Mr. Fan Chia and Mrs. Bee‑Chan Lin Chia: A Journey from China to Taiwan
The foundation was founded in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Fan Chia. The scholarship program was established to reflect their virtues and lifelong commitment to educating future generations. Much of their early history was lost amid the upheavals of Japan’s invasion of China, the Chinese Civil War, their flight to Taiwan in search of safety, and the challenge of rebuilding their lives from nothing. This article recounts one of many challenges they’ve faced throughout their life – their escape from China to Taiwan. The events of this article were collected and recounted by their children.
Dr. Hsiao-Fann Chia, Dr. Ching-Shu Wagner, Dr. Tien-Li Chia January 2026
Family History
Mr. Fan Chia and Mrs. Bee-Chan Lin Chia were married in Shenyang, Liaoning Province in Manchu China in 1944.
Mr. Fan Chia was born in 1917, Kaiyuan, Liaoning, his father Chia Pong-Ge賈鵬舉 was director of a post office in a small town by the border of Korea and Manchu. His grandfather Chia An-Pu賈恩普 and two brothers migrated to Manchu from Shandong province in their youth to search for a better life. After World War II, Mr. Fan Chia received a government scholarship and was admitted to Northeast University in Shenyang, majoring in Political Science. Mr. Fan Chia graduated with B.S. in 1948. Their first-born son, Jing-shyr (deceased 2017), and daughter, Hsiao-fann were born in Shenyang in the 1940s, followed by their second daughter Ching-Shu and second son Tien-Li were born in Taiwan in the 1950s.
Mrs. Bee-Chan Lin Chia was born in 1922 in Shenyang, in an affluent, scholarly honored family (family with Gongming 功名). Three of the family members were honored and awarded in the Qing Dynasty Imperial Examination (one Juren 舉人, provincial level, two xiucai 秀才, county level). There was a two-step horse mounting stone (上馬石) in front of the family house, a status symbol for Gongming 功名family
Mr. Fan Chia賈凡, 1917 – 2010 Mrs. Bee-Chan Lin林碧蟾, 1922 – 2019
Shenyang
Mr. Fan Chia was a high-ranking officer with Manchu Police Department. During World War II, he joined anti-Japanese underground organization (AJUO) under the Nationalist leadership (KMT). A well-known novel “The Raging Liao River” was written about the group of young patriot’s efforts in fighting Japanese governing power in Manchu. In 1945, the underground organization was partially penetrated by the Japanese counter-intelligence force, many of his fellow comrades got arrested, they were tortured for information of the AJUO organization. Several were about to be executed, fortunately, Japan surrendered and their lives were spared. After a couple of peaceful years, China civil war started, and the communist regime quickly took over the Northern China. Mr. and Mrs. Fan Chia witnessed Chinese communists’ rebels ravaging Northeast China. The communist regime started to arrest Kuomintang (KMT) members and the leaders of the AJUO. Mr. Fan Chia knew he needed to flee to the south.
Mrs. Bee-Chan Lin Chia’s mother, the only living grandparent at the time witnessed firsthand the brutal murder of landlords and affluent families by the communist regime. To hide from them, she had to discard all the assets, burned deeds, revoked ownership of farmland, buildings, real estate, but most heartbreakingly family heirlooms and important family historical documents were also destroyed to protect the safety of her family.
Mr. Fan Chia escaped on the last plane provided by the KMT government to Northeast University from Shenyang to Beijing. Due to dwindling power and resources, the weakened Nationalist government could only provide each member of the KMT eighty Silver Dollars and told everyone to flee on their own accord to the south.
Mrs. Bee-Chan Lin Chia, her mother (our grandmother) and her six siblings fled to Beijing shortly after.
Beijing
As the civil war continued, the Chinese communist forces gained control over large areas of China, while the Nationalist Party (KMT) steadily lost ground. At the time, the communist army was largely composed of local, poorly educated farmers who organized quickly, setting ambushes and arresting KMT members and former AJUO affiliates. Fearing that capture was imminent, Mr. and Mrs. Fan Chia decided that Mr. Fan Chia should escape first, before the Communists could reach him. The rest of the family remained behind, anxiously awaiting word from him confirming his safe passage south..
