Andries Yi

Andries Yi, also known by his Chinese name Yi Hai-hong (Chinese: 伊海泓, pinyin: Yī Hǎihóng; February 12, 1932 - January 6, 2012) was a Tsengian businessman, media proprietor, executive, and politician. The founder of Asia Media Company (AMC), Independent Broadcasting System (IBS), Yi Publishing and Yi Group, he is recognized as one of the most important figures in Tsengian media history, helping the country branch out from the TBS monopoly via the rise of Radio Gongshan in the 1970s and IBS' entrance into nationwide television in 1983, and encouraging the creation of other companies in media, including Tseng Television.

In addition, Yi was an important figure in politics. Known for his libertarian views, he was first elected as a representative to the National State Assembly in 1980, where he lobbied for television licenses for his company. Yi served as the Minister of Industry from 1991 to 1994 and the Governor of Tseng City-Capital from 1994 to 2002. Yi is considered to be the one of the main architects of the Reforms of 90, being one of its most vocal supporters. He ran for president in the 2000 Tsengian presidential election.

Early life
Yi was born into complete poverty on the outskirts of Der Willemstad in Dutch Tseng. The youngest out of eight children, he and one older sister were the only ones able to finish their education as all others had dropped out to support the family. Due to Yi's circumstance and smarts, he was able to gain a scholarship to the prestigious Huang-li University in Tseng City.

During his time at HLU, Yi worked in a furniture manufacturing factory to pay off the rest of his studies. Yi studied medicine as he had hoped to become a doctor, but once he graduated, he soon became uninterested. Around this time, the assassination of Pierre Huang-li happened. Yi heard this on the radio, which sparked his interests in politics and in media. Shortly afterwards, Yi relocated to Hillsborough, believing he could establish a network of media businesses there.

Early career and business ventures
Using leftover money from his factory work and alongside three college friends, Yi founded the Tsengian Advertising Company, which operated as a advertising seller, a concept in Tseng in which a company purchases advertising time on a television network and resells that time to advertisers. TAC purchased blocks of advertising on IPBC TV/IPBC 1 and resold the space to such firms as Yung Breweries and Bank of Tseng.

Creation of Radio Gongshan and TV0
In 1960, Yi established Radio Gongshan as an independent local commercial radio station in Hillsborough under the authority of the Inter-Pacific Broadcasting Centre.

On October 1, 1966, Yi launched TV0 (then spelt with a hyphen as TV-0) on VHF channel 0 as an independent television station under the authority of the Tseng Broadcasting System.

In 1968, Yi established Yi Publishing to publish magazines, including the magazine Kanta. Initially using the Tseng Times printing press facility, the company's magazines, especially Kanta, became successful enough that they raised enough money to build their own printing press facility.

Establishment of the Independent Television and Radio Corporation
In 1969, Yi established the Independent Television and Radio Corporation to maintain control of Radio Gongshan and TV-0. Yi was growing critical of TBS' monopoly on Tsengian broadcasting, and wanted to establish more independent media.

In 1972, Yi severed Radio Gongshan's affiliation agreement with TBS, and he and several business partners, including Alan Cheng-Gui, began acquiring radio licenses, setting up a network of private transmitters across Tseng. Radio Gongshan's expansion broke TBS' monopoly on radio, and many young Tsengians, caught up in the sociopolitical "good times" of the Wanxia Miracle, began tuning in to Radio Gongshan en masse to listen to music not played often by the TBS radio stations, including some of the earliest Tsengian hard rock bands and Western rock, pop and soul music.

Early politics
Yi became interested in politics following the 1954 assassination of President Pierre Huang-li, and his views were further shaped with the Luanzheng Era of the 1960s. He believed that heavy government control was the cause of the Luanzheng, and that increased liberties were needed to ensure a peaceful and functioning society.

NSA legislator
Yi first ran for a legislator in the National State Assembly in 1976 for the Hillsborough I constituency as an independent, eventually losing to politician Guo Junwei. In 1979, he joined the National Prosperity Party and a year later, ran for a seat in the NSA for the Tseng City IV constituency, which he won.