The Founder of the China Times, (
Dubbed "the oldest worker in Taiwan," Yu announced his retirement last October because of his declining health, passing the paper's management onto his son Albert Yu (余建新). Even so, he remained the true head of the paper since its establishment in 1950 until the day he died.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHINA TIMES
In 1996, Yu was diagnosed with liver cancer, and since then he had been afflicted with the disease. Regardless of two major operations and numerous treatments, his health continued to deteriorate.
Yu was the owner of three newspapers, six magazines and three cultural organizations. However, his death left his lifelong wishes unfulfilled.
Heritage and home
Born and raised in China, Yu had long expected to see Taiwan united with China. Had that happened, he would have expanded his media enterprise to China. But neither of these wishes was accomplished during his lifetime.
Many in political and media circles yesterday paid their tribute to Yu and sent their condolences to his family.
They considered Yu's death a great loss to society because of his contribution to Taiwan's democratic development and his courage to stand up for social justice.
Employees at the China Times have lost their spiritual leader, and the image of the elderly man walking slowly into the office every day has become thing of the past.
Yu lived through many significant historic events both in China and in Taiwan.
He was born on April 16, 1910 in Jiangsu province, China.
Witnessing the rampant warlords in China at that time, Yu, during his teenage years, became a student activist in an attempt to save the country.
After earning a bachelor's degree in history from National Central University in Nanking, he continued his education at the London School of Economics and Political Science. But his studies were interrupted after the eruption of World War II. He returned to China to join the army.
Yu then moved to Taiwan in 1949 with the KMT after the communists took over China.
Serving the country
In 1950, the 40-year-old Yu decided to serve the country by founding a newspaper. He established a paper called The Commercial and Industrial Daily News (徵信新聞). The paper was renamed as China Times in 1968. In 1978, the Commercial Times (工商時報) was first published and the China Times Express (中時晚報), an evening newspaper, was launched in 1988.
"The reason why I decided to start the newspaper was to publish the truth, which can endure trial by public opinion," Yu said three years ago at the celebration of his 90th birthday.
Under Yu's management, the paper quickly defeated its rivals in its early years as a result of Yu's successful marketing strategies. It has been rated one of the three most influential newspapers in Taiwan.
Advocating his ideals to achieve democracy and freedom in Taiwan, Yu was most acclaimed for his championing of the re-election of the legislature, the abolishment of martial law (1987), and the relaxation of the ban to found political parties and newspapers (1988).
When the DPP was established in 1986, the China Times was the only newspaper to have comprehensively covered the event.
A driving force
"Despite his allegiance to the KMT, he was liberal and had been a driving force behind the nation's democratization in the late 1980s -- the years before late president and KMT chairman Chiang Ching-kuo (
When Chiang died in 1989, high-ranking KMT officials disagreed about whether his successor, Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), should serve as the party's chairman. It was through the efforts of Yu and James Soong (宋楚瑜), the KMT's deputy secretary-general at the time, that Lee was approved as acting chairman of the KMT.
Yu, serving at the time as a KMT Central Standing Committee member, assisted the peaceful power transfer within the party, and helped stabilize the political areana after Chiang passed away.
Although residing in Taiwan for more than half a century, his affections for China remained intact over the years and he had advised the government to establish friendly interactions with China.
"The greatest expectation of [Yu's] life was to see Taiwan's unification with China," Huang Chao-sung (
His feelings toward China prompted him to oppose Taiwan's independence and these thoughts played a pivotal part in the political direction of the paper's editorials and news coverage.
The paper's editorials suggested that the government accept the "one China, two systems (一國兩制)," a system implemented in Hong Kong under China's rule since 1997.
Ideology and impartiality
But many readers could easily tell that he was torn between how he could stay impartial yet advocate his political ideologies because his editorials became confusing as he tried to please both Taiwan, Beijing and all the political parties.
Having successfully built his media empire in Taiwan, Yu tried to expand his business in Hong Kong and the US. Neither of his attempts were fruitful, however.
On Sept. 1, 1982, the China Times US Edition (美洲中國時報) began publication in New York and Los Angeles. But the paper only survived for two years after it was attacked by the KMT for allegedly serving as a mouthpiece for Beijing.
After the paper covered the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 1984, Chiang Ching-kuo suggested that the paper be shut down because it had put too much emphasis on the accomplishments made by China's athletes.
That failure was the biggest blow to Yu's career because he was compelled to yield to his biggest rival in the North American market, the United Daily News.
In 1992, Yu introduced the China Times Weekly (
Nonetheless, Yu's ambition to invest in China never ceased. His children have tried to establish connections in China and many of its reporters frequently visit China.
In addition to being a powerful media enterprise, the paper is well known for cultivating outstanding journalists in Taiwan.
Prominent figures
Many prominent figures were at one time under Yu's wing, such as former Control Yuan president Wang Tso-yung (
"Yu was more than willing to offer the young and inexperienced opportunities to express their creativity and follow their ambitions. Anyone with novel ideas and a solid work ethic will be treated very well at the China Times," Chiang has said.
However, Yu was also criticized for his cruelty in driving people away after they had burned out.
Aside from the achievements of his career, he was a role model for the paper's employees because of his charisma, strong will, curiosity and dedication to learning.
Intrepid example
When Yu was discovered to have cancer six years ago, in spite of his old age, he quickly decided to undergo surgery to eliminate the tumors.
He returned to work after one month, continuing to hold an editorial meeting every day.
The disease kept relapsing. Yu received numerous treatments over the years, but the disease didn't keep him from working.
He went back to the office whenever the disease was under control. Whenever he returned, the subordinates would stand up and clap their hands to welcome him.
"Ordinary people would lose their composure if they were struck by cancer twice. But that was not the case for Yu," Huang Chao-song once said.
The Internet version of the China Times was launched in September 1995 on Yu's strong recommendation.
In his 80s and early 90s, Yu was fascinated by computer technology. He took computer courses and was often seen by his employees to hit the keyboard, send e-mails or read books about high technology.
On March 25, President Chen Shui-bian (
Although ill, Yu stood up to welcome Chen and shared his views about national affairs and cross-strait relations with the president.
"If I had been given more time, I could have done so many other things," Yu was quoted as saying after he realized his days were numbered.
"Yu Chi-chung won the public's admiration because he was ambitious and always progressing," a senior journalist said.
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