Kao Ching-yuen

In this Chinese name, the family name is Kao.

Kao Ching-yuen (Chinese: 高清愿; pinyin: Gāo Qīngyuàn; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Ko Chheng-gōan; 24 May 1929 – March 2016) was a Taiwanese businessman best known as the founder of Uni-President Enterprises Corporation.

Kao Ching-yuen
高清愿
Born	(1929-05-24)24 May 1929 Hokumon, Tainan, Taiwan, Empire of Japan
Died	March 2016(2016-03-00) (aged 86) Yongkang District, Tainan, Republic of China
Citizenship	Republic of China
Awards	Order of Brilliant Star (2nd Class)

Biography

Kao was born to a poor family in Gakkō Village, Hokumon District, Tainan Prefecture, Japanese-era Taiwan (modern-day Syuejia, Tainan) on 24 May 1929. In 1942, at the age of 13, Kao began working in a sandal factory. In 1946, he joined a firm owned by his cousin-in-law Wu Hsiu-chi, the Xinhexing Cloth Shop (新和興布行), as an apprentice before starting his own company, Dexing Cloth Shop (德兴布行), in 1949.^[1]

He joined Tainan Spinning (台南紡織), a textile processing company founded by Wu Hsiu-chi, in 1955 as a sales manager.^[2][3]

Kao left Tainan Spinning in 1967 to establish the Uni-President Corporation, and served as company chairman until 2013.^[3][4]

In 1997, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Management from National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU)^[5] and an Order of Brilliant Star (2nd Class) award on 23 December 1999.^[6] In 2003, he was awarded a Management Medal by the Chinese Management Association.^[7]

Kao's death was confirmed by Uni-President on 1 April 2016, and a funeral was held the same day.^[8][9]