Because of his political views, Chen was put on a blacklist by the Kuomintang government during this time, and was unable to return to Taiwan. He was eventually allowed to return with the advent of Taiwan's democratization. In 1992, Chen joined the Democratic Progressive Party and was elected a member of the Legislative Yuan. In December 1993, he was nominated the candidate of Tainan County Magistrate by the DPP and was elected. He was reelected again in 1997 with 66% of the vote.