Tree's Whiskers

Prepared by Peter Lichang Kuo

The movement of heaven leads to natural order; there is a big book between heaven and earth, like "The Whiskers of the Banyan Tree" can teach us a lot. The theory of "Tree's Beards" which have even received enthusiastic responses on international exchange platforms.

Fig 1: The banyan tree that can withstand wind and rain

Spring season blossoms in March, and a long series of APEC meetings have begun, including MSME(Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises)/ Health/ Energy/ Climate Change/ Women/ Agriculture/ Food Security/ FTAAP/ IPR/ AI/ Disability Rights/ Gig Economy / Fragile Growth, etc., of course there is also "Anti-Corruption"; this year's host Peru is really working hard and hopes to make a contribution through this increasingly important international exchange platform.

Fig 2: APEC 2024 hosted by Peru

APEC is an international economic organization that Taiwan participates in and can contribute to. It was initiated and established by Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke in 1989. The name of the organization consists of four English words-Asia (A), Pacific (P), Economic (E), Cooperation (C), choose its first letter to assemble "APEC". The purpose of APEC is directly reflected in "EC" - which means "Economic Cooperation". Members do not call each other "nation, state or country", but call each other "Economy Body". Nowadays, APEC's GDP has exceeded US$ 60 trillion, accounting for 60% of the world's total GDP, making it an important international exchange platform.

Fig 3: APEC's GDP has exceeded US$ 60 trillion

The far-sighted Prime Minister Hawke originally set up APEC as an "open platform" - without legal enforcement, there is room for the public, private and third sectors to play. As listened to former President Lee Teng-hui talk about Taiwan's joining APEC, he said: "When the Australian government invited us to join, I immediately agreed; but then South Korea came to express its objections on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party." Former President Lee believed that If we did not join as soon as possible, we might not have the chance in the future. Therefore, through actively negotiated and made concessions, and Taiwan successfully joined APEC in 1991. He said to me: "So, people like you, a non-governmental person can also contribute to the country through APEC!"

Since participating in APEC for more than 30 years, Taiwan's contribution to the world is obvious to all, especially its performance in the semiconductor industry in recent years. Just after the Spring Festival of the Year of the Dragon, TSMC set up a plant (jasm) in Kumamoto, Japan , triggering those pundits to shout: "Japan's economy has swept away the haze of flatness in the past thirty years-----" and so on. In fact, the economic affairs are definitely not that simple.

Recall that in 1988, Presidential Hall accepted the suggestion so that established a "Trade Deficit Group with Japan" and invited senior executives from major Japanese Incorporations to talk about "Japan's successful experiences"; what was often heard at that time was the "Lifetime Employment System" -- which means , when a person enters a company, he will not be fired. If he stayed in the same job for a long time, he would be more familiar with his work. This is also the origin of Japan's "Craftsman Spirit". The whole world believed that the quality of Japanese products was number one.

Nobody knows when the term “dispatch workers” started to spread from Japan, and Japan became a big country of temp workers. Last year, I talked with several members of Japanese Parliament, they expressed that it was due to "the government's failure to handle the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997", which caused Japan to lie dormant for more than 20 years. The average national income is even lower than that of the four Asian tigers. Currently, Taiwan The business community feels that investment costs in Japan are no longer higher than those in Taiwan.

Japanese friends lamented that during the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997, if Japan had "りとうき" (Lee Teng-hui), it would not have been knocked down! Obviously, the dividing point of Japan's economy should be in 1997, a financial crisis that was not handled well finally to make a powerful nation crumble; and we happened to promote our achievement of "socially responsible investment" at APEC 1997 in Vancouver -- brought the era of "contact" across to "contactless", and gained with the support of economic bodies from the United States, Canada and Japan, so we were invited to serve as a keynote speaker at APEC 1998, officially submitted the new "Commercial Mechanism" we invented to the world and it's becoming the most important industry in the new century.

