Chen Hsing-Yu Divorces Chao Chien-Ming! Revisiting the Controversy of Being Dogged by Fan Chi-Fei During U.S. Dental Exam

Chen Hsing-Yu drew renewed public attention today (the 13th) after posting a one-star negative review on Chao Chien-Ming’s clinic Google page, effectively confirming their divorce. This action has also revived public interest in the 2009 incident when she traveled to the U.S. to take the dental licensing exam and was closely followed by the media. Fan Chi-Fei, a veteran journalist who reported from New York at the time, has once again been named online, with critics questioning whether her reporting methods were overly aggressive. Some have long accused her of 'bullying Chen Hsing-Yu.'

In the photo, Chen Hsing-Yu (left) is seen being surrounded by reporters including Fan Chi-Fei on the streets of the U.S., following the corruption case involving Chen Shui-Bian (right). (Image: Screenshot from Chen Shui-Bian's Facebook page 'Chen Shui-Bian's New Yong Ge's Story')

Earlier this year, Fan Chi-Fei addressed this long-standing controversy in an exclusive interview with Mirror News. She acknowledged that while Chen Hsing-Yu herself was not involved in any legal cases, her family members were increasingly entangled in judicial issues at the time. From a journalist’s standpoint, Fan stated that pursuing and interviewing her was not a wrong decision. However, she admitted that the reporting methods used were indeed problematic. She specifically acknowledged that the prolonged stakeouts and relentless close-following approach now appears 'inappropriate' in hindsight, and was highly inefficient.

Fan explained that frontline reporters at the time faced immense pressure not to miss any critical developments. As long as Chen Hsing-Yu might appear, media teams had no choice but to remain on-site. She described the biggest flaw of this method as the uncertainty of what could actually be gained from it, calling it 'quite foolish' in retrospect. She emphasized that in the media environment of that era, reporters lacked the modern tools for communication and verification, leaving 'staking out' as the only viable method.

Fan also revealed that she later recognized the unhealthy tension of the situation and stepped in to coordinate among reporters. She proposed setting fixed times for interviews with Chen Hsing-Yu, after which the media would leave. This shift in approach gradually built mutual trust, eventually allowing Fan to conduct a successful one-on-one sit-down interview with Chen. She noted that while the public remembers the initial confrontations, the subsequent constructive interactions are rarely mentioned.

Fan added that Chen was living alone in the U.S. at the time, and she had offered some personal assistance, though she declined to disclose details due to privacy concerns. She emphasized that Chen did not hold lasting resentment over the initial reporting, and the two even developed a degree of personal rapport. Precisely because of this, Fan had rarely spoken about the incident—until now, with the renewed attention, she chose to fully explain the context and her reflections.