Father’s Escape to Taiwan
Tianjin was Mr. Fan Chia’s first stop, a city located about 100 miles southeast of Beijing. There, he was appointed principal of the Transient Tianjin Fourth Middle School, where he oversaw two to three hundred students, all children from the Manchurian region, some as young as eight years old. As Communist forces advanced, the school retreated by following Nationalist routes, continuing classes along the way by using abandoned school buildings whenever possible.
As conditions grew increasingly dangerous, Mr. Fan Chia made the painful decision to entrust the older students, those capable of caring for themselves and marching with the Nationalist army, to the Nationalists, believing this offered them the best chance of reaching safety. The younger children remained with him. As the civil war intensified, Communist forces closed in on the retreating Nationalist army. At their final stop, the school itself became a battlefield: Nationalist troops occupied one side of the school building, while Communist forces held the other.
Most of the teachers and staff had already fled in fear for their lives, but Mr. Fan Chia stayed behind with the remaining children. As fighting erupted, bullets flew across the schoolyard. He ordered the children to lie flat on the classroom floor to stay out of harm’s way. Tragically, one curious child lifted his head to look out a window and was struck by a bullet, losing his life.
After many hours of intense battle, the communist army eventually surrounded the entire school yard. The commanding officer asked Mr. Fan Chia to round up all remaining 60 to 70 of those kids mostly under 10 years old, he made a political propaganda speech to the young kids and told them that he is in charge now and would take them back to their hometown Manchu. Mr. Fan Chia was ousted.
Mr. Fan Chia continued his escape southward. During one leg of the journey, he reunited with a physician friend who had recently been appointed director of the Shenyang City Hospital. Together, they obtained a travel permit, known as a Chinese “road strip,” authorizing them to travel as a two‑person team to Korea to purchase medical supplies.
At a Communist roadblock, soldiers searched Mr. Fan Chia and discovered a single ten‑dollar U.S. bill sewn into the lining of his quilted jacket. He was forced to exchange it for Communist currency, losing nearly half of its purchasing power. Shaken by the incident, his friend grew fearful and wanted to abandon the trip. Mr. Fan Chia persuaded him to continue by secretly hiding the doctor’s several hundred U.S. dollars inside the hardcovers of medical textbooks. Because the travel permit was issued for two people, traveling alone would not have been allowed.
After failing the inspection that day, the two men turned back and returned the following morning. This time, they were first in line. Even so, the guard refused to let them pass and insisted on waiting for approval from his superior. At that point, Mr. Fan Chia deliberately raised his voice, creating a public scene. He argued loudly that the Communists claimed to serve the people and do good, yet were obstructing a mission to obtain medicine. He reminded the guard that they had already confiscated their U.S. currency the day before, severely reducing their purchasing ability, and accused them of harassment.
The guard became increasingly nervous, worried that others in line would overhear criticism of the new regime. The more the guard tried to quiet him, the louder Mr. Fan Chia spoke. Finally, flustered, the guard relented and waved them through, allowing the two men, and all their luggage, books, and belongings, to pass without further inspection.
Mr. Fan Chia and his doctor friend eventually parted ways, as the doctor chose to return to Shenyang to rejoin his family and fulfill his duties as director of the city hospital. Mr. Fan Chia continued his escape alone, one of tens of millions of refugees displaced by the war. Transportation became nearly impossible, overcrowded trains, buses, and ships could not be boarded even by those who held tickets. As the conflict intensified, conditions grew increasingly desperate and uncertain.
During his journey south, Mr. Fan Chia stayed at a small hotel and asked the porter about train schedules. At that time, trains were the only form of public transportation still operating. Giving the porter his very last silver dollar, he asked for help finding a way onto a train. The porter agreed.
Before dawn the next morning, the porter quietly woke him, and the two set out on foot toward the station. When they arrived, they found it overflowing with people, packed so tightly that no one in the lobby could move even an inch. Without stopping, the porter led Mr. Fan Chia past the station and continued walking for several miles, eventually stopping at an unmarked section of the railway track to wait.
Sure enough, a train soon appeared. It sped past the station without stopping, leaving behind the desperate crowd of refugees hoping to board. The train did, however, slow down to refuel and resupply at the very spot where the porter had brought him. Even there, boarding was extremely difficult. The train was so overcrowded that people were spilling out of the windows. The only space Mr. Fan Chia could find was a narrow crevice outside the steam locomotive, barely enough room for a single foot. He wedged himself beside the hot engine and, to avoid falling, tied his hand to the smokestack with a handkerchief.
