Evergreen Group Chairman honored in Japan
In recognition of his ethical contributions assisting the reconstruction of Japan following the March 2011 (311) Earthquake Tsunami that devastated much of the country, Evergreen Group Chairman Dr. Yung-Fa Chang was honored today with the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star at an award ceremony at the Tokyo Imperial Palace. The Japanese Government also honored Dr. Chang for his great achievement in improving the international transportation industry and therefore enhancing development of Japan's economy and the superior relationship between Japan and Taiwan.
Noda Yoshihiko, the Prime Minister of Japan, presented the awards. Immediately after the ceremony, Dr. Chang was granted an audience with Emperor Akihito of Japan. Dr. Chang is one of the few foreigner entrepreneurs to receive this honor.
Dr. Chang said he was "very grateful to receive the Order of the Rising Sun and for Japan government's recognition of him." He flew to Japan to personally receive the honor.
Japan and Taiwan maintain an excellent relationship with each other and retain a quality trading partnership. From the founding of Evergreen in 1968, the entrepreneurial Dr. Chang was able to receive aid from Marubeni Corporation, which allowed the company to grow and flourish. With gratitude, he devoted himself to Japan's economic and trading development and played a diplomatic role between Taiwan and Japan. Dr. Chang has also been granted certificates of appreciation by city governments of Japan such as Tokyo, Hokkaido, Fukuoka and Aichi, and certified as a member of the Advisory Council of Nippon Kaiji Kyokai in 1987 and 1991. In 1996, presented by Mayor of Osaka, Dr. Chang was honored with Citizen's Commendation in recognition of his international goodwill efforts and commitment to the City of Osaka.
Dr. Yung-Fa Chang consistently invests and develops the successful Evergreen business in Japan; he also devotes himself in ethical activities. Immediately after Japan 311 Earthquake, Dr. Chang instructed the Evergreen Shipping Agency (Japan) to donate one billion JPY in his personal name to Japanese Red Cross to support the post-earthquake reconstruction. At the same time, Dr. Chang directed both EVA Air and Evergreen Marine Corporation of Evergreen Group to provide necessary emergency aids, and free air transport and shipping service to carry relief supplies to Japan. It was then Dr. Chang was again recognized by the Japanese people because of his spirit of philanthropy.
Dr. Chang led the development of Evergreen Group's deep roots in Japan. In 1969 he set up a service point of Evergreen Marine in Tokyo. In 1972 he officially established Evergreen Japan Corporation, which now has branches throughout Japan, including in Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka. And he took the initiative to build 138 ships in Japan, providing total containership capacity of more than 5,500,000 TEUs. He championed the Evergreen Group's EVA Air in its introduction of flights between Fukuoka and Taiwan's Taoyuan International Airport, continuing with gradual expansion of the airline's services to Osaka, Sapporo, Sendai, Komatsu and Tokyo's Narita and Haneda. And he applauded EVA for extending routes and easing passenger connections to domestic destinations all over Japan through a code-share with All Nippon Airways.
In recent years Dr. Chang has been bestowed with several prestigious honors in Taiwan and abroad attributed to his remarkable achievement in global transportation and his contribution to social welfare. Dr. Chang's achievements have on behalf of Taiwan, expanded and secured Taiwan's civil diplomacy.
Together with Order of the Rising Sun, Dr. Chang has received thirteen medals of Honor to date.
Medals of Honor:
• Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, Japan 2012
• Commander in the Order of Orange-Nassau, the Netherlands Officer of the Legion of Honor, France 2011
• Commander of Order of the Crown, Belgium 2008
• Knight of the Grand Cross, Italy 2007
• TAN SRI Darjah Kebesaran Panglima Setia Mahkota (PSM), Malaysia 2007
• Commander of the British Empire, UK 2006
• Ordre de la Légion d'honneur, France 2002
• Order of Chivalry (DMPN), Malaysia 2000
• First-Class Diplomacy Medal, Taiwan 1996
• Vasco Nunez De Balboa, Panama 1985
• Ministry of Transport and Communications First-Class Port Navigation Medal, Taiwan 1984
• Chinese Nationalist Party First-Class Cathay Medal, Taiwan 1982
• Order of Maritime Merit, USA 1979