Chang Yung-fa (張榮發), the billionaire founder of Evergreen Group (長榮集團) who turned a second-hand bulk carrier into Asia’s biggest container-shipping line, died yesterday. He was 88.
He died at 11:05am, Evergreen Group said in an e-mail. No cause was given.
Chang, the son of a seaman, started building his business almost five decades ago by buying a used bulk vessel and became one of the nation’s richest people. He was chairman of Taipei-based Evergreen Group, which owns Asia’s largest container fleet through Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運); EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空), the nation’s largest airline by market value; Evergreen Sky Catering Corp (長榮空廚), an airline-catering company; and hotel chain Evergreen International Hotels (長榮桂冠酒店).
Photo: EPA
Chang has a fortune of at least US$1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
“The oceans and ships occupy very important places in my life,” Chang wrote in his autobiography, published in 1997.
The tycoon called himself “a natural-born son of the ocean.”
Evergreen Marine, the company that began his business empire, was established in 1968 with the used bulk vessel.
It expanded into an operator of more than 190 ships, according to information from shipping-data provider Alphaliner.
The company posted a net loss of NT$2.41 billion (US$71.25 million at current exchange rates) in the quarter ended September last year, after posting a profit a year earlier, as the global economic slowdown hurt the shipping industry.
Chang was also an advocate of closer economic relations with and China. In 2008, Taiwanese and Chinese airlines, including EVA Airways, began regular flights across the Taiwan Strait after the lifting of a six-decade ban on direct transport links.
His personal holdings as of Dec. 31 last year included 6 percent of publicly traded Evergreen Marine and 2.9 percent of EVA Airways, the nation’s largest airline by market value, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
His youngest son, Chang Kuo-wei (張國煒), is chairman of EVA Airways.
Evergreen Group is the benefactor of non-profit organizations such as a maritime museum and a symphony orchestra.
Born on Oct. 6, 1927, in the northeastern coastal township of Suao (蘇澳), Chang was the third of seven children. He started working as a clerk for a Japanese shipping company as a teenager while attending night school and went on to spend 15 years as a sailor, rising to the rank of captain.
Chang became the family’s breadwinner when his father died in 1944, as his two elder brothers had married by then, according to his book.
He was married in 1953, and had four sons and a daughter.
In 1989, his son Chang Kuo-ming (張國明) was kidnapped for a US$1.9 million ransom.
The younger Chang was eventually released unharmed, while his three kidnappers were apprehended and executed the following year, The Associated Press reported at the time.
ANNOUNCEMENT: People who do not comply with the ban after a spoken warning would be reported to the police, the airport company said on Friday Taoyuan International Airport Corp on Friday announced that riding on vehicles, including scooter-suitcases (also known as “scootcases”), bicycles, scooters and skateboards, is prohibited in the airport’s terminals. Those using such vehicles should manually pull them or place them on luggage trolleys, the company said in a Facebook post. The ban intends to maintain order and protect travelers’ safety, as the airport often sees large crowds of people, it said, adding that it has stepped up publicity for the regulation, and those who do not comply after a spoken warning would be reported to the police. The company yesterday said that
QUIET START: Nearly a week after applications opened, agencies did not announce or promote the program, nor did they explain how it differed from other visitor visas Taiwan has launched a six-month “digital nomad visitor visa” program for foreign nationals from its list of visa-exempt countries who meet financial eligibility criteria and provide proof of work contracts. To apply, foreign nationals must either provide proof that they have obtained a digital nomad visa issued by another country or demonstrate earnings based on age brackets, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said. Applicants aged 20 to 29 must show they earned an annual salary of at least US$20,000 or its equivalent in one of the past two years, while those aged 30 or older must provide proof they earned US$40,000 in
UNITY MESSAGE: Rather than focusing on what Trump said on the campaign trail about Taiwan, Taipei should be willing to engage with the US, Pompeo said Taiwan plays a key role in Washington’s model of deterrence against China, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said in a speech in Taipei yesterday. During US president-elect Donald Trump’s first term, “we had developed what we believe was a pretty effective model of deterrence against adversaries who wanted to undermine the set of rules and values that the people of Taiwan and the people of the US hold dear,” Pompeo said at a forum organized by the Formosa Republican Association. “Succeeding in continuing to build this model will not solely rest at the feet of president Trump and his team,
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS: The suspects formed spy networks and paramilitary groups to kill government officials during a possible Chinese invasion, prosecutors said Prosecutors have indicted seven retired military officers, members of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, for allegedly obtaining funds from China, and forming paramilitary groups and assassination squads in Taiwan to collaborate with Chinese troops in a possible war. The suspects contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法) by taking photos and drawing maps of key radar stations, missile installations and the American Institute in Taiwan’s headquarters in Taipei, prosecutors said. They allegedly prepared to collaborate with China during a possible invasion of Taiwan, prosecutors said. Retired military officer Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), 62, a Republic of China Army Academy graduate, went to China