
| predecessor5        = [[Lin Yang-kang]]
| successor5          = [[Shih Chi-yang]]
{{Collapsed infobox section begin
| last               = Yes
| Ministerial offices
| titlestyle         = border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| embed              = Yes
| office4             = 10th [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Republic of China)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]
| premier4            = {{unbulleted list|
* [[Yu Kuo-hwa]]
* [[Lee Huan]]
}}
| term_start4         = July 20, 1988
| term_end4           = June 1, 1990
| predecessor4        = [[Ting Mao-shih]]
| successor4          = [[Fredrick Chien]]
| office6             = 11th [[Minister of Transportation and Communications (Taiwan)|Minister of Transportation and Communications]]
| premier6            = {{unbulleted list|
* [[Sun Yun-suan]]
* [[Yu Kuo-hwa]]
}}
| term_start6         = December 1, 1981
| term_end6           = April 23, 1987
| predecessor6        = [[Lin Chin-sheng]]
| successor6          = {{ill|Kuo Nan-hung|zh|郭南宏}}
| office7             = Chair of the [[Youth Development Administration|National Youth Commission]]
| premier7            = [[Sun Yun-suan]]
| term_start7         = August 1, 1978
| term_end7           = November 30, 1981
| predecessor7        = [[Wang Wei-nung]]
| successor7          = [[Kao Ming-hui]]
{{Collapsed infobox section end}}
}}
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1936|8|27}}
| birth_place         = [[Xi'an]], [[Shaanxi]], [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|China]]
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| party               = [[Kuomintang]]
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Lien Fang Yu|Fang Yu]]|1965}}
| children            = 4, including [[Sean Lien|Sean]] and [[Arlene Lien|Arlene]]
| father              = [[Lien Chen-tung]]
| relatives           = [[Lien Heng]] (grandfather)<br/>[[Lin Wenyue]] (cousin)
| education           = {{unbulleted list|
* [[National Taiwan University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
* [[University of Chicago]] ([[Master of Arts|MA]], [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]])}}
| module              = {{Infobox scientist
| child = yes
| field = [[Political science]]
| thesis_title = The Criticism of Hu Shih's Thought in Communist China
| thesis_year = 1965
|thesis_url = https://www.proquest.com/openview/dbcba9d8c0b23857a83545a7ce3fab6b/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y
| doctoral_advisor = [[Tsou Tang]]
}}
| module2             = {{Infobox Chinese
| child = yes
| embed = yes
| c = 連戰
| p = Lián Zhàn
| w = Lien² Chan⁴
| poj = Liân Chiàn
}}
}}

'''Lien Chan''' ({{lang-zh|t=連戰|w=|p=|poj=}}; born August 27, 1936) is a Taiwanese [[political scientist]] and politician. A member of the [[Kuomintang]] (KMT), he nominally governed Taiwan as the head of the [[Taiwan Provincial Government]] from 1990 to 1993 and served as [[Premier of the Republic of China]] from 1993 to 1997, [[Vice President of the Republic of China]] from 1996 to 2000, and [[Chairman of the Kuomintang]] from 2000 to 2005.

Lien was born in China to a prominent Taiwanese family of intellectuals. After graduating from [[National Taiwan University]], he earned his doctorate in political science from the [[University of Chicago]] in 1965 and began an academic career in the United States as a professor at the [[University of Wisconsin]] and the [[University of Connecticut]]. Upon returning to Taiwan in 1968, he became a professor at [[National Taiwan University]], entered politics, and held multiple ministerial and executive offices.

