Ketty W. Chen

Country Representative, Taiwan

Dr. Ketty W. Chen is the Country Representative of the Taiwan Office. Ketty brings in senior leadership, academic, non-government organization and political party experience to NDI. Prior to joining NDI, she served as the Vice President of the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD) from 2016 to 2023. During her tenure at TFD, she was responsible for overseeing international cooperation, grants, fellowship and establishing global collaborating on democratic promotion for TFD. Ketty also served as the Chairperson of Liberal International’s Human Rights Committee’s Women’s Rights Working Group from 2014 to 2016. She is a member of the Asia-Pacific Liberal Women’s Association. Dr. Chen is a member of the National Bureau of Asian Research’s board of advisors and also an expert associate to Australia National University’s National Security College. 

Ketty is a political scientist by training and received her doctoral degree in political science from the University of Oklahoma, specializing in comparative politics, democratization, international relations and political philosophy. Dr. Chen also holds two Master’s degrees in political science and international relations from the University of Oklahoma and obtained her Bachelor’s degree in political science and psychology from the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Her contributed chapters appeared in “Taiwan’s Social Movements Under Ma Ying-jeou” and “Cities Unsilenced.” Dr. Chen’s most recent work was published in “Taiwan in Dynamic Transition: Nation Building and Democratization” in 2020. Her most recent article "Combating Beijing's Sharp Power - Taiwan's Democracy Under Fire" was published in the July 2022 issue of the Journal of Democracy. Her most recent contribution in the edited book, "Defending Democracy in an Age of Sharp Power” on how Taiwan fights disinformation from the PRC was published in 2023. 

Ketty currently lives in Taipei, Taiwan with her husband and Formosa Mountain dog “Hanji”, which means “Sweet Potato” in Taiwanese

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