Chia Yung-chieh: The Taiwan Experiment of Converting Celebrity Social Capital into Public Mobilization Power, Again and Again

30-second overview: Most people only know one version of her: the variety show host of the 2000s, the civic mobilizer who raised NT$68.04 million in two days in 2021 to secure HFNC units for frontline hospitals, or the sixth chairperson of Taipei 101 appointed in 2024. Only when you connect these episodes does a path with no precedent in Taiwan come into view: using "celebrity social capital" to exchange, again and again, for "public mobilization power," then converting that mobilization power into a "public-share governance seat." Each step has been accompanied by an equal measure of scrutiny (the "Mother of Cadaver Skin," misuse of public resources, improper employee dismissal, shallow vanity, funeral-parlor-style exhibition layouts), and her response has always been the next, larger mobilization. From a 2000 CTV prime-time drama to the January 25, 2026 global live broadcast of Alex Honnold free-soloing the 508-meter Taipei 101, this cycle has been running for twenty-six years.

The Forgotten Surname

Her real given name is actually Chia Yung-tsieh (賈永媫)—"tsieh" (媫) is an archaic character that many computer systems cannot display, so except when handling official documents, she has always used the "chieh" (婕) that the public recognizes.¹

Tracing back three generations is an even more obscure matter: her father, Ta-chun Chia, was a captain in the Republic of China Navy; her great-grandfather, Te-jun Chia, served as director of the Suiyuan Political Affairs Office, magistrate of Huaiyang County in Henan Province, and chief administrator of the Second Administrative District of Eastern Henan, dying in the line of duty while suppressing bandits.²³ Her great-great-uncle was Te-yao Chia—the Beiyang government's premier who briefly held power for sixty-four days (February 15 to April 20, 1926) amid the storm of the March 18 Massacre.²

This lineage disappears entirely from most entertainment coverage, because it does not suit the "girl next door" persona. But it may explain why, when facing the Executive Yuan, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Taipei City Government, and other public agencies, she has never displayed the discomfort typical of most entertainers.

At age 47, she learned from her own father that her grandfather and father were not biologically related—her grandfather and older brother had been adopted by their second and third paternal uncles, Te-mao Chia and Te-yao Chia, and raised as their own.⁴³

"I Am Proud to Be a First-Generation Taiwanese"

The family history was brought back into public view in February 2026. After the G-Dragon exhibition controversy and the Honnold climbing episode generated two waves of public opinion, Chia Yung-chieh publicly addressed her great-great-uncle's Beiyang government identity for the first time. She did not deny it, and she did not distance herself from it. She retold the thread:

"I am proud to be a second-generation waishengren, a first-generation Taiwanese. Love has taken root for us in Taiwan. The great rivers and seas of those years surged through war and displacement; and in the end, they converged in Taiwan."³

This statement matters because it pulls the family narrative away from "the official rank of a great-great-uncle" and back to the more fundamental question of "how her father's generation came to Taiwan." For Taiwan in 2026, the self-identification of "second-generation waishengren, first-generation Taiwanese" is rapidly disappearing—most adult children of waishengren families of her generation already define themselves as "Taiwanese," but few have articulated the line that drifted over from the great rivers and seas of China so plainly and so cleanly.

She went on to explain: her great-grandfather Te-jun Chia died suppressing bandits while serving as a local official, leaving young children who were adopted by their uncles; her father was also a stepchild whom her grandfather treated as his own. She said, "Love needs no distinctions."⁴

The timing of this clarification was not random—it came after she had served as chairperson of Taipei 101 for a year and a half, just after delivering the global climbing broadcast. She was using the position she had secured in "this generation" to look back and sort out "where I come from."

From News Anchor, Categorized by the Market as an Entertainer

She graduated from the Department of Communication at Coventry University in the United Kingdom. In 2000, she debuted as Hsin-lien in the CTV prime-time drama Auspicious Year After Year and simultaneously served as an anchor for CTV's Morning News⁵—she was an anchor first, and only then was categorized by the market as an entertainer.

Her subsequent hosting career spanned GTV, CTV, and FTV, with her signature show being GTV's Entertainment Late Check-In.⁶ In 2002, she married Chao-chieh Wang, son of Ming-te Wang, chairman of the Der-Jei Group, and they have two daughters and one son. In 2004, before turning thirty, she founded CH Wedding, a bridal atelier—stepping off the standard curve of "entertainers being phased out by the market at forty" to pivot into brand-building ahead of time. CH Wedding has now been in operation for over twenty years.⁶⁷

The true origin of the nickname "120% pretty girl" traces back to a phone call from Tsai Ing-wen in 2021—but that story only makes sense once you get to the HFNC fundraising section below.

2015: Criticized Twice, Learned Twice

2015 deserves its own section.

