Robert Wu (吳清友), chairman and founder of Eslite Corp (誠品), one of the largest retail bookstore chains in Taiwan, yesterday died of heart failure at the age of 66, the company said in a stock exchange filing.
Wu was reportedly taken to Taipei Medical University Hospital at about 7pm, but was later pronounced dead, the hospital said, without giving a cause of death.
Wu reportedly had chronic heart conditions and underwent three surgeries since 1988.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Wu’s daughter, Mercy Wu (吳旻潔), the company’s vice chairwoman, was seen at the hospital.
She did not comment.
A special board meeting would be called to elect a new chairperson, the company said.
Eslite was established in 1989, with its first bookshop in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) on Dunhua S Road, with a focus on art and humanities-related books.
The company expanded to 48 stores, one children’s bookstore, and four music stores in Taiwan. Most of its target market is in urban areas.
Eslite was the first bookstore to set up a 24-hour service in Taiwan, at its Dunhua store, which became a popular meeting place.
The first Eslite Bookstore outside Taiwan opened in Hysan Place in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, in 2012.
Eslite also has branches in China. Competitors have tried to copy its successful business model.
Under Robert Wu’s leadership, the bookstore chain has also expended into construction, retail, hospitality, restaurant and wine businesses.
In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) quoted the Taiwanese song One Small Umbrella (一支小雨傘) to describe his nation’s situation. Wong’s use of such a song shows Singapore’s familiarity with Taiwan’s culture and is a perfect reflection of exchanges between the two nations, Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said yesterday in a post on Facebook. Wong quoted the song, saying: “As the rain gets heavier, I will take care of you, and you,” in Mandarin, using it as a metaphor for Singaporeans coming together to face challenges. Other Singaporean politicians have also used Taiwanese songs
NORTHERN STRIKE: Taiwanese military personnel have been training ‘in strategic and tactical battle operations’ in Michigan, a former US diplomat said More than 500 Taiwanese troops participated in this year’s Northern Strike military exercise held at Lake Michigan by the US, a Pentagon-run news outlet reported yesterday. The Michigan National Guard-sponsored drill involved 7,500 military personnel from 36 nations and territories around the world, the Stars and Stripes said. This year’s edition of Northern Strike, which concluded on Sunday, simulated a war in the Indo-Pacific region in a departure from its traditional European focus, it said. The change indicated a greater shift in the US armed forces’ attention to a potential conflict in Asia, it added. Citing a briefing by a Michigan National Guard senior
CHIPMAKING INVESTMENT: J.W. Kuo told legislators that Department of Investment Review approval would be needed were Washington to seek a TSMC board seat Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said he received information about a possible US government investment in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and an assessment of the possible effect on the firm requires further discussion. If the US were to invest in TSMC, the plan would need to be reviewed by the Department of Investment Review, Kuo told reporters ahead of a hearing of the legislature’s Economics Committee. Kuo’s remarks came after US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday said that the US government is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that
US President Donald Trump on Friday said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) told him China would not invade Taiwan while Trump is in office. Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News, ahead of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “I will tell you, you know, you have a very similar thing with President Xi of China and Taiwan, but I don’t believe there’s any way it’s going to happen as long as I’m here. We’ll see,” Trump said during an interview on Fox News’ Special Report. “He told me: ‘I will never do