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.”
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS