In February 1989, Chao was appointed as the Labor Minister (officially called at that time the Chairman of the Council of Labor Affairs of the Executive Yuan, the council now has been changed to Ministry of Labor) of the National Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan), a post he held until December 1994, making him the longest-serving labor minister until now in Taiwan. When he was Labor Minister, Chao modernized labor legislation; making sure that all labor laws were 100% implemented; improved work conditions for the employed; raised the minimum wage every year; enhanced the occupational health and safety; expanded programs for employment services and vocational training; strengthened labor insurance protection; opened job market for alien workers for the first time in the country's history, enacting the country's first law governing the importation, regulation and protection of alien workers. He maintained a good and reasonable balance between the employers and the employed and helped the labor unions to function more effectively and properly.Supra note 2, Chao, pp. 63-71; supra note 2, Wang, pp. 127-247.; supra note 5, Academia Historica, pp. 262-270.