During the 1990s, Lien was a close aide of President [[Lee Teng-hui]] and introduced several of Lee's constitutional reforms. He ran for the presidency on behalf of the Kuomintang twice, but lost both times in 2000 and 2004 to [[Chen Shui-bian]] of the [[Democratic Progressive Party]]. As party chairman, he was highly credited for holding a [[2005 Pan–Blue visits to mainland China|groundbreaking visit to mainland China]] to meet Chinese leader [[Hu Jintao]] in 2005, the first meeting between party leaders of the KMT and the [[CCP]] since the end of the [[Chinese Civil War]]. The event was considered significant for encouraging [[cross-strait relations]].<ref>{{cite news |date=February 25, 2013 |title=Lien Chan embarks on China visit |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2013/02/25/2003555674 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161028215113/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2013/02/25/2003555674 |archive-date=October 28, 2016 |access-date=October 28, 2016 |newspaper=[[Taipei Times]]}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
[[File:Yen Chia-kan 1964.jpg|thumb|Premier [[Yen Chia-kan]] officiates the wedding of Lien Chan  and Fang Yu]]
Lien Chan was born in [[Xi'an]], [[Shaanxi]], on August 27, 1936.{{Sfn|Cabestan|Brown|2015|p=322–323}} He was the only child of Taiwanese politician [[Lien Chen-tung]] and his wife Chao Lan-kun (趙蘭坤), the latter a graduate of [[Yenching University]] who was born to a prominent [[Manchu]] family in [[Shenyang]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=sina_mobile |date=2005-05-01 |title=连战出生西安第四医院 时称基督教广仁医院 |url=https://news.sina.cn/sa/2005-05-01/detail-ikknscsi6549189.d.html |access-date=2023-08-03 |website=news.sina.cn}}</ref> Chen-tung served as the head of the [[Ministry of the Interior (Taiwan)|Ministry of the Interior]] from 1960 to 1966 and was an advocate of promoting local autonomy and maintaining closer ties with the [[CC Clique]]. Lien's paternal grandfather, the prominent Taiwanese historian [[Lien Heng]] (1878–1936), was the author of the popular book ''[[The General History of Taiwan]].''{{Refn|Following the 1931 [[Mukden incident]] and the lead-up to the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]], Lien Heng gave Lien Chan his name "Chan" (戰), meaning "war".{{Sfn|Cabestan|Brown|2015|p=323}}|group=lower-alpha}} On his father's side, Lien Chan was descended from a prominent and wealthy merchant family from [[Tainan]], Taiwan, whose [[Ancestral home (Chinese)|ancestral home]] was located in [[Longji]].{{Sfn|Cabestan|Brown|2015|p=322}} In the early 1960s, his father became the seventh-wealthiest man in Taiwan by leveraging his connections in the [[Kuomintang]] (KMT) and speculating on land purchases.{{Sfn|Cabestan|Brown|2015|p=323}}

Lien attended the Tso-hsiu Primary School (作秀小學)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Eyton |first=Laurence |date=2000-03-14 |title=Would-be heir to whose legacy? |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/insight/archives/2000/03/14/0000027790 |access-date=2025-06-23 |website=[[The Taipei Times]]}}</ref> in Xi'an before moving with his family to Taiwan—where his father held multiple government offices—following the [[Retrocession of Taiwan]] in 1945. He then was educated at the [[Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University]] (HSNU), where he was a classmate of future politician [[Koh Se-kai]]. The two were close friends, studied together, and considered each other as "the two Taiwanese" enrolled at the school. Koh later recalled, "I was not aware of the number of differences between the Mainlander and Taiwanese students at first. Only when I started to speak in Taiwanese did I realize that none of my classmates would be able to understand me—except Lien Chan. I became aware that Lien and I were the minority".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2004-07-04 |title=Lien Chan has little-known history with independence |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2004/07/04/2003177613 |access-date=2025-06-23 |website=[[The Taipei Times]]}}</ref>

