Robert Tsao (曹興誠), founder of contract chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC), yesterday pledged to donate NT$3 billion (US$100.17 million) to help Taiwan bolster its defenses as China launched intensive military drills around Taiwan.
Tsao, who gave up his Republic of China (ROC) citizenship to migrate to Singapore in 2011 in part because of lingering dismay over government restrictions on UMC’s ability to invest in China, has recently become a vocal critic of Beijing.
At a news conference in Taipei, the entrepreneur described Chinese maneuvers as “unbearable insolence” and said the donation would be aimed at shoring up Taiwan’s security and defense posture.
Photo: CNA
The funds would support defense education for individuals or groups to help Taiwan resist Beijing’s cognitive and psychological warfare campaigns, and also go toward countering Chinese Communist Party (CCP) cyberattacks and hacking activities against Taiwan, he said.
Tsao said he was still thinking about how the funds would be used, but suggested that the establishment of a foundation could be an option.
In a statement he released separately yesterday, Tsao called the CCP a “hooligan” and a “local ruffian,” and he urged Taiwanese advocating unification with China to “draw a clear line” and keep a distance from the authoritarian regime.
A normal civilized country should value human rights, the rule of law, democracy and freedom, but “the CCP advocates totalitarianism, deceit, hatred and violence,” Tsao said.
“Everyone should understand that I am not doing it [the donation] for the sake of fame or fortune. I’m not interested in politics or elections, either,” he said. “I just hate the CCP’s lies and violence, and hope to leave a piece of pure land and a blue sky in Taiwan for those who speak Chinese.”
Tsao’s attacks against China sharply contrast with his behavior when he ran UMC more than 15 years ago.
He led a team to set up Hejian Technology (Suzhou) Co in China’s Jiangsu Province in 2001, which triggered an investigation by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government at the time led by then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
Because of the investment in Hejian, UMC was charged with breach of trust and violation of the Business Entity Accounting Act (商業會計法) in 2005, but was found not guilty in 2010.
Tsao stepped down as chairman of UMC in 2005.
In January 2011, Tsao, who was unhappy with the DPP’s crackdown on UMC’s investment in China, accepted an invitation from the Singaporean government to obtain Singaporean citizenship, giving up his ROC citizenship in the process.
In 2013, UMC took Hejian under its corporate umbrella after the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) took office and allowed the company to build an 8-inch wafer fab in China.
Although he is no longer a ROC citizen, Tsao in March said that his two sons remain ROC citizens and would fight the People’s Liberation Army were China to invade Taiwan.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their
RSS