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Robert Tsao

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Taiwanese businessman
Robert Tsao Hsing-cheng
曹興誠
Man with white hair and dark rimmed glasses wears a white dress shirt, dark dress pants, and a navy blue bullet resistant vest while sitting in a beige chair with light wood trimRobert Tsao in 2022
Born (1947-02-24) 24 February 1947 (age 77)
Peiping, Republic of China
(present-day Beijing)
CitizenshipTaiwan (1949–2011, 2022–present)
Singapore (2011–2022)
EducationNational Taiwan University (BS)
Occupation(s)Businessman, art collector, and activist
TitleFounder of United Microelectronics Corporation

Robert Tsao Hsing-cheng (Chinese: 曹興誠; Wade–Giles: Tsao Hsing-cheng; born 24 February 1947) is a Taiwanese businessman best known as the founder of United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC). He is a fine arts critic and collector.

Early life and education

Tsao was born in 1947 in Beijing. A year and a half later, he moved with his family to Taiwan because his father had taken a job there teaching Mandarin as part of a Kuomintang (KMT) campaign of sinicization in the former Japanese colony. He was one of six siblings. He attended National Taiwan University, majoring in electrical engineering and management.

Career

Robert Tsao at May 21 "Democracy regression, citizens to rescue" rally

After finishing school, Tsao went to work at the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI). He left ITRI to found UMC in 1980.

In 1988 he visited Beijing and met with Jiang Zemin.

In 2001, UMC moved into China by setting up Hejian Technology (Suzhou) Co. in Jiangsu. This led to Tsao being charged in 2005 with violating the Business Entity Accounting Act. He was found not guilty in 2010.

Tsao became disillusioned with China following the 2019 Yuen Long attack. Tsao recounted "At that time, I had dinner with a top Chinese official. He told me the way to proceed was to hire hooligans to work with police officers to beat up protesters, then Hong Kongers would not defy the Chinese government." The ensuing Yuen Long attack "showed the true face of the Chinese Communist Party, a hooligan regime conducting violence against ordinary people... If it cannot get its way, its solution is to hire hooligans to beat people up." He had been living in Hong Kong at the time and following the attacks he vowed to leave stating "People in Hong Kong used peaceful means at street events to express their views, but the Chinese government used cruel means of suppression, including beatings. It really made me angry. So I decided to never go to China, Hong Kong or Macau again."

Art collection

Tsao is a noted art collector. He began collecting art in the 1990s with jadeite before expanding to archaic bronzes. After buying his first jade pieces Tsao did extensive research, discovering that all of the pieces he had bought were fakes.

In 2000, Tsao acquired a Qianlong period glass vase for a then record HK$24 million from Joseph Lau. In 2019 he sold the vase for HK$180 million.

Tsao was a patron of Zhu Dequn.

His collection is known as the Le Cong Tang collection.

Philanthropy

Following the 2022 US Congressional Delegation visit to Taiwan and aggressive Chinese military reaction toward Taiwan, Tsao pledged US$100 million to Taiwan's national defense in the interest of "safeguarding freedom, democracy, and human rights." It formerly aimed to train a civilian self-defense militia and sharpshooters, but due to strict Taiwanese gun laws, the later part could not proceed. Instead, it focused on funding the civil defense group Kuma Academy which provides training for first aid, disaster response, open-source intelligence analysis, and self-defense. In October 2024, the government of China's Taiwan Affairs Office said that it would sanction and "punish" Tsao and Puma Shen for their support of the academy.

Personal life

Tsao has two sons who hold Taiwanese citizenship.

In 2011, he moved to Singapore and renounced his Taiwanese citizenship. In 2022, Tsao renounced his Singaporean citizenship and reinstated his Taiwanese citizenship.

Tsao is a Buddhist and his faith was inspired by Master Sheng-yen.

See also

References

  1. ^ Hille, Kathrin (21 September 2022). "The Taiwanese chip billionaire squaring up to China". Financial Times.
  2. ^ Chien-chung, Chang; Huang, Frances (5 August 2022). "Controversial IC tycoon to donate NT$3 billion for Taiwan's security". Focus Taiwan.
  3. Yu-fu, Chen (24 September 2022). "Robert Tsao pledges money to make 1m combat drones". Taipei Times.
  4. Chase, Steven (28 September 2022). "'They are just a mafia': Taiwanese tycoon Robert Tsao's mistrust of China began amid crackdown on Hong Kong protests". The Globe and Mail.
  5. Kinsella, Eileen (15 August 2016). "See the Top Asian Collectors Who Are Driving the Global Art Market". Art Net.
  6. Devi, Reena (22 October 2021). "Taipei's Community of Collectors Has Turned the City into a Leading Art Hub". Artsy.
  7. "What drives Asia's most powerful art collectors?". Christies. 3 June 2016. Archived from the original on 15 October 2016.
  8. ^ Moore, Susan (11 January 2019). "Treasures of Taiwan: inside one of the world's great art collections". The Financial Times.
  9. Block, Fang (29 August 2019). "Robert Tsao Offers Qianlong Period Glass Vase for More Than HK$200 Million". Barrons.
  10. ^ Arkell, Roland (14 October 2019). "'The finest piece of imperial glass to survive' sells at nine-fold increase since 2000". Antiques Trade Gazette.
  11. "UMC founder to donate NT$3bn for Taiwan's security". Taipei Times. 6 August 2022.
  12. ^ Yang, Sophia (5 August 2022). "UMC founder Robert Tsao to donate US$100 million for Taiwan's defense". Taiwan News.
  13. Davidson, Helen (2022-09-02). "Taiwan tycoon to fund 3.3 million-strong army of 'civilian warriors' to defend against invasion". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
  14. Davidson, Helen; Lin, Chi-hui (2024-08-04). "'Firing a loud shot': Taiwan TV show Zero Day aims to spark debate over potential China invasion". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
  15. Pomfret, James; Blanchard, Ben (October 14, 2024). "China sanctions Taiwan businessman Robert Tsao and lawmaker for 'separatist' acts". Reuters. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  16. Staff Writer (23 April 2011). "UMC founder no longer an ROC citizen: reports". Taipei Times.
  17. Chuang, M. (26 August 2022). "Robert Tsao Trying to Get ROC Citizenship Reinstated". Public Television Service Foundation.
  18. 張碧珊 (1 September 2022). "曹興誠秀熱騰騰中華民國身分證 「我就是100%台灣國民」" (in Traditional Chinese). Yahoo! News.
  19. "低潮16年4／聖嚴師父啟蒙佛法 半導體梟雄改當「八不居士」全台巡迴 | 財經 | CTWANT". www.ctwant.com (in Chinese). 4 November 2020.
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