Chester Chou

In this Chinese name, the family name is Chou.

Chou Wan-lai (traditional Chinese: 周萬來; simplified Chinese: 周万来; pinyin: Zhōu Wànlái; born 12 October 1951), also known by his English name Chester Chou, is a Taiwanese politician. He was the deputy secretary-general of the Legislative Yuan from 1999 to 2014.^[1] He was appointed as the secretary-general of the Legislative Yuan in 2024 by Yuan President Han Kuo-yu.

Chou Wan-lai
周萬來
Official portrait, 2024
20th Secretary-General of Legislative Yuan
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 February 2024
President	Han Kuo-yu
Deputy	Chang Yu-jung
Preceded by	Lin Chih-chia
Member of the Examination Yuan
In office 1 September 2014 – 31 August 2020
President	Wu Jin-lin
4th Deputy Secretary-General of Legislative Yuan
In office 1 March 1999 – 31 August 2014
President	Wang Jin-pyng
Secretary-General	Lin Hsi-shan
Succeeded by	Wang Chuan-chong
Personal details
Born	12 October 1951 (1951-10-12) (age 74) Dalin, Chiayi County, Taiwan
Education	National Taiwan University (BA, MA)

Early life and education

Chou was born in Dalin Township, Chiayi County, on 12 October 1951. His father worked as a technician at the Dalin Sugar Refinery. After graduating from Chiayi County High School, he attended National Taiwan University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in political science in 1974 and a master's degree in political science in 1976.^[2]

Early career

Chou started to work for the Legislative Yuan on 5 July 1976. He spent years in parliamentary affairs, serving under five premiers and seven secretaries-general. In 1989, he was promoted to be the chief of the Parliamentary Affairs section. In 1999, the section was upgraded to the Parliamentary Affairs Office, and he was promoted to become the director and consultant.^[3]