Wang Yung-ching (王永慶), who died on Wednesday at the age of 91, is considered one of the most influential entrepreneurs in Taiwan. For many Taiwanese, he was a successful businessman who built his fortune from scratch.
Wang’s death caused fears that Formosa Plastics Group’s (台塑集團) business plans and operations would decline without its spiritual leader. It also brought about a feeling of loss for a legendary businessman who may have no equal in Taiwan, now or in the future.
Share prices of the group’s 10 subsidiaries listed on the nation’s main bourse all plunged by their daily limit on Thursday, indicating the lack of confidence of investors after Wang’s death. Those shares recouped most of their losses in Friday trading, but uncertainty will remain as long as the issue of Wang’s successor is unsettled.
Forbes magazine in June rated Wang the nation’s second-wealthiest person with a fortune of US$6.8 billion. Many in Taiwan credit the deceased businessman simply for being a household name.
Wang was a straightforward man who was known to take risks. Paying their last respects, mourners praised the tycoon for his clear-cut decision-making and emphasis on operational efficiency. They also credited his pragmatism and farsighted business initiatives.
The establishment of Formosa Plastics Corp (台塑) in 1954 and of Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (長庚醫院) — the nation’s largest and most profitable hospital chain — in 1976 are two of his most conspicuous accomplishments. His leadership of the two groups earned Wang the nickname “god of management.”
Wang was a human being, however, and did make mistakes over the decades, especially in a televised debate with then-Ilan County commissioner Chen Ding-nan (陳定南) in 1987, when he argued for the establishment of the Sixth Naphtha Cracker plant in the county’s Lize Industrial Park (利澤工業區).
Straightforward but not as eloquent as Chen, Wang lost the debate over environmental protection and economic growth. Formosa Plastics was forced to search for other sites to build the naphtha cracker and finally found one in Mailiao Township (麥寮), Yunlin County, in 1991.
Wang also experienced disappointing results from investments in automobile manufacturing and plasma-display panel making. He closed Formosa Automobile Corp last year after shutting down Formosa Plasma Display Corp in 2005.
But it was his secret meeting with Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平) in 1989 in Beijing and his criticism of former president Lee Teng-hui’s (李登輝) “no haste, be patient” trade policy toward China that raised eyebrows across the Taiwan Strait — after he was forced to give up on a proposed petrochemical project in Fujian Province in 1992. To this day, Taiwanese debate Wang’s backing of a closer relationship with China and his acceptance of Beijing’s “one China” policy.
To many Taiwanese, Wang’s legacy not only stems from the Formosa Plastics Group, but also from his straightforward attitude and his concern for corporate responsibility toward employees and shareholders.
His lifelong commitment to hard work and thrift is respectable. His passing away on a business trip to the US, even though he had retired in 2006, reflects his devotion to work — until the very end.
There is a modern roadway stretching from central Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland in the Horn of Africa, to the partially recognized state’s Egal International Airport. Emblazoned on a gold plaque marking the road’s inauguration in July last year, just below the flags of Somaliland and the Republic of China (ROC), is the road’s official name: “Taiwan Avenue.” The first phase of construction of the upgraded road, with new sidewalks and a modern drainage system to reduce flooding, was 70 percent funded by Taipei, which contributed US$1.85 million. That is a relatively modest sum for the effect on international perception, and
At the end of last year, a diplomatic development with consequences reaching well beyond the regional level emerged. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Israel’s recognition of Somaliland as a sovereign state, paving the way for political, economic and strategic cooperation with the African nation. The diplomatic breakthrough yields, above all, substantial and tangible benefits for the two countries, enhancing Somaliland’s international posture, with a state prepared to champion its bid for broader legitimacy. With Israel’s support, Somaliland might also benefit from the expertise of Israeli companies in fields such as mineral exploration and water management, as underscored by Israeli Minister of
When former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) first took office in 2016, she set ambitious goals for remaking the energy mix in Taiwan. At the core of this effort was a significant expansion of the percentage of renewable energy generated to keep pace with growing domestic and global demands to reduce emissions. This effort met with broad bipartisan support as all three major parties placed expanding renewable energy at the center of their energy platforms. However, over the past several years partisanship has become a major headwind in realizing a set of energy goals that all three parties profess to want. Tsai
Chile has elected a new government that has the opportunity to take a fresh look at some key aspects of foreign economic policy, mainly a greater focus on Asia, including Taiwan. Still, in the great scheme of things, Chile is a small nation in Latin America, compared with giants such as Brazil and Mexico, or other major markets such as Colombia and Argentina. So why should Taiwan pay much attention to the new administration? Because the victory of Chilean president-elect Jose Antonio Kast, a right-of-center politician, can be seen as confirming that the continent is undergoing one of its periodic political shifts,
RSS