Chang Chia-juch (Chinese: 張家祝; pinyin: Zhāng Jiāzhù; born 25 June 1950 in Shanghai) is a Taiwanese politician who was the Minister of Economic Affairs of Taiwan from 2013 to 2014.[2][3][4]

Chang Chia-juch
張家祝
Minister of Economic Affairs of the Republic of China
In office
18 February 2013 – 10 August 2014
DeputyFrancis Liang
Woody Duh
ViceWoody Duh, Cho Shih-chao
Cho Shih-chao, Shen Jong-chin
Preceded byShih Yen-shiang
Succeeded byWoody Duh
Vice Minister of Transportation and Communications of the Republic of China
In office
1995–2005
MinisterTsai Chao-yang
Lin Fong-cheng[1]
Yeh Chu-lan
Lin Ling-san
Kuo Yao-chi
Personal details
Born25 June 1950 (1950-06-25) (age 74)
Shanghai, China
NationalityRepublic of China
Political partyKuomintang
EducationNational Cheng Kung University (BS)
San Jose State University (MS)
Purdue University (PhD)

Early life and education

edit

A native of Shanghai, Chang obtained his bachelor's degree in civil engineering from National Cheng Kung University. He continued his master's degree in the same field from San Jose State University in the United States and his doctoral degree in transportation engineering from Purdue University.

ROC Economic Affairs Ministry

edit

Longmen nuclear power plant

edit

In mid April 2013, commenting on Taiwan's fourth nuclear power plant construction, Chang said that the power plant has undergone rigorous integration and testing, therefore it is inappropriate to call the plant as an "assembled car". He added that the MOEA has created a team to inspect the overall system of the plant over the next six months to end the controversy.[5]

Electric vehicle industry

edit

Speaking at an automotive trade show in mid April 2013, Chang spoke about Taiwan's young electric vehicle industry. In the midst of growing world oil price and rising environmental awareness, he said that the MOEA is currently considering efforts to lower the cost of manufacturing, marketing and distributing electric vehicles to general public.

However, he acknowledged the current stumbling blocks for common usage of electric vehicle, especially on the current technology and availability of the charging stations around Taiwan.[6]

2013 H7N9 flu virus outbreak

edit

In end of April 2013 during the H7N9 flu virus outbreak, citing from the research result from Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, Chang warned that if this outbreak continues for three months, Taiwan's GDP forecast will drop by 0.004%. The flu will also hit Taiwan's consumption, production and export-related sectors if the outbreak gets worse. To mitigate this situation, Chang said that the MOEA has prepared a special task force to monitor the ongoing situation, and they will aim to be well-prepared to prevent the disease from spreading further.[7]

Taiwan's Q1 2013 economic growth

edit

Commenting on Taiwan's Q1 2013 lower-than-expected 1.54% economic growth at Legislative Yuan in end of April 2013, Chang said the MOEA will continue to promote policies to strengthen Taiwan's export and domestic investment. He also reassure people to be more optimistic on the annual GDP growth, because low GDP growth in Q1 doesn't mean low GDP growth in the remaining quarters in the same year.[8]

2014 APEC Ministerial meeting

edit

In mid May 2014 during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial meeting in Qingdao, Shandong, Chang had a meeting with PRC Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng. Chang asked the Mainland China side to give a pragmatic response to the key problems that are the challenges to the singing of the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement between the two sides, in which those problems are linked primarily to the industrial sectors. Gao promised that the Mainland side will continue their internal coordination and reiterated Beijing's effort to promote a win-win condition for cross-strait exchanges.[9]

References

edit
  1. ^ "人物誌 - LIN, FONG-CHENG 林豐正". Etaiwannews.com. Archived from the original on 2014-05-02. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
  2. ^ "Chang Chia-juch resignation accepted 'with reluctance' | Taiwan News | 2014-08-10 00:00:00". Archived from the original on 2014-08-12. Retrieved 2014-08-10.
  3. ^ "CAL 747 crashes with 225 aboard." Taipei Times. 26 May 2002.
  4. ^ "Ministry of Economic Affairs,R.O.C. - Office". Moea.gov.tw. 2014-02-13. Archived from the original on 2014-07-19. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
  5. ^ "Top Nuke 4 officials invite media to tour facility, guarantee safety". The China Post. 2013-04-14. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
  6. ^ "Public sector should subsidize electric vehicle industry: official". The China Post. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
  7. ^ "Minister cautious on H7N9's impact". Taipei Times. 2014-05-13. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
  8. ^ "MOEA says trade promotions could boost economy". Taipei Times. 2014-05-13. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
  9. ^ "Minister urges China to be 'pragmatic' on trade". Taipei Times. 2014-05-13. Retrieved 2014-05-19.