Wang Yung-ching—Legend of a Century

When he passed away at the age of 92 on October 15, 2008, Wang Yung-ching, founder of the Taiwan-based Formosa Plastics Group, was on a visit to inspect his group’s US affiliates—a reflection of how he has lived: putting his business ahead of everything else.

Wu Poh-hsiung, chairman of the ruling Nationalist Party of Taiwan, praised Wang, saying "Wang's entrepreneurial spirit and business sense represented the best of Taiwan."

Renowned as a “God of Management” in Taiwan, Wang Yung-ching embodied the Confucian entrepreneurial spirit: thriftiness, flexibility, a patriarchal style of management and solidity. It was these qualities that helped him turn an humble stall into a global business.

Born to an illiterate tea-trading family in rural Northern Taiwan in 1917, when the island was under Japanese occupation, Wang started as an intern at a local rice stall after primary school. After starting his own rice stall at the age of 14, Wang shrewdly seized the opportunities arising from plastics manufacturing in the 1950s in Taiwan and founded the Formosa Plastics Corporation in 1954.

The Formosa Plastics Group now engages in biotechnology, petrochemical and electronic components production, comprising more than 40 companies and employing nearly 100,000 people.

The world's 178th richest man with a fortune assessed at $5.5 billion—the second wealthiest man in Taiwan according to 2008 Forbes survey—Wang Yung-ching was diligent and thrifty. Working for more than ten hours a day, seven days a week until near the end of his life, Wang awoke at 2 a.m. every morning. He would spend an hour pondering the matters he would attend to during the day before he began his running and towel exercises. (He used the same towel for 20 years.)

However, his generosity is widely recognized. Wang donated money to help build 10,000 primary schools on the Chinese mainland, a project that is still ongoing. Soon after the Sichuan earthquake on May 5, 2008, the Formosa Group donated 100 million yuan (US$14.6 million) to its victims.

The Chang Gung hospitals, named after Wang Yung-ching’s father, were more than a business to Wang; they reflected his devotion to the public good. He introduced successful company-management models related to the operation of hospitals, and his elimination of required deposits at these hospitals benefited the poor. In May 2008, the first Chang Gung hospital on the Chinese mainland opened in Xiamen, Fujian Province. 

The legendary story of Wang Yung-ching’s life will not end with his demise. Because of his influence, many of his children have become successful entrepreneurs, such as Cher Wang, who is believed to resemble her father the most and who founded HTC and VIA. Today, HTC is familiar to us as the smart phone company that makes Google's Android phone, and VIA remains one of the few chip-makers that can compete with Intel and AMD. 

王永庆:人生落幕，精神不朽

文/ 薛京晶

被誉为“经营之神”的台塑集团创办人王永庆先生于美国东部时间2008年10月15日9时38分辞世，享年92岁。

王永庆的出名不仅因为他拥有巨额财富，还因为他在商业经营乃至日常生活中所展现出来的独特人格魅力，以及在人们心目中的竖起的丰碑形象——“王永庆”三个字，如今已经不仅仅是普通的人名称谓，更有着多重涵义，它象征“财富”、“白手起家”、“大气魄”、“勤劳刻苦”“他像个不倒翁，每个人都能与他找到共振点”，这是所有接触和了解王永庆的人们对他的评价。

王永庆在17岁时，向父亲借钱在嘉义开起了自己的第一家米店。尽管铺面小，位置偏僻，并且在新开张时几乎没有什么生意。但王永庆并没有就此放弃，而是从细微处着手，把大米中的糠皮石子杂物拣得一干二净，同时主动了解客户需求、送货上门。正是通过这种从点滴做起、绝不松懈的坚韧精神，他的米店迅速站稳了脚跟，也为他后来开设碾米厂奠定了良好的基础。

在20世纪40年代，王永庆的事业取得了不小的进展。在从事木材生意的同时，他也曾从事过禽类养殖。在这个过程中，他提出了著名的“瘦鹅”理论，也就是企业要想取得长久的发展，必须要有足够的韧性，在最困难的时候必须能够撑得住，这样在遇到机会的时候才可能快速增长。在此后的发展中，王永庆更是充分显示出超乎常人的坚韧。20世纪70年代，经他一手建起的台塑集团为了整体发展的需求，向政府申请建立石化产业上游的轻油裂解厂，由于一些原因申请案被驳回，但这并没有就此阻断王永庆涉足轻油裂解产业的脚步。在接下来的数十年时间，年逾古稀的王永庆一直在为轻油裂解厂的申办奔走呼告，直到该计划在1994年6月得到成功解决。

这种坚韧的品格也在王永庆子女身上得到了完美的传承，目前身为威盛集团董事长的王雪红是王永庆的小女儿，她曾经这样评价父亲：“父亲是影响我人生前进道路的重要角色，在我的眼中，父亲是一位无所不能的人，从小到大，无论是做人还是创业，他一直在用实际行动教导我向着正确的方向前进。我非常感谢父亲对我的关怀，这是让我前进的动力。”

王永庆在生前还始终主张发展中国内陆与台湾的两岸关系，加强经贸交流与合作，尽快实现“三通”。台塑集团也积极在大陆投资兴业。他还是热心公益事业的带头人，提出要在中国大陆捐建1万所希望小学的方案。

台湾《天下》杂志刊登的缅怀王永庆的文章中这样说：台湾“经营之神”王永庆走了，他有着老兵战死沙场的悲壮，更有着统帅的尊严。他“勤劳朴实”的谆谆告诫对此刻的台湾经济低迷更形受用；当今华尔街贪婪卷起金融海啸，他“发展制造业，不要玩金融游戏”的建言，也更见真实。他，人生落幕，精神不朽。