After graduating from high school, Lien studied [[political science]] at [[National Taiwan University]] and received a bachelor's degree in the subject in 1957. As an undergraduate, he was a student of Taiwanese independence activist [[Peng Ming-min]], who was a professor of political science at the university.<ref name=":0" /> After graduation, Lien completed military service at [[Fu Hsing Kang College]] and joined the Kuomintang.{{Sfn|Cabestan|Brown|2015|p=323–324}} He left Taiwan in 1959 to pursue advanced studies in the United States, earning a [[Master of Arts]] (M.A.) in [[international law]] and diplomacy in 1961 and his [[Ph.D.]] in political science in 1965, both from the [[University of Chicago]]. His master's thesis was titled, "Agrarian reform in nationalist China".<ref>{{Cite web |date=1961 |title=Agrarian reform in communist China |url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/d5ed4483b8f5e1dc7caef0aa4f01793f/1?cbl=18750&diss=y&pq-origsite=gscholar |access-date=7 November 2025 |publisher=[[Proquest]] |type=Master of Arts Thesis}}</ref> His doctoral dissertation, completed under political science professor [[Tsou Tang]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Liu |first=Qing |date=May 2020 |title=To Be an Apolitical Political Scientist: A Chinese Immigrant Scholar and (Geo)politicized American Higher Education |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/history-of-education-quarterly/article/abs/to-be-an-apolitical-political-scientist-a-chinese-immigrant-scholar-and-geopoliticized-american-higher-education/6E55AAB55E6A7F62EFE85276EDD05715 |journal=[[History of Education Quarterly]] |language=en |volume=60 |issue=2 |pages=129–155 |doi=10.1017/heq.2020.10 |issn=0018-2680|url-access=subscription }}</ref> was titled, "The criticism of Hu Shih's thought in Communist China".<ref>{{Cite web |title=The criticism of Hu Shih's thought in Communist China {{!}} WorldCat.org |url=https://search.worldcat.org/title/criticism-of-hu-shihs-thought-in-communist-china/oclc/6660192?referer=di&ht=edition |access-date=2025-04-05 |website=search.worldcat.org |language=en}}</ref>

== Academic career ==
After receiving his doctorate, Lien became an [[assistant professor]] of political science at the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]], where he taught from 1966 to 1967. He then became an assistant professor at the [[University of Connecticut]] and taught there from 1967 to 1968.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 17, 1969 |title=Minutes |url=https://digitalcommons.lib.uconn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1498&context=bot_agendas |access-date=7 November 2025 |work=Agendas and Minutes |publisher=[[University of Connecticut]] |page=4,199}}</ref> 

In 1968, Lien returned to Taiwan and joined the political science faculty at National Taiwan University, where he was a [[visiting professor]] from 1968 to 1969, then a [[full professor]] from 1969 to 1975, during which period he headed the department and was the dean of the university's graduate institute of political science.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |last2= |date=2011-12-01 |title=Mr. Lien Chan: Academic History |url=https://www.ey.gov.tw/Page/4ED2F231892187F9/0d824dbd-c544-4c39-916a-14ad0e9a06ff |access-date=2025-11-08 |website= |publisher=[[Executive Yuan]] |language=zh-tw}}</ref>

== Political career ==
His official positions included Ambassador to [[El Salvador]] (1975–1976), [[Ministry of Transportation and Communications (Taiwan)|Minister of Transportation and Communications]] (1981–1987), Vice Premier (1987–1988), Foreign Minister (1988–1990) before becoming Governor of [[Taiwan Province]] (1990–1993).<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.tpg.gov.tw/tpg/historychief.php |script-title = zh:歷任首長 |trans-title = Past Chiefs |language = zh-TW |publisher = Taiwan Provincial Gov't |website = tpg.gov.tw |access-date = February 22, 2017 |archive-date = April 8, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190408055815/http://www.tpg.gov.tw/tpg/historychief.php |url-status = dead }}</ref> In 1993 he was appointed [[Premier of the Republic of China]]. In 1996, [[Lee Teng-hui]] selected him as [[running mate]] in the presidential election. Lee and Lien won the election for the presidency and the vice-presidency respectively. Before becoming Chairman of the KMT, he was Vice Chairman (1993–2000) and a member of the Central Committee (1984–2000).

During his term in office, Lien was credited for having established National Health Insurance, which is the national health insurance policy for all citizens of the Republic of China. It ranks as one of the best national health plans in the world and modeled by other nations who seek to have a national health coverage for other citizens. He spearheaded the constructions of Cross-Island Highway (橫貫公路), a series of highways that connected the eastern side of the island to the western side of the island. Taiwan is dominated by the Central Mountain Range which cordons off the east from the west. In order to go to the eastern side from the western side, one had to circle the island to reach their destinations before the highways were constructed. After Lien constructed these highways, traffic back-and-forth between the east and west of the island was much more efficient. He also began the reconstruction to the military dependents' villages (眷村) which were temporary shelters designated for the military personnel and their families when the Kuomintang (KMT) first moved to Taiwan. There are over 879 of these military dependents' villages which housing nearly 100,000 households within. Most of this housing was temporary shelter and were constructed during the period between 1945 and 1950s to house the military personnel as the KMT retreated to Taiwan. Half a century later when it became clear that reunification with mainland China under the terms of the Republic of China would not be possible, it became obvious that the housing for the military personnel would have to be reconstructed.

