{{Short description|Taiwanese businessman}}{{Infobox person | native_name = 王文洋 | image = Winston Wong 2016.jpg | caption = Wong in 2016 | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|April 2, 1951}} | birth_place = Xindian, Taipei County, Taiwan | education = Imperial College London (BSc, MSc, PhD) | title = Chairman and CEO of the Grace THW Group | father = Wang Yung-ching | honours = Order of the British Empire (2016) | module = {{Infobox scientist | child = yes | field = Chemical engineering | thesis_title = An optical study of turbulence within fire plumes | thesis_year = 1976 | thesis_url = https://spiral.imperial.ac.uk/server/api/core/bitstreams/ef62ace0-6d43-436e-a4d5-4adc8d0e17e3/content | doctoral_advisor = Felix Weinberg }} }} '''Winston Wen-Yang Wong''' <small>OBE</small> ({{zh|c=王文洋|p=Wáng Wényáng}}; born 2 April 1951) is a Taiwanese chemical engineer, businessman, and philanthropist. He is the eldest son of Wang Yung-ching, chair of the Formosa Plastics Group (FPG), by his second wife.
== Early life and education == Wong was born on April 2, 1951, in Taipei County (now New Taipei City), Taiwan, the eldest son of billionaire Taiwanese businessman Wang Yung-ching and his wife, Yang Chiao.<ref name="WallStreetJournal">{{cite web |last1=Flannery |first1=Russell |title=Taiwan's Grace T.H.W. Group May Build Plant in Shanghai |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB966796792304681350 |access-date=16 November 2015 |work=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref><ref name="TheNewYorkTimes">{{cite web |last1=Associated Press |title=Y. C. Wang, Billionaire Who Led Formosa Plastics, Is Dead at 91 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/17/business/17wang.html |access-date=16 November 2015 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>
At age 13,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web| title=Civil jurisdiction commercial court | url=https://www.gov.bm/sites/default/files/FINAL_Judgment_2018_No_44_civ_Wong_Wen_Young_v_Grand_View_PTC_Limited_et_al_with_citation.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230702021517/https://www.gov.bm/sites/default/files/FINAL_Judgment_2018_No_44_civ_Wong_Wen_Young_v_Grand_View_PTC_Limited_et_al_with_citation.pdf | archive-date=2023-07-02}}</ref> Wong was sent to be educated at St John's School, Leatherhead, in Surrey, England.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dr. Winston Wong Appointed as Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II |url=https://www.acnnewswire.com/press-release/english/26521/dr.-winston-wong-appointed-as-officer-of-the-most-excellent-order-of-the-british-empire-(obe)-by-her-majesty,-queen-elizabeth-ii |access-date=2025-11-24 |website=www.acnnewswire.com}}</ref> After graduating, he earned a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in physics in 1971, a Master of Science (M.Sc.) in 1972, and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering and chemical technology in 1976, all from Imperial College London.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Great Minds: Dr Winston Wong OBE |url=https://www.imperial.ac.uk/events/137206/great-minds-winston-wong/ |access-date=2025-11-24 |website=Imperial College London |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name="Bloomberg">{{cite web |title=Toumaz Ltd (TMZ:London) |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=13621182&privcapId=4037849 |access-date=16 November 2015 |website=Bloomberg |publisher=Bloomberg}}</ref> His doctoral dissertation, completed under Felix Weinberg, was titled, "An optical study of turbulence within fire plumes".<ref>{{Cite web |date=1976 |title=An optical study of turbulence within fire plumes |url=https://spiral.imperial.ac.uk/server/api/core/bitstreams/ef62ace0-6d43-436e-a4d5-4adc8d0e17e3/content |access-date=24 November 2025 |publisher=Imperial College London |type=PhD Thesis}}</ref> He chose his English name, Winston, while studying in the United Kingdom.
