Blind since the age of six, he has served as Assistant Secretary for Education and Assistant Secretary for Administration in the Hong Kong Government, as well as the former Director of Oxfam Hong Kong and Director of Student Development at the University of Hong Kong. He understands that blindness does not mean losing everything, and that blind individuals can still fight for equal education, employment, and social participation opportunities.
He began serving on the executive committee of the Hong Kong Blind Union during his secondary school years and is currently the president. In 1980, he proposed equal access to civil service recruitment for people with disabilities, allowing them to join the government. In the 1980s, he promoted the use of information technology to improve the education and employment opportunities for the blind. Starting in the 1990s, he became a member of the Joint Council for People with Disabilities and is now the vice-chairman. In 2014, he launched the Asia Blind Social Enterprise Award to encourage blind individuals outside of Hong Kong to start businesses.
Throughout his time as a public servant and leader of nonprofit organizations, he has demonstrated exceptional performance, leading by example and encouraging both people with disabilities and able-bodied individuals to help those in need.
After graduating with a degree in social work from university in 1992, she dedicated herself to social work, assisting the elderly, families of prisoners, children, and women. In 1995, she obtained a master's degree in social work from Columbia University. She worked for a non-profit organization in New Mexico, USA, assisting impoverished families.
Upon returning to Taiwan in 2006, she joined the Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation, where she served as a supervisor for services for children who witnessed domestic violence. In 2009, she became the Executive Director, advocating for comfort women and women’s rights, and helping women and children affected by domestic violence to receive the assistance they deserve. Since 2010, she has devoted considerable effort to assisting former Taiwanese comfort women, establishing "Ama Museum: Museum of Peace and Women’s Rights," ensuring that the public does not forget history. At the same time, she has worked tirelessly to support the physical and psychological recovery of victims of gender-based violence, with zero tolerance for violence being her most important life belief.
He has faced three major life challenges. The first was assisting the Nantou County police in apprehending a notorious gunman, during which he was shot in the thigh, earning him his first disability certificate. The second was the 921 earthquake, in which a young worker at his motorcycle shop tragically lost his life and the shop was destroyed. The third was being diagnosed with bladder cancer, for which he underwent surgery and treatment. Remarkably, he has peacefully coexisted with cancer cells for 14 years. This fueled his passion for charity, leading him to establish the NT Relife, where he has served as chairman and contributed for 18 years.
Each year, the association spends an average of 23 million NTD to assist the disadvantaged, accumulating over 400 million NTD. Since the 1999 earthquake, he has consistently delivered care packages to elderly individuals living alone, covering all 13 villages in Guoxing Township. He has handled the funeral arrangements for over 600 individuals and donated 500 ping of land to build a sturdy facility for the association, along with an additional 20 million NTD in cash for operational expenses.
He is the former Executive Director, President, and CEO of China Merchants Bank, and a recipient of the Ordine Della Stella Della Solidarietà Italiana. He currently serves as the Chairman of the National Science and Technology Achievement Transformation Guidance Fund, the Chairman of the One Foundation, and the Chairman of the China Entrepreneurs Club, among other positions. He is a leader with both business acumen and a passion for philanthropy, and a pioneer, advocate, and implementer of charitable civilization.
In 2015, he became the Chairman of the China Global Philanthropy Institute. The academy was co-founded by philanthropists Bill Gates, Ray Dalio, Niu Gensheng, He Qiaonu, and Ye Qingjun, and is dedicated to the construction of a system of philanthropic knowledge, training exemplary philanthropists and senior public welfare managers, enhancing the professional level of public welfare education in China, promoting international exchanges and cooperation in the philanthropic field, and driving reform and innovation in charity both within mainland China and globally.
He started his business career in Russia and later returned to China, where he became the Vice President of the China Overseas Chinese Charity Foundation. His charity philosophy, based on pure philanthropy, includes "using business to support charity." He also founded the rapidly growing "Gang Si Shan Xing Tuan" a grassroots online donation and volunteer organization, earning him titles such as "Top Ten Philanthropist" and "Internet Philanthropist."
He created the "One Donation Together" initiative, raising over 10 million yuan by encouraging everyone to donate just one yuan a day, leading a nationwide charity wave. He was the first person to donate over 1 million yuan on Gongyi Weibo platform. According to official data from Sina Micro-Charity's Love Wall, he has inspired 9.97 million people to engage in charity work. After retiring early, he went to the frontlines, leading his self-organized convoy to deliver aid to over 20 provinces and cities in poverty-stricken areas across China. After the Jiuzhaigou earthquake, he and his convoy delivered relief supplies to the epicenter and shared difficult moments with the victims.
The founder of the Hand-in-Hand Heart Garden Charity Team, he comes from a remote mountainous area in Liaoning Province. Over 20 years ago, while gathering firewood on the mountain, he was injured protecting a companion, resulting in full-body paralysis. With only a primary school education, he taught himself to write, using his mouth to hold a pen, publishing over 100 articles and three books. Having received much help during his suffering, he dedicated himself to charity, founding a loving team and establishing a charity fund.
Over the past 15 years, he has initiated more than 240 medical and educational aid activities, raising the equivalent of 2.4 million RMB in donations. Over the years, he has counseled and persuaded more than 5,000 people through online platforms, letters, and phone calls. He also gives free talks at schools, reaching tens of thousands of people. Besides fundraising for infrastructure projects like bridges and roads for his hometown, he has helped disabled friends become self-sufficient, using his self-taught beekeeping knowledge to develop a sweet business. He has also mobilized his entire family to send free pressure sore ointment to thousands of patients.