Media tycoon Lin Kun-hai (林崑海), founder of Sanlih Entertainment Television (SET) and an emerging political faction in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), died of head and neck cancer at Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital on Monday night. He was 68.
Lin, who “left peacefully and finished the journey of his life,” is survived by his wife, Chang Hsiu (張秀), and his children and grandchildren, the media group said in a statement.
Lin, whose influence has spanned politics, business and media, was widely considered the spiritual leader of Taiwan Forward, also known in the party as the Hai faction.
Photo: CNA
In the past few years, the group has provided a counterbalance to members of the DPP’s former New Tide faction, currently the dominant influence in the party.
Key Taiwan Forward members include DPP legislators Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲), Chao Tien-ling (趙天麟), Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) and Lin Chu-ying (林楚茵), as well as Taipei City Councilor Ruan Jhao-syong (阮昭雄) and New Taipei City Councilor Ho Po-wen (何博文).
Group members have in the past few years sought to fill key positions in the party.
Political experts have said that Lin Kun-hai’s passing is expected to shake up the nine-in-one local elections on Nov. 26, as some politicians who aligned themselves with his group might switch their allegiance to other factions within the party.
After its founder’s death, SET News, which has aligned itself with the pan-green camp, might head in another direction, media experts said.
Born in 1954, Lin Kun-hai began his career as a taxi driver and a video rental store owner.
In 1983, Lin Kun-hai, Chang and Chang’s brother, Chang Rong-hua (張榮華), founded a media firm that produced and distributed videos of the comedy shows of Taiwanese entertainer Chu Ko Liang (豬哥亮).
In 1993, Lin Kun-hai established the Sanlih channel to broadcast videos produced by his firm, which was later renamed Sanlih Entertainment Television.
The network currently owns eight television channels, including three variety channels, two news channels, one entertainment channel, one drama channel and one international channel.
The network generated most of its profits from political talk shows and Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese)-language soap operas, both of which enjoyed high ratings.
Close observers of Lin Kun-hai said that his success in media helped solidify his influence in politics and the entertainment business.
Over the years, he accumulated considerable wealth from investing in real estate, with properties in Kaohsiung, Tainan and northern Taiwan.
Lin Kun-hai, real-estate developer Chung Chia-tsun (鍾嘉村) and media tycoon Lien Tai-sheng (練台生) also founded a property management firm in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖).
In 2001, Lin Kun-hai ran for legislator as an independent candidate in Kaohsiung. Although he lost, he remained active in politics by supporting politicians.
Since 2017, Lin Kun-hai appeared less often in public after he was seen going into a motel with then-Kaohsiung city councilor Yen Hsiao-ching (顏曉菁).
Over the past few years, Lin Kun-hai was battling head and neck cancer. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) visited him when he was undergoing treatment.
Media reports said that he had checked into the hospice ward at Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital before the Lunar New Year holiday.
Lin Kun-hai was admired for his legacy in the media business and his support for local politicians, Wang said.
Lin Kun-hai sacrificed numerous opportunities to profit because he steadfastly held to the values of independence and democracy, he said.
“Taiwan Forward is an alliance of politicians with a clear goal and vision, and its members — from the Legislative Yuan to city councils — care about the development of Taiwan as Lin Kun-hai did,” Wang said. “We might have lost an important elder, but the spirit of fighting for Taiwan stays — and we will become stronger and more united.”
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
RSS