Joseph Wu

Infobox Officeholder
name = Joseph Wu,
honorific-suffix = Ph.D.
nationality = ROC-TW


caption = Joseph Wu
order = 5^th Head of TECRO
term_start = April 10, 2007
term_end =
predecessor = David Lee
successor =
order2 =
term_start2 =
term_end2 =
predecessor2 =
successor2 =
birth_date = birth date and age|1954|10|31
birth_place = Changhua County, Taiwan
death_date =
death_place =
constituency =
party = DPP
spouse =
alma_mater = National Chengchi University
University of Missouri
Ohio State University
occupation = Politician
profession = Political scientist
religion =


footnotes =

Joseph Chao-hsieh Wu (zh-tpw|t=吳釗燮|p=Wú Zhāoxiè|w=Wú Chāo-hsièh; born 1954) is currently the chief representative of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to the United States as the head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington, D.C.. He was appointed to that position in mid-April 2007 by President Chen Shui-bian to succeed his predecessor, David Lee.

Educational background

Prior to entering politics, he was an academic political scientist, finishing his Ph.D. in political science in 1989 at Ohio State University. He wrote papers critical of the PRC while in the United States. He served as a teacher and research assistant in the political science department of Ohio State University in the United States, and as deputy director of the Institute of International Relations of National Chengchi University in Taiwan.

Rise in politics

Formerly the Deputy Secretary General of the Presidential Office for President Chen Shui-bian, Wu was appointed the chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council of the Republic of China (Taiwan), the body charged with coordinating relations with the People's Republic of China (PRC), by Chen in May 2004.

His appointment as Chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council proved somewhat controversial due to his reputation as a supporter of Taiwan independence, especially in light of the simultaneous appointment as foreign minister of former independence activist Mark Chen.

In 2007, Wu became the first non-Kuomintang representative of the ROC to the United States.