Chen Wen-chen

Chen Wen-chen (; 30 January 1950 – 2 July 1981), sometimes romanized as Chen Wen-cheng, was a Taiwanese mathematician. He was an assistant professor of mathematics (specializing in probability and statistics) at Carnegie Mellon University who died under mysterious circumstances. After the conclusion of his third year of teaching, he returned to his native Taiwan for a vacation. He was instructed not to leave Taiwan on his scheduled departure date. Members of Taiwan's secret police, the Garrison Command, detained and interrogated him for twelve hours on 2 July 1981, and his body was found on the campus of National Taiwan University the next day. The subsequent autopsy reported his death was due to a fall. and the Garrison Command maintains it had nothing to do with his death. In 2020, the Transitional Justice Commission released a report concluding that Chen was most likely killed by state security agencies.

Personal life Chen was one of eight children and was outspoken and straightforward, according to his brother. He was known to have criticized the Kuomintang (KMT)-led government in private conversations and advocated for Taiwan independence, raising funds to help those imprisoned in the wake of the Kaohsiung Incident as well as in support for Formosa Magazine, which opposed the KMT's one-party rule.

Detainment and death After his mother visited him in 1981 and assuaged his concerns about safely traveling to Taiwan, He applied for the exit permit required to return to the US upon arrival, but it had not been granted by the time he was scheduled to depart on 1 July 1981. Typically, exit permits are granted within 48 hours.

Instead, Chen was questioned by Garrison Command for two hours about his United States activities on 30 June 1981, After the first interview, Chen was told he should receive the exit permit the next day. but Teng was unable to remember critical details later. which is said to be a trick to keep murdered souls moving to the underworld.

Chen's case was among many instances of KMT surveillance in the United States which was acted on by the Taiwan Garrison Command when the subject of the investigation returned to Taiwan. and claimed the interview was "cordial and friendly." Chen's family stated that it would have been impossible for Chen to commit suicide, Carnegie Mellon's president, Richard Cyert further stated that he had plenty of reasons to live, with a one-year-old son and a promising academic career. In late July, the Taipei district prosecutor's office allowed the possibility the death may have been an accident instead of suicide, opening the possibility of further investigation if new information or evidence became available. The Control Yuan later backed further away from suicide allegations, stating "the death was most likely accidental" in August 1981.

Garrison Command officials contend Chen confessed to seditious acts during his return to Taiwan, soliciting funds to support the anti-government Formosa Magazine They confronted him with photocopies of letters he had written to Shih Ming-teh while Shih was imprisoned.

CMU President Cyert wrote a letter to Chiang Ching-kuo, who then promised a complete investigation into Chen's death. Cyert later pressed for State Department once it became clear the KMT-led government had no intention of uncovering the true culprits. Chen Su-jen would later testify at a congressional hearing in October 1981.

Autopsies Preliminary autopsy results by Taiwan authority stated Chen had suffered thirteen broken ribs, a broken pubis and three fractured vertebrae. Wecht traveled to Taipei with Morris H. DeGroot, chair of the CMU statistics department in September 1981 to launch their own investigation. Wecht concluded, following a visual examination, and later published in The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology that Chen was murdered, However, no action was taken by the Taiwan government.

Tina Chou , an American reporter with the Associated Press, had her press credentials revoked by Taiwan's Government Information Office after reporting the results of Wecht's investigation. To protest the government's insufficient investigation, Chen's family refused to inter his body, and the funeral was not held until 7 January 1982.

"Professional students" While he was a student at Michigan, Chen approached the school newspaper, The Michigan Daily, with a list of alleged secret agents of the Kuomintang government working at Michigan. a "professional student" is understood to be one who reports on pro-independence students and faculty to the Taiwan government in addition to their studies.

US Representative Jim Leach (R-IA) accused Taiwanese students of reporting Chen's activities to KMT authorities in July 1981, and Representative Stephen Solarz (D-NY) held a subcommittee hearing in July 1981 where similar accusations were made. One year after Chen's death, student spying activity on the CMU campus was judged to have ceased.

Legacy

Memorials

Carnegie Mellon and National Taiwan University have both held memorial services on the anniversary of Chen's death. Chen's father tried to set up a scholarship in Chen's name, but was denied permission by the government.

A memorial to Chen was officially inaugurated on February 2, 2021, on the National Taiwan University campus, the culmination of an effort initiated in 2011 when the Dr. Chen Wen-chen Foundation sent a letter to the president of the university requesting the creation of the memorial. The letter never received a response, but it was brought up the next year at a student assembly meeting, where it was referred to the Gallery of NTU History. In 2014, students at NTU successfully lobbied to rename the campus square where Chen's body was found as a memorial space, and a design contest was held in 2016 to increase student and public awareness of Chen's death. As construction was to begin on the memorial in 2019, NTU president Kuan Chung-ming withdrew the university's half of the funds for the memorial, but the Foundation along with NTU student groups and mathematics department were able to raise sufficient funds ($11 million NTD) in the next three months. The university ended up agreeing to provide $1 million NTD in February 2020, and construction began in July 2020. On June 19, 2021, NTU faculty, staff, and student representatives voted and approved a proposal to include a plaque commemorating Chen at the memorial site.

The memorial at National Taiwan University is in front of the staircase where Chen's body was found. They had hoped that when Chen Shui-bian was elected, the investigation would be reopened, but were disappointed.

Formosa Betrayed The events surrounding Chen's death as well as the murder of Henry Liu inspired the film Formosa Betrayed.

Later investigation In 2006, the Taipei prosecutor's office stated that missing evidence and personnel were hampering any further investigations. The investigations were criticized for not taking a fresh look at the existing evidence, questioning the motivation behind reopening the case. On 5 May 2020, the Transitional Justice Commission released a report that found that Chen was most likely killed by state security agents.