TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Prominent businessperson Rock Hsu (許勝雄) was named as acting chair of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Thursday (July 18) following the detention of Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) over corruption allegations.

The Taiwan High Court on July 12 confirmed a two-month detention for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) politician. Cheng had rejected allegations he accepted bribes in a land development case when he served as mayor of Taoyuan City between 2014 and 2022.

Hsu, 80, who has already served as SEF vice chair, is best known for heading the Kinpo Group for more than four decades. The group includes Compal Electronics, a leading contract maker of notebook computers and tablets. Hsu also served as acting chair of the SEF from 2020 to 2023.

The Mainland Affairs Council confirmed Thursday the business leader would take the top position at the SEF immediately, UDN reported. Cheng only served one month as SEF chair.