Though dangerous, the heat from the engine provided much‑needed warmth and a brief comfort to his exhausted body in the harsh winter cold. As the train later crossed the Yangtze River, a cable hung across the railway bridge. Many refugees riding atop the train were struck by the cable, swept into the river below, and lost their lives.
On another train journey, Mr. Fan Chia unexpectedly encountered a large group of students who had taken over an entire train car. They turned out to be the older students from the Transient Tianjin Fourth Middle School, the very ones he had earlier entrusted to the Nationalist government for their safety. The government was now transporting them by train to safer territory.
The students were overjoyed to see their beloved teacher again. They improvised a hammock from the ceiling of the train car so he could rest more comfortably and gathered around him, singing songs and sharing stories of their experiences since leaving the school. At each stop along the way, they would get off the train to buy food and snacks for him. For Mr. Fan Chia, this reunion made the journey especially memorable, pleasant, and deeply comforting amid an otherwise perilous escape.
After a long and difficult journey, Mr. Fan Chia arrived on the island of Taiwan.
Mother’s Escape with Jing-shyr and Hsiao-fann to Taiwan
Soon after he arrived in Taiwan, Mr. Fan Chia was appointed to a position at Keelung Marine College and wrote to Mrs. Bee-Chan Lin Chia, urging her to join him. At the time, Mrs. Bee-Chan Lin Chia, her two children, and her six younger siblings were living together with our grandmother so that the family wouldn’t go hungry, but she had no money to make the journey. Mr. Fan Chia provided her with the names of three trusted friends whom he believed could help her escape to Taiwan.
The first friend, Mr. Tze Ming Lee, was a cloth merchant. He sold several giangs, a traditional textile unit containing several bolts of fabric, which provided Mrs. Bee‑Chan Lin Chia with enough money to purchase ship tickets for herself and her two children to Taiwan. The second friend, Bau-Tzu Chang, a senior leader of the AJUO, brought her a precious bag of wheat flour to sustain her family during the long journey. The third friend secured the necessary travel documents and prepared some money for the family to use along the way.
During wartime, when resources were scarce and danger was ever‑present, these friends selflessly extended their help to Mrs. Bee‑Chan Lin Chia and her family out of deep friendship and respect for Mr. Fan Chia. This kindness was a debt Mrs. Bee-Chan Lin Chia never forgot. Throughout her life, she often reminded her children that they must always remember and honor the sacrifices made by those who helped their family survive and escape during such difficult times.
Mrs. Bee-Chan Lin Chia took her son (four years old), daughter (two years old), and several large trunk cases of their belongings to the port. She had to hand carry the young daughter and all luggage by herself. The only way she could do this was to instruct her son to wait for her at a viewable distance as she leapfrogged her trunk cases forward. After reaching Hong Kong, they waited for a month, at New Territory (part of Hong Kong), eventually, they were permitted to enter Taiwan, Keelung.
Keelung Reunion
After many months of separation, the Chia family finally arrived at Keelung Port. Mr. Fan Chia feared that his young children might no longer recognize their father after so long apart, but he was overjoyed to find that they still remembered him. With great relief and gratitude, the Chia family was reunited at last and found refuge together in Taiwan.
Life in Taiwan
Mr. Fan Chia worked at Keelung Marine College for two years, before following the college president to Kaohsiung Marine College. During his time in Kaohsiung, former AJUO colleagues, Mr. Chang and Mr. Chyi, invited him to join them at National Chengchi University in Taipei. Although the position offered was a lower‑level administrative role, Mr. Fan Chia accepted the opportunity for the sake of his children’s future and education. In 1960, the family relocated to Taipei.
Mr. Fan Chia was beloved and respected by the students and colleagues at Kaohsiung Marine College. On his day of departure, students, faculty, staff, and the school’s marching band (started and trained by Mr. Fan Chia himself) filled the Kaohsiung train station to see him off.
At National Chengchi University, Mr. Fan Chia continued his administrative career for many years, overseeing student affairs. He later took on teaching roles at both National Chengchi University and Fu Jen Catholic University. Mr. Fan Chia retired in 1987.