Fig 4: The new “Commercial Mechanism” we invented

We proposed the theory of "Banyan Tree" on the APEC stage, explaining that the "whiskers" (beards) of the banyan tree will grow to the ground and take root to form branches, protecting the main trunk. No matter how strong the wind and rain is, they cannot destroy the tree. Because there is a Mount White-hen just past our laboratory in Hsinden. When I had some free time, I went over to make tea and chat with the tea farmers. I saw that the beards of the banyan trees here all hanged to the ground and grew into branches. No matter how strong the wind of Mountain was, it could not shake the main trunk. We compared "the whiskers of a banyan tree" to Taiwan's "small and medium enterprises" (SMEs). Taiwan's 1.08 million SMEs maintained the normal operation of Taiwan's economy. Those risks shared by everyone, so the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997 did not cause harm, but went against the flow. This made APEC economies looked at Taiwan with admiration, and our proposal based on our invention also gained the bill of "E-Commerce" at APEC 1998.

Fig 5: Tree's whiskers became branches to protect the main trunk

Years Later, I went to Green Villa to visit former President Lee Teng-Hui. He said: "During the 1997 period, I kept in close contact with Mr. Hsu Yuan-Tung every day and told the Central Bank to handle it with caution." It turned out that the top level was also alert, the public and private sectors cooperated to weather the stormy waves, allowing Taiwan to stand firm and move forward in the face of adverse trends.

Fig 6: Reporting our achievements in APEC to former President Lee Teng-Hui

1997 was an important year. Taiwan's Small and Medium Enterprise Administration, MOEA was in charge of Mr. Li Chang-Yi, who returned from Hong Kong, and he made many beneficial measures for SMEs -- such as "Do It Immediately Center", "Credit Guarantees", "Consultant Mentor", "Cross-industry Exchanges", etc.; and there also were regular and fixed-point roving "Service Train" for capacity building of SMEs. As corporate doctors, we were of course recruited to serve SMEs voluntarily. After every forum or lecture, I would print the latest "Science & Future" into as a newsletter and mailed to the guests attending the meeting. The cumulative number of people I have served was thousands of SMEs.

The most important thing was that Director General Li thought our "socially responsible investment is great!" He hoped that we could bring it to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to share it with other economies, so we went to APEC 1997 in Vancouver, triggering an enthusiastic response and coining the term "Micro Business". Then on the podium of APEC 1998 in Kuala Lumpur, we let everyone knew that "there is a cross-century industry named 'The E-commerce System' that leads the disadvantaged to do 'Market Access'. " We once responded to the questioner and said: "This e-commerce system can help new entrepreneurs make world money at home." After the understanding in depth, many economies believed that our invention was "an accessible system will be of great help to new entrepreneurs in the future, and even help people with disabilities to make money at home, improve their lives, and become an asset in the society."

● Review History to Look Forward the Future

Review the history, Taiwan has natural conditions that other economies lack, which is that we have had accepted the impact of "Multiculturalism". For example, our ancestor opened a Trading Company during the reign of Qing Dynasty, owned a fleet to establish the basis for the circulation of Taiwanese products to Europe, India, Japan and Mainland through maritime trade. My father was recruited into the Japanese Navy during the World War II. Because his older brother (my uncle) died fighting in Papua New Guinea first, he was able to stay at the Okayama Naval-Aero Plant to acquire aerospace-level technology and became a highly skillfully craftsmen. In 1948, due to the intense civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, top level ordered the relocation of the Shenyang Arsenal. Two outstanding engineers, Ma Ma Chen-Chiu and Yao Jing-Bo, were moved to Tainan, which let me had chance to “combine craftsmanship and theory” and gave birth to a unique Taiwanese industrial culture.

I had the experiences of "Rescuing Barbie". It had a problem that the entire multinational company spent more than six months on manpower and material resources was helpless, but I solved it in one day (1984/5/20); showing the powerful energy that made those experts from all over the world dumbfounded. Actually, these are all the results of the impact of "Multiculturalism".

