From East to West

The following sections are included:

• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction
• Foreword I
• Foreword II
• Foreword III
• Foreword IV
• Foreword V

My ancestors came from Shao-An County, Fujian Province, China. I was the 15^th generation to be born in Wu Chuan Tsun, Ta Yuan Township, Tao Yuan County, Taiwan in 1939. My grandfather, Kun-hao Lee, married my grandmother, Cha Chen, and gave birth to my father, Wan-cheng Lee, who married my mother, Chu-mei Chang. There are four boys and three girls in my family and I am the oldest…

In the summer of 1952, all of my relatives and friends congratulated me on my success in passing the entrance exam to Chien Kuo Junior High School (C.K. High), Taipei. It was a big deal since I was only the second one, in the history of my elementary school, to be admitted to C.K. High. All my relatives had great expectations for me because I was the first person to gain admission to such a good school since my family migrated to Taiwan. The pressure to succeed became a heavy burden on me…

In high school, my biggest aspiration was to study chemical engineering or chemistry. When I graduated from the senior high in 1958, I was admitted to the Department of Chemical Engineering at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) in Tainan, Taiwan without taking the entrance exams. However, because Tainan was too far away from my home, I gave up the opportunity and decided to take the Joint Entrance Exam for the university instead. Unfortunately, the Minister of Education at that time, Dr. Chen-hsing Yen, who supported the idea of education for all-round talent, suddenly announced that the exam would not be divided into the traditional different fields. Thus, every student could fill in any department on their school wish list, but had to take all of the subject exams…

Having worked at the Bank of China for two years, I had saved enough money to marry Miss Schwinne C. Tseng, a high school teacher, who graduated from the Department of Economics, Soochow University, in Taipei in 1965. After getting married, my wife continued her teaching job in Ming Chuan Commercial High School. My son, John, and daughter, Alice, were born in 1966 and 1968, respectively. John was only two years old and Alice only six months old when I went abroad to the United States. When I was abroad, my wife and children returned to Fengyuan Township to live with my in-laws, Mr. Tzu-cheng Tseng and Mrs. Yun-ying Huang. I was very sorry that my wife had to work and take care of the kids at the same time…

At the end of the Sino-Japanese War, Mr. Lee Teng-hui came back to Taiwan in 1946 from Kyoto Imperial University, Japan and studied at the Department of Agricultural Economics at National Taiwan University (NTU), in Taipei. Three years later, he received his bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics, after which he remained as a teaching assistant at the university. In 1951, Mr. Lee was awarded a scholarship from the Sino-American Fund for Economic and Social Development, and traveled to Iowa State University in the United States to do research in agricultural economics. He returned to Taiwan in 1953, resumed his teaching job as an instructor at the Department of Agricultural Economics, NTU, accepted a post as a specialist and section chief at the Taiwan Provincial Department of Agricultural and Forestry, and also took the post of research fellow at Taiwan Provincial Cooperative Bank. Being an agricultural economist, he was also appointed as a specialist in the U.S.–R.O.C. Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction (JCRR)…

Prof. Kuo-shu Liang was another one of my teachers whom I was close with. In the summer of 1979, when I went back to Taiwan for the first time after studying overseas, I taught at Tatung Institute of Technology and Tamkang University. During this time, I called on two of my professors, Prof. Kuo-wei Chang and Prof. Kuo-shu Liang. Mr. Chun-nan Pai, the Deputy President of Chiaotung Bank, invited Prof. Chang and I over for dinner. We talked about academic research as well as the possibility of removing the ban on organizing new political parties…

Based upon my undergraduate experience in Taiwan and my graduate experience in the U.S., my teaching career since 1973, and my experience with guiding my son John, daughter Alice, my grandson Michael Lee and granddaughter Michelle Lee, I have made some observations about education philosophy and methods…

In this chapter, I will expand on my education philosophy and method, which I have discussed in the previous chapter, and emphasize my experience in training Ph.D. students in finance and accounting. Finance is one of the most popular interdisciplinary areas in higher education; therefore, students from all different majors could consider working on a Ph.D. in finance. Since a number of majors can apply for the program, I suggest Ph.D. advisors to consider using my experience to guide Ph.D. students in finance or accounting concentrated in financial accounting…