Throughout Lien's term as Foreign Minister and through his premiership, about 30 countries had diplomatic relations with Republic of China (Taiwan), this was the highest number of diplomatic relations since Republic of China was expelled from the United Nations in 1972 and severed diplomatic relations with the United States in 1976. Lien also established diplomatic relations with Commonwealth of the Bahamas, Grenada, Belize, Republic of Guinea-Bissau and reestablished diplomatic relations with Kingdom of Lesotho, Republic of Liberia and the Republic of Nicaragua.

Lien also established the foundations for the Internet in Taiwan via research centers established under the National Science Council (國家科學委員會). Furthermore, he liberalized the telecommunications network which allowed for multiple players to compete and ushered in the mobile service era in the telecommunications sector. He also revised and deregulated the regulation on cable television sector that allowed for multiple players in the television and cable sectors. These policies made Taiwan the most liberal area in Asia for media.

For the purpose of developing Taiwan as an economic hub in the Asia-Pacific, Lien espoused a platform called the "Asia-Pacific Regional Operations Center" because Taiwan has two natural deep water harbors, one is Keelung and second one is Kaohsiung, shipments from all over the world would transport and transfer in these harbors before heading to Japan, Korea, China or Southeast Asia. However, due to Lee Teng-hui's (李登輝) "two-state solution" (兩國論), a theory advocated for China and Taiwan to engage in a special "state to state relationship", mainland China was deeply angered, therefore Taiwan became increasingly marginalized.

Lien took an active role as a representative of [[Lee Teng-hui]] in quasi-official diplomacy in the mid-1990s. One of the greatest moments of his career is his 1995 meeting with [[Václav Havel]], in which Lien likened the democratic reforms of the Lee Teng-hui administration as being similar to the [[Velvet Revolution]].

After the defeat of the KMT in 2000, Lien assume the leadership of the KMT. As the Chairman of the KMT, Lien vowed to learn from his loss and remake the KMT party. He held forums to discuss erasing the KMT's image as a corrupt institution and Lien promised to give up property seized by the KMT after the Japanese exodus.

The Pan-Blue reunited in the election of 2004 with Lien and Soong running on a combined ticket against DPP's Chen Shui-bian and Annette Lu. Chen Shui-bian was the incumbent and was trailing 13% behind in the polls before ballot day. Then, out of nowhere came two bullets, one barely grazing Chen's belly and another one grazing Annette Lu's knee. Immediately the DPP-control government suspended all election activities and prohibited all servicemen, policeman and security workers to return home to vote. The servicemen are typically Pan-Blue voters and number of service men affected was roughly 350,000. The DPP Secretary General of the President's office Chiou I-jen (邱義仁) immediately came out on media to announce that there was an assassination attempt on the DPP candidates Chen and Lu and accused the KMT of collaborating with the Chinese Communist Party to assassinate Taiwan's president. Lien lost that election by 0.228% margin, a mere 29,518 votes out of a total of 12,914,422 (12 million nine hundred and fourteen thousand four hundred and twenty two) ballots cast. Both Chen and Lu were released from the hospital on the same day and went to vote on the next day. Neither one had life-threatening injury nor did they lose consciousness or had a surgery. Rather, alleged assassin Chen Yi-hsiung (陳義雄) was killed and his body was found ten days later ditched into a pond near where he lives. His body was formally dressed in suite and tie and entangled in a fishnet.

This incident sparked mass riots and controversy because it was believed that the shooting was staged in order to gain sympathy votes for Chen and Lu who won by a sliver of a margin. Hence the 319 Shooting Truth Investigation Special Committee was established.

