(For the Chinese version, please scroll down. 中文版請往下滑)
Anyone who knew Jamie knows that he was the kind of person who, whenever you needed help, you could call—and he would show up immediately without hesitation.
Jamie came to New Jersey from Taiwan at the age of 11. While still in high school, he received the New Jersey Caring Award. Over the years he served as a volunteer EMT and with the Red Cross. He also served as President of the International Association of Chiefs of Police – Taiwanese American Chapter, and as an officer of the New Jersey Asian Law Enforcement Officers Association, dedicating more than twenty years to emergency management and exchanges between Taiwanese and American law enforcement agencies.
But more than any of these titles, what people will always remember is his wholehearted enthusiasm and his warm smile.
After the September 11 attacks in New York, Jamie began reflecting deeply on the meaning of life. He hoped to reach out and help others during their most vulnerable moments—and he spent the rest of his life living out that belief.
In addition to strengthening community ties in New Jersey, participating in emergency relief efforts, and helping Asian law enforcement officers solve countless professional and personal challenges, Jamie also spent many years supporting visitors from Taiwan.
From 2015 to 2025, he continuously helped Taiwanese police officers studying in New York, visiting trainees from the Taiwan Coast Guard Administration, and internship groups from multiple universities.
For every Taiwanese student or visitor far from home, Jamie treated them like family.
He would pick them up at the airport, help them find housing, assist with moving, and help them purchase daily necessities. He would even go to Taiwanese bakeries to buy bread and drinks that reminded them of home, because he knew how much Taiwanese people abroad miss their homeland.
Jamie’s home became a kind of informal support hub. Fans, heaters, coffee makers—these items were passed down from one group of visiting students to the next. If something broke, Jamie would pay out of his own pocket to replace it. During holidays, he worried that people might feel lonely, so he always invited everyone to his home for meals, gradually building a network that connected Taiwanese people together.
Many people share memories like these:
“When I first arrived in the U.S. and my apartment was completely empty, Jamie immediately drove home and brought an entire truckload of furniture.”
“On the day of my graduation, my family couldn’t attend. Jamie showed up without telling me beforehand, sat through the entire ceremony recording it for me, and then took me out to celebrate.”
These are the kinds of memories shared by so many people whose lives Jamie touched.
Jamie also spent several years quietly helping care for a friend’s elderly grandmother. Often, even her own family members did not know—Jamie had already delivered whatever she needed.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many international students and Taiwanese friends were afraid to go out. Jamie gathered supplies and personally delivered them from home to home. That was simply who he was—a person who always did everything he could to care for others, placing his own needs and safety last.
For more than a decade, Jamie also used his own resources and personal connections to organize numerous international law enforcement exchange visits for Taiwanese officers training on the U.S. East Coast—including personnel from Taiwan’s National Police Agency, National Immigration Agency, and Coast Guard Administration.
He arranged visits ranging from the JFK Airport Police Headquarters in New York to the New Jersey Marine Police Department, from aviation police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to local police departments. Participants observed drone demonstrations, bomb-sniffing dog exercises, and scenario-based shooting simulations, among many other activities.
Through the efforts of one individual, Jamie helped facilitate meaningful professional exchange and growth between Taiwanese and American law enforcement officers and agencies. He even recommended outstanding colleagues to compete for the International Top Female Law Enforcement Officer Award, helping showcase the professionalism of Taiwanese police on the international stage.
Some people once called him a hero, but Jamie would always say:
“I don’t have a definition of a hero. Treating others with love and compassion, and respecting every person’s differences—that is simply the most basic thing about being human.”
After Jamie passed away, many friends asked: “What can we do for him?” After discussing with his family, we decided to do something he always hoped to do during his lifetime but never had the chance to complete: Help children in Taiwan who are in need of support.
If you would also like to express your support, you are welcome to join us. All funds raised through the GoFundMe platform will be transferred into a dedicated account held by Jamie’s wife, Joan Shen. Together with the condolence gifts received during Jamie’s memorial service, the full amount will be donated in the name of “Jamie Cheng-Chi Yeh” to the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families.
認識Jamie哥的人都知道，他就是那種你需要幫忙的時候，打一通電話給他，他二話不說就會馬上出現的人。
Jamie 哥 11 歲從台灣來到紐澤西，高中就獲頒紐澤西州的 Caring Award，他擔任過志願救護員、曾在紅十字會服務；他擔任過旅美國際執法官員協會會長、紐澤西亞裔執法人員協會幹部，投身緊急管理和台美執法單位交流超過二十年。
但比起這些頭銜，大家記得的永遠是他毫無保留的熱忱與笑容。
紐約發生911 事件那年，他開始思考生命的意義，希望能在別人最脆弱的時刻伸出手，他用餘生實踐了他的信念。
除了在紐澤西團結社區，投身急難救助，幫助亞裔執法人員解決各種疑難雜症外，Jamie從 2015 年到 2025 年間，長期協助每年從台灣至紐約留學的警察同仁、海巡署的訪問學員、以及多所大學的實習團隊。
對於每個素昧平生的海外遊子，Jamie哥都當自己家人一樣照顧：接機、找房、搬家、添購日用品⋯他甚至會去台灣麵包店買家鄉口味的麵包和飲料給大家，因為他知道在異鄉的台灣人有多想家。
Jamie哥家就像物資及關懷流動的據點，電扇、暖氣、咖啡機，都是一代遊子傳過一代，壞了，他還會自掏腰包換新。每遇重要節日，他怕大家孤單，一定把所有人找來家裡吃飯，牽起一個又一個台灣人的網絡。
「剛到美國家徒四壁，Jamie 哥馬上開回家搬了一整車家具過來。」
「畢業典禮那天，家人無法到場，Jamie 哥沒說一聲就出現了，全程坐在台下幫我錄影，然後帶我去吃飯慶祝。」
這是許多接觸過Jamie哥的人共有的回憶。
Jamie哥還曾幫忙照顧朋友年邁的祖母好幾年，常常連祖母的家人都不知道，Jamie哥就已經默默把她需要的東西送過去了。
Covid-19疫情期間，許多留學生及台灣朋友不敢出門，Jamie哥籌措物資，一站一站把東西送到大家的家門口，他就是這樣盡自己最大的力量照顧他人，把自己的需求跟安危擺在最後的人。
十幾年來，Jamie哥自掏腰包、運用自己的人際網絡，為台灣派駐美國東岸受訓的執法人員—警政署、移民署、海巡署—安排了一場又一場的國際執法交流參訪，從紐約甘迺迪機場警察總部到紐澤西水上警察局，從航空警察、聯邦槍砲彈藥管理局到地方警局，從觀摩無人機、偵爆犬演練至情境模擬射擊 ⋯。
他用一個人的力量，促成了許多台灣及美國執法人員及執法單位的經驗交流及成長進步，甚至推薦優秀同仁角逐「國際傑出女性執法人員」獎項，讓台灣警察的專業在國際被看見 。
有人曾說他是英雄，但他說：「我對英雄沒有定義，用愛和慈悲對待別人、尊重每個不一樣的人，這是身而為人最基本的事情。」
Jamie 哥離開以後，很多朋友都問：「我們能為他做什麼？」跟家屬商量後，我們決定做一件他生前最想做，卻還沒實現的事情：幫助台灣需要扶助的孩童。
如果您也想表達心意，歡迎加入我們，所有款項將從Go Fund Me平台整筆匯入Jamie哥的太太Joan Shen的獨立帳戶，併同Jamie哥告別式收到的禮金，全額以 「Jamie Yeh葉正祺」 的名義捐贈至台灣的家扶基金會。