==Career== Wong was executive vice president of Nan Ya Plastics, an FPG subsidiary, until a widely publicized affair (and the resulting 14% drop in FPG stocks) led to his dismissal in December 1995. His father then “banished” Wong to the United States, where he spent one year teaching at the business school of the University of California, Berkeley. While in the United States, Wong met Jiang Mianheng, son of Jiang Zemin, the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party at that time.<ref name=FinancialTimes>{{cite web|title=China's Power Families|url=https://www.ft.com/content/6b983f7a-ca9e-11e1-8872-00144feabdc0|website=Financial Times|publisher=Financial Times|access-date=16 November 2015}}</ref>
In 2000, Wong and Jiang Mianheng co-founded the US$1.63 billion Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. joint venture in Shanghai, China. Though Wong serves as president and CEO of that company, Wong himself is not a stockholder, due to cross-strait investment restrictions imposed by the Republic of China (ROC).<ref name="WallStreetJournal" /> Wong also serves as chair of the Hung Jen Group (宏仁集團) and chair of the Grace THW Group (宏仁企业集团),<ref name=Forbes>{{cite web|last1=Flannery|first1=Russell|title=20 Taiwan Businesspeople To Watch -- Winston Wong|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/russellflannery/2012/06/21/20-taiwan-businesspeople-to-watch-winston-wong/|work=Forbes|access-date=16 November 2015}}</ref> which are heavily invested in mainland China’s petrochemical and electronics industries, respectively.<ref name=Reuters>{{cite web|title=Winston Wong Bio-Inspired Ice Vehicle Premiered at NCKU|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/07/idUS34855+07-Jun-2011+BW20110607|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117015222/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/07/idUS34855+07-Jun-2011+BW20110607|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 November 2015|publisher=Reuters|access-date=16 November 2015}}</ref>
The Winston Wong Centre for Bio-Inspired Technology was created at Imperial College London in 2009.<ref name=ImperialCollege2>{{cite web|title=About the Centre|url=http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/bioinspiredtechnology/about|website=Centre for Bio-Inspired Technology|publisher=Imperial College|access-date=16 November 2015}}</ref>
In 2015, Wong was named to “Top 100 Chinese for Economic Achievements and Contributions” list by ''Management World Magazine''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Dr. Winston Wong Named to "Top 100 Chinese for Economic Achievements and Contributions" List|url=http://www.winston-wong.com/en/news/dr-winston-wong-named-to-top-100-chinese-for-economic-achievements-and-contributions-list|access-date=16 November 2015}}</ref>
Wang has been a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, and Imperial College London.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Flannery |first=Russell |title=20 Taiwan Businesspeople To Watch -- Winston Wong |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/russellflannery/2012/06/21/20-taiwan-businesspeople-to-watch-winston-wong/ |access-date=2025-11-24 |work=Forbes |language=en}}</ref> <!--==Support for trade agreements Between Taiwan-NAFTA/United States== As an entrepreneur, Wong has long been a vocal supporter for increased levels of trade cooperation between Taiwan and the West, and free trade agreements in general. On 26 February 2012, [https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2012/02/26/a-free-trade-agenda-for-the-u-s-and-taiwan/ Forbes] featured an OP/ED written by Wong in which he discussed, “A Free Trade Agenda For the U.S. and Taiwan”. The premise of the article being that despite global exports totaling $274 billion in 2010, Taiwan has had difficulty establishing a footprint in substantial global trade agreements. Because of Taiwan’s complex diplomatic relations, it has had trouble entering substantial trade pacts with the economic powerhouses of the United States and North American Free Trade Agreement.<ref name=Forbes2>{{cite web|last1=Wong|first1=Winston|title=A Free Trade Agenda For the U.S. and Taiwan|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2012/02/26/a-free-trade-agenda-for-the-u-s-and-taiwan/|work=Forbes|access-date=16 November 2015}}</ref>-->
==Moon Regan TransAntarctic Expedition sponsorship== In June 2010, Wong agreed to be the main sponsor of the Moon-Regan Trans-Antarctic expedition led by Andrew Regan and Andrew Moon.<ref name=Transantarctic>{{cite web|title=THE WINSTON WONG BIO-INSPIRED ICE VEHICLE (BIV)|url=http://www.transantarcticexpedition.com/civ|website=Transantarctic Expedition|publisher=Transantarctic Expedition|access-date=16 November 2015}}</ref> The Expedition will travel 3,600 miles across Antarctica, from Patriot Hills on the west coast to the South Pole, heading north from there through the Trans-Antarctic Mountain Range, down the Leverett Glacier and across the Ross Ice Shelf to the coast at McMurdo.<ref name=LiveScience>{{cite web|title=Man to Attempt Fastest Antarctic Crossing|url=http://www.livescience.com/29703-antarctica-crossing-100923.html|website=Live Science|publisher=Live Science|access-date=16 November 2015}}</ref>
The expedition has partnered with Imperial College London<ref name="Imperial College London">{{cite web|title=Winston Wong Centre for Bio-Inspired Technology|url=http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/bioinspiredtechnology/about/winstonwong|publisher=Imperial College London|access-date=16 November 2015}}</ref> to carry out a wide range of scientific objectives. The team is travelling in three vehicles across Antarctica, including two mobile laboratories and the Winston Wong Bio-Inspired Ice Vehicle (WWBIV). The WWBIV will be the first bio-fuelled vehicle on Antarctica to endeavor to reach the Geographic South Pole.<ref name=Imperial>{{cite web|last1=Smith|first1=Colin|title=Imperial technology supports expedition across the most inhospitable continent on Earth|url=http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/newssummary/news_11-6-2010-12-4-0|website=Imperial College London|publisher=Imperial College|access-date=16 November 2015}}</ref>
== Personal life == Wong's former wife, Anita, was British Chinese; they married in 1975.<ref name=":0" />
==References== {{Reflist|2}}{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wong, Winston}} Category:1951 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of Imperial College London Category:Businesspeople from New Taipei Category:20th-century Taiwanese businesspeople Category:Taiwanese people of Hoklo descent Category:Haas School of Business faculty Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:21st-century Taiwanese businesspeople Category:Taiwanese expatriates in the United Kingdom Category:People in the chemical industry