On January 31, 2008, the 319 Shooting Truth Investigation Special Committee concluded its investigation into the assassination attempt on President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), and raised questions about whether the shooting was a staged event. "We have compared all of the evidence and clues through interviews and reconstructed the scene. Although the truth of the event remains unclear, the "truth" that government publicized and the evidence don't match," committee convener Wang Ching-feng (王清峰) told reporters. The report also suggested that Chen Yi-hsiung (陳義雄), whom the authorities identified as the shooter, was murdered instead of committing suicide when he was found dead 10 days after the incident.

In 2005, after Ma was elected as KMT chairman to succeed Lien, the KMT Central Committee offered the title of "Chairman Emeritus" (Honorary Chairman) to Lien.

In December 2010, Lien was awarded the [[Confucius Peace Prize]] in China, which was instituted as a reaction to the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] awarded to [[Liu Xiaobo]]. Lien's office said to the ''Taipei Times'', "We've never heard of such an award and of course Mr Lien has no plans to accept it."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2010/12/09/2003490461 |title=Lien office denies hearing of award |newspaper=[[Taipei Times]] |date=December 26, 2012 |access-date=December 11, 2010 |archive-date=December 12, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101212202059/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2010/12/09/2003490461 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Cross-strait relations==
===April 2005 breakthrough journey to mainland China===
{{Main|2005 Pan-Blue visits to mainland China}}

[[File:Kuomintang nanjing.jpg|thumb|Lien Chan and the [[Kuomintang]] touring the [[Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum]] in [[Nanjing]]. The [[2005 Pan-Blue visits to mainland China|Pan-Blue coalition visited the mainland]] in 2005.]]

On April 26, 2005, Lien Chan traveled to [[mainland China]] to meet with the leaders of the [[Chinese Communist Party]] (CCP). His meeting with [[General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party|Communist Party general secretary]] [[Hu Jintao]] was the highest level exchange since [[Chiang Kai-shek]] and [[Mao Zedong]] met in [[Chongqing]] on August 28, 1945, to celebrate the victory in the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]] and discuss a possible truce in the impending [[Chinese Civil War]].

On April 27, Lien visited the [[Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum]] in Nanjing. On April 28, he arrived in Beijing.

On the afternoon of April 29, he met with PRC [[Paramount leader]] [[Hu Jintao]] (in his capacity as [[General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party]]).

Before meeting with Hu on April 29, Lien Chan delivered a speech at [[Peking University]], which his 96-year-old mother Chao Lan-kun attended nearly 80 years ago. On April 30, he headed to his birthplace [[Xi'an]]. He revisited [[Houzaimen Primary School]], which he attended 60 years ago. He also visited the Great Mausoleum of [[Qin Shi Huang]], China's first emperor. Early on May 1, he paid homage to his grandmother's tomb near Qingliangsi.

Later that day, Lien arrived in [[Shanghai]], where he attended a banquet hosted by Shanghai CCP Party Secretary General [[Chen Liangyu]]. On May 2, he met with [[Wang Daohan]], the 90-year-old chairman of the mainland-based [[Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits]], and the representatives of Taiwanese businesspeople. He returned to Taiwan at noon on May 3.

===October 2005 visit to Shenyang===
In October 2005, Lien made his second visit to the mainland. He visited [[Shenyang]], [[Liaoning]] to pay homage to his maternal grandmother's tomb at Lansheng Village and the school where his mother studied.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

===2006 visit to Mainland China===
[[File:Guomindang president in Beijing Yonghe gong.jpg|thumb|Lien Chan in Beijing in April 2006]]

In April 2006, Lien departed to mainland China to visit [[Fujian]]. He paid tribute to his ancestors in [[Zhangzhou]] and received an honorary doctor's degree from [[Xiamen University]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.people.com.cn/200604/21/eng20060421_260187.html |title=People's Daily Online - Lien Chan arrives in E. China province |publisher=English.people.com.cn |date=2006-04-21 |access-date=2014-05-28 |archive-date=May 12, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060512203025/http://english.people.com.cn/200604/21/eng20060421_260187.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

On April 11, 2006, Lien arrived in [[Hangzhou]], [[Zhejiang]]. He was welcomed by [[Xia Baolong]], deputy secretary of Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the [[Chinese Communist Party]] at the [[Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport]]. In Hangzhou, Lien met with provincial government leaders and visited the [[West Lake]].

