Professor Chen-Wishart was born in Taiwan and moved with her family to New Zealand where she was educated. Previously she was a tutor in the History Department and a Senior Lecturer in Law at Otago University and Rhodes Research Fellow at St Hilda College, Oxford. She has held Visiting Professorships at Hong Kong University, and at Auckland, Otago and Canterbury Universities. She has also been an Adjunct Professor of Ohio and Georgia Universities. She delivered the 2009 Hochelaaga lectures at Hong Kong University. Over her career, she has taught a wide range of private and public law subjects.