30-second overview: Most people only know one version of her — the 2000s variety show host, the 2021 grassroots organizer who fundraised for HFNCs to frontline hospitals in three days, or the 2024 Taipei 101 chair representing public-sector governance. Connecting these three things reveals: from her CTS prime-time debut to having Alex Honnold free-solo the world's fifth-tallest building in 2026, Chia Yung-chieh demonstrated a path Taiwan had no precedent for — converting "celebrity social capital" into "public-governance mobilization power" — and she's still standing.
A Forgotten Surname
Her real name is actually Chia Yung-chieh (賈永媫); 媫 is an archaic character not selectable on most computers, so apart from official documents, she always writes the more common 婕.1
Going back three generations is even more obscure: her father Chia Ta-chun was a Republic of China Navy colonel; further back, her great-grandfather Chia Te-jun served as Director of Suiyuan Provincial Affairs and Magistrate of Huaiyang County, Henan; Chia Te-jun's elder brother was Chia Te-yao, Premier of the Republic of China Beiyang government, who briefly held office for 64 days during the storm of the March 18 Massacre (February 15 to April 20, 1926).12
This family-history line completely disappears from most entertainment coverage, because it doesn't help cultivate the "girl-next-door" persona. But it perhaps explains why she has never shown the typical celebrity discomfort when facing the Presidential Office, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, or the Taipei City Government.
When she was 47, she only then learned from her father that her grandfather and her father were not biological kin.3
Anchor Debut, Then Categorized as Entertainer
She graduated from Coventry University in the UK with a degree in Communication Studies. In 2000, she made her debut playing Hsin-lien in the CTS prime-time drama Auspicious New Year (吉祥如意年年來), and concurrently anchored the Morning News on CTS4 — she was an anchor before the market categorized her as an entertainer.
Her subsequent hosting career spanned ETTV, CTV, and FTV; her signature show was the GTV Variety Entertainment Roll Call (娛樂晚點名).5 The "120% Beautiful Girl" nickname came from then-President Chen Shui-bian at an event in 2006, and she has carried it for twenty years.
In 2002, she married Wang Chao-chieh, son of De Jie Group chairman Wang Ming-te, and has two daughters and one son. The following year she published Devil Beauty: 72 Transformations. In 2004, before turning thirty, she founded CH Wedding gowns — getting off the ride before the standard "actresses culled from the market by 40" curve began, to build a brand instead.56
2015: Two Times Criticized, Two Lessons Learned
2015 deserves its own paragraph.
After the Color Play Asia fire at Formosa Fun Coast, she called online for the burn-treatment "cadaver skin" (屍皮) to be renamed; the Ministry of Health and Welfare officially renamed it "cadaveric skin" (大體皮膚). But the medical professional community questioned the layperson leading the experts, mocking her as the "Mother of Cadaveric Skin"; she eventually came forward to apologize.78
This event nearly disappeared from her profile coverage after the 2021 HFNC donations. But it's still there as foreshadowing: the reason she later learned to "confirm professional needs first, then act" — that apology is part of why.
The same year she and her husband Wang Chao-chieh formed "Team Taiwan" to complete "Arch to Arc" — running from London's Marble Arch to Dover, swimming the English Channel, then biking from Calais to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, totaling 43 hours 58 minutes. She also became the first Taiwanese woman to swim the English Channel, raising NT$2.12 million for the Taitung Bookhouse.910
Two Days, NT$68.04 Million, 252 Units
In May 2021, Taiwan's COVID-19 domestic outbreak erupted. Initially she was only delivering bento boxes; through friends she learned what hospitals truly lacked were High-Flow Nasal Cannula systems (HFNC) — about NT$270,000 each at market price; public hospitals' procurement processes simply couldn't keep up.11
She first called her husband, then made call after call to friends in the business community. Within two days, she raised NT$68.04 million, procured 252 HFNC units, eventually reaching 330 units total, all delivered to frontline hospitals.1112 The Ministry of Health and Welfare subsequently emergency-procured 550 HFNC units, distributed to 97 hospitals nationwide.13
Then-President Tsai Ing-wen called to thank her, and on Facebook commented: "I can certify 120% that you are a Beautiful Girl."11 The following year she founded the "Taiwan Yongchieh Beautiful Girl Charity Association" to continue the fundraising work.9
📝 Curator's note
"Daring to phone-fundraise NT$68.04 million in two days" wasn't an overnight epiphany. That was ten years of practice — the English Channel taught lung capacity, the 2015 apology taught preparation-then-action, and the two combined are the 2021 mobilization power.
