Announcement No. 27 from the Central Bank of the Republic of China regarding important personnel changes states that the former head of the Business Bureau, Pan Rongyao, and the director of the Information Department, Li Ruiwen, will retire on January 16, 2025. It is noteworthy that the position of director of the Information Department will be seconded to Professor Chen Gong from the Department of Information Management at National Chengchi University. Professor Chen Gong is also the executive director of the Blockchain Innovation Laboratory at National Chengchi University, where research projects include asset tokenization and digital currency. Whether the central bank intends to leverage Professor Chen Gong's research expertise to develop related businesses is worth looking forward to.
NCCU professor seconded to the central bank, previously led the blockchain laboratory
According to the announcement, the new director of the Information Department, Mr. Chen Gong, is 61 years old and graduated from the Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering at National Taiwan University. He also obtained a master's degree from the Graduate Institute of Computer Science and Information Engineering at National Taiwan University and a PhD from Yale University's Department of Computer Science. He previously worked in the Department of Computer Science at National Chengchi University, rising from associate professor to professor, department chair, director of the Computer Center, and professor in the Department of Information Management. He is well-versed in FinTech, blockchain technology and applications, programming languages, and software engineering.
Professor Chen Gong also serves as the executive director of the Blockchain Innovation Laboratory at National Chengchi University, nurturing many industry elites. From the website, it can be seen that the main research projects of the Blockchain Innovation Laboratory include:
Blockchain-based Digital Identity
Digital Currency
Asset Tokenization
Blockchain-based Authorization Platform
Since the central bank manages currency-related affairs, it is worth looking forward to whether Professor Chen Gong's blockchain expertise will help launch a sandbox trial for CBDC or asset tokenization.
Reviewing the central bank's attitude: CBDC trials are ongoing, with no expectation for the issuance of digital New Taiwan Dollar.
Now, more and more countries are discussing topics such as digital currency payments and CBDC. This includes former Thai Prime Minister urging his daughter, the current Thai Prime Minister, to trial Bitcoin payments in Phuket and other international tourist destinations, as well as discussing CBDC.
(Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin: Bitcoin has become a global trend, urging trials of Bitcoin payments and CBDC to solve economic problems)
However, our central bank is relatively conservative on this matter. In May, Central Bank Governor Yang Jinlong stated that there is no expectation for the issuance of digital New Taiwan Dollar. Although his attitude is relatively conservative, he also acknowledged that the central bank's trial plan for digital New Taiwan Dollar is ongoing, which will apply tokenization technology to support the tokenization development of various assets.
At that time, he mentioned that there are currently three usage scenarios for the digital New Taiwan Dollar: the first is to use wholesale CBDC as a clearing asset between banks. The second is to use wholesale CBDC for the settlement of tokenized securities. The third is special purpose tokens, such as introducing CBDC into government procurement processes, automated through smart contracts.
(Central Bank Governor Yang Jinlong: CBDC is not an international competition, analyzing three application scenarios for digital New Taiwan Dollar, with no expectation for issuance)
This article discusses how National Chengchi University Information Management Professor Chen Gong is seconded to the central bank! He previously led the Blockchain Innovation Laboratory, potentially aiding the digital New Taiwan Dollar project? First appeared in Chain News ABMedia.