CHINA’S most famous philanthropist on Thursday started handing out cash on the first day of a controversial trip to Taiwan that has sparked criticism and protests from anti-China groups.
Chen Guangbiao, who made his fortune recycling construction materials, handed three traditional ‘red envelopes’ containing a total of NT$70,000 (US$2,400) to a woman who had been waiting for him at his hotel in Taipei.
‘I’ve never counted so many banknotes. I don’t know what to do. I will use the money to take care of my 88-year-old mother,’ the woman told reporters, her voice cracking with emotion.
Mr Chen, who is well-known in China for his flamboyant style of charity, held up a wad of NT$2,000 notes spread out in a fan shape, surrounded by a crowd of photographers and cameramen.
Mr Chen, leading a group of businessmen from China, arrived in an airport outside Taipei late on Wednesday where he was greeted by some anti-China protesters holding a banner reading ‘Welcome to the group of hypocrites’.
‘I will deliver every penny that I’ve promised… and I hope to come every year,’ the tycoon told reporters at the airport. Chen has said that he planned to give away more than NT$15 million (Approx US$510,000) to the poor in Taiwan, in a high-profile gesture suggestive of a shift in relative wealth between China and Taiwan.