After the Formosa Fun Coast dust explosion, on July 1 she posted on Facebook calling for the renaming of "cadaver skin" used in burn treatment, arguing it was "a profoundly great thing—donated by whole-organ donors who left love in the world." On July 3, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced the term would be changed to "corpse skin" (大體皮膚). But the medical professional community questioned an outsider leading insiders, and she was sarcastically dubbed the "Mother of Cadaver Skin." On July 4, she issued a public apology.⁸⁹

After the 2021 HFNC donations, this episode nearly vanished from her profiles. But it remains, as a foreshadowing: the reason she later learned to "confirm professional needs before acting" owes something to that apology.

That same year, she and her husband Chao-chieh Wang formed "Team Taiwan" and completed "Arch to Arc"—running from London's Marble Arch to Dover, swimming across the English Channel, then cycling from Calais to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, in 43 hours and 58 minutes. She also became the first Taiwanese woman to swim across the English Channel, raising NT$2.12 million for the Taitung Book House.¹⁰¹¹

Two Days, NT$68.04 Million, 252 Units

In May 2021, Taiwan experienced a domestic COVID-19 outbreak. She had originally only been delivering meal boxes, but through a friend she learned what hospitals truly lacked: high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) systems—each costing approximately NT$270,000 on the market, impossible to procure through public hospital purchasing procedures in time.¹²

She first called her husband Chao-chieh Wang, who immediately decided to lead by example with a donation; then she called one friend after another in the business world, and every friend enthusiastically participated without refusal. Within two days, she raised NT$68.04 million, procuring 252 HFNC units; the final civilian total expanded to 342 units, all delivered to frontline hospitals.¹²¹³ The Ministry of Health and Welfare subsequently emergency-procured 550 HFNC units, distributing them to 97 hospitals across Taiwan.¹⁴

President Tsai Ing-wen called to express gratitude. Chia Yung-chieh, busy delivering meal boxes, hung up on the Presidential Office spokesperson three times. When she finally picked up, Tsai later posted their exchange on Instagram:

"Yung-chieh, your passion I can 100% confirm. That you are a #prettygirl, I can 120% confirm."¹⁵

The internet meme "120% pretty girl" originates here, connecting to the "pretty girl" label from the entertainment world twenty years earlier. The following year she founded the Taiwan Yung-chieh Pretty Girl Charitable Association to continue fundraising work. In its first year (2022), the association raised over NT$42.08 million, all donated, and currently promotes art therapy and play therapy for mental health care among children and youth in rural areas.¹⁰¹⁶

📝 Curator's note
The ability to pick up the phone and raise NT$68.04 million in two days was not a sudden revelation. It was a decade in the making—the English Channel taught lung capacity, the 2015 cadaver skin apology taught thorough preparation before acting; combined, these became the capacity for action in 2021.

One Chairperson's Seat, Seventy Percent Public-Share Influence

On September 3, 2024, she assumed office as the sixth chairperson of Taipei Financial Center Corporation, appointed by the Executive Yuan, succeeding Hsueh-chang Chang.¹⁷¹⁸

To understand the significance of her taking this position, you first need to look at the shareholding structure: Japanese trading house Itochu is the largest single shareholder (approximately 32–37%), Central Trust of China (managed by the Central Deposit Insurance Corporation) holds about 15%, Chunghwa Telecom about 12%, Mega Financial Holding, the Taiwan Stock Exchange, and CTBC Financial Holding each hold 5–8%. Public-share entities collectively hold about 52%, private shareholders about 48%—the Ministry of Finance holds no direct stake, but public-share influence reaches approximately seventy percent.¹⁹ Past chairpersons have served as "external-facing, quasi-spiritual figureheads," with day-to-day operations overseen by the general manager.²⁰

In other words, the Taipei 101 chairperson is a position sustained by networks, brand, and mobilization power. The Ministry of Finance confirmed the appointment rationale: "positive image, complete academic and professional background, with outstanding performance in fashion, marketing, and management."²¹ Viewed from the perspective of the HFNC fundraising that mobilized the business community, the logic behind the selection is traceable.

But within three months of taking office, three controversies erupted in succession.

On November 19, 2024, Chao-chieh Wang, riding the wave of the Taiwan national baseball team's advance to the Tokyo round of the World Baseball Classic, had Taipei 101's exterior wall lit up with the messages "Taiwan Fighting Brave" (台灣尚勇), "Advance to Tokyo" (前進東京), "TAIWAN NO.1," and "Der-Jei Group, United with Yung-chieh" (德傑集團 永婕同心)—the line "Der-Jei Group, United with Yung-chieh" was questioned as misuse of public resources, inconsistent with Taipei 101's internal regulations requiring that exterior lighting serve a public-interest purpose.²² At the same time, she was exposed for improperly dismissing the former chairperson's secretary, and former chairperson Wen-chi Sung publicly criticized Chia as "shallow and vain."²³

On November 27, Chia Yung-chieh went live for two hours to address the controversies, tearfully clarifying: the lighting had been approved by the board of directors, and "Der-Jei Group, United with Yung-chieh" was a company slogan; the employee dismissal had been carried out through negotiated agreement with severance in accordance with the Labor Standards Act, with a severance package exceeding legal requirements.²³ While thanking the ten companies that stood by her during the crisis, she wiped away tears—this scene later became the defining image of her public-share chairperson identity controversy.

