Prominent personality Janet Chia confirmed as new chairperson of Taipei 101

Taipei, Aug. 22 (CNA) Entertainer and businesswoman Janet Chia (賈永婕) has been appointed to head the operations of Taipei 101, Taiwan's iconic skyscraper, according to the Ministry of Finance (MOF) on Thursday.

The selection of Chia, 50, was approved at the Cabinet's weekly meeting earlier in the day, MOF officials said, highlighting her outstanding and diverse professional background in fashion, marketing and business management.

Taipei Financial Center Corp. (TFCC), which owns and operates Taipei 101 in the capital's upscale Xinyi District, is scheduled to hold its triennial board election on Sept. 3, when Chia will take over from Chang Hsueh-shun (張學舜) as the company's chairperson, according to the MOF officials.

TFCC comprises 14 enterprises, most of them government-invested entities that include Mega International Commercial Bank, Chunghwa Telecom Co., the Taiwan Stock Exchange, First Commercial Bank and Taiwan Cooperative Bank.

Over the years, Chia had gained high visibility in Taiwan, working as a model and TV presenter and managing a wedding dress business. In 2021, at the height of COVID-19 pandemic, she was lauded for donating 300 high-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy devices to frontline hospitals in Taiwan and delivering them in person.

In May 2022, she founded a charitable organization, bearing her own name, to continue her philanthropy.

After the MOF's announcement Thursday, Chia posted a photo of herself with Taipei 101 in the background, writing on social media, "Preparing to take on new challenges in the second half of life."