Taiwan is the Center of Global Technology

Written by Peter Li-Chang Kuo

(Chinese)

Since 1966, I has devoted myself to making Taiwan a global center of technology. Today, Taiwan is allowing the core intellectual property (IP) of "TPC" to drain away at a rate of "USD 380,000 per minute" — an enormous sum that, in a single quarter, could finance an entire “New Ten Major AI Infrastructure Project” initiative and potentially transform the nation’s economic trajectory. Yet the crystallization of decades of technological innovation is being trampled upon and neglected. In the face of relentless torrential rain, one cannot help but imagine that even Heaven itself is grieving, shedding tears in mourning for Taiwan’s self-inflicted destruction of its own strategic foundations.

Today, I heard people talking about the “Kaohsiung Export Processing Zone” (KEPZ) again, when I went out. As early as December 1966, I had already done business with "Avnet Taiwan Ltd." (ATL), a U.S. company located inside the zone, using "super-fine eyelets" that I made by my hands, and gradually Taiwan became the heart of the world’s technology industry.

Fig 1: Li-Chang Kuo was KEPZ’s earliest off-zone supplier

I once estimated, in the United States, the development cost of the products shown in the old photo in Fig 2—the answer was “at least ten million U.S. dollars,” and it would have taken at least 50 years. Yet I developed several times that many products in just a few years and gave them to ATL free of charge.

Fig 2: Specially developed new products given free to Avnet

Most people have no concept of what “US ten million dollars” means; it is ten thousand times the “USD one thousand” shown in Fig 3: “USD one thousand.”

Fig 3: “USD one thousand”

Looking at that picture of me in Fig 1, I appear to be just a child — it was taken on February 9, 1967, the first day of the Lunar New Year, at a Photo Studio near the Stone Statue; my height at the time was measured at 141 cm. This means I was even smaller in November 1966, when President John Lane of ATL came to see me — yet I had already been supporting a family of nine for a year.

When John Lane first came to 45 Chong-An Street with an interpreter, he asked about the “strange smell.” Through his interpreter, he fully understood that I needed to support a group of weak and vulnerable people (family member of nine); my grandmother, whose bound feet had been broken by police, lay in bed emitting a strong odor of urine. After much back-and-forth, I still helped them convert the dimensions of what they needed and told them to come back the day after tomorrow to pick up samples. In this way, like Merlin the magician, I conjured up the world’s first “plated-through-hole (PTH) eyelets” and closed a deal with ATL in December 1966.

John knew perfectly well that I had to support a large family, yet he pretended not to hear or see, took the items, and left. After I revised them more than ten times, the quality fully met their requirements. He even asked a boy with only a 13-year-old elementary-school education to produce an English “Approval Sheet” for him — throughout this process, not a single cent was paid by him.

Back in Tainan from Kaohsiung, even with 500 customers, I could barely make one thousand dollars in an entire month despite working myself to death, and I still had to waste time collecting payments everywhere. Late at night, gazing at the heavens with my soul wandering beyond the physical world, I saw the future. Thus, I resolved to ignore the curses of A-Kun and A-Jin and work for ATL’s John Lane for free — completing one after another of the most advanced custom-made products in the world at that time.

All the products in the old photos required specially made molds, automated equipment, and automatic feeding mechanisms to produce. Later, when I worked at Mattel, a U.S. company, developing just one product involved at least three months of “paperwork” alone; estimation and contracting took half a year, then a 30% deposit was paid, and samples were tried half a year later — by then a full year had passed. John Lane of ATL came with just two thin lips; within two days, like Merlin the magician, I produced real samples, plus a richly illustrated “Approval Sheet,” and gave them everything — Actually, “free of charge” was a completely irrational business decision.

