Shen Lyu-shun

Shen Lyu-shun
沈呂巡
ROC Representative to the United States
In office 1 April 2014 – 5 June 2016
Preceded by	King Pu-tsung
Succeeded by	Stanley Kao
ROC Representative to the United Kingdom
In office 15 December 2011 – 31 March 2014
Preceded by	Katharine Chang
Succeeded by	Liu Chih-kung
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 21 October 2009 – 15 December 2011
Minister	Timothy Yang
ROC Representative to the European Union and Belgium
In office 2008–2009
Preceded by	Michael Kau
Succeeded by	David Lin
ROC Deputy Representative to the United States
In office 1999–2003
Representative	Stephen S.F. Chen Chen Chien-jen
Succeeded by	Michael Tsai
Personal details
Born	(1949-11-12) 12 November 1949 Taipei, Taiwan
Nationality	Republic of China
Political party	Kuomintang
Alma mater	National Chung Hsing University University of Pennsylvania

Shen Lyu-shun (born 12 November 1949; Chinese: 沈呂巡; pinyin: Shěn Lǚxún) is a Taiwanese diplomat. He served as the representative of the Republic of China to the United States from 2014 to 2016.

Early life

Born in 1949 in Taipei, Taiwan,^[1] Shen is a sixth generation descendant of famous Qing dynasty official Shen Baozhen.^[2] He obtained his bachelor's degree in law from National Chung Hsing University in 1972. He then continued his study in international relations at the University of Pennsylvania in the United States where he obtained his master's degree in 1979 and doctoral degree in 1981.

Representative to the United States

Shen was named the ROC representative to the United States in March 2014, and made his first official trip there on 1 April.^[3]

35th anniversary of Taiwan Relations Act

Speaking at United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., United States (U.S.) on 7 May 2014, Shen lauded Taiwan's ability in playing greater role in the U.S. pivot to Asia and helping maintain regional peace for the benefit for all. He added that closer Taiwan-United States relations and improved cross-strait relations would create a win-win outcome for Taiwan, the U.S. and Mainland China. Shen made the address during an event organized by Atlantic Council which was partly done to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act.^[4]

Donation to fight Ebola

On 4 December 2014, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of China, Shen donated US$1 million to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Foundation to fight Ebola virus disease in West Africa. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taiwan also donated medical protective gear, coveralls and surgical masks through a cooperation program with the U.S.^[5]

ROC flag-raising at Twin Oaks

On 1 January 2015, the flag of the Republic of China was raised at Twin Oaks in Washington, D.C. reportedly for the first time since the end of diplomatic relations in 1979.^[6] Shen attended the ceremony,^[7] and later stated that the U.S. was not told in advance that it would occur.^[8] The People's Republic of China lodged a protest with the U.S. over the incident, but Shen defended the flag-raising as having occurred due to "precedent," as the flag was raised during Double Ten Day celebrations in 2014.^[9] It was later reported that U.S. government officials asked president Ma Ying-jeou to replace Shen.^[10]

Shen submitted his resignation to Ma on 15 April 2016, but it was not approved until 26 May, after Tsai Ing-wen had taken office.^[11]

References

China's Ambassadors to the U.S.
Qing ministers to the U.S. 1875–1912	Chen Lanbin 1875–81 Zheng Zaoru 1881–85 Zhang Yinheng 1885–89 Cui Guoyin 1889–93 Yang Yu 1893–96 Wu Tingfang 1896–1902 Liang Cheng 1902–07 Wu Tingfang 1907–09 Zhang Yintang 1909–11 Alfred Sao-ke Sze 1911–12
ROC's envoys to the U.S. 1912–35	Zhang Yintang 1912–13 Xia Xiefu 1913–15 V. K. Wellington Koo 1915–20 Alfred Sao-ke Sze 1920–29 Wu Chaoshu 1929–31 Yan Huiqing 1931–33 Alfred Sao-ke Sze 1933–35
ROC's ambassadors to the U.S. 1935–79	Alfred Sao-ke Sze 1935–36 Wang Zhengting 1936–38 Hu Shih 1938–42 Wei Tao-ming 1942–46 Wellington Koo 1946–56 Hollington Tong 1956–58 George Yeh 1958–61 Tsiang Tingfu 1961–65 Zhou Shukai 1965–71 James Shen 1971–79
ROC's representatives to the U.S. 1979–present	Konsin Shah 1979–81 Cai Weiping 1981–82 Frederick Chien 1982–88 Ting Mao-shih 1988–94 Benjamin Lu 1994–96 Jason Hu 1996–97 Stephen S.F. Chen 1997–2000 Chen Chien-jen 2000–04 David Lee 2004–07 Joseph Wu 2007–08 Jason Yuan 2008–12 King Pu-tsung 2012–14 Shen Lyu-shun 2014–2016 Stanley Kao 2016–
Chiefs of the PRC Liaison Office in the U.S. 1973–79	Huang Zhen 1973–77 Chai Zemin 1978–79
PRC's ambassadors to the U.S. 1979–present	Chai Zemin 1979–82 Zhang Wenjin 1983–85 Han Xu 1985–89 Zhu Qizhen 1989–93 Li Daoyu 1993–98 Li Zhaoxing 1998–2001 Yang Jiechi 2001–05 Zhou Wenzhong 2005–10 Zhang Yesui 2010–13 Cui Tiankai 2013–present