On August 15, 1945, the Emperor of Japan announced unconditional surrender; at that time, about 100,000 workers in Okayama, Kaohsiung were all unemployed. Some of them chose to start their own businesses. These people like my father born in the 1920s cultivated apprentices born in the 1930s, and the prototype of Taiwan's local industry gradually took shape. After the KMT troops retreated to Taiwan, after more than ten years of exploration, they finally understood the importance of "focusing on Taiwan." Mr. K. T. Lee's idea of "Export & Processing Zone" was approved by President Chiang Kai-Shek; Mr. Lee attracted foreign customers (investors) to Taiwan, they needed the local small "Works" (factories) – I was one of them. So I was able to show off the talent for writing the story of "Turnover" since 1966; furthermore, created Taiwan's Precision Industry.

I still remember that we and Mr. Chen Yong-Tian went through a difficult time in 1970, and finally received an order for "Portable Transistor Recorder" from an American Jewish buyer; unfortunately, the "insulating material" required for it increased the price when the Japanese supplier said it would. If they said it's out of stock, it's out of stock. This forced us to build a factory to produce this application material in 1972. At that time, there was only one "Cheng-Yi Paper Company" in Lane 360, Chong-Cheng South Road, Yong Kang. The said company's President was curious about the neighbors coming; therefore, I got to know Mr. Chang Li-Tang.

Later, Mr. Chang was elected mayor of Tainan in November 1973 and mentioned the establishment of a sister city with San Jose, California, USA. Then Mr. Chiang Ching-Kuo (PM) visited us and learned about the importance of "Cheng Kuang Precision Industrial Co., Ltd." which founded by myself. Prime Minister Chiang encouragingly said: "You should use your talent to help the government develop the diplomacy of people." After much efforts, Tainan City and San Jose in Silicon Valley have truly became sister cities, and the visiting delegation led by Mayor Janet Hayes arrived Tainan, at my mansion by the Saltwater Creek, we talked with IBM engineers about "What computers will look like in the future." Afterwards, the connectors we created as gift were mounted in the PC of "IBM 5550". Since then, the bridge between Taiwan and Silicon Valley has been busy with traffic.

Fig 7: We set a bridge between Taiwan and Silicon Valley

When I arrived in New York in 1979, Mr. Lane the President of Avnet Incorporation (NYSE-listed company) invited me for dinner at Twin Tower. He mentioned that he went to Taiwan to start a business in 1966, if there were no suppliers like us, he would have packed up and gone home. For small processing plants in Taiwan, He gave me a thumbs up and said, "That's great!" It can be seen that small businesses are the foundation of national strength. So after the 1997 financial crisis, we were invited to APEC to contribute "Instrumental Solution", we used the beard of a banyan tree to describe the role of Taiwan's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). —As long as the whiskers (or beards) touched the soil, it will grow into a branch to protect the main trunk from damage. Therefore, as soon as Mr. Li Chang-Yi returned to Taiwan, he immediately approached us as an unpaid consultant to complete several of his ideas for addressing the needs of SMEs.

In the past, I often heard the term "mandarin duck enterprise", that was someone ridiculed that small businesses only have a husband and wife. However, looked at the future trend we were foreseeing that "one-person enterprise", so we invented a new "Commercial Mechanism" (ComMec for short), which brought it to APEC to promote, and invented a term of "Micro Business" (MB for short). There were tools/methods/steps, so we gained the "Steering the E-commerce" of APEC 1998. And five years later, we won the "Best Practice" in assisting entrepreneurship in the name of "Global Channel-TES" -- the conclusion of the 2003 APEC Ministerial Meeting was estimated to be able to help 240 million people. The recent meeting in New York estimated: "About 1.5 billion people were helped during the epidemic." What we preached, "People can make world money by doing job at home" has indeed come true, our socially responsible investment also really exerts its considerable energy.