Two days later, Lien visited Beijing to attend the first [[Cross-Straits Economic Trade and Culture Forum]]. Lien met with CCP general secretary [[Hu Jintao]] at the forum, where both underscored the peaceful development of relations between the two sides.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.people.com.cn/200704/27/eng20070427_370471.html |title=People's Daily Online - China's top political advisor meets Lien Chan ahead of mainland-Taiwan forum |publisher=English.people.com.cn |date=2007-04-27 |access-date=2014-05-28 |archive-date=November 6, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106170052/http://english.people.com.cn/200704/27/eng20070427_370471.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===2010 visit to Shanghai===
In April 2010, Lien visited [[Shanghai]] to attend the opening ceremony of the [[Expo 2010|Shanghai World Expo 2010]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-04/29/c_13272245.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100503043138/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-04/29/c_13272245.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2010-05-03 |title=Kuomintang Honorary Chairman Lien Chan arrives in Shanghai for World Expo |publisher=News.xinhuanet.com |date=2010-04-29 |access-date=2014-05-28 }}</ref>

===2013 visit to Beijing===
In February 2013, Lien visited Beijing to meet with [[Xi Jinping]], the newly elected [[General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party]].

Lien also met with [[Yu Zhengsheng]] (chairman-designate of the [[Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference]]), [[Wang Huning]] (member of the [[Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party|Politburo of the CCP]]), [[Li Zhanshu]] (chief of the [[General Office of the Chinese Communist Party|General Office of the CCP]]), [[Dai Bingguo]] ([[State Councilor|state councilor of the PRC]]), [[Wang Yi (politician)|Wang Yi]] (director of the [[Taiwan Affairs Office|Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council]]), [[Chen Yunlin]] and [[Zheng Lizhong]] (president and vice president of [[Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits|ARATS]]).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/china-taiwan-relations/2013/02/26/371350/China-head.htm |title=China head pledges continued peaceful cross-strait relations |newspaper=[[The China Post]] |date=2013-02-26 |access-date=2014-05-28 |archive-date=September 18, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150918223954/http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/china-taiwan-relations/2013/02/26/371350/China-head.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Lien and his wife [[Lien Fang Yu]] also visited [[Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center]] and met with [[Liu Wang]], [[Liu Yang (astronaut)|Liu Yang]] and [[Jing Haipeng]], astronauts of the [[Shenzhou 9]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013-02/27/content_16262141.htm |title=Lien Chan hails mainland aerospace achievements &#124;Politics |publisher=Chinadaily.com.cn |date=2013-02-27 |access-date=2014-05-28 |archive-date=March 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130304144809/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013-02/27/content_16262141.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

===2014 visit to Beijing===
Lien and delegates from 80 business leaders and civil group representatives, including former [[Taiwan Solidarity Union]] Chairman [[Shu Chin-chiang]], visited Beijing on 17 February to meet with [[Zhang Zhijun]], the head of [[Taiwan Affairs Office]], and on 18 February with [[Xi Jinping]], [[General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party]] [[Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party|CCP Central Committee]], at the [[Diaoyutai State Guesthouse]] for non-governmental exchanges.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://focustaiwan.tw/news/acs/201402140048.aspx |title=Lien has no specific mission on upcoming visit to China: spokesman &#124; Cross-Strait Affairs &#124; FOCUS TAIWAN - CNA ENGLISH NEWS |publisher=Focustaiwan.tw |date=2014-02-14 |access-date=2014-05-28 |archive-date=February 22, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222061120/http://focustaiwan.tw/news/acs/201402140048.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> This 3-day trip came after the invitation from the [[Chinese Communist Party]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/china-taiwan-relations/2014/02/15/400667/Lien-Chan.htm |title=Lien Chan set to meet Xi during 3-day trip to China |newspaper=The China Post |date=2014-02-15 |access-date=2014-05-28 |archive-date=February 22, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222152613/http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/china-taiwan-relations/2014/02/15/400667/Lien-Chan.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2014/03/05/2003584920 |title=TSU expels former chairman, revokes party membership |newspaper=[[Taipei Times]] |date=2014-05-22 |access-date=2014-05-28 |archive-date=March 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304194604/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2014/03/05/2003584920 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===2015 visit to Beijing===
Lien was invited to a Chinese military parade marking the end of the [[Second Sino–Japanese War]] in September 2015. During the visit, Lien asked Beijing to strongly consider supporting ROC President [[Ma Ying-jeou]]'s East China Sea Peace Initiative.

