TAIWAN – GERMANY – The Chairman of the Evergreen Group, Dr Chang Yung-Fa is certainly no stranger to receiving public accolades, up until this year the good doctor had received no less than fourteen medals of honour plus eight honorary doctorates for various services both to his favoured industry and general good works. The head of the container shipping line has now added a fifteenth award with the presentation of the Federal Republic of Germany’s Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit in recognition of his contribution to the Port of Hamburg; his achievement in the international transportation industry; his devotion to charity and promotion of education and cultural exchange.
Dr Chang’s previous plaudits have come from as far afield as Europe, the US and Asia and this current nomination is mostly made on the recommendation of local government representatives and is approved by the President of the Federal Republic of Germany for achievements in the political, economic, social or intellectual realm. Dr Chang is the third Taiwanese honouree to receive the Cross of the Order of Merit but the first to be made a Commander.
Evergreen’s links with Germany date back more than 30 years. In 1979, Evergreen Marine Corp, the Group’s shipping division, launched its Far East – Europe service, successfully breaking the then monopoly of the trade by the Far Eastern Freight Conference (FEFC). Hamburg was the first port of call of the inaugural voyage by Ever Vital, the first Taiwan-built containership. In 1984, Evergreen Line launched an unprecedented round-the-world eastbound and westbound service. The first port of call on this service was also Hamburg.
The Evergreen Group established Evergreen Deutschland GmbH (now renamed Evergreen Shipping Agency Deutschland GmbH) in 1986 and built its own office building in Hamburg. The company also has offices in Bremen, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich. In addition to his countless contributions to international transport growth and development, Dr. Chang is generous and tireless in his dedication to charity and social welfare. He founded the Chang Yung-Fa Foundation in 1985 to provide charitable aid and emergency relief. The financial resources of this charitable fund are contributed mainly by Dr. Chang himself.
This latest award was presented on behalf of Mr Joachim Gauck, the President of Germany, by Mr Mirko Kruppa, Acting Director General of the German Institute, Taipei at a ceremony held at the Chang Yung-Fa Foundation in Taipei. Mr Frank Horch, Senator of Economic Affairs of the City of Hamburg, travelled from Germany especially to present the certificate conferring the honour on Dr Chang.
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