In 2006, I was invited to report on the progress of best practices at APEC CEO Summit. After passing through many boycotts of Island's evildoers, I still arrived at the Sofitel Hotel in Hanoi. Concerning our horrible experiences on the islands, the leaders of economies all shook their heads and sighed as they heard, and defined what we were experiencing as "you're persecuted by the entities of corruption!" (-- this dreadful situation continues until today) the Peruvian representatives stated that they would establish the "Lima Anti-Corruption Declaration", and now the "United Nations Convention against Corruption" (UNCAC) has taken action. Meanwhile, the result of social responsibility investment --the New "Tech-Economic System" (TES) is broadly defined: "The large will expand to the universe, and the tiny will condense into the particle." Which means that it can not only help a large number of SMEs, but also help people with physical and mental disabilities. The original mission has clearly been achieved.

Obviously, The whiskers of these banyan trees have reached the soil and become branches, and they will continue to grow and thrive. The point is that due to geopolitical conflicts, the economic growth is turning to weak, some people are forced to leave their originally stable careers when they reach the age of 40. Fortunately, they now have a "ComMec" that they can apply to make for living. As long as one member of the family becomes “MB”, they can lead the whole family working together to create a new beginning.

APEC Bulletin 11 March stated that economic growth is expected to be 3.5% in 2023, GDP forecasts show that APEC will continue to grow in the near term, but at a moderate pace of 3.2 percent in 2024 and 2.8 percent in 2025. Global challenges are seen to weigh on economic recovery, while APEC economies also have to deal with the lagged effects of monetary tightening and scaled- down fiscal support measures. The experts called this trend as "Fragile Growth". In response to this trend, micro business or the “Gig Economy” have become indispensable solutions. In addition, the Red Sea Crisis and the Panama Canal drought are affecting shipping routes and freight costs, which may in turn exacerbate inflationary pressures. Data from mid-January 2024 show that comprehensive transportation costs have almost doubled, hitting a peak in the past year, undoubtedly adding harm to injury to fragile growth.

In recent years, the "Gig Economy" has been discussed. "Gig" used to refer to artists who took notices to make a living and whose income was unstable. The definition recently was: "A free market system in which organized and independent workers participate in short-term work arrangements." Including freelance workers/consultants/independent contractors and professionals/temporary employees (Temps), etc., of course Japan's "dispatch workers" are also among them. The APEC meeting pointed out that "It is estimated that 38% are involved in the gig economy." For people who have been forced to leave their original workplaces, the gig economy has become their new hope. The huge number makes regional economies to pay attention to this new phenomenon. The "Commercial Mechanism" of the e-commerce system we invented has greatly lowered the entry barrier, allowing an unprecedented number of people to easily obtain "gig jobs". The gig economy, which was originally considered a side job, has now become an industry involving hundreds of millions of people and worth trillions of dollars. At the same time, people's lifestyles will also change accordingly, and many innovative products and business opportunities will emerge as a result.

"Energy Transition" is the consensus of 199 countries around the world, but Taiwan Electric Power Company (Taipower) seems to be helpless. It still needs external fuel, transport costs are increasing, and it has turned profits into losses. I still remember that in 1999, we were planning to file the "TSCM" (Transaction & Supply Chain Management Software) of "ComMec" into a national archive; we found a university for a cooperation of industry and academia, its 49% of the subsidy came from Taipower -- the surplus of Taipower at that time was large that could be set aside a fund for "SBIR" (Small Business Innovation Research Plan). But things changed now. Taipower is powerless with the deficit and policy, and will take measures to increase unit price of electricity, which will have an expected impact on the economy and people's livelihood. The failed energy policy, and plus Japan's jasm starts running normally, small-sized island economy will face the impact of "fragile growth".

“APEC’s agenda has always been driven by people—how we ensure that the policies and deliverables that we discuss benefit all levels of the society,” said Dr Rebecca Sta Maria, executive director of the APEC Secretariat. Base on the estimation of the World Health Organization (WHO) that person has a disability is one in six people in the world today, or 1.3 billion people. Sara Minkara, the United States Special Advisor on International Disability Rights, said: “APEC needs to empower more people and work towards truly inclusive growth, especially by freeing up people with disabilities. The potential and value that people bring to the regional economy.” And pointed out: “Disability Inclusion” should not only be discussed from a social issue point of view but also integrated into working groups on economy, transportation, trade, energy, emergency preparedness, tourism, small and medium enterprises among others. Viewed from this, "The Tree's Whiskers" today added a new group - people with disabilities. The "Commercial Mechanism" we brought to APEC, a new tech-economic system (TES) that is "an accessible system" which integrates virtual and substantial things, has become new again.

