Wei Mingguang donated tens of millions of dollars to the government: Doing something for Taiwan in the evening | University Research Institute | Culture and Education

NCTU held a signing ceremony for the “NCTU Wei Mingguang Excellence Development Foundation” yesterday, with President Li Caiyan and Journalism Department alumnus Wei Mingguang signing the contract. NCTU received a donation of US$10 million, equivalent to NT$320 million, to establish the Excellence Development Fund, setting a record for NCTU’s highest individual donation in the past decade. Donor Wei Mingguang said, “In the evening, do something for Taiwan.” The purpose of the fund is to set up an Outstanding Journalism Award in Taiwan similar to the Pulitzer Prize in the United States to do a good job for Taiwan.

Wei Mingguang, a 29th class alumnus of the Department of Journalism at National Chengchi University, went to the United States for further study after graduation. In order to raise living expenses while studying at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, he worked in a Chinese restaurant. By chance, he opened a Chinese restaurant in Philadelphia and joined the real estate industry, building a Chinese restaurant empire in the United States.

Wei Mingguang, who is nearly eighty years old, said that it has been more than half a century since he graduated from Chengdu University. The older he gets, the more homesick he becomes. Based on his love for his hometown, he wrote a letter to National Chengchi University last year, expressing his desire to give back to his alma mater for the first time.

It is understood that Wei Mingguang was invited by a professor from National Chengchi University to return to Taiwan and work in a newspaper. Wei Mingguang said that he had already joined a Washington law firm and wanted to work for a while to earn some money before returning to Taiwan, but he was repeatedly delayed and missed the opportunity to pursue journalism. However, supporting journalism is still his life’s ambition.

Wei Mingguang said that in correspondence with his classmates, he often discussed the poor media environment in Taiwan, and he felt that it was not easy to maintain literacy and be innovative in the current news environment. To this end, in addition to setting up university-wide scholarships, the donation also hopes to establish outstanding journalism and communication professional awards and contribution awards to encourage news practitioners to improve their reporting, thereby increasing their sense of responsibility and mission. The establishment of the Excellence Development Fund is just the beginning. It is expected to inject energy into the School of Communication of NCTU and thereby improve the media environment.

Zheng Ruicheng, a classmate of Wei Mingguang and former Minister of Education, said that Wei Mingguang attached great importance to friendship. When he went to the United States to study, an international student once treated Wei Mingguang to a pork chop and burger. Wei Mingguang is still looking forward to finding this senior to express his gratitude in person, but he can say that he has missed a pork chop and burger for the rest of his life.

Zheng Ruicheng also described Wei Mingguang as being magnanimous and demanding that the donation be spent within fifteen years. In addition to responding to society’s promotion of the university, he also wanted to solve the problem of the censorship of news reports. It echoed Taiwan’s current needs and was the most special donation. meaning.

Li Caiyan said that the scholarship for outstanding students has a diverse definition, including encouraging students to engage in public welfare, industrial internships or serve as international volunteers; in addition, a journalism and communication lecture will be established to introduce talents with practical experience at home and abroad. It is hoped that the scholarship will be available as soon as the next academic year. Operation, with the financial support of Wei Mingguang, the Outstanding Journalism and Communication Award is expected to have a considerable bonus.

Wei Mingguang said that the Outstanding Journalism and Communication Award will be different from the existing awards and will be finalized after consultation with the industry and academia.