All of the above was made by me alone for Avnet. Any one of those products was hundreds of times more difficult to make than saving “Barbie” at the time, which is why Barbie’s inventor, Mrs. Ruth Handler, called me the “Gadget Master.” One might ask why a company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) like Avnet dared to take things for nothing, and what my strategy was. From 1966 to 1974, I was called by Chiang Ching-kuo the “Father of Taiwan’s Precision Industry.” The following year, Mayor Hayes of San Jose brought IBM personnel to visit my automation team, and they were all stunned.

There is a saying in the business world: “Silicon Valley influences the world; Cheng Kuang influences Silicon Valley.” Cheng Kuang is the enterprise I, Li-Chang Kuo, founded in 1966.

Avnet Taiwan Ltd. (ATL) was among the first foreign companies approved to enter KEPZ in 1966. In fact, I had been monitoring KEPZ’s construction progress since January 1965. By a twist of fate, ATL’s President John Lane found me. After gazing at the night sky and letting my soul wander beyond the physical, I decided to give Avnet specially developed products for free — even though each product required precision molds and automatic feeding equipment. ATL’s engineers were paid only 500 dollars per month at the engineer level. Other foreign companies in KEPZ, seeing Avnet launch new products every week, were extremely envious. This created a profit-making opportunity for ATL’s employees — I became convertible business intelligence.

ATL’s engineers were completely incapable of developing any of the products in Figure 2, but they could act as “intelligence peddlers,” selling my Cheng Kuang operation as business intelligence. Thus, every month in 1967 I could net several NTD hundred thousand — no deliveries, no collections. This was the real Taiwan of 1967; meanwhile, Ah Jin introduced male companions and lived a decadent life.

The most terrifying year was 1968, when foreign companies in KEPZ, as if struck by a plague, demanded "cadmium plating" on copper products. Fortunately, there was a Japanese man— Mr. Tsukuda who insisted that I develop new products for him. Just the three products in the top row and the three products in the right row of the photo in Fig 4 allowed me to recover USD 1.2 million dollars in development costs within a few months. Most importantly, refusing cadmium-plating orders enabled me to live several decades longer, complete my "Genesis inventions," rebuild the global economy, and eliminate an economic catastrophe.

Fig 4: Development costs of USD 1.2 million recovered in just a few months.

This gave me the capacity to accelerate: in 1969 I finished building the house on Park Road; in 1970 I purchased more than 10,000 ping of land; from 1972 to 1974 I constructed Baisheng, Kuo-Kuang, Ching-Kuang, and Cheng-Kuang; and in 1975 I helped Tainan City and San Jose become sister cities — building a direct bridge to Silicon Valley, with a development plan as shown in Fig 5, "TPC" and its derivative products.

Fig 5: Li-Chang Kuo built a direct bridge to Silicon Valley

TPC and its derivative products represent today’s cashless economy, worth as much as “USD 200 trillion.” Though I had only an elementary-school education in 1966, in 1976 I passed the examination for the 26th Reserve Officer Training Corps, and on March 13, 1979, I founded the “Blackstone Angel Fund” in New York — creating several “gorillas.” What I gave Avnet was the lifeline of the entire world’s components industry, helping Taiwan retain foreign companies — not through cheap labor. As Secretary-General Ko-Wang Mei of the Youth Development Council said: “Chiang Ching-Kuo instructed at the Executive Yuan meeting: ‘Pay special attention to the emerging precision industry in Tainan — led by the young commercial scientist Li-Chang Kuo.’” He also said: “Chiang Ching-Kuo would not praise people lightly.”

In fact, from 1966 to 1976, during the ten years before I served in the 26th Reserve Officer Training Corps, what I left behind in Tainan was nothing short of a “Myth.” A-Kun and A-Jin later launched a bloody coup to seize assets, and only then did the "Divine Artifacts" in Fig 5 appear in the world.

March 13, 1979, became a pivotal day that changed the world.

