Chih-Ping Chen

Chih-Ping Chen (陳質平; pinyin: Chēn Zhìpíng) (1906-1984) was a student activist, military officer, statesman, and diplomat for the Republic of China from the 1920s through the mid-1970s. He served in student actions during the establishment of the Republic; was in charge of the building and operations of the Burma Road during World War II; represented the Republic of China in Burma, India, the Philippines, Iraq, Jordan, the Arab Federation (or Arab Union), Libya, and Mexico; and was a Chief Delegate for China in eight annual United Nations General Assemblies. At the time of his passing, he held three positions as a member of the Central Committee of the Kuomintang, Advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and National Security Advisor to the President.

Chen was born in Wenchang, Hainan, China, to a scholar-gentry family. His father, Ming-Tso Chen, had passed the juren level of the Chinese Imperial Civil Service Examinations. However, at the age of twelve, Chen's parents and grandmother died due to illness. Distraught, he ran away to Singapore, enduring a becalmed sailing ship journey in the South China Sea. Living with relatives in Singapore, he learned English at secondary school. He subsequently received his bachelor's degree from the National Central University in Nanjing, China.

In 1933, after being a professor of Law at the National Henan University, Chen became the assistant dean at the Shanghai Police Training School. In the next year, he became a counselor in the Military Affairs Commission.

At the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, he was appointed the Director of the South-West Transportation Administration in Singapore. This led to becoming the Director of the China-Burma Transportation Administration based in Yangon. In both positions, he was charged with the supervision of the construction and operation of the 717 mile (1,154 km.) Yunnan-Burma Road (known as the Burma Road), through which China received the bulk of supplies in its fight against the Japanese during World War II until 1942. All ports on the coast of China had been taken by the Japanese, so the Burma Road was the only over-land route available to China.

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