He then returned to Taiwan as an associate research fellow affiliated with the Academia Sinica's Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology.
He left NSYSU and the IPMB in 2002 to become the president of the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, and served as NPUST head until 2006.
[1][3] Chou is opposed to building an eighth naphtha cracker in Taiwan, as proposed by the Kuokuang Petrochemical Technology Company (KTPC).
[7][8] In January 2019, Chou co-signed a petition asking the Executive Yuan to revoke the Ministry of Education's decision approving Kuan Chung-ming's election as National Taiwan University president.
[10] During the 2024 presidential election cycle, Chou expressed support for the Democratic Progressive Party ticket of Lai Ching-te and Hsiao Bi-khim.