Fig 8: The TES we invented becomes new

At APEC CEO Summit 2006, Michael the Australian sat next to me and mentioned the relevance of the “Best Practice” to the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) initiated by the Australian Prime Minister John Howard. He said that this multilateral trading system would be able to bring benefits to the region. The economy could be balanced development, and free movement of people/ goods/ capital/ information to benefit all. As the original creators with intellectual property rights (IPRs), we should lead this innovative industry. However, It is a pity that extremely rampant by the entities of the corruption on the island, and we have been ravaged to nothing left; nevertheless, we believe in the struggle between good and evil and wait patiently, those evildoers will eventually be perished from the earth. I further believe that this year’s Peruvian APEC will reiterate the importance of the "Lima Anti-Corruption Declaration" and strengthen its efforts to eliminate corruption through UNCAC. After all, politics will always triumph over technology, new-tech still needs political protection.

I once answered a question at the APEC and said: "The leader of corrupt shouted me that 'I got your invention for only 5,000 dollars!'" We spent 500 million dollars to invest, and took more than a decade and did infinite efforts to turn the mission into tangible results, could above mentioned evildoer just reach hands to steal our results so easily? Indeed, it's happened! When heard this, Robin from Australia responded angrily: "That's too much! Completely despising the regulations and laws of intellectual property rights (IPRs)!" This is why we hope that APEC “Anti-Corruption Enforcement Actions” will be strengthened this year in Peru to avoid that new plan for next decade-- such as development of PCM (power chip module) has made the same mistake again.

Our original intention of inventing a new "Commercial Mechanism" was to foresee that there would be “unemployment problems” and that an “innovative industry” would be needed to solve the problem. The consequence was that we've been attacked by corruption that we're unable to lead the innovation industry for normal use, causing to numerous ills. Our invention had a mechanism that enables shopping to be done through communication equipment at home, thus giving rise to the home delivery industry. Recently, food security issues have arisen in Taipei, involving "Bongkrekic Acid", a poison that is only found in backward areas. Our "Hygiene Initiative" at APEC in the early years seemed to be truly prophetic and should not be underestimated.

What’s special about today’s meeting is that Joshua an American was curious about the word “K-Horn”. I asked him if he read the Holy Bible. He replied: “I am a Jewish.” I told him that K-Horn came from “Hannah's Prayer", he immediately went on: "That's in 1 Samuel." The scripture written : "The LORD will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of the anointed one." (1 Samuel 2:10) Instantly, I felt the Holy Spirit working in it, and the whole atmosphere became very good. The talent from heaven when we received, we should have ability to respond the "Calling", and persevere to achieve our mission goals.

In the book "W-Shaped Society", I pointed out that only by "everyone has a job/enterprises have business/the government has taxes" that a triple-win society can be built to bring safe, harmonious and benefit. In summary, the long series of APEC meetings - - MSMEs/ Health/ Energy/ Climate Change/ Women/ Agriculture/ Food Security/ FTAAP/ IPRs/ AI/ Fragile Growth/ Gig Economy plus "Anti- Corruption" are all closely related. As to inspire by the nature, what exactly does "the Whiskers of the Banyan Tree" tell us? What is worth learning from? All of them are thought-provoking.

The author Li-Chang Kuo (aka Peter Kuo) created Taiwan's Precision Industry in his early years, and advocated those initiatives at APEC to gain the policies of "Anti-corruption/Cashless/E-Com/ICT/IPR/IIA-TES/MB..." in the past 2 decades; and also known as an expert of the third sector.