President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday presented a citation in recognition of the contribution of the late founder of the Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團), Wang Yung-ching (王永慶), to the nation's economic development.
Wang died in his sleep last month in the US aged 91. His body was flown back to Taipei and moved to a memorial hall in Taoyuan County's Chang Gung University, which Wang founded.
Addressing the memorial service at the university yesterday, Ma praised Wang as the “glory of Taiwan,” who dedicated his life to building one of the biggest conglomerates in Taiwan and contributing generously to society as a philanthropist.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE FORMOSA PLASTICS GROUP
“We thank him for everything he did for Taiwan and for the people. He set a shining example for us, and he will forever live in our memory,” Ma said.
“Wang's assiduity, diligence and his sense of decency in starting this giant business group set a great example for all of us ... His words and actions are the glory of Taiwan, and he definitely deserved to be praised as the son of Taiwan,” Ma said.
Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄), Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), Control Yuan President Wang Chien-shien and Judicial Yuan President Lai In-jaw (賴英照) laid the national flag on Wang Yung-ching's coffin.
Around 8,000 people attended the memorial service yesterday, including business tycoons and political heavyweights across the political spectrum such as former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜).
Chen, who in the past weeks had accused the Ma administration of political persecution and of planning to detain him over money-laundering allegations, took the initiative to shake hands with Ma. The two did not exchange words during the ceremony.
Wang Yung-ching's oldest son Winston Wong (王文洋), chairman of the board of Grace THW Group (宏仁企業集團), led all family members in paying a final tribute to the late business tycoon.
Wang Yung-ching, known in Taiwan as the “god of management,” came from a poor family. He was sent by his father to work as an apprentice at a rice shop in Chiayi at the age of 15, shortly after finishing elementary school in 1932.
He borrowed NT$200 from his father a year later and started his own rice shop.
In 1954, he began a plastics business, which quickly grew in the 1960s to become the world's largest plastic manufacturer in 1980.
The Formosa Plastics Group has been ranked as the nation's most profitable conglomerate since 2004, making NT$219 billion (US$6.7 billion) in net profits last year.
A Forbes magazine report in June ranked Wang Yung-ching as the nation's second-richest businessman, with a fortune of US$6.8 billion. His daughter, Cher Wang (王雪紅), and her husband, Chen Wen-chi (陳文琦), came in fifth, with combined assets of US$3.5 billion.
Wang Yung-ching's casket will remain at Chang Gung University until the middle of January. He will then be buried in a 5.2-hectare plot at the Linkou (林口) plant of Nan Ya Plastics Corp (南亞塑膠), one of the group's member companies.
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