The body of Jeffrey Koo Sr (辜濂松), founder and former chairman of one of Taiwan’s largest banks, Chinatrust Financial Holding Co, arrived in Taiwan early yesterday morning.
Koo died at the age of 79 on Dec. 5 in New York after reportedly battling Parkinson’s disease for some years.
The charter plane carrying Koo’s body along with members of his family was greeted by dozens of Chinatrust executives and other Koo family members.
Photo: CNA
The Koo family organized a simple ceremony led by a pastor for the late banker at an EVA Airways cargo facility before taking his body in a motorcade to Taipei.
The motorcade drove past Chinatrust’s headquarters in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義), where more than 2,000 employees lined up on the street to mourn Koo’s death, many of them in tears.
The motorcade then drove to Sanjhih (三芝) in New Taipei City (新北市), where Koo’s body was to be temporarily placed.
Later, more than 300 Chinatrust employees were taken to Sanjhih to pay their respects to Koo.
According to Chinatrust, his family will organize a requiem Mass.
Koo went to the US earlier this year for treatment, where he was reported to have been diagnosed with a brain tumor.
He died in the company of his family.
His elder son, Jeffrey Koo Jr (辜仲諒), who had been previously barred from leaving the country over his alleged role in a financial scandal, paid a record NT$1billion (US$34.3 million) as a guarantee late last month in exchange for court permission to visit his ailing father in New York.
The late tycoon represented Taiwan in the international arena in numerous capacities, including serving as the nation’s representative on the APEC’s Business Advisory Council from 1995 to 2009.
A long-time “ambassador-at-large,” in September Koo was conferred the Order of the Rising Sun by the Japanese government, the highest honor given by Japan to businesspeople, for his contributions in promoting Japan-Taiwan ties.
He has also been honored by former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) for his long-term efforts in expanding Taiwan’s ties with the international community, and pushing for economic and trade cooperation with other countries.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
‘MALIGN PURPOSE’: Governments around the world conduct espionage operations, but China’s is different, as its ultimate goal is annexation, a think tank head said Taiwan is facing a growing existential threat from its own people spying for China, experts said, as the government seeks to toughen measures to stop Beijing’s infiltration efforts and deter Taiwanese turncoats. While Beijing and Taipei have been spying on each other for years, experts said that espionage posed a bigger threat to Taiwan due to the risk of a Chinese attack. Taiwan’s intelligence agency said China used “diverse channels and tactics” to infiltrate the nation’s military, government agencies and pro-China organizations. The main targets were retired and active members of the military, persuaded by money, blackmail or pro-China ideology to steal
RSS