Chinese tycoon and philanthropist Chen Guangbiao (陳光標) arrived in Taiwan last night to begin a controversial “thanksgiving” tour that will see him hand over hundreds of millions of NT dollars.
Chen and a 47-member delegation are set to visit Taipei, and Hsinchu, Nantou and Hualien counties over the next six days, with pledges to give out an estimated NT$500 million (US$17.2 million) to impoverished Taiwanese.
New Taipei City (新北市) and Taoyuan County rejected conditions for the handouts, which reportedly include busing recipients to municipal offices to thank Chen personally for the gifts.
There was no indication that any Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-governed municipalities were contacted as part of the trip, which has been labeled by the DPP as having a political agenda.
Chen, who made his fortune by recycling construction materials, is no stranger to controversy.
He has called his trip a response to the goodwill shown by Taiwanese during earthquakes in China over the past two years.
His glitzy ways have, however, been called “over the top” by municipal officials anxious to avoid a repeat of an appearance in Nanjing last week where he made 15 million yuan (US$2.28 million) into a “cash wall” before giving it away.
On a call-in program on TVBS News on Tuesday night, the 42-year-old caused anger when he said he hoped critics of his visit would “go and learn some Marxist ideas.”
Local media reported that, Chen, ranked No. 223 on Forbes’ list of richest Chinese, plans to hand out 50,000 red envelopes, each containing NT$10,000 in cash. Some of the money was also contributed by other leading Chinese industrialists.
Mixed information from city and county governments has suggested that Chen originally expected recipients to be bused to municipal offices where he could hand over the money personally.
He will, however, allow the Red Cross Society of the Republic of China to accept his NT$3 million donation in Hualien County, after Hualien County Commissioner Fu Kun-chi (傅崑萁) said there was no way to choose between 3,000 disadvantaged households.
Hsinchu County Government’s education bureau will receive a check on behalf of the recipients, while Nantou County Government will comply with Chen’s request to bus recipients to county offices. In Taipei, Chen will hold a dinner at the Grand Hotel where he plans to hand out money to 600 people.
His plans have drawn concerns that he has failed to consider recipients’ rights to respect and privacy. Critics have also said there is no way to fairly decide who should get money.
Some non-profit organizations have also said donations should be handled through social welfare groups better equipped to deal with disadvantaged people.
Politicians, meanwhile, said they hoped to see the entire matter handled in a more “low-profile” manner.
DPP lawmakers said Chen was in Taiwan for more than simply business and charity work.
“I want to remind the Taiwanese people that Chen is only in Taiwan to help Beijing engage in its unification efforts,” said DPP Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津), apparently referring to Chen’s “Marxist” comments and the text embossed on his red envelopes, which says “the Chinese race is one family (中華民族一家親).”
Chen is due to make donations in Hsinchu County tomorrow, Nantou County and Taipei on Saturday and Hualien County on Sunday. He is also expected to visit the Taipei Flora Expo the day before his departure on Tuesday.
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘CORRECT IDENTIFICATION’: Beginning in May, Taiwanese married to Japanese can register their home country as Taiwan in their spouse’s family record, ‘Nikkei Asia’ said The government yesterday thanked Japan for revising rules that would allow Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to list their home country as “Taiwan” in the official family record database. At present, Taiwanese have to select “China.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the new rule, set to be implemented in May, would now “correctly” identify Taiwanese in Japan and help protect their rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The statement was released after Nikkei Asia reported the new policy earlier yesterday. The name and nationality of a non-Japanese person marrying a Japanese national is added to the
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
RSS