Too much publicity appears to have convinced Chen Guangbiao (陳光標), a Chinese tycoon distributing hundreds of millions of NT dollars to poor people nationwide, to rein in his high-profile style.
The last straw apparently came yesterday, on day three of his weeklong “Thanksgiving” tour of Taiwan, when a young man kneeled in front of him while having lunch, asking him to donate one of his red envelopes containing at least NT$10,000 (US$345) in cash.
Chen refused; in an unexpected turn for a man that has already given three envelopes worth NT$70,000 to an elderly woman who waited outside his hotel and another NT$20,000 to a young man on the street with his niece on Thursday.
“He’s a strong young fellow. He should be creating business with an entrepreneurial spirit. I didn’t give [the red envelope] to him because it would have harmed him, not helped him,” Chen said.
Chen and his family arrived on Wednesday as part of a controversial donation tour in Taiwan, flanked by other Chinese industrialists. Chen said he was committed to making NT$500 million in donations, through personal meetings with recipients and other donations to charities and non-profit organizations. He is also reportedly in Taiwan to handle a business deal that he said would return 40 percent of its profits.
Chen and members of the entourage have maintained that they wish to keep the trip “low-profile,” despite making media appearances, photo-ops and granting interview requests at almost every stop of his itinerary yesterday.
A large button on each of their lapels read: “This is a low-profile trip.”
Chen said he wouldn’t be handing more money out on the street and that the remaining amount would instead be donated to a charitable organization.
His actions, markedly toned down since his arrival, when he reportedly insisted on meeting personally with all recipients, still drew heated -questions by -lawmakers across party lines, who called some of the behavior Chen encountered “shameful.”
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲), meanwhile, told a press conference that Chen, instead of showing the best in people, “appears to have brought out the worst.”
“I guess even in the richest of Middle Eastern countries, you will see the poor and the disadvantaged; it’s not that surprising,” Huang said. “Chen’s efforts, while laudable, should be better thought out.”
His itinerary yesterday included a visit to the tomb of late pop singer Teresa Teng (鄧麗君), where Chen shed tears.
DPP lawmakers have expressed concern that Chen may be violating the terms of his business visa when he reportedly skipped a business meeting yesterday.
Trip itineraries by Chinese visitors are tightly controlled, but Chen has insisted that the business deals will be completed.
Meanwhile, the New Taipei City (新北市) Government yesterday confirmed that a local donor gave NT$10 million to the city anonymously in the past few days.
“He was very low-key,” said Lee Li-chen (李麗圳), director of the city’s Department of Social Affairs. “He used cash and asked that the bank simply send it over.”
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
Yangmingshan National Park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) nature area has gone viral after a park livestream camera observed a couple in the throes of intimate congress, which was broadcast live on YouTube, drawing large late-night crowds and sparking a backlash over noise, bright lights and disruption to wildlife habitat. The area’s livestream footage appeared to show a couple engaging in sexual activity on a picnic table in the park on Friday last week, with the uncensored footage streamed publicly online. The footage quickly spread across social media, prompting a tide of visitors to travel to the site to “check in” and recreate the
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
RSS