Winston Wong

Winston Wen-Yang Wang ( _zh. 王文洋) ("Wang" is spelled with an "a," not an "o" as popular legend alleges) is the eldest son of Wang Yung-ching, chair of the Formosa Plastics Group (FPG), by his second wife. Wong is married, with two children, and holds degrees in physics, applied optics, and chemical engineering. His English name was chosen during his study at the Imperial College of the University of London.

Career

Wong was executive vice president of Nan Ya Plastics, an FPG subsidiary, until a widely publicized affair (and the resulting 14% drop in FPG stocks) led to his dismissal in December 1995. His father then “banished” Wong to the United States, where he spent one year teaching at the business school of the University of California, Berkeley. While in the United States, Wong met Jiang Mianheng, son of Jiang Zemin, the president of the PRC at that time.

In 2000, Wong and Jiang Mianheng co-founded the US$1.63 billion Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. joint venture in Shanghai, China. Though Wong serves as president and CEO of that company, Wong himself is not a stockholder, due to cross-strait investment restrictions imposed by the Republic of China (ROC). Wong also serves as chair of the Hung Jen Group (宏仁集團) and chair of the Grace THW Group (宏仁企业集团), which are heavily invested in mainland China’s petrochemical and electronics industries, respectively.

candals involving women

In 1995, Wong was “banished” to the United States by his father following months of media attention concerning his affair with Annie Lu, a 27-year-old doctoral student at National Taiwan University. Lu publicly announced her love for the married man and, it was reported, she wrote to patriarch Wang Yung-ching requesting to join the family as his son’s concubine. Wang refused. The scandal died down after Wong left for California in December 1995.

In 1998, Wong paid NT$3.2 million to Jo Jo Lin (林爰君), a woman who had approached Wong in 1996 on the pretext of wanting to invest in his Hung Jen Group. Wong, who was married at this time, paid that sum in an attempt to keep silent her claims that he had fathered a child by her and then abandoned them. When she went public anyway, Wong successfully sued her for blackmail and for damaging his reputation. Lin was found guilty of both charges, sentenced to 17 months in jail, and ordered to pay Wong NT$5.2 million in damages. Neither penalty was served, however, as Lin has been in hiding since March 2001. Wong also won a slander suit against Power News, for the unsubstantiated reports it published during this scandal.

candals involving foreign politicians

In 1996 and 1997, the United States Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Government Reform investigated a 21 June 1995 White House coffee reception at which Wong met then-president Bill Clinton. According to a ledger entry made by Clinton’s assistant, Harold Ickes, Wong pledged at that time to donate US$100,000 to the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Records show that the money was not received. However, Charlie Trie, the man who had obtained the invitation for Wong, delivered a $50,000 donation to the DNC the following day and testified before the House Committee that he was reimbursed by Wong’s associates. Trie has since pled guilty to transferring corporate contributions to the DNC in violation of campaign finance laws. This has raised suspicion that Wong may have sought a quid pro quo in the form of waived environmental regulations for FPG interests in the U.S. The matter was investigated but Wong did not face prosecution.

In November 2000, People First Party Legislator Chin Huei-chu accused Wong of coordinating a PRC bribe worth US$4.5 million for the benefit of President Chen Shui-bian. Investigations by the ROC National Security Bureau found no evidence to confirm her charges, and Wong sued the legislator for libel.

In August 2002 Neil Bush, the brother of President George W. Bush, signed a 5-year consulting contract with Grace Semiconductor, reportedly at Wong’s request. This contract, worth a total of $2 million in company stock, came despite Bush’s admission that he possesses “absolutely no educational background in semiconductors.” No wrongdoing has been alleged but some have questioned the propriety of this deal, especially in light of Wong’s investments in the educational software firm that Bush co-founded.

ee also

*1996 United States campaign finance controversy

References

* [http://www.icaahk.org/news_0523.htm Reuters article on Wong]
* [http://www.asiaweek.com/asiaweek/technology/article/0,8707,97635,00.html AsiaWeek profile of Wong’s business dealings]
* [http://www.taiwanheadlines.gov.tw/20001120/20001120b4.html Article on Grace Semiconductor groundbreaking]
* [http://home.earthlink.net/~gnproject/Formosa.pdf Report on 1995 Clinton meeting by Sanford Lewis of the Strategic Counsel on Corporate Accountability (.pdf)]
* [http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/local/archives/2001/07/28/96050 Taipei Times article on slander suit]
* [http://www.taiwanheadlines.gov.tw/20001013/20001013p8.html Chin Huei-chu’s allegations]
* [http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/11/25/bush.brother.reut/ CNN article regarding Wong’s connections to Bush]