Chen Wen-chen
Chen Wen-chen was an assistant professor of mathematics at Carnegie Mellon University who died on 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, 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. Chen's death and the earlier massacre of Lin Yi-hsiung's family are cited as late examples of White Terror dissident suppression activities in Taiwan, although the case remains unsolved 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 -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.Academic career
Chen graduated with a B.S. in mathematics from National Taiwan University in 1972 and served in the military, fulfilling his compulsory service. He left Taiwan for the United States in 1975, earning M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in statistics from the University of Michigan, with Professor Bruce Hill stating that he was "outstanding... the best that I'd seen in statistics in 21 years." Upon graduating from Michigan, he joined the faculty in the Department of Statistics of Carnegie Mellon University in the fall of 1978. He published several papers in the area of statistics and probability.Detainment and death
After his mother visited him in 1981 and assuaged his concerns about safely traveling to Taiwan, Chen returned to Taiwan for the first time since he had left in 1975, arriving on with his wife and son. 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. Typically, exit permits are granted within 48 hours.Instead, Chen was questioned by Garrison Command for two hours about his United States activities on, with one question about a personal visit revealing that he had been spied upon. After the first interview, Chen was told he should receive the exit permit the next day. Chen's wife, Chen Su-jen, received a phone call late in the afternoon of asking that Chen remain at home early the next morning to await another phone call from the Entrance and Exit Bureau. On the morning of, officials from Garrison Command showed up at their door and Chen was taken for interrogation, which lasted more than 12 hours. Garrison Command state he was released to return to his brother's apartment, but his body was discovered on the campus of NTU the next morning. A family friend, Teng Wei-hsiang, has claimed that Chen visited him on the evening of after the second interview, where Chen reportedly said he was afraid of being imprisoned, but Teng was unable to remember critical details later. Reportedly, there was some money tucked into his shoe, which is said to be a trick to keep murdered souls moving to the underworld.
Investigations
In the initial days following the discovery of Chen's body, Taiwan Garrison Commander-in-chief General Wang Ching-hsu speculated that Chen committed suicide, fearing arrest for his unpatriotic crimes, and claimed the interview was "cordial and friendly." Garrison Command spokesman General Hsu Mei-ling echoed the accusations of suicide, adding that they did not believe his activities did not reach a criminal level. Chen's family stated that it would have been impossible for Chen to commit suicide, as it was uncharacteristic of his nature. Chen Su-jen was immediately suspicious of several wounds which seemed atypical of a fall. 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 and attempting to establish democratic reforms. They confronted him with photocopies of letters he had written to Shih Ming-teh while Shih was imprisoned. Wiretap records released in 2020 revealed that the Garrison Command became aware of Chen through a tapped conversation with Shih, and labeled him as a "traitor" on the basis of that conversation.
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 and congressional investigations 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. Cyril Wecht, a forensic pathologist and a former coroner, stated the autopsy report was incomplete and offered to perform another autopsy. 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, "both the location of the body and the pattern of injuries are consonant with the explanation that Chen's body was held in as horizontal position over the railing of the fire escape and dropped onto the ground below." 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.
"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. Although the Daily did not run a story at the time, the issue of "professional students" with KMT sponsorship became more visible following Chen's death; 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 accused Taiwanese students of reporting Chen's activities to KMT authorities in July 1981, and Representative Stephen Solarz held a subcommittee hearing in July 1981 where similar accusations were made. Leach asked the U.S. Attorney General to take positive steps to combat spying, including determining whether or not the use of "professional students" violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act. One year after Chen's death, student spying activity on the CMU campus was judged to have ceased.
James Soong, then the head of the Taiwan Government Information Office, flatly denied student spying allegations. Ma Ying-jeou has been accused numerous times of being a "professional student", later filing suit over allegations made that he was a "professional student" at a memorial rally for Chen.