TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Former Taiwan envoy to the U.S. Shen Lyu-shun (沈呂巡) passed away at the age of 73 on Friday morning (Jan. 6) at Cardinal Tien Hospital in New Taipei.

Shen, a sixth-generation descendant of Qing dynasty official Shen Baozhen (沈葆楨), was born in 1949 and graduated from National Chung Hsing University, per CNA. He received a master's degree and a doctorate in international relations from the University of Pennsylvania.

Over his long career as a diplomat, he served as the representative to the U.K., the representative to the EU and Belgium, and the foreign ministry's North American Affairs director.

In 2014, Shen was appointed representative to the U.S., after his predecessor, King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) was promoted to National Security Council secretary-general.

Shen caused an uproar in 2015 when he held a flag-raising ceremony at the Twin Oaks Estate, resulting in protest from the Obama administration. Then-U.S. State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki expressed Washington’s “disappointment” that he had acted without prior consultation.

When Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) was elected president in 2016, he resigned from his post.