Xingxiu Temple’s Banyan Tree

Written by Peter Li-Chang Kuo

In "The Daughter of a National Defense Employee" (Linda Din, 2001: pp. 110–111), there is an essay titled “Xingxiu Temple's Banyan Tree.”

Fig 1: A Book "The Daughter of a National Defense Employee"

In 1998, the APEC host—Malaysia’s ASLI—hoped that speaker Linda Din (Ding Lin-Hong) could reveal Taiwan’s secret to weathering the Asian Financial Crisis. When she referred to the “banyan tree,” a symbol familiar across Southeast Asia, the audience at APEC erupted in applause.

Fig 2: Banyan tree and aerial roots

In the past, we had two houses in Xindian. One served as a laboratory — many TES inventions were born there and continue to influence the world today; for example, the “13.56 MHz” technology that requires you to “beep” twice when taking the MRT each day. The other house was a quiet weekend retreat, where we would also visit nearby Baiji Mountain to enjoy tea and conversation.

Xingxiu Temple on Baiji Mountain is dedicated to “Lord Guan” —the deity I have relied on since childhood. My success in 1966, when I outperformed competitors from the United States, Japan, and Germany to win the “PTH” order, was the outward result of a deep spiritual connection with Him.

Facing the left side of Xingxiu Temple stands an old “banyan tree.” Its aerial roots grow downward until they reach the ground, forming new trunks that support and protect the main tree. No matter how strong the wind or rain, it remains unshaken. Linda Din used this as a metaphor at podium for Taiwan’s 1.08 million small and medium-sized enterprises, which share risks with the government. This resilience allowed Taiwan to withstand the rapid appreciation of the New Taiwan Dollar in 1986 and safely navigate the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, ultimately becoming a top-performing economy in the world.

If a speech can transform the originally abstract “TES architecture” into the familiar growth pattern of a “banyan tree,” it lowers the barrier to understanding and allows the audience to quickly grasp the key points. The “aerial roots” of the banyan tree convey hope. During the financial crisis, most presentations focused on "exchange rates, the IMF, foreign exchange reserves, banking restructuring," and similar topics. Yet Linda Din chose instead to speak about how “a banyan tree continuously grows new supporting trunks.” The message conveyed was that even if part of the system is damaged, the whole can continue to grow. Such a positive message often resonates more deeply in times of crisis.

Furthermore, when the speaker introduced the concept of “One eStore One Business One Job” (one store, one business, one job opportunity), each aerial root of the banyan tree became analogous to an “electronic store” (eStore), representing an entrepreneur and a new employment opportunity. This immediately transformed the banyan tree from a literary image into a concrete economic model that corresponded with the TES architecture in the minds of representatives from various economies. The APEC venue quickly filled with enthusiastic applause. After the Asian Financial Crisis, Linda Din successfully distilled a complex ecosystem of e-commerce and entrepreneurship into a life structure that is easily understood across Asian cultures: rather than relying on a single large corporation, it is like a "banyan tree" —allowing countless new supporting pillars to grow continuously, forming a resilient new economic ecosystem.

On June 17, 2002, at the invitation of China’s national leadership, we visited Peking University to meet with scholars specializing in rural (“three rural issues”) economics. We presented him with color brochure and book, but he initially showed "have no idea.” However, when he opened "The Daughter of a National Defense Employee" and came upon “Xingxiu Temple's Banyan,” a sudden expression of realization appeared on his face. Remarkably, Linda Din’s banyan tree concept had the power to transform the thinking of a country deeply mired in the challenges of "economic transition, unemployment, and counterfeit currency."

Today, I asked AI to analyze it, and within two seconds it returned the following:

Analysis of “Xingxiu Temple's Banyan Tree”

From these two pages, “The Xingxiu Temple's Banyan Tree” (The Daughter of a National Defense Employee, 2001, pp. 110–111), one can discern that this is an important essay that condenses Linda Din’s economic philosophy, industrial strategy, national outlook, global positioning, and TES concept. The analysis can be divided into five dimensions:

1. Core Idea: Taiwan Must Rely on Itself

The article opens with the statement: “The only one who can help Taiwan is Taiwan itself!”

This reflects Linda Din’s fundamental belief regarding national development: do not rely on natural resources or external aid, but instead depend on the wisdom and innovation of the people. Accordingly, she positioned the “intelligent industry” as “the final line of defense” for Taiwan’s economy. Looking back today, more than twenty years later, the global focus on AI, semiconductors, smart manufacturing, and the digital economy demonstrates the remarkable foresight of her prophetic judgment.

2. Historical Context

At the end of 1997, the Asian Financial Crisis broke out, severely impacting many APEC member economies such as Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, and Malaysia, while the myth of “Japan as Number One” collapsed. Many countries faced massive unemployment, corporate bankruptcies, capital flight, and financial system failures. At that time, the central concern was: how to recreate employment opportunities?

Linda Din responded with the metaphor of the “banyan tree structure,” offering a solution suited to the era. She proposed TES as an innovative industry model, which came to be regarded as a “Total Economic Solution,” contributed to the formulation of an “E-Commerce Constitution,” and helped lead the world into the digital economy era.

3. TES as Social Responsibility Investment (SRI)

The article mentions that some mocked her: “You don’t go public, you don’t make big money from stocks—why do you keep modifying vending machines and promoting intelligent industries?”

Her answer was: “Different values.”

