He sought to allow Chinese immigrants to return to China and be replaced by a relative to continue operating their business.
[10] A history of the Kuomintang in Australasia concluded that Chen "received a great deal of criticism from the community, as he was seen as being more concerned with (Kuomintang) party affairs than with improving the status of the Chinese in Australia.
"[11] He gave the inaugural George Ernest Morrison Lecture in Ethnology at Australian National University (expressing the "earnest hope that the Australian people will extend to my countrymen sympathy and trust and that the great nation of China may be united with the great Anglo-Saxon race to preserve the peace of the world.").
He often visited the United States at the invitation of various church groups there, giving lectures throughout the country.
In later life, Chen became known as pastor of Shih-Ling Church near Taipei, where Chiang Kai-shek and his family attended services, as they had in Nanjing where he was their personal minister.