Fig 6: The Day That Changed the World on 13 March, 1979

Taiwan’s Precision Industry: A Ten-Year Legend (1966–1976)

The decade from 1966 to 1976 was the critical period in which I, Li-Chang Kuo, laid the foundation for “Taiwan’s Precision Industry” in Tainan. During these ten years, with extremely limited formal education and zero capital, I relied on rare commercial and scientific intuition, precision craftsmanship, automation technology, and rapid development capabilities to forge a path that no one in Taiwan — indeed, no one in the world — had ever taken, establishing an enduring and transferable paradigm.

In 1966, the Kaohsiung Export Processing Zone (KEPZ) began to serve as Taiwan’s important window connecting to global manufacturing. However, well before large numbers of foreign companies moved in, I keenly observed industrial trends and, through “Cheng Kuang Metal Works” (reorganized in 1974 as Cheng Kuang Precision Industrial Co., Ltd.), developed the most difficult micro-precision parts for foreign firms free of charge. U.S., Japanese, and European companies such as Avnet brought only “two thin lips”; within two or three days, I could produce real samples and simultaneously create richly illustrated “Approval Sheets.” The tiny terminals, eyelets, stamped parts, special components, and switch wiring boards shown in the photos in Fig 2 and 4 could not be completed by hand alone; they required the integration of precision molds, automatic feeding mechanisms, and continuous processes. In short, what I provided was not merely “parts,” but a complete set of precision manufacturing value chain and automation capabilities unique in the world at that time.

More importantly, I did not trap myself in competition based on cheap labor. By freely meeting foreign companies’ demands and facilitating information flows, Cheng Kuang gradually became a key local supply node within Tainan’s foreign-invested industrial system. What foreign firms needed was not ordinary workers, but engineering capability that could rapidly turn “the impossible” into “tangible products.” Thus, I established a model of exchanging technology for market access, automation for time, and precision manufacturing for capital accumulation.

In 1969 I built a house; in 1970 I acquired a large tract of land; and between 1972 and 1974, I successively established the business foundations of Bai-Sheng, Kuo-Kuang, Ching-Kuang, and Cheng-Kuang. During the same period, I read at least one book per day, and in 1976 I passed the examination for the 26th Reserve Officer Training Corps. The most important achievement of this decade was not how many products or factories I left behind, but that, in an era when Taiwan was still regarded as a base for cheap labor, I proved that Taiwan was the global center for precision molds, automation, rapid prototyping, and engineering development, driving the growth of the U.S. technology industry and profoundly influencing the world.

Therefore, 1966–1976 was not merely the prehistory of Li-Chang Kuo’s business career; it was the technical matrix that made later “Divine Artifacts” and concepts such as the “TransSmart Power Chip” (TPC) possible. What the world later saw were the results; the true legend had already been completed during those ten years in Tainan.

The “stainless steel bushing” circled in red in Fig 4 refers to an incident when John Lane urgently called me to KEPZ, saying Apollo had encountered an issue and required electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding for electronic components. I immediately returned to Tainan, fabricated three sets of molds, and produced three deep-drawn cylindrical sleeves (bushings), delivering them to him the next morning (free of charge). I believe this level of efficiency could be matched worldwide only by Grand Master Merlin besides me — and, of course, it helped Avnet establish an unshakable reputation at NASA.

There is an anecdote about Avnet—the company that became the “Channel Master” after receiving my products for free. Avnet participated in the Apollo and lunar programs and was Intel’s first customer in 1969. At the time, everyone was enamored with Wang An’s (Wang Laboratories’) products. Li-Chang Kuo transformed Avnet; Avnet, in turn, gave Intel its opportunity. Ultimately, that chain of events helped reshape the ecosystem of the global technology industry.