Chair of Taipei 101
On September 3, 2024, she took office as the sixth Chair of Taipei Financial Center Corporation, ratified by the Executive Yuan, succeeding Chang Hsueh-shun.1415
Controversies followed her takeover: her husband Wang Chao-chieh was criticized for using corporate resources for romantic gestures during the Taipei 101 light show; she publicly apologized over the G-Dragon immersive digital art exhibition crowd-flow controversy.16 In 2023, media reported that William Lai had privately sounded her out about being the vice-presidential candidate, and she had directly said: "Too funny. I'm sitting at home and even this kind of news lands on my head — I'm not running."1718 A year and a half later she took over Taipei 101.
These controversies are all still on her chronology.
January 25, 2026, 9:00 AM
American free climber Alex Honnold (the subject of the Free Solo documentary, the man who free-soloed El Capitan), at 9:00 AM on January 25, 2026, began climbing Taipei 101's exterior with bare hands, as the live event of Netflix's Free Solo Taipei 101: Live.1920
This project was Chia Yung-chieh's call. Before Honnold climbed, she replaced the flags on the five flagpoles atop Taipei 101 with the Republic of China flag, ensuring it would be in frame from any angle.19 Honnold initially estimated 90 minutes to summit; in the end it took 91 minutes. She quietly asked: "Didn't you promise me you'd slow down?" Honnold replied: "I did!"20
91 minutes, 508 meters, livestreamed globally.
A variety host who debuted on a 2000 prime-time drama, in 2026, used Taipei's tallest building to broadcast a climbing-history performance to the world. No Taiwanese entertainer before had walked this whole path: first using face-time on camera to accumulate connections, then converting connections into mobilization, then using mobilization to take the seat that signs off, then using that seat to do things only her personality could pull off.
The next person who asks whether she'll run for office should think it through first — did she nod yes back in 2023?
Further reading:
- Lim Giong — Another Taiwanese cultural figure who completed an identity transition (from Hokkien rock idol to film score pioneer)
References
- Chia Yung-chieh Takes Over as Taipei 101 Chair: New Challenges in Life's Second Half — BNext — Records her real name Chia Yung-chieh (媫), family background (Chia Te-yao, Chia Te-jun), and father Chia Ta-chun's Navy colonel rank — full identity background.↩
- Chia Te-yao — Wikipedia — Chia Te-yao served as Beiyang government Premier from February 15 to April 20, 1926, resigning after the March 18 Massacre, with a 64-day term. His grand-niece is the 6th Chair of Taipei 101, Chia Yung-chieh.↩
- Chia Yung-chieh Reveals Family Mystery: Lived 47 Years Before Knowing Dad Wasn't Granddad's Biological Son — Mirror Media — 2022-03-28, Chia Yung-chieh publicly speaks of family secret learned at 47.↩
- Chia Yung-chieh's First Prime-Time Drama Was the 2000 Auspicious New Year — UDN — Records the 2000 CTS prime-time drama debut and Morning News anchor career.↩
- Chia Yung-chieh's 7 Identity Transitions: Reporter, Anchor, Wedding-Brand Owner, Triathlon Goddess, to Taipei 101 Chair — Marie Claire — Complete career timeline, including 2002 marriage and 2004 founding of CH Wedding.↩