Mrs. Bee-Chan Lin Chia graduated from the Shenyang Women’s Education School in Shenyang. She went on to teach at the Municipal Chi Jin Elementary School in Kaohsiung, and later at Mu Zha Elementary School in Taipei. As a result of malnutrition during the difficult wartime years of her early life, she later endured health issues that persisted for many years.
In Memory of Mr. and Mrs. Fan Chia
The Chia Fan Foundation was established by their children in loving memory of Mr. and Mrs. Fan Chia.
Children and Extended Family
Mr. Fan Chia and Mrs. Bee-Chan Lin Chia have four children and their respected spouses:
Son Mr. Jing-Shyr Chia (deceased 2017), B.S. National Taiwan University, retired from National Taiwan University, BIME department. He was a Supervisor of ROC Shooting Association.
Daughter-in-law Mrs. J.W, Wang (surviving wife of Jing-Shyr), B.S. National Taiwan University, retired middle school teacher.
Daughter Dr. Hsiao-Fann Chia, DDS, Taipei Medical University. Two years training at Eastern Dental Clinic, NY. Retired from Director of Pediatric Dental, Taipei Veterans General Hospital.
Son-in-law Dr. Kay Kin Lau, DDS (late husband of Hsiao-Fann, deceased in 2003), National Defense Medical School, retired from his own dental practice.
Daughter Dr. Ching-Shu Chia Wagner, MS, MBA, DDS, Indiana University, J.D. Indiana University. After retiring from her dental practice of twenty-five years, she pursued J.D. degree, got her license and practiced as an attorney at Law in California for eight years before full retirement.
Son-in-law Dr. Martin Wagner (husband of Ching-Shu), MD Indiana University, retired from his own practice in anesthesia for thirty-two years.
Son Dr. Tien-Li Chia, MS, PhD, Case Western Reserve University. Co-founder of ControlSoft, Inc, he served as President & CEO for thirty-five years, now the Chairman.
Daughter-in-law Jar-Chi Lee (wife of Tien-Li), MS in Nutrition and MS in Biostatistics, Case Western Reserve University, retired from the Biostatistics Department of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
Our Story
Mr. Fan Chia and Mrs. Bee‑Chan Lin Chia:
A Journey from China to Taiwan
The foundation was founded in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Fan Chia. The scholarship program was established to reflect their virtues and lifelong commitment to educating future generations. Much of their early history was lost amid the upheavals of Japan’s invasion of China, the Chinese Civil War, their flight to Taiwan in search of safety, and the challenge of rebuilding their lives from nothing. This article recounts one of many challenges they’ve faced throughout their life – their escape from China to Taiwan. The events of this article were collected and recounted by their children.
Dr. Hsiao-Fann Chia, Dr. Ching-Shu Wagner, Dr. Tien-Li Chia
January 2026
Family History
Mr. Fan Chia and Mrs. Bee-Chan Lin Chia were married in Shenyang, Liaoning Province in Manchu China in 1944.
Mr. Fan Chia was born in 1917, Kaiyuan, Liaoning, his father Chia Pong-Ge賈鵬舉 was director of a post office in a small town by the border of Korea and Manchu. His grandfather Chia An-Pu賈恩普 and two brothers migrated to Manchu from Shandong province in their youth to search for a better life. After World War II, Mr. Fan Chia received a government scholarship and was admitted to Northeast University in Shenyang, majoring in Political Science. Mr. Fan Chia graduated with B.S. in 1948. Their first-born son, Jing-shyr (deceased 2017), and daughter, Hsiao-fann were born in Shenyang in the 1940s, followed by their second daughter Ching-Shu and second son Tien-Li were born in Taiwan in the 1950s.
