# Joseph Wu

Joseph Wu Jaushieh (Chinese: 吳釗燮; pinyin: Wú Zhāoxiè; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Ngô͘ Chiau-siat; born October 31, 1954) is a Taiwanese political scientist and diplomat currently serving as secretary-general of the National Security Council since 2024. He was formerly the foreign minister from 2018 to 2024 and secretary-general to the presidential office of Tsai Ing-wen from 2017 to 2018.
Wu graduated from National Chengchi University, and completed advanced studies in the United States at the University of Missouri and Ohio State University, where he earned a PhD. From 2007 to 2008, he was Chief Representative of Taiwan to the United States as the head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington, D.C., having been appointed to that position by President Chen Shui-bian to succeed his predecessor, David Lee, who was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. On February 26, 2018, he succeeded Lee in that role as well.

## Education

Prior to entering politics, he was a political scientist. He earned his Ph.D. in political science in 1989 at Ohio State University. He wrote his dissertation on progress and obstacles in Taiwan's democratization. He was as a faculty member in the political science department of Ohio State University and was deputy director of the Institute of International Relations of National Chengchi University in Taiwan.

## Career

Formerly the Deputy Secretary General of the Presidential Office for President Chen Shui-bian, Wu was appointed the chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council, the body charged with coordinating relations with mainland China (the People's Republic of China), 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. His tenure as head of TECRO lasted one year and three months.

## Cross-strait relations

On April 11, 2013, the ROC Cabinet approved a bill to establish a Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) branch office in mainland China and an Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) office in Taiwan. Wu - who was once the ROC Minister of Mainland Affairs Council - said that for the ARATS office to be established in Taiwan, it would need to have three prerequisites: the office should never evolve to become like the PRC Liaison Office in Hong Kong; the office's mandate must be clearly defined; and the officers must adhere to international diplomatic regulations.
In May 2021, he became the first person listed on the “diehard supporters of Taiwan independence” blacklist proposed by the Chinese government.
On November 5, 2021, Wu was sanctioned by the Taiwan Affairs Office of the People's Republic of China for "fanning up hostility across the Taiwan Strait and maliciously smearing the mainland".

## Honors

* 2024 Order of Brilliant Star with Special Grand Cordon

## Publications
### Articles

* Defending Taiwan by Defending Ukraine, Foreign Affairs, May 9, 2024
* Strong US-Taiwanese ties needed to counter rising Chinese influence in the Pacific, The Hill, October 9, 2019 (co-authored with Cory Gardner)