- Successfully Crossing Industries: Wedding Maven Chia Yung-chieh — NTDTV Asia Pacific — 2011 report on CH Wedding brand development.↩
- Cadaver Skin Really Got Renamed! Netizens Crown Chia Yung-chieh "Mother of Cadaveric Skin" — ETtoday Star Cloud — 2015, Chia Yung-chieh's call to rename "cadaver skin," MOHW renaming to "cadaveric skin," and the full course of online criticism.↩
- Chia Yung-chieh Slammed for Cadaver-Skin Renaming, Breaks Silence: I'm Genuinely Sad — ETtoday Star Cloud — Chia Yung-chieh's response and public apology over the cadaver-skin renaming controversy.↩
- Chia Yung-chieh Swims the English Channel, Conquers European Triathlon — CNA — 2016-08-09, Team Taiwan completed Arch to Arc in 43 hours 58 minutes; Chia Yung-chieh became the first Taiwanese woman to swim the English Channel, raising NT$2.12 million for the Taitung Bookhouse.↩
- Chia Yung-chieh Cross-Sea Triathlon for Charity — Anntw — 2016-08-09, the charitable nature of Arch to Arc and the English Channel relay swim.↩
- Chia Yung-chieh Fundraises 252 Lifesaving Devices; CECC Also Buys 500 Units — Epoch Times — 2021-06-13, HFNC fundraising details: NT$68.04 million in two days, 252 units; Tsai Ing-wen's phone thanks and "120% Beautiful Girl" Facebook comment.↩
- Chia Yung-chieh Personally Delivers Lifesaving Devices; 4-Day Cumulative 193 Units — ETtoday Star Cloud — Records the batch-delivery of HFNCs to frontline hospitals.↩
- MOHW Procures 550 of Chia Yung-chieh's Lifesaving Devices, All Delivered — ETtoday Life News — 2021-07-09, MOHW emergency-procured 550 HFNC units delivered to 97 hospitals nationwide.↩
- Chia Yung-chieh Takes Over Taipei 101 Chair, Assumes Office After 9/3 Board Election — CNA — 2024-08-22, Executive Yuan ratifies Chia Yung-chieh as the 6th Chair of Taipei Financial Center Corporation, succeeding Chang Hsueh-shun.↩
- Chia Yung-chieh Takes Over as New Chair of Taipei 101; Full List of 13 Directors and 4 Supervisors Released — NOWnews — Complete board and supervisor roster for Chia Yung-chieh's 6th-term inauguration.↩
- Repeatedly Slammed Since Taking Over 101! Chia Yung-chieh's Long Post Hits Back, Reveals Inside Story — Liberty Entertainment — Husband 101 lighting controversy and G-Dragon exhibition crowd-flow controversy, including Chia Yung-chieh's public response.↩
- Chia Yung-chieh on Why She Let Honnold Climb Taipei 101 — UDN — Chia Yung-chieh on the decision-making process for the Honnold climbing project, including her statements on facing worst-case scenarios.↩
- Reports Chia Yung-chieh Was Asked by William Lai to Run for Vice President! She Said It All — SET Entertainment Star News — 2023-02-14, Chia Yung-chieh responding to vice-presidential candidate rumors: "Too funny. I'm not running."↩
- Honnold Free-Solos 101, Taiwan Gets Global Exposure; He Reveals Chia Yung-chieh's Polishing: Chair Chia Really Gets It — SET iNEWS — 2026-01-26, behind-the-scenes details on Chia Yung-chieh switching the 101 flagpole flags to the ROC flag to ensure global camera coverage.↩
- Chia Yung-chieh Can't Help Saying "You Promised to Slow Down"; Honnold Shouts: I Did! — CTWANT — 2026-01-27, including the full "Didn't you promise me you'd slow down?" "I did!" exchange and the 91-minute summit details.↩