Mrs. Bee-Chan Lin Chia was born in 1922 in Shenyang, in an affluent, scholarly honored family (family with Gongming 功名). Three of the family members were honored and awarded in the Qing Dynasty Imperial Examination (one Juren 舉人, provincial level, two xiucai 秀才, county level). There was a two-step horse mounting stone (上馬石) in front of the family house, a status symbol for Gongming 功名family
Mr. Fan Chia賈凡, 1917 – 2010
Mrs. Bee-Chan Lin林碧蟾, 1922 – 2019
Shenyang
Mr. Fan Chia was a high-ranking officer with Manchu Police Department. During World War II, he joined anti-Japanese underground organization (AJUO) under the Nationalist leadership (KMT). A well-known novel “The Raging Liao River” was written about the group of young patriot’s efforts in fighting Japanese governing power in Manchu. In 1945, the underground organization was partially penetrated by the Japanese counter-intelligence force, many of his fellow comrades got arrested, they were tortured for information of the AJUO organization. Several were about to be executed, fortunately, Japan surrendered and their lives were spared. After a couple of peaceful years, China civil war started, and the communist regime quickly took over the Northern China. Mr. and Mrs. Fan Chia witnessed Chinese communists’ rebels ravaging Northeast China. The communist regime started to arrest Kuomintang (KMT) members and the leaders of the AJUO. Mr. Fan Chia knew he needed to flee to the south.
Mrs. Bee-Chan Lin Chia’s mother, the only living grandparent at the time witnessed firsthand the brutal murder of landlords and affluent families by the communist regime. To hide from them, she had to discard all the assets, burned deeds, revoked ownership of farmland, buildings, real estate, but most heartbreakingly family heirlooms and important family historical documents were also destroyed to protect the safety of her family.
Mr. Fan Chia escaped on the last plane provided by the KMT government to Northeast University from Shenyang to Beijing. Due to dwindling power and resources, the weakened Nationalist government could only provide each member of the KMT eighty Silver Dollars and told everyone to flee on their own accord to the south.
Mrs. Bee-Chan Lin Chia, her mother (our grandmother) and her six siblings fled to Beijing shortly after.
Beijing
As the civil war continued, the Chinese communist forces gained control over large areas of China, while the Nationalist Party (KMT) steadily lost ground. At the time, the communist army was largely composed of local, poorly educated farmers who organized quickly, setting ambushes and arresting KMT members and former AJUO affiliates. Fearing that capture was imminent, Mr. and Mrs. Fan Chia decided that Mr. Fan Chia should escape first, before the Communists could reach him. The rest of the family remained behind, anxiously awaiting word from him confirming his safe passage south..
Father’s Escape to Taiwan
Tianjin was Mr. Fan Chia’s first stop, a city located about 100 miles southeast of Beijing. There, he was appointed principal of the Transient Tianjin Fourth Middle School, where he oversaw two to three hundred students, all children from the Manchurian region, some as young as eight years old. As Communist forces advanced, the school retreated by following Nationalist routes, continuing classes along the way by using abandoned school buildings whenever possible.
As conditions grew increasingly dangerous, Mr. Fan Chia made the painful decision to entrust the older students, those capable of caring for themselves and marching with the Nationalist army, to the Nationalists, believing this offered them the best chance of reaching safety. The younger children remained with him. As the civil war intensified, Communist forces closed in on the retreating Nationalist army. At their final stop, the school itself became a battlefield: Nationalist troops occupied one side of the school building, while Communist forces held the other.
Most of the teachers and staff had already fled in fear for their lives, but Mr. Fan Chia stayed behind with the remaining children. As fighting erupted, bullets flew across the schoolyard. He ordered the children to lie flat on the classroom floor to stay out of harm’s way. Tragically, one curious child lifted his head to look out a window and was struck by a bullet, losing his life.
After many hours of intense battle, the communist army eventually surrounded the entire school yard. The commanding officer asked Mr. Fan Chia to round up all remaining 60 to 70 of those kids mostly under 10 years old, he made a political propaganda speech to the young kids and told them that he is in charge now and would take them back to their hometown Manchu. Mr. Fan Chia was ousted.
Mr. Fan Chia continued his escape southward. During one leg of the journey, he reunited with a physician friend who had recently been appointed director of the Shenyang City Hospital. Together, they obtained a travel permit, known as a Chinese “road strip,” authorizing them to travel as a two‑person team to Korea to purchase medical supplies.
At a Communist roadblock, soldiers searched Mr. Fan Chia and discovered a single ten‑dollar U.S. bill sewn into the lining of his quilted jacket. He was forced to exchange it for Communist currency, losing nearly half of its purchasing power. Shaken by the incident, his friend grew fearful and wanted to abandon the trip. Mr. Fan Chia persuaded him to continue by secretly hiding the doctor’s several hundred U.S. dollars inside the hardcovers of medical textbooks. Because the travel permit was issued for two people, traveling alone would not have been allowed.