Conclusion

Fig 5 presents the technology evolution tree of "TPC" (TranSmart Power Chip) and its derivative products. In 1975, the mayor of Janet Hayes, San Jose, led a delegation to visit Cheng Kuang Precision Company, prompting me to rethink what computers of the future should look like. Originally developed as a chip for satellite receivers, "TPC" gradually evolved into a core technology based on the concept of "placing computing capabilities at the end-user terminal." With the integration of built-in (embedded) antennas and information and communications capabilities, it subsequently evolved into a range of products and applications, including PCs, HDTV, ISDN, C-Phone, TRD, VAM/eStore, and F-Car, as well as applications spanning aircraft, railways, ships, television, and intelligent transaction systems.

This concept took shape in the 1970s and, through decades of technological exchange and practical implementation among Taiwan, Silicon Valley, and APEC, helped drive the evolution of information, communications, transportation, commerce, and everyday equipment toward greater personalization, terminal-based computing, and intelligence. The result is “a technological evolution tree” that transcends industries and national borders.

Fig 7: TPC became a technological evolution tree

Peter Li-Chang Kuo, the author created Taiwan's Precision Industry in his early years. Peter was a representative of the APEC CEO Summit and an expert in the third sector. He advocated "anti-corruption (AC)/cashless/e-commerce (E-Com)/ICT/IPR/IIA-TES / Micro-Business (MB)…and etc." to win the international bills and regulations.

【Copyrights reserved by Li-Chang Kuo & K-Horn Science Inc. (khorninc@gmail.com)】

External Links:

The Inventions of “Linda Din”：

https://patents.google.com/patent/US6304796 (VAM)

https://patents.google.com/patent/US20030197061 (Shopping System)

https://patents.google.com/patent/US20030107468 (Entry Security Device)

https://patents.google.com/patent/US20040054595A1 (ETC)

https://ldinventions.blogspot.com/2022/01/127.html  (A Universal Cashless System)

https://khornhb.blogspot.com/2023/10/1011.html (K-Horn Science Inc.)

https://klcapec.blogspot.com/2024/05/515.html (The Best Practice)

https://klcapec.blogspot.com/2024/06/609.html (Edison’s Inspiration)

https://khornhb.blogspot.com/2024/07/721.html (Paving the Way for AI)

https://lckstory.blogspot.com/2024/08/818.html (Disney Intelligent System)

https://ksibusiness.blogspot.com/2024/10/1028.html (SRI & Global Channel-TES)

https://plckai.blogspot.com/2024/11/1115.html (TPC Investment & Its Markets)

https://pklctrips.blogspot.com/2024/12/1231.html (Kuo’s Journey for 6 Decades)

https://pklctrips.blogspot.com/2025/01/121.html (Einstein’s Enlightenment)

https://ksibusiness.blogspot.com/2025/04/413.html (Top Secret)

https://lckstory.blogspot.com/2025/04/428.html (The Inventions of Linda Din)

https://pklctrips.blogspot.com/2025/07/716.html (Brain Mine Lasts Forever)

https://pkproclaims.blogspot.com/2025/07/725.html (Intelligent Industry)

https://plcpolitics.blogspot.com/2025/08/801.html (Managing A Great Taiwan)

https://ksibusiness.blogspot.com/2025/08/0.html (Tiny Energy Site)

https://pktesrtn.blogspot.com/2025/08/812.html (TSCM Information System)

https://ldljourney.blogspot.com/2025/08/818.html (Revelation of the Red Washer)

https://pklctrips.blogspot.com/2025/10/1023.html (A Chronicle of Sixty Years)

https://plcpolitics.blogspot.com/2025/11/1116.html (60 Years of the KEPZ)

https://plcpolitics.blogspot.com/2025/12/1207.html (Failures)

https://plcpolitics.blogspot.com/2026/01/107.html (USD 10 Trillion)

https://pktesrtn.blogspot.com/2026/01/123.html ( TES Invented by Linda Din)

https://tesfund.blogspot.com/2026/02/208.html (TES Digital Archiving Sponsorship Program)

https://lckstory.blogspot.com/2026/02/210.html (Barbie’s Legs)

https://lckstory.blogspot.com/2026/02/220.html (The Great Robbery)