In Chapter 7, I discussed the teaching methods and educational philosophy and in Chapter 8, I explained how I trained Ph.D. students in finance and accounting. In this chapter, I will discuss and present my experiences using an innovative and active approach to teaching finance. This experience comes not only from my teaching in the classroom, but also from writing and editing textbooks, editing journals, consulting, and organizing conferences. I believe finance is based upon the knowledge of accounting, mathematics, economics, statistics, and computer technology. Therefore, I use this kind of view to teach not only undergraduate and master’s students, but also to teach Ph.D. students in finance, accounting, and economics. The goals of training Ph.D. students in finance are to command the capacity and ability to do meaningful research, to learn how to effectively teach undergraduate, master’s, and Ph.D. students, and to learn the knowledge that can make them capable and effective individuals in the finance industry…

Since I came to the U.S. in 1968, my career has been progressing smoothly. I had my doctoral dissertation topic ready before I started my Ph.D. program at SUNY-Buffalo. This helped me complete my Ph.D. degree in a little less than three years even while taking 16 extra credit hours in finance and statistics. Completing the doctorate degree in such a short period was a school record. My hard work and the thought-provoking advice I received from my professors made it possible…

Since I received my Ph.D. in 1973, I have presented many research papers at conferences held in the United States and Canada. They include conferences for the American Finance Association, American Financial Management Association, American Economic Association, American Quantitative Economic Association, World Quantitative Association, American Accounting Association, American Statistical Association, and Western, Eastern, Central, Southern, Southwestern Finance Associations, as well as others. Presenting papers at conferences for these organizations has given me the opportunity to travel the world…

In addition to teaching, conducting research, and administrative responsibilities at University of Georgia, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Rutgers University over the last 43 years of my academic career, I have also tried to contribute to the area of finance in five different ways. These areas are: editing journals, writing textbooks, organizing conferences, consulting for private companies, and suggesting policy recommendations to the government. This chapter will discuss my activities of editing journals and writing books. During the last 43 years, I was editor of The Financial Review from October 1985–December 1991 and Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance from 1987 to 1989. Currently, I edit the Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting and the Review of Pacific Basin Financial Markets and Policies. I also edit four annuals, Advances in Quantitative Analysis of Finance and Accounting, Advances in Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management, Advances in Financial Planning and Forecasting, and Advances in Pacific Basin Business, Economics, and Finance…

Although I have lived in the United States for 48 years, I still actively participate in Taiwanese organizations and democratic movements. This chapter details the process and afterthoughts of my participation and also reviews what President Lee Teng-hui has contributed to the democracy of Taiwan…

In this chapter, I will explain my relationships with some important individuals within the industry, the academic circles, and the Taiwanese government, such as ex-ministers of finance, Robert Chun Chien, Shirley W.Y. Kuo, Chen-kuo Lin, and Paul C.H. Chiu, governors and deputy governors of Central Bank, the vice chairman of Council of Economic Planning and Development (CEPD), the chairman of International Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the chairmen of Chiao Tung Bank and the Farmers Bank of China…

In this chapter, I will discuss my contributions to Taiwan’s economic and financial policies during the last three decades. I will describe how I helped develop Taipei into a regional financial center, proposed stock market policy decisions, and lastly I will discuss the policies on the construction of the high-speed railway…

I have contributed in many ways to the management education in Taiwan. Apart from teaching and lecturing at universities, I also delivered short courses for industry practioners, and assisted in the founding of the Chinese Financial Association (currently the Taiwanese Finance Association). I also organized two international financial conferences on academic, practical, and policy research in Taiwan…

Since I have contributed a lot in both academics and policy to my home country, which have been discussed in previous chapters, professors, students, businessmen, and government officials decided to celebrate my 40-year teaching career. On January 10, 2014, National Chiao Tung University (NCTU) held an international conference to celebrate my teaching career. The celebration was held in conjunction with the 7^th NCTU International Finance Conference at National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan. The title for this conference was “7^th NCTU International Finance Conference and Celebration for Professor Cheng-Few Lee’s 40-year Teaching Career.” I gave a speech entitled, “40 Years of a Challenging and Rewarding Academic Career.” This chapter is based upon my speech and also includes a brief report of that conference. In addition, I will also describe my activities from 2013 to 2016…

When I was in senior high school, the late president of the Control Yuan of R.O.C., Mr. Yu Yeo-jen quoted the old saying, “Life begins at the age of 70,” to describe his own life. Most people thought of his words as the tales of One Thousand and One Nights. However, as I know, there was a story as to why he said that…

The following sections are included:

• Appendix I. Chronology of Events
• Appendix II. List of Important Books Authored and Coauthored by Cheng-Few Lee
• Appendix III. Additional Materials