After failing the inspection that day, the two men turned back and returned the following morning. This time, they were first in line. Even so, the guard refused to let them pass and insisted on waiting for approval from his superior. At that point, Mr. Fan Chia deliberately raised his voice, creating a public scene. He argued loudly that the Communists claimed to serve the people and do good, yet were obstructing a mission to obtain medicine. He reminded the guard that they had already confiscated their U.S. currency the day before, severely reducing their purchasing ability, and accused them of harassment.
The guard became increasingly nervous, worried that others in line would overhear criticism of the new regime. The more the guard tried to quiet him, the louder Mr. Fan Chia spoke. Finally, flustered, the guard relented and waved them through, allowing the two men, and all their luggage, books, and belongings, to pass without further inspection.
Mr. Fan Chia and his doctor friend eventually parted ways, as the doctor chose to return to Shenyang to rejoin his family and fulfill his duties as director of the city hospital. Mr. Fan Chia continued his escape alone, one of tens of millions of refugees displaced by the war. Transportation became nearly impossible, overcrowded trains, buses, and ships could not be boarded even by those who held tickets. As the conflict intensified, conditions grew increasingly desperate and uncertain.
During his journey south, Mr. Fan Chia stayed at a small hotel and asked the porter about train schedules. At that time, trains were the only form of public transportation still operating. Giving the porter his very last silver dollar, he asked for help finding a way onto a train. The porter agreed.
Before dawn the next morning, the porter quietly woke him, and the two set out on foot toward the station. When they arrived, they found it overflowing with people, packed so tightly that no one in the lobby could move even an inch. Without stopping, the porter led Mr. Fan Chia past the station and continued walking for several miles, eventually stopping at an unmarked section of the railway track to wait.
Sure enough, a train soon appeared. It sped past the station without stopping, leaving behind the desperate crowd of refugees hoping to board. The train did, however, slow down to refuel and resupply at the very spot where the porter had brought him. Even there, boarding was extremely difficult. The train was so overcrowded that people were spilling out of the windows. The only space Mr. Fan Chia could find was a narrow crevice outside the steam locomotive, barely enough room for a single foot. He wedged himself beside the hot engine and, to avoid falling, tied his hand to the smokestack with a handkerchief.
Though dangerous, the heat from the engine provided much‑needed warmth and a brief comfort to his exhausted body in the harsh winter cold. As the train later crossed the Yangtze River, a cable hung across the railway bridge. Many refugees riding atop the train were struck by the cable, swept into the river below, and lost their lives.
On another train journey, Mr. Fan Chia unexpectedly encountered a large group of students who had taken over an entire train car. They turned out to be the older students from the Transient Tianjin Fourth Middle School, the very ones he had earlier entrusted to the Nationalist government for their safety. The government was now transporting them by train to safer territory.
The students were overjoyed to see their beloved teacher again. They improvised a hammock from the ceiling of the train car so he could rest more comfortably and gathered around him, singing songs and sharing stories of their experiences since leaving the school. At each stop along the way, they would get off the train to buy food and snacks for him. For Mr. Fan Chia, this reunion made the journey especially memorable, pleasant, and deeply comforting amid an otherwise perilous escape.
After a long and difficult journey, Mr. Fan Chia arrived on the island of Taiwan.
Mother’s Escape with Jing-shyr and Hsiao-fann to Taiwan
Soon after he arrived in Taiwan, Mr. Fan Chia was appointed to a position at Keelung Marine College and wrote to Mrs. Bee-Chan Lin Chia, urging her to join him. At the time, Mrs. Bee-Chan Lin Chia, her two children, and her six younger siblings were living together with our grandmother so that the family wouldn’t go hungry, but she had no money to make the journey. Mr. Fan Chia provided her with the names of three trusted friends whom he believed could help her escape to Taiwan.
The first friend, Mr. Tze Ming Lee, was a cloth merchant. He sold several giangs, a traditional textile unit containing several bolts of fabric, which provided Mrs. Bee‑Chan Lin Chia with enough money to purchase ship tickets for herself and her two children to Taiwan. The second friend, Bau-Tzu Chang, a senior leader of the AJUO, brought her a precious bag of wheat flour to sustain her family during the long journey. The third friend secured the necessary travel documents and prepared some money for the family to use along the way.
