Alfred Chen

Alfred Chen studied foreign languages at Tamkang University before attending the University of San Francisco.[1]

Namchow Group was established in 1952 as a chemical manufacturing company specializing in soapmaking.[2] After Chen Rong-gong stepped aside, his eldest son Alfred Chen assumed control of the company. Nanchow diversified into the manufacturing of frozen dough, cookies, noodles, and cooking oil. It also imported Häagen-Dazs and Kellogg's products.[3] Namchow owns the Duroyal brand, and manufactured ice cream for FamilyMart.[4] The company also supplied oil to McDonald's and MOS Burger in Taiwan.[5]

Under Alfred Chen's leadership, in 1991, Namchow opened its first factory in Thailand.[6] In 2003, Namchow opened its first Dian Shui Lou restaurant specializing in Jiangzhe cuisine, which later became a chain restaurant.[7] In 2004, Namchow opened a Russian restaurant in Taipei.[3] In 2008, the company announced plans to produce food and beverages for a wide range of franchise businesses.[2] In 2011, Chen planned to sell off the company's land in Datong District, Taipei, because much of the property became unused after operations were shifted to Taoyuan in 1992.[8]

During the 2014 Taiwan food scandal, Chen urged the government to bring the nation's food safety standards in line with international norms.[9] Government agencies subsequently discovered that documentation Namchow submitted for customs review had labeled batches of its imported oil as industrial cooking oil.[10] Chen claimed that mistakes were made on the forms,[11] and the Taipei City Government's Department of Health fined Namchow NT$30 million.[12] FamilyMart subsequently announced that it would no longer sell ice cream manufactured by Namchow.[13] Namchow products were quickly pulled from shelves, and an investigation showed that the company met safety standards.[14]

In 2016, Namchow signed a memorandum of understanding with the Metal Industries Research and Development Centre in a bid to expand into the cosmetics sector.[15] In 2018, Namchow Food Group (Shanghai) Company, a subsidiary of Namchow Group, began exploring the possibility of an initial public offering on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.[16][17]

Alfred Chen accepted a nomination from the People First Party, and was placed on its party list for the 2001 legislative elections. For running as a PFP candidate, Chen was expelled from the Kuomintang.[18] Following the withdrawal of at-large legislator Liu Sung-pan from the People First Party, Chen was appointed to the Legislative Yuan.[19][20] He took office on 14 September 2004,[1] and completed Liu's term, through 31 January 2005.