Former Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) chairman Kong Jaw-sheng (龔照勝) died of a heart attack on Friday night, aged 61.
Kong suffered a myocardial infarction and fell into a coma while having dinner with friends. Emergency treatment by a doctor who happened to be in the same restaurant failed to save his life.
Kong chaired the nation’s top financial regulator from 2004 to 2006 under then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) of the Democratic Progressive Party.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator-at-large and former FSC chairman William Tseng (曾銘宗) said he was stunned by Kong’s death.
Kung seemed to be in good health and regularly took part in outdoor activities, such as mountain climbing, Tseng said, adding that he was an easygoing person.
As the first chairman of the FSC, Kong made tremendous contributions to the commission, Tseng said.
Kong played a critical role in setting up a monitoring system for the local financial market as he had a thorough understanding of international financial markets, Tseng added.
Kong used to work for foreign banks operating in Taiwan, such as Credit Suisse First Boston.
Tseng said that Kong’s English proficiency and experience of foreign banking made him capable of heading the commission.
During his term as FSC chairman, Kong often led delegations overseas, helping Taiwanese financial institutions navigate foreign markets, Tseng said, adding that Kong’s presence had boosted the global visibility of Taiwan’s capital market.
The FSC was established in July 2004 and is responsibile for supervising banking, securities and insurance markets in Taiwan.
Tseng said that, as the head of the commission, Kong always listened to the opinions of local financial firms, adding that during his tenure, the nation’s financial market remained stable.
FSC Vice Chairman Huang Tien-mu (黃天牧) said that Kong was a good supervisor who took care of his colleagues in the commission and was respected by his subordinates.
In 2006, Kung was charged by prosecutors with alleged involvement in three corruption scandals while he served as chairman of state-owned Taiwan Sugar Corp (Taisugar, 台糖) in 2003.
He was later acquitted, but was impeached by the Control Yuan, a branch of government responsible for ensuring ethical conduct on the part of officials.
‘ABUSE OF POWER’: Lee Chun-yi allegedly used a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon and take his wife to restaurants, media reports said Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) resigned on Sunday night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by the media. Control Yuan Vice President Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) yesterday apologized to the public over the issue. The watchdog body would follow up on similar accusations made by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and would investigate the alleged misuse of government vehicles by three other Control Yuan members: Su Li-chiung (蘇麗瓊), Lin Yu-jung (林郁容) and Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), Lee Hung-chun said. Lee Chun-yi in a statement apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a
BEIJING’S ‘PAWN’: ‘We, as Chinese, should never forget our roots, history, culture,’ Want Want Holdings general manager Tsai Wang-ting said at a summit in China The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday condemned Want Want China Times Media Group (旺旺中時媒體集團) for making comments at the Cross-Strait Chinese Culture Summit that it said have damaged Taiwan’s sovereignty, adding that it would investigate if the group had colluded with China in the matter and contravened cross-strait regulations. The council issued a statement after Want Want Holdings (旺旺集團有限公司) general manager Tsai Wang-ting (蔡旺庭), the third son of the group’s founder, Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明), said at the summit last week that the group originated in “Chinese Taiwan,” and has developed and prospered in “the motherland.” “We, as Chinese, should never
‘A SURVIVAL QUESTION’: US officials have been urging the opposition KMT and TPP not to block defense spending, especially the special defense budget, an official said The US plans to ramp up weapons sales to Taiwan to a level exceeding US President Donald Trump’s first term as part of an effort to deter China as it intensifies military pressure on the nation, two US officials said on condition of anonymity. If US arms sales do accelerate, it could ease worries about the extent of Trump’s commitment to Taiwan. It would also add new friction to the tense US-China relationship. The officials said they expect US approvals for weapons sales to Taiwan over the next four years to surpass those in Trump’s first term, with one of them saying
INDO-PACIFIC REGION: Royal Navy ships exercise the right of freedom of navigation, including in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, the UK’s Tony Radakin told a summit Freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region is as important as it is in the English Channel, British Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Tony Radakin said at a summit in Singapore on Saturday. The remark came as the British Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales, is on an eight-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific region as head of an international carrier strike group. “Upholding the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and with it, the principles of the freedom of navigation, in this part of the world matters to us just as it matters in the
RSS