TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), chairman of Pegatron Corporation (和碩集團), announced Thursday (July 24) his decision to bypass the Hualien County Government (花蓮縣政府) and donate directly to social welfare and educational institutions. The technology executive cited fundamental concerns about transparency and accountability in the county government's management of charitable funds. His announcement followed intense scrutiny from the Kuomintang (KMT,國民黨) opposition party's Hualien County Council caucus, which questioned the apparent absence of donation records under Pegatron's corporate name.
Tung and Pegatron Corporation have collectively contributed NT$99.72 million (around US$3.4 million) to 24 organizations across Taiwan's eastern region. Recipients included the Hualien County Government Social Affairs Bureau, National Fire Agency Special Search and Rescue Team, World Vision, Hwa-Gang Junior High School (花崗國中), Meilun Junior High School (美崙國中), Mennonite Christian Hospital (門諾醫院), and National Dong Hwa University (東華大學). Tung personally donated NT$53.63 million (around US$1.83 million), while Pegatron contributed NT$46.09 million (around US$1.57 million).
The KMT caucus emphasized that despite Pegatron's documented NT$5 million (around US$171,000) donation following the devastating 2016 earthquake, no official records existed of contributions from Tung after the 2022 and 2023 seismic disasters. The opposition legislators' investigation raised questions about corporate accountability and charitable giving patterns during recent natural disasters. Tung responded to the KMT's allegations by publicly releasing a comprehensive list of donation recipients to clarify fund allocation and demonstrate his ongoing commitment to transparency. ◼ (At time of reporting, US$1 equals approximately NT$29.307).
