Founder of Yuanjian and Commonwealth Publishing Group, renowned economist, educator, and publisher Professor Kao Hsi-Kun passed away on the morning of the 6th at the age of 90.
Commonwealth Publishing confirmed this news on its official Facebook page in the evening.
According to the press release, funeral arrangements will respect the wishes of the family and, following Kao Hsi-Kun’s wishes during his lifetime, everything will be kept simple. There will be no mourning hall, no public memorial ceremony, and floral wreaths, condolence couplets, and monetary offerings are all declined. To commemorate Kao Hsi-Kun’s lifelong contributions and exemplary character, the group will hold a separate memorial event.
The press release stated that Kao Hsi-Kun dedicated his entire life to education, publishing, media, and public policy, serving as “a model scholar committed to the nation and a paragon of gentlemanly leadership.” His passing is a great loss to the Chinese intellectual and publishing circles, but his outstanding ideas and earnest hopes will always illuminate and guide everyone forward.
Kao Hsi-Kun vigorously promoted a culture of reading and the cultivation of humanities, advocating ideas such as “Read first-class books, be a first-class person, build a first-class society,” “Replace the liquor cabinet with a bookcase,” and “Reading saves oneself.”
According to Central News Agency reports, Kao Hsi-Kun was born in Nanjing in 1936, came to Taiwan with his family in 1949, went to the United States for further studies in 1959 where he obtained a Ph.D. in economic development, served as assistant professor and twice chair of the economics department at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, and was once selected as the Outstanding Educator of America.
Starting from 1969, Kao Hsi-Kun wholeheartedly contributed all he had learned to Taiwan, serving successively as consultant to various departments of the Executive Yuan and as visiting professor at the College of Management of National Taiwan University, participating in national economic policy research and planning.
In 1981, Kao Hsi-Kun co-founded ‘Commonwealth Magazine’ with media professionals Yin Yunpeng and Wang Lixing; in 1982, he co-founded ‘Commonwealth Publishing’ with Wang Lixing and Zhang Zuojin; in 1986, he founded ‘Global Views Monthly’; and in 2002, he established ‘Parenting’ magazine to promote children’s reading and learning.
Kao Hsi-Kun published over 40 books in Taiwan and nine in mainland China. Among them, his representative work ‘There Is No Free Lunch in the World’ won the first Asian Management Book Award from the Financial Times in London. He also received three Golden Tripod Awards for books, three honorary doctorates, and was awarded the Second Class Order of Brilliant Star.