Chang Yung-fa

Chang Yung-fa
Born	6 October 1927 Suao, Taihoku Prefecture, Taiwan, Empire of Japan
Died	20 January 2016 (aged 88) Taipei, Taiwan
Nationality	Taiwanese
Occupation	businessman, corporate executive

Chang Yung-fa CBE (Chinese: 張榮發; 6 October 1927 – 20 January 2016) was a Taiwanese businessman. He founded and chaired the Evergreen Group.

Biography

Chang was born in Su'ao,^[1] while Taiwan was under Japanese rule. When he was seven, the family moved to Keelung.^[2] After graduating from Taipei Commercial High School at the age of 18, he went to work in the Taipei office of a Japanese shipping line. He continued his education by taking night classes at a vocational school in Taipei.^[3]

After World War II, he joined the seagoing staff of a local shipping company as third officer. His subsequent career was spent with various local companies and he progressed through the ranks to captain.

In 1961, Chang and some friends jointly established a shipping company and, having helped this company to develop, he decided to branch out on his own, establishing Evergreen Marine Corporation on September 1, 1968 with just one secondhand 15,000 ton vessel, Central Trust.

Over the next four years, Chang built his fleet up to twelve, running them empty when necessary to convince his customers his services were regular and reliable. Within a year, he had expanded to the Middle East. Within three, Chang was dispatching Evergreen ships to the Caribbean.

In 1975, Chang realized that containerisation was the way forward. He built four advanced S-type container ships and launched his U.S. East Coast service. Fifteen months later, he added the West coast of the United States to his network. Europe followed in 1979.

By 1984, he started his most ambitious service yet- two 80-day round-the-world services, one circling the globe in an easterly direction, the other westward. Departing every 10 days, the 20 G-type container ships he employed had a capacity of 2,728 containers each and could travel at a speed of 20.5 knots.

The Evergreen Group has expanded beyond the shipping industry to encompass operations in heavy industrial development, air transport, hotels and resorts services.^[4]

The Evergreen Group, with over 27,000 employees and more than 220 offices worldwide, now comprises about 30 major corporations worldwide, 3 of which are listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. During the 2012 Republic of China presidential election, Mr Chang expressed his disapproval of the so-called Taiwan Consensus. The China Post reported that he said that the "“Taiwan Consensus” smacks of Taiwan independence" which the paper said was "not his cup of tea".^[5] In February 2012, it was reported that Chang had pledged "to give away all his wealth" (approximately US$1.69 billion), primarily via the Chang Yung-fa Foundation.^[6]

Chang was married twice, first to Lin Chin-chih, with whom he had four children. His second wife Lee Yu-mei bore him one son.^[7] On 20 January 2016, Chang died at the age of 88.^[8]

Conferment

• Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from California State University, 1990.
• Honorary Doctor of Business Administration from the University of South Carolina, 1995.
• Honorary Doctor of Shipping & Transportation Management from the National Taiwan Ocean University, 1998.
• Honorary Doctor of Business Administration from Nottingham Trent University, 1999.
• Honorary Doctor of Business Administration from the National Chiao Tung University, 2000.
• Honorary Doctor of Transport and Academician from Russian Academy of Transport, 2007
• Honorary Professorship from the University of Houston–Downtown, 2008

Honors and awards

• Order Of Chivalry (D.M.P.N.), which carries the title of “Dato”, State Of Penang, Malaysia, 2000.^[9]
• Officer Of The Legion of Honor, France, 2002.^[10]
• Recipient of Lifetime Achievement Award, Lloyd's List 2006.^[11]
• Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), UK, 2006.^[12]
• Kebesaran Panglima Setia Mahkota(PSM), which carries the title of “Tan Sri”, Malaysia, 2007.^[9]
• Knight of the Grand Cross (Cavaliere di Gran Croce), Italy, 2007^[13]
• Commander of the Order of the Crown (Commandeur de l'Ordre de la Couronne), Belgium, 2008^[10]
• Commander in the Order of Orange-Nassau, The Netherlands, 2011^[14]
• Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star from the Japanese government, 2012.^[15]
• Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, 2014.^[16]

References

1. Sun, Yu-Huay (19 January 2016). "Chang Yung-fa, Taiwan's Evergreen Group Founder, Dies at 88". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 21 January 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
2. Wang, Shu-fen; Liu, Claudia; Wu, Lilian (20 January 2016). "Evergreen Group founder passes away". Central News Agency. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
3. Russell Flannery. "Taiwan's Evergreen Marine Billionaire Founder Chang Yung-fa Dies". Forbes.
4. Jennings, Ralph. "Morality Play: Chang Yung-Fa Fosters A Culture Of Doing The Right Thing", Forbes, 3 July 2013. Accessed 27 November 2015.
5. Ting, David Kan (20 January 2012). "Taiwan's Re-Election of KMT's Ma Is Nod". China Post. Archived from the original on 20 January 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
6. "Evergreen founder to donate entire fortune", The China Post, 8 February 2012. Accessed 23 November 2015.
7. Wei, Shu; Chang, S.C. (18 February 2016). "Evergreen group 'regrets' Chang Kuo-wei's announcement of taking helm". Central News Agency. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
8. As of 2:22AM. "Chang Yung-fa, founder of Taiwan’s Evergreen Group, dies at 88". Today. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
9. "Malaysia awards Evergreen Group chairman". Port News. 6 February 2007. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
10. "Evergreen’s Chang honoured by Belgium". Container Management. 10 June 2008. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
11. "‘Lloyd’s List’ names Evergreen chairman Asian ‘Newsmaker’". Taipei Times. 8 October 2010. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
12. Davies, Nick; Evans, Rob (23 April 2006). "For services to the UK: top awards for foreign tycoons, military and the Corrs". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
13. "Chang wins Italy's top honour". TradeWinds. 6 September 2007. Retrieved 20 January 2016. (subscription required (help)).
14. "Evergreen head honored". Taipei Times. 23 August 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
15. "Taiwanese entrepreneurs to be decorated in Japan". The Central News Agency. April 29, 2012.
16. "ROC national awarded German Order of Merit". Taiwan Today. 14 March 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2016.

External links

• EVERGREEN GROUP