On July 17, 2025, the G-Dragon Media Exhibition: Übermensch opened at Taipei 101, with chaotic visitor flow, sold-out merchandise, and on-site décor described by netizens as resembling a "funeral parlor." Chia apologized twice, emphasizing that "the exhibition design was the original creation of Galaxy Corporation and Korea's MUT; Taiwan was only a communication bridge with no final decision-making authority."²⁴

These controversies remain on her timeline and should not be glossed over.

January 25, 2026, 9:00 AM

American free solo climber Alex Honnold—the subject of the documentary Free Solo, the man who free-soloed El Capitan—began climbing the exterior wall of Taipei 101 with his bare hands at 9:00 AM on January 25, 2026. This was the live event for Netflix's 赤手獨攀台北 101：直播, broadcast simultaneously in 190 countries.²⁵²⁶

The project was greenlit by Chia Yung-chieh. Originally scheduled for January 24, it was postponed one day due to rain. She told the production team in advance: January 26 (Monday) was the final deadline; if it rained again, the entire event would be canceled.²⁷

She had the five flagpoles on the Taipei 101 rooftop—normally flying one national flag and four corporate flags—all replaced with Republic of China national flags on the day of the broadcast. She explained on her own Instagram story:

"I replaced all of them with national flags. No matter how the cameras angle, they'll be visible. No matter what, the whole world will see them!"²⁸

Two exchanges between her and Honnold were also recorded in full. During a trial climb in September 2025, when she heard Honnold say "it should take about 90 minutes," she replied: "No, you need to slow down your speed! We have two hours show!"²⁹ On the day of the climb, Honnold reached the summit in 91 minutes—a full minute more than promised. In the rest area she complained:

"Didn't you promise me you'd slow down?"
"I did!"
"My God! 1 minute! Giving us just one extra minute—how generous! Superhuman!"²⁹

After summiting, Honnold personally thanked "Janet (Chia Yung-chieh)" and Taipei 101 at the press conference.³⁰ Netflix reported 6.2 million views globally and 12 million viewing hours, ranking third on Netflix's global English-language program weekly chart and first on the Taiwan chart.³¹

There were, of course, dissenting voices. BBC Chinese and Crossing jointly raised five key questions criticizing the broadcast's "excessive performatization" and imitation risks; The Guardian questioned the future of broadcasting life-threatening stunts as entertainment.³² Some commentators noted that Honnold's appearance fee was essentially world-class exposure purchased with Taipei 101's marketing budget.³² These questions, along with the 2015 cadaver skin controversy, the 2021 HFNC legality complaints, the 2024 misuse-of-public-resources allegations, and the 2025 G-Dragon exhibition funeral-parlor comparisons—are all nodes on the same curve: every large-scale mobilization of public resources triggers the question "by what right does she do this," and her response each time is to mount an even larger mobilization.

In February 2023, when reports surfaced that Lai Ching-te had privately inquired whether she would consider serving as a vice-presidential running mate, she flatly denied it: "Too funny—I'm sitting at home and this kind of news still lands on my head. I'm not running."³³ In October 2023, she appeared alongside Lai and made remarks like "I think we'd be a good match";³⁴ a year and a half later she took over Taipei 101—this was another way of answering the question "will you run?" with a public-share governance seat.

Her trajectory has a consistent shape: find the link that only she can打通 (打通, forge through), and forge through it. In 2004 it was CH Wedding bridal gowns; in 2015 it was the English Channel; in 2021 it was HFNC; in 2024 it was Taipei 101; in 2026 it was a rock climber on a 508-meter tower and five flagpoles all replaced with national flags.

From a variety show host who debuted in a prime-time drama in 2000, to the person who used Taiwan's tallest building to broadcast a feat of climbing history to the world in 2026. No one in Taiwan had previously walked the full path of converting celebrity social capital in this way. Every step she took was met with scrutiny, and she answered each time with the next mobilization.

What may be most worth remembering is that hour in the early morning when she had people climb to the rooftop, take down the four corporate flags one by one, and hang up four national flags one by one.

Further reading:

• Lim Giong — Another Taiwanese cultural figure who completed an identity transformation (from Hokkien-language rock icon to film score pioneer), who like Chia Yung-chieh used the second half of life to redefine the position the market had assigned
• Tsai Ing-wen — The other end of that "120% pretty girl" phone call in June 2021; the HFNC fundraising was a rare synchronized operation between civilian and Presidential Office mobilization systems
• Jay Chou — Another path of converting celebrity status into cross-domain influence (music → film → brand → public welfare), to be read alongside Chia's "entertainer to public-share governance" trajectory
• Taiwanese Volunteer Culture and Public Welfare Participation — The cultural foundation of the 2021 HFNC civilian mobilization; the tradition of horizontal linkages in Taiwanese civil society during major events

References