Cher Wang


Cher Wang is a Taiwanese entrepreneur and philanthropist. As co-founder and chairperson of HTC Corporation and integrated chipset maker VIA Technologies. She is considered one of the most powerful and successful women in computer technology. Wang's father was Wang Yung-ching, founder of the plastics and petrochemicals conglomerate Formosa Plastics Group and one of the wealthiest individuals in Taiwan before his death in 2008. As of 2014, she is listed as the 54th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.

Early life and education

Wang was born on 15 September 1958 in Taipei, Taiwan. She studied abroad at The College Preparatory School in Oakland, California, and went on to receive her bachelor's degree in economics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1981.

Career

Wang joined First International Computer in 1982. Wang and others founded VIA in 1987 and HTC in 1997. In May 2011, Forbes ranked her with husband Wen Chi Chen as the wealthiest person in Taiwan, with a net worth of US$8.8 billion. In August 2012, Wang was named No. 56 on Forbes' list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women. As of 2014, she is listed as the 54th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.
In Oct. 2014, Cher Wang refused to accept the Final Award of the "HKIAC / A11022 arbitration" and appealed to the Hong Kong High Court before Judge Mimmie Chan. Wang asserted that the Award was contrary to public policy. VIA product VT3421, an anti-hack chip was suspected in assisting the Chinese government of surveilling mobile devices of anti-communist and human rights activists. In a hearing before the Justice Mimmie Chan, in the High Court of Hong Kong, the defense counsel maintained that the Award was in violation of Hong Kong's public order and morals. In June 2015 the Judge remised the case back to Arbitrator Anthony Neoh. The tribunal upheld the conviction in October 2015, and VIA lost the case for millions of dollars.
The backdoor of hacking prevention chip VT3421/TF376 causes big issues in Taiwan. 11 Legislative Senators made the suggestion to suspend the government procurement of hTC related communication products until the VIA Electronics' VT3421/TF376 hacking control chip backdoor issue should be thoroughly investigated by National Security Bureau and National Communication Committee.
In March 2015, Cher Wang took over the CEO role from Peter Chou and returned to the day-to-day operations of HTC.
In September 2017, HTC and Google announced a US$1.1 billion cooperation agreement, which involved certain HTC employees would join Google, and Google would receive HTC IP through a non-exclusive licensing agreement.
Wang's Charity Foundations are holding eight investment companies' stocks with a market value of over US$200 million. However, only US$ twenty-seven thousand has been donated to charity. Wang suited the reporter with anger and failed the case on Feb. 2018.

Philanthropy

In 2011 Wang donated US$28.1 million to help found Guizhou Forerunner College, a charitable college in southwest China set up by VIA Technologies' non-profit Faith-Hope-Love Foundation. The not-for-profit college aims to provide three years of free or low-cost education to students from low-income families. Wang has stated that if the college proves successful she may well set up additional similar institutions in other parts of the country.
Wang has also made significant donations to the University of California, Berkeley, including funding to support and enhance the prestigious American Physical Society's Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize, given to researchers who make considerable contributions to the field of condensed-matter physics.
Wang and Chen also provide funding to support a collaborative program between the psychology departments at UC Berkeley and Tsinghua University in Beijing. The Berkeley-Tsinghua Program for the Advanced Study in Psychology aims to create and support collaborative, psychological research between faculty and students from both universities.
In August 2012 Wang donated 6,000 HTC Flyer tablet PCs to 60 high schools in Taipei.

Personal life

Wang is an avid philanthropist who says she prefers to stay out of the limelight despite her many accomplishments. She has begun to insert herself in Taiwan politics, however, by supporting Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou in his bid for re-election and by voicing her support for the 1992 Consensus. Her husband is Wen Chi Chen, the CEO of VIA Technologies. Wang is Christian. She has two children.

Controversies

Wang had been accused of backing and funding anti-LGBTQ groups and activities in Taiwan, including the cooperation with the US-based groups organizing International House of Prayer. Estimate $388 million was allegedly donated through two non-profit organizations run by her to anti-LGBTQ groups in Taiwan over the past five years.
Due to the ruling of Taiwan's Council of Grand Justices that the Civil Code's prohibition of same-sex marriage is unconstitutional and must be amended by 24 May 2019, on 4 May 2019, Wang & her "Faith, Hope & Love Foundation" along with Democratic Progressive Party legislator Lin Tai-hua drafted a "same-sex union" bill which contains a "fake marriage" clause that would authorize prosecutors or social welfare agencies to request that a court intervene and abrogate a same-sex union if relatives within three degrees of consanguinity of either member of the union believe that it was not for the purpose of two people "living life together". The version also has a clause that says, "as one’s conscience and freedom should not be affected by the enactment of this act, conveying or inculcating beliefs against the relationship described in Article 2 does not constitute discrimination". The bill was called by Taiwan legislator and LGBT rights activist Yu Mei-nu "stark discrimination against same-sex couples," questioning what right people have to scrutinize the sincerity of others' marriage.