== APEC representative ==
[[File:Dmitry Medvedev at APEC Summit in Peru 22-23 November 2008-8.jpg|thumb|Lien Chan at the [[APEC Peru 2008|2008 APEC Summit in Peru]] with [[Dmitry Medvedev]].]]

Lien was selected by President [[Ma Ying-jeou]] as [[List of Chinese Taipei Representatives to APEC|special envoy]]  to represent the Republic of China (participating as [[Chinese Taipei]]) at the [[Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation]] (APEC) in 2008–2012.

While at APEC, Lien also met with Chinese Communist Party general secretary [[Hu Jintao]], the highest level of official exchange between the Mainland and Taiwan on the international stage at that time.<ref>[http://news.morningstar.com/newsnet/ViewNews.aspx?article=/DJ/200811211546DOWJONESDJONLINE000774_univ.xml] {{dead link|date=July 2022}}</ref>

== Name ==
His [[Chinese family name|family name]] is ''Lien''; his [[Chinese name|given name]] is ''Chan''. ''Chan'' means "[[battle]]s" and his full name literally means "successive battles." The name originated from Lien Heng who wrote to his pregnant daughter-in-law in [[Xi'an]]:
{{Blockquote|text=[[China]] and [[Japan]] will battle inevitably. If the child born is a [[boy]], name him Lien Chan, signifying that the strength coming from within oneself will never diminish and can overcome the enemies and be victorious. It also has the meaning of reviving the former [[nation]], reorganizing the [[light]] and [[hope]] of our [[homeland]].|source=『中、日必將一戰，如生男則名連戰，寓有自強不息，克敵制勝，有復興故國、重整家園光明希望。』}}

== Personal life<!-- Lien Chan was descended from a family of literati. His family arrived in Taiwan during the reign of Emperor Kangxi and had settled in Tainan residing in an area called Mabingying (馬兵營; "Cavalry camp"), which was the former training ground of the Zheng Chenggong forces in his campaign against the Dutch. Lien's family harvested sugar on their plantations for generations. Lien's grandmother's family were also wealthy merchants who traded camphor and sugar. Lien's mother, Chao Lan-kun, came from a wealthy Shenyang family, and is credited for having preserve the family wealth throughout the turbulent times of post-Japanese colonization. -->==
Lien married former Miss Republic of China [[Fang Yu]] in 1965, the same year he received his doctorate.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Eyton |first1=Laurence |date=14 March 2000 |title=Would-be heir to whose legacy? |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/insight/archives/2000/03/14/0000027790 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211075347/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/insight/archives/2000/03/14/0000027790 |archive-date=February 11, 2017 |access-date=8 February 2017 |newspaper=[[Taipei Times]]}}</ref> Later, in 2012, Lien served as a trustee on the [[Board of Trustees]] of the University of Chicago.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 1, 2012 |title=Honorary Trustees and Trustees Emeriti &#124; The University of Chicago |url=http://trustees.uchicago.edu/board/honorary.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301184637/http://trustees.uchicago.edu/board/honorary.shtml |archive-date=2012-03-01 |access-date=July 9, 2022}}</ref> He has two sons with Fang: [[Sean Lien]] (連勝文) and Lien Sheng-wu (連勝武). They also have two daughters: [[Arlene Lien]] (連惠心) and Lien Yung-hsin (連詠心).<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2015/11/20/2003632922|title=Lien Chan's daughter in court over 'insult' claim|newspaper=[[Taipei Times]]|date=November 20, 2015|access-date=November 20, 2015|archive-date=November 20, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151120150324/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2015/11/20/2003632922|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Selected publications ==

