A plan by a Chinese philanthropist to hand out hundreds of millions of NT dollars to some of Taiwan’s poorest families ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday has drawn a mixed response from municipal authorities and a good deal of criticism.
Several small counties have embraced the idea with open arms.
However, the conditions that Chen Guangbiao (陳光標), a tycoon who made his fortune by recycling construction materials, has set for giving the money — which include handing the cash over personally and doing so under his name — appear to have failed to convince other municipalities.
Photo: CNA
“We don’t want to see [the recipients] rounded up and have the [donations] take place in a high-profile manner,” New Taipei City (新北市) Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) said. “We still need to have some respect for the people that need our help.”
New Taipei City and Taoyuan County are two municipalities that have made it clear that Chen’s money would not be accepted. Other cities, including Taipei and Greater Kaohsiung, said they have not yet been approached by Chen to take part of the “Gratitude Trip” he plans to stage.
The Chinese-language United Daily News reported yesterday that Chen plans to bring a group of 50 Chinese industrialists to Taiwan on Thursday and has pledged to give up to NT$500 million (US$17.2 million) during a tour of the country, which will begin over the weekend.
Chen has prepared about 50,000 red envelopes embossed with the inscription “The day is cold, the ground freezing but the peoples’ hearts are warm. The Chinese race is one family and a fire in the winter,” the newspaper reported.
Chen was quoted as saying that the large donation this year was in response to an outpouring of popular support from Taiwanese for Chinese earthquake victims in the past. Taiwan donated more than NT$2 billion to victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.
However, Chen’s plans, which reportedly include a huge dinner party for 600 disadvantaged people at the Grand Hotel on Saturday, where he plans to hand out some of the red envelopes, have be criticized as being “over the top” by some municipal officials.
Greater Kaohsiung officials said anyone making donations needed to consider the self-respect and equality of recipients, which was why the city insisted that donations to low-income families take place through a municipal fund.
Taoyuan County Government officials said that while donations were rarely turned down, they were put in a bind when Chen rejected using a representative and insisted on distributing his red envelopes in front of the county government offices.
However, Hsinchu and Nantou county officials said they were more than happy to comply with some of Chen’s reported requests.
Both counties have reportedly already chosen their list of 300 recipients, officials said. Nantou County is also planning to send buses to take recipients to and from the county government offices.
“We hope to hold a caring ceremony, we won’t let the people feel like they’re accepting handouts,” Hsinchu County Social Affairs Department director Tsai Kuang-jung (蔡光榮) said.
Chen was ranked No. 223 on Forbes’ list of richest Chinese. His net worth is reportedly 2.8 billion yuan (US$425.4 million).
Chen has promised to leave his entire fortune to charity after his death, the first Chinese billionaire to do so. He was quoted as telling the Sunday Telegraph in October last year that he wanted to create a “charity army” of rich Chinese, who would donate at least 20 percent of their annual profit to good causes.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AFP AND STAFF REPORTER
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
RSS