During wartime, when resources were scarce and danger was ever‑present, these friends selflessly extended their help to Mrs. Bee‑Chan Lin Chia and her family out of deep friendship and respect for Mr. Fan Chia. This kindness was a debt Mrs. Bee-Chan Lin Chia never forgot. Throughout her life, she often reminded her children that they must always remember and honor the sacrifices made by those who helped their family survive and escape during such difficult times.
Mrs. Bee-Chan Lin Chia took her son (four years old), daughter (two years old), and several large trunk cases of their belongings to the port. She had to hand carry the young daughter and all luggage by herself. The only way she could do this was to instruct her son to wait for her at a viewable distance as she leapfrogged her trunk cases forward. After reaching Hong Kong, they waited for a month, at New Territory (part of Hong Kong), eventually, they were permitted to enter Taiwan, Keelung.
Keelung Reunion
After many months of separation, the Chia family finally arrived at Keelung Port. Mr. Fan Chia feared that his young children might no longer recognize their father after so long apart, but he was overjoyed to find that they still remembered him. With great relief and gratitude, the Chia family was reunited at last and found refuge together in Taiwan.
Life in Taiwan
Mr. Fan Chia worked at Keelung Marine College for two years, before following the college president to Kaohsiung Marine College. During his time in Kaohsiung, former AJUO colleagues, Mr. Chang and Mr. Chyi, invited him to join them at National Chengchi University in Taipei. Although the position offered was a lower‑level administrative role, Mr. Fan Chia accepted the opportunity for the sake of his children’s future and education. In 1960, the family relocated to Taipei.
Mr. Fan Chia was beloved and respected by the students and colleagues at Kaohsiung Marine College. On his day of departure, students, faculty, staff, and the school’s marching band (started and trained by Mr. Fan Chia himself) filled the Kaohsiung train station to see him off.
At National Chengchi University, Mr. Fan Chia continued his administrative career for many years, overseeing student affairs. He later took on teaching roles at both National Chengchi University and Fu Jen Catholic University. Mr. Fan Chia retired in 1987.
Mrs. Bee-Chan Lin Chia graduated from the Shenyang Women’s Education School in Shenyang. She went on to teach at the Municipal Chi Jin Elementary School in Kaohsiung, and later at Mu Zha Elementary School in Taipei. As a result of malnutrition during the difficult wartime years of her early life, she later endured health issues that persisted for many years.
In Memory of Mr. and Mrs. Fan Chia
The Chia Fan Foundation was established by their children in loving memory of Mr. and Mrs. Fan Chia.
Children and Extended Family
Mr. Fan Chia and Mrs. Bee-Chan Lin Chia have four children and their respected spouses:
Son
Mr. Jing-Shyr Chia (deceased 2017), B.S. National Taiwan University, retired from National Taiwan University, BIME department. He was a Supervisor of ROC Shooting Association.
Daughter-in-law
Mrs. J.W, Wang (surviving wife of Jing-Shyr), B.S. National Taiwan University, retired middle school teacher.
Daughter
Dr. Hsiao-Fann Chia, DDS, Taipei Medical University. Two years training at Eastern Dental Clinic, NY. Retired from Director of Pediatric Dental, Taipei Veterans General Hospital.
Son-in-law
Dr. Kay Kin Lau, DDS (late husband of Hsiao-Fann, deceased in 2003), National Defense Medical School, retired from his own dental practice.
Daughter
Dr. Ching-Shu Chia Wagner, MS, MBA, DDS, Indiana University, J.D. Indiana University. After retiring from her dental practice of twenty-five years, she pursued J.D. degree, got her license and practiced as an attorney at Law in California for eight years before full retirement.
Son-in-law
Dr. Martin Wagner (husband of Ching-Shu), MD Indiana University, retired from his own practice in anesthesia for thirty-two years.
Son
Dr. Tien-Li Chia, MS, PhD, Case Western Reserve University. Co-founder of ControlSoft, Inc, he served as President & CEO for thirty-five years, now the Chairman.
Daughter-in-law
Jar-Chi Lee (wife of Tien-Li), MS in Nutrition and MS in Biostatistics, Case Western Reserve University, retired from the Biostatistics Department of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.