* {{Cite journal |last=Lien |first=Chan |date=1968 |title=Sun Yat-sen on Land Utilization |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3741814 |journal=Agricultural History |publisher=[[Duke University Press]] |volume=42 |issue=4 |pages=297–303 |jstor=3741814 |issn=0002-1482}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Lien |first=Chan |date=1968 |title=Chinese Communism versus Pragmatism: The Criticism of Hu Shih's Philosophy, 1950-1958 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2051156 |journal=[[The Journal of Asian Studies]] |publisher=[[Duke University Press]] |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=551–570 |doi=10.2307/2051156 |jstor=2051156 |issn=0021-9118}}

== See also ==
{{Portal|Biography|China|Taiwan}}
* [[Kuomintang]]
* [[Politics of the Republic of China]]
* [[Elections in the Republic of China]]
* [[History of the Republic of China]]
* [[Administrative divisions of the Republic of China]]
* [[Political status of Taiwan]]
* [[The Four Princelings of Kuomintang]]

== Footnotes ==
<references group="lower-alpha" />

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

=== Other references ===

* {{Cite book |last=Cabestan |first=Jean-Pierre |title=Berkshire Dictionary of Chinese Biography |publisher=[[Berkshire Publishing Group]] |year=2015 |isbn=9781614729006 |editor-last=Brown |editor-first=Kerry |volume=4 |pages=322–327 |chapter=Lien Chan |ref={{Harvid|Cabestan|Brown|2015}}}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Lien Chan}}
{{Wikiquote|Lien Chan}}
* [http://www.kmt.org.tw/ Official Kuomintang website]

{{s-start}}
{{s-gov}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Wang Wei-nung]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chair of [[Youth Development Administration|National Youth Commission]]|years=1978–1981}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Kao Ming-hui]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Lin Chin-sheng]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Ministry of Transportation and Communications (Taiwan)|Ministry of Transportation and Communications]]|years=1981–1987}}
{{s-aft|after={{ill|Kuo Nan-hung|zh|郭南宏}}}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Lin Yang-kang]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of vice premiers of the Republic of China|Vice Premier of the Republic of China]]|years=1987–1988}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Shih Chi-yang]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Ting Mao-shih]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Taiwan)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]|years=1988–1990}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Fredrick Chien]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Chiu Chuang-huan]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Governor of [[Taiwan Province]]|years=1990–1993}}
{{s-aft|after=[[James Soong]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Hau Pei-tsun]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Premier of the Republic of China]]|years=1993–1997}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Vincent Siew]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Li Yuan-zu]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Vice President of the Republic of China]]|years=1996–2000}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Annette Lu]]}}
|-
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|rows=2|before=[[Lee Teng-hui]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Kuomintang]] nominee for [[President of the Republic of China]]|years=[[2000 Taiwan presidential election|2000]], [[2004 Taiwan presidential election|2004]]}}
{{s-aft|rows=2|after=[[Ma Ying-jeou]]}}
|-
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of leaders of the Kuomintang|Leader of the Kuomintang]]|years=2000–2005}}
{{s-end}}

{{2000 presidential election candidates, Republic of China}}
{{Vice Presidents of the Republic of China}}
{{ROCPMs}}
{{ROCVPMs}}
{{KMTleaders}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lien, Chan}}
[[Category:1936 births]]
[[Category:Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University alumni]]
[[Category:Chairpersons of the Kuomintang]]
[[Category:Chairpersons of the Taiwan Provincial Government]]
[[Category:Cheng Kung Senior High School alumni]]
[[Category:Refugees of the Chinese Civil War]]
[[Category:Kuomintang presidential nominees]]
[[Category:Lien Heng family]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:National Taiwan University alumni]]
[[Category:Politicians from Xi'an]]
[[Category:Premiers of the Republic of China on Taiwan]]
[[Category:Vice premiers of the Republic of China on Taiwan]]
[[Category:Republic of China politicians from Shaanxi]]
[[Category:Ministers of foreign affairs of Taiwan]]
[[Category:Ministers of transportation and communications of Taiwan]]
[[Category:Taiwanese people from Shaanxi]]
[[Category:Taiwanese politicians of Hakka descent]]
[[Category:University of Chicago alumni]]
[[Category:Vice presidents of the Republic of China on Taiwan]]
[[Category:Taiwanese people from Liaoning]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Chiang Chung-Cheng]]