Wang You-theng (; 5 March 1927 – 27 May 2016) was a Taiwanese entrepreneur, born in Changsha, Hunan, Republic of China, who founded the China Rebar Group and served as its chairman until fleeing Taiwan in late 2006 amid allegations of embezzlement and fraud. Business career Wang established the China Rebar Group in 1959 as a manufacturer of steel reinforcement beams. In the following years, Rebar expanded its operations from the construction industry into textiles, hotels, real estate, retail services, insurance, banking, and telecommunications. As the head of a growing business empire, Wang enjoyed a large personal fortune and increasing political clout. Several of Wang's children and relatives served as high-ranking officers in Rebar's subsidiary companies. As a tycoon, Wang maintained a close business relationship with government authorities over several administrations, serving as a member of the Central Standing Committee of the Kuomintang for 15 years and being appointed as a National Policy Advisor to President Chen Shui-bian in 2000 when the Democratic Progressive Party won the ROC Presidential election that year. Rebar scandal and flight By 2006, Rebar was encountering serious difficulties following years of allegedly hiding financial problems with bad loans from The Chinese Bank (a subsidiary) and falsified accounting records. On 29 December 2006, Rebar Asia-Pacific Group, along with three subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy protection, but did not notify the Taiwan Stock Exchange of their insolvency claims as required by regulations until 4 January 2007. During this week, several high-ranking officers in Rebar, including Wang, were alleged to have engaged in insider trading and embezzlement. Wang and his wife fled Taiwan for Hong Kong on 30 December, days before prosecutors began to launch an investigation into allegations of Rebar financial impropriety. In the weeks following the break of the scandal, Wang and his wife moved to Shanghai. Public opinion in Taiwan was inflamed by reports of Wang's extravagant tastes and high living, as well as news that he had engaged in money laundering and discreetly transferred several assets abroad in prior years, suggesting that he had been planning his escape for some time. Despite several official attempts through the ROC's Mainland Affairs Council and other unofficial attempts, efforts to have the People's Republic of China return Wang back to Taiwan proved unsuccessful. On 13 January, Wang and his wife left the PRC for the United States arriving at Los Angeles with Wang using his ROC passport with