Yang Teng-kuei (楊登魁), an influential figure in the nation’s entertainment, film and television industries, died of a stroke at Taipei Veterans General Hospital Monday at the age of 74.
Yang had been hospitalized since Dec. 17 after suffering a stroke, a statement issued by Polyface Entertainment Media Group said, which was founded by Yang in March 2011.
The statement said Yang’s condition had not improved despite various types of treatment, including a transcatheter arterial embolization.
Photo: Wang Wen-lin, Taipei Times
His health deteriorated further and he died at 5:12am on Monday, with his family and many good friends by his side, the statement added.
Taiwanese film director Chu Yen-ping (朱延平) posted a photograph of himself with Yang on his Facebook page, with a caption that read: “[Yang], forever my boss.”
Yang is credited with nurturing many of the entertainment industry’s big stars in Taiwan and the rest of the Chinese-speaking community.
In the early years of his career, Yang and his partners operated a pop concert hall in Kaohsiung that became a landmark of the nation’s variety show culture and a launcing pad for many local TV and movie personalities, including Yu and Chang Fei (張菲).
Yang also invested in filmmaking, which helped put actors and actresses from Taiwan, Hong Kong and China into the spotlight. Among those he helped are Brigitte Lin (林青霞) and Sally Yeh (葉蒨文).
Known for his outgoing and gregarious personality, Yang was also alleged to have links with organized crime. When Taiwan launched its first major crackdown on organized crime in 1985, Yang was arrested and sent to the notorious, but now defunct, prison on Green Island (綠島) off the east coast, where he was kept for three years.
Following his release, Yang focused on filmmaking. A City of Sadness (悲情城市), a 1989 film whose production he oversaw, won the coveted best film award in the Venice International Film Festival that year.
However, he was rounded up again shortly afterward in a second crackdown on organized crime for allegedly operating underground gambling dens.
After a statute on compensating those whose rights were violated during the Martial Law era took effect in 1995, Yang applied for compensation on the grounds that he was imprisoned twice without a trial. He eventually received NT$480,000 (US$16,500) in compensation.
In 1992, he set up the nation’s first cable TV station, but later decided to live abroad for several years after a cable TV channel under his company was involved in a professional baseball gambling scandal.
After returning to Taipei, he set up GTV and produced a number of smash hit drama series, including Royal Tramp, which was based on noted Hong Kong writer Jin Yong’s (金庸) novel of same name.
In 2011, he founded Polyface group with an ambition of investing up to NT$3 billion over five years to make Taiwan a new hub of global filmmaking and showbusiness.
Yang said at the Polyface inaugural ceremony that the group was founded through the joint efforts of his friends in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China to put the local entertainment industry on the world stage. The group has since produced a number of hit movies.
The Polyface statement said a temporary memorial hall will open on tomorrow where his friends can pay their last respects and that a funeral will be held in the form of a concert, the date of which will be announced at a later date.
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
The Taiwan Experience Education Program (TEEP) has funded short-term internships in Taiwan for more than 4,500 young people from more than 40 countries since 2015, with the goal of attracting and retaining international talent, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. Fifty-five colleges launched 514 projects this year, including in fields such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, medicine and biotechnology, green energy, and sustainability, it said. The program provides research and practical internships in Taiwan for two to six months, and offers cultural exchange and networking opportunities, the ministry said. For example, National Formosa University’s Embedded System and Autopilot Laboratory developed two solar-powered drones in
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
Taipei resident Mu Chu-hua caught some glimpses of China’s mighty military parade on YouTube on Wednesday. As she watched hypersonic missiles roll down Beijing’s Changan Avenue and troops march in lockstep, she did not feel like they posed a threat to Taiwan. Mu, a 69-year-old retiree, said she saw the parade as simply a way for Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to “say thank you to the troops.” “I thought it was quite normal,” she said. “It was very cool.” China’s military parade commemorating the end of World War II was being watched internationally for insights into Beijing’s military advances and its show
RSS