Chen and Fujian
Chen served as governor of Fujian province for eight years, beginning in 1934. His experience in Fujian, the province immediately across the straits from Taiwan and the source of a larger percentage of Taiwan's population, was clearly a factor in Chen's selection to take control of Taiwan at the end of the war.
During his tenure in Taiwan, Chen got a taste of the complexity of ethnic and social ties among people from Fujian in other parts of Asia. He ran afoul of a powerful Chinese in Singapore, Tan Kah Kee, the leader of a large community of overseas Chinese. As a result of the conflict, Chen had to spend considerable effort and political capital fending off accusations of maladministration made against him by the influential Tan.
Read more about this topic: Chen Yi (Kuomintang)