Professor Kao-wen Mao, Former Chairman of the Foundation, has Passed Away

The Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation is grieved to announce that its former Chairman, Kao-wen Mao, passed away on October 28 at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital. He was 83 years old.

Chairman Mao graduated from National Taiwan University in 1960 with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering, and earned his doctorate at Carnegie-Mellon University in 1970. His extensive experience in the field of higher education includes serving as Dean of the College of Engineering at National Tsing Hua University, President of the National Taiwan Institute of Technology, and President of National Tsing Hua University. Chairman Mao also earned a reputation as an able administrator during his tenure as Minister of Education and Vice-President of the Examination Yuan. A skilled diplomat, he served his country as Ambassador to the Republic of Costa Rica.

Chairman Mao dedicated himself to the Foundation, which was established in 1989 in memory of the outstanding achievements of the late President of the Republic of China, Chiang Ching-kuo (1910-1988). Chairman Mao was Minister of Education during preparations for the Foundation’s formal establishment, providing invaluable assistance in overcoming numerous obstacles and working with Taiwan’s intellectual elites in promoting programs covering Chinese Studies and the Taiwan Experience. His unstinting efforts helped ensure the Foundation’s sterling reputation as a leading scholarly organization devoted to the promotion of grant and fellowship programs worldwide based on objective academic principles. Chairman Mao was a Member of the Foundation’s first Board of Directors, and became its Chairman in June 2010, serving until December 2018.

During Chairman Mao’s leadership, his vision helped the Foundation continue with the successful promotion of its programs, especially in the area of Cross-Strait ties, by setting up links to the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation as well as staging a series of camps that have proved highly successful in sparking intellectual exchanges among doctoral students and other young scholars. In addition, Chairman Mao’s tenure was marked by the founding in July 2014 of the European Research Center on Contemporary Taiwan – A CCK Foundation Overseas Center at Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen (CCKF-ERCCT), while work on the Ching-kuo Chi-Hai Cultural Park and the Chiang Ching-kuo Library has made steady progress. When completed, these two projects will not only preserve materials dedicated to the memory of Former President Chiang Ching-kuo, but will also promote his vision of democratization and economic development, thereby transmitting the essence of Chinese cultural heritage.

Through the years, the Foundation’s development into a prestigious academic organization has benefitted immensely from Chairman Mao’s dedication and skilled leadership. The Foundation mourns his passing, while cherishing his distinguished record of achievement.