Robert Tsao

Robert Tsao (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 also a fine arts critic and collector in his private life.

Robert Tsao
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 trim
Robert Tsao in 2022
Born (1947-02-24) 24 February 1947
CitizenshipRepublic of China (1949–2011, 2022–present)
Singapore (2011–2022)
Occupation(s)Businessman, art collector, and activist
Known forFounding United Microelectronics Corporation

Early life

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.[1]

Career

After school he went to work at the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI). He left ITRI to found UMC in 1980.[1]

In 1988 he visited Beijing and met with Jiang Zemin.[1]

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.[2]

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.”[3][4]

Art collection

Tsao is a noted art collector.[5][6] He began collecting art in the 1990s with jadeite before expanding to archaic bronzes.[7] After buying his first jade pieces Tsao did extensive research, discovering that all of the pieces he had bought were fakes.[8]

In 2000, Tsao acquired a Qianlong period glass vase for a then record HK$24 million from Joseph Lau.[9] In 2019 he sold the vase for HK$180 million.[10]

Tsao was a patron of Zhu Dequn.[8]

His collection is known as the Le Cong Tang collection.[10]

Philanthropy

In 2022, Tsao pledged one hundred million US dollars to Taiwan's national defense in the interest of "safeguarding freedom, democracy, and human rights."[11] The pledge came as a response to Chinese military aggression following the 2022 US Congressional Delegation visit to Taiwan.[2][12]

Personal life

Tsao has two sons who hold Taiwanese citizenship.[11]

In 2011, he moved to Singapore and renounced his Taiwanese citizenship.[2][13]

In 2022, Tsao renounced his Singaporean citizenship and sought to reinstate his Taiwanese citizenship.[14] He was reinstated as a Taiwan citizen and received his national identification card on 30 August 2022.[15]

References

  1. Hille, Kathrin. "The Taiwanese chip billionaire squaring up to China". ft.com. Financial Times. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  2. Chien-chung, Chang; Huang, Frances. "Controversial IC tycoon to donate NT$3 billion for Taiwan's security". focustaiwan.tw. Focus Taiwan. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  3. Yu-fu, Chen. "Robert Tsao pledges money to make 1m combat drones". taipeitimes.com. Taipei Times. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  4. Chase, Steven. "'They are just a mafia': Taiwanese tycoon Robert Tsao's mistrust of China began amid crackdown on Hong Kong protests". theglobeandmail.com. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  5. Kinsella, Eileen. "See the Top Asian Collectors Who Are Driving the Global Art Market". artnet.com. Art Net. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  6. Devi, Reena. "Taipei's Community of Collectors Has Turned the City into a Leading Art Hub". Artsy. artsy.net. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  7. "What drives Asia's most powerful art collectors?". christies.com. Christies. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  8. Moore, Susan. "Treasures of Taiwan: inside one of the world's great art collections". ft.com. The Financial Times.
  9. Block, Fang. "Robert Tsao Offers Qianlong Period Glass Vase for More Than HK$200 Million". barrons.com. Barrons. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  10. Arkell, Roland. "'The finest piece of imperial glass to survive' sells at nine-fold increase since 2000". antiquestradegazette.com. Antiques Trade Gazette. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  11. Yang, Sophia. "UMC founder Robert Tsao to donate US$100 million for Taiwan's defense". taiwannews.com.tw. Taiwan News. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  12. Staff Writer. "UMC founder to donate NT$3bn for Taiwan's security". taipeitimes.com. Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  13. Staff Writer. "UMC founder no longer an ROC citizen: reports". taipeitimes.com. Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  14. Staff Writer. "Robert Tsao Trying to Get ROC Citizenship Reinstated". news.pts.org.tw. Public Television Service Foundation. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  15. 張碧珊. "(Chinese) 曹興誠秀熱騰騰中華民國身分證 「我就是100%台灣國民」". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
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