Chen Show Mao

Before he began full-time practice as a corporate lawyer, Chen worked at a number of research institutions such as Ralph Nader’s Centre for Study of Responsive Law (CSRL), the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and the Research & Planning and Enforcement divisions of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

In May 2016, Chen challenged the incumbent Secretary-General and leader of the Workers’ Party Low Thia Khiang for the position and lost. In September of the same year, it was reported by the press that Chen quit as Treasuer but still remained on the Exco. Chen however clarified that his tenure ended.

In the Singapore General Election 2015, the WP candidates successfully defended Aljunied GRC against a PAP team with no political experience. Their vote share was reduced to 50.95%.

Together with his fellow WP opposition MPs, Chen questioned the 2013 Population White Paper. In his speech on 5 February 2014, Chen proposed instead to increase the resident workforce growth of Singapore citizens and permanent residents by up to 1% per year till 2030. He also proposed that the foreign workforce size be held constant except when growth targets for the resident labour force are not met. Previously, Chen had suggested redefining industry segments when considering the issue of foreign worker dependency.

In his maiden speech in Parliament, Chen stated how he saw himself as an opposition MP, saying that "I may challenge government policy ... perform my role to voice alternative and opposing views ... but it does not mean I do not support the government in its work". Chen further added that "I am not the enemy of the government. I am a Singaporean, a patriot." During the Ministerial Salary Review debate in January 2012, Chen further expressed his opinion that political office is a calling and should neither be treated as a discount factor, nor be monetised.

On 1 July 2011, Chen announced on his Facebook page that he had retired from active practice as a partner of his law firm given his new responsibilities as an MP. The decision was made so that he can spend more time with his family, to better serve his constituency and country, and that he would be exploring alternative work arrangements.

On 27 April 2011, Chen submitted his candidacy for the five-member Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (Aljunied GRC) with the WP's Secretary-General Low Thia Khiang, Chairman Sylvia Lim, Pritam Singh, a postgraduate law student, and Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap, a freelance counsellor. The incumbent team included two cabinet ministers and one Senior Minister of State, and was helmed by the prominent Minister for Foreign Affairs, George Yeo.

On 7 May 2011, Chen and his WP team won the Aljunied GRC with 54.71% of the total votes cast, with Yeo's PAP team obtaining 45.29% of the votes. The victory was considered historic because it was the first time that GRC seats had been captured by an opposition party, and the first time that two cabinet ministers had lost their parliamentary seats in a general election. Chen became the first foreign-born opposition MP in the history of Singapore, while his teammates Sylvia Lim and Muhamad Faisal Manap became the first female opposition MP and the first Malay opposition MP respectively. Also, together with Pritam Singh and Muhamad Faisal bin Abdul Manap, he became one of the first three opposition MPs to be elected into parliament at the first attempt.

On 15 October 2011, it was announced that Chen was nominated to sit on the Committee of Selection, making him the first non-People's Action Party MP to be named to this committee.

Chen advised the Agricultural Bank of China on its US$22 billion initial public offering (IPO), which was the largest IPO in history when it completed in August 2010. He also advised the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) on its US$21 billion IPO, as well as China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) on its proposed US$19 billion acquisition of Unocal. Chen also completed the global IPOs of Air China, China Construction Bank, China Unicom, Metallurgical Corp. of China, Sinopec, as well as offerings by the Ministry of Finance of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

Beyond that, Chen has worked with sovereign wealth funds such as the China Investment Corporation (CIC), the Development Fund of the ROC and also advised the Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taiwan Stock Exchanges on proposed regulations. Chen was named one of American Lawyer's 2010 "Dealmakers of the Year" in April 2011.

Chen is a partner in the Corporate department of Davis Polk & Wardwell and a managing partner of the Beijing office. An experienced lawyer, he has practised in the New York office since 1992, the Hong Kong office since 1999 and the Beijing office since 2007.

Chen, then a Singapore Permanent Resident, performed compulsory military service, officially known as National Service (NS) in Singapore as required by law. While in NS, Chen was an infantry platoon commander at the Fifth Singapore Infantry Regiment (5SIR) and as Brigade Adjutant, or DYS1, at the headquarters of the Third Singapore Infantry Brigade (3SIB). He became a Singapore citizen in 1986, six years after serving National Service.

In 1986, Chen graduated from Harvard University and from Corpus Christi College, Oxford in 1988, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. In 1992 Chen received his Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School and in 2005 received his Master of Arts from Corpus Christi College, Oxford.

Chen was the president of the students' council at NJC and graduated as the top student in Singapore for the 1979 GCE Advanced Level examinations, scoring distinctions in various subjects.

Chen graduated as the top student for the 1979 GCE Advanced Level examinations, ahead of peers Vivian Balakrishnan and Lui Tuck Yew. Chen however did not gain admission into the local medical school. Thereupon, he pursued his undergraduate studies with major in economics at Harvard University.

Chen Show Mao MP (born 6 February 1961) is a Singaporean politician and lawyer serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) of Aljunied GRC for Paya Lebar since 2011. He is a member of the opposition Workers' Party (WP).