https://plcpolitics.blogspot.com/2026/03/303.html (Prophetic Report)

https://lckstory.blogspot.com/2026/03/307.html (The Origins of MJW Association)

https://plcfact.blogspot.com/2026/03/308.html (“Mother of E-Com” was besieged)

https://plcfact.blogspot.com/2026/03/315.html (Who Killed the $750 Billion IPO)

https://pklctrips.blogspot.com/2026/03/326.html (The History of Taiwan’s Industry)

https://plckai.blogspot.com/2026/04/401.html (When Peter Meets William)

https://ksibusiness.blogspot.com/2026/04/404.html (Return on Investment)

https://plcori.blogspot.com/2026/04/408.html (The Origin of E-Commerce)

https://plckai.blogspot.com/2026/04/409.html (AI Barbie)

https://plcori.blogspot.com/2026/04/414.html (The Origin of 0.002 Seconds)

https://plcori.blogspot.com/2026/04/417.html (The Origin of “to” Becoming “two”)

https://plcfact.blogspot.com/2026/04/419.html (The Redemption of Japan)

https://plcori.blogspot.com/2026/04/423.html (TES Invented by Linda Din)

https://plcori.blogspot.com/2026/04/430.html (Who is attacking ‘TES’ and why?)

https://plcktrend.blogspot.com/2026/05/501.html (The Catastrophe of Bronze Screws)

https://plcfact.blogspot.com/2026/05/507.html (Linda Din's Econophysics)

https://plcori.blogspot.com/2026/05/510.html (Linda Din’s ICT Initiative)

https://plcfact.blogspot.com/2026/05/512.html (Buying NVIDIA Stock at US$2.60)

https://plcfact.blogspot.com/2026/05/517.html (Linda Din’s Linhorn Indicator)

https://plcfact.blogspot.com/2026/05/520.html (Linda Din’s Universal Concern)

https://ldestore.blogspot.com/2026/05/524.html (A Broad Perspective)

https://ldestore.blogspot.com/2026/05/530.html (New Era of 2V)

https://tesoperation.blogspot.com/2026/06/604.html (The Charm of Zero Marginal Cost)

https://ldtes.blogspot.com/2026/06/612.html (APEC Best Practice: Global Channel-TES)

https://pklctrips.blogspot.com/2026/06/613.html (The Father of Taiwan's Precision Industry)

https://ldestore.blogspot.com/2026/06/616.html (Linda Din from “Women in Charge”)

https://plcori.blogspot.com/2026/06/619.html (TES-Da Vinci Code Recovery Memo)

https://ldestore.blogspot.com/2026/06/621.html (Xingxiu Temple’s Banyan Tree)

https://ldestore.blogspot.com/2026/06/627.html (Linda Din, A Lady of Rich Taiwn)

https://plckai.blogspot.com/2026/07/703.html (AICT Club)

https://plckai.blogspot.com/2026/07/714.html (AICT Achieves National Development)

https://plcfact.blogspot.com/2026/07/720.html (Prosperous Nation Designer and AR)

https://plckai.blogspot.com/2026/07/727.html (TPC and AICT Investment Initiative)

https://plckai.blogspot.com/2026/07/729.html (AICT Deliver Mankind from Abyss)

https://tesfund.blogspot.com/2026/07/731.html (The Benefits of SRI)

https://tesoperation.blogspot.com/2026/08/801.html (Benefits of Participating iClub)

https://pklctrips.blogspot.com/2026/08/808.html (Li-Chang Kuo, the Dr. Blacksmith)

https://lckstory.blogspot.com/2026/08/810.html (Master Hsing Yun on the Monkey)

https://lckstory.blogspot.com/2026/08/812.html (The Critical 90 Days to Save the Nation)

https://plcfact.blogspot.com/2026/08/815.html (As long as one is alive, there is hope)

https://ko-fi.com/ndart2025 (Donate the NDART)