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.
Authorities have detained three former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TMSC, 台積電) employees on suspicion of compromising classified technology used in making 2-nanometer chips, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. Prosecutors are holding a former TSMC engineer surnamed Chen (陳) and two recently sacked TSMC engineers, including one person surnamed Wu (吳) in detention with restricted communication, following an investigation launched on July 25, a statement said. The announcement came a day after Nikkei Asia reported on the technology theft in an exclusive story, saying TSMC had fired two workers for contravening data rules on advanced chipmaking technology. Two-nanometer wafers are the most
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
A bipartisan group of US representatives have introduced a draft US-Taiwan Defense Innovation Partnership bill, aimed at accelerating defense technology collaboration between Taiwan and the US in response to ongoing aggression by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The bill was introduced by US representatives Zach Nunn and Jill Tokuda, with US House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chairman John Moolenaar and US Representative Ashley Hinson joining as original cosponsors, a news release issued by Tokuda’s office on Thursday said. The draft bill “directs the US Department of Defense to work directly with Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense through their respective
Tsunami waves were possible in three areas of Kamchatka in Russia’s Far East, the Russian Ministry for Emergency Services said yesterday after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit the nearby Kuril Islands. “The expected wave heights are low, but you must still move away from the shore,” the ministry said on the Telegram messaging app, after the latest seismic activity in the area. However, the Pacific Tsunami Warning System in Hawaii said there was no tsunami warning after the quake. The Russian tsunami alert was later canceled. Overnight, the Krasheninnikov volcano in Kamchatka erupted for the first time in 600 years, Russia’s RIA
RSS