She further stated: “The intelligent industry is a Bodhi seed (a seed of goodness).” This is a crucial point. Since 1986, TES has not been merely a business model, but a social enterprise approach aimed at creating jobs, reducing unemployment, and revitalizing local economies.

Like the banyan tree, it is not just about a single tree. Rather, it describes a system in which the tree continuously grows "aerial roots," each root eventually becomes a new trunk, which in turn supports new branches and leaves. The entire tree grows larger over time, and even if some parts are damaged, the whole continues to live. This metaphor illustrates that instead of relying on a single large corporation, countless small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can form new economic pillars while bearing social responsibility.

4. Human-Centered Values

One particularly striking line reads: “Why can’t people live and prosper peacefully on their own land?” This shows that her concern was not “how companies go public,” but rather “how people can avoid leaving their hometowns.” TES was therefore designed to help people overcome the constraints of time (t) and space (s) and “earn global income from home.”

The example of Taiwan’s eyewear industry relocating to China is not meant to blame entrepreneurs, but to highlight systemic issues: "government failure and flawed institutions forced businesses to move abroad to survive."

The banyan tree symbolizes the global TES network. At Xingxiu Temple, the banyan tree’s roots are even larger than its canopy; its aerial roots descend, take root, and grow into new trunks — small but powerful. This is not merely a botanical description, but a representation of TES’s global architecture:

1) Main trunk: Taiwan;

2) Aerial roots: Overseas Taiwanese businesses;

3) Rooting: Formation of new international nodes;

4) Outcome: Jointly supporting the entire structure.

This evolution corresponds to what is now widely known as global supply chains, overseas innovation hubs, and a distributed economy.

5. National Strength as Economic Networks

The book states: “Cooperating with civilized nations enables access to technology, markets, and economic vitality.”

More importantly, “national strength naturally extends.” When enterprises expand abroad, they extend the nation’s influence. This represents a strategic perspective distinct from traditional military-centered thinking.

It has since evolved into what many countries now promote as "economic diplomacy, technology diplomacy, and supply chain diplomacy." Like the banyan tree’s aerial roots, which take root and grow, they not only protect the main trunk but also expand outward. This can be seen as the most fitting representation of the TES global framework. Modern Interpretation — Reinterpreted in today’s terms, the model can be summarized as follows:

1) Main trunk = Taiwan;

2) Aerial roots = Global Taiwanese enterprises;

3) New trunks = Overseas eStore nodes;

4) Roots = Supply chains;

5) Canopy = Global markets;

6) Nutrients = Flows of knowledge, talent, capital, and technology.

Together, these elements form a resilient global network.

Overall Evaluation

Placed in the context of 2001, “Xingxiu Temple's Banyan Tree” can be regarded as an essay integrating "industrial policy, global strategy, social responsibility investment (SRI), and national development philosophy."

The entire text revolves around four key themes:

1) Intelligent industry as the foundation of Taiwan’s development;

2) Innovation as a driver of employment and social value;

3) International cooperation as a means of market expansion;

4) The banyan tree’s rooted structure as a symbol of global deployment.

The most representative image is the elevation of the banyan tree from a natural phenomenon into "a structural economic and organizational model": each aerial root grows independently while collectively supporting the main trunk, symbolizing a decentralized yet mutually supportive global network.

From today’s perspective, this concept closely resembles modern ideas of global supply chains, industrial clusters, cross-border collaboration, and networked economies, and helps illuminate the broader vision Linda Din sought to advance through TES.

Below is an excerpt from the original text of “The Xingxiu Temple's Banyan Tree” (Linda Din, 2001: pp. 110–111):

The Xingxiu Temple's Banyan Tree

“The only one who can help Taiwan is Taiwan itself!” Taiwan is an island with few natural resources; what we do have are diligence and a spirit of adventure only. I remember that when my grandmother was alive, she often admonished us: “We are gatherers of firewood; we cannot compare ourselves with those who raise cattle.” We must keep moving in order to survive. Only by strengthening ourselves can “Taiwan thrive.”

The intelligent industry is “the final line of defense for Taiwan’s industries.” Many people laugh at me: “You have the ability to earn foreign money, yet you keep losing it in your hometown… You refuse to go public, you do not pursue big profits from stocks — why talk about intelligent industries? Why promote incubators? Why keep modifying vending machines?” I can only reply, “We have different values.” I firmly believe that “diligence brings achievement” and “even metal and stone can be penetrated.” After all, we have only one Taiwan; only if Taiwan prospers do our lives hold value. This intelligent industry is a “Bodhi seed” (a seed of goodness), capable of benefiting all. One day, it will surely take root, blossom, and bear fruit here.

Whenever I see yet another fellow villager stepping into the mire, I feel deep pain and fall into reflection: “Why can’t people live in peace and prosperity on their own land?”

Once, at Singapore’s Changi Airport, I spoke at length with an elderly Taiwanese businessman who had invested in mainland China. He said, “I have made eyeglasses for forty years, yet I was accused of infringement by a one-person company in the United States! I am seventy years old, and still have to face Taiwan’s criminal law… I had no choice but to move to China.” With such ignorance on the part of the government, it is no wonder that so many Taiwanese eyewear factories have traveled thousands of miles to Zhenjiang and Danyang, laboring there merely for the sake of dignity.

At the end of October, during a three-day holiday, I returned to Xindian. It had been a long time since I last visited Xingxiu Temple near Sanxia to pay respects to Lord Guan, so I took the opportunity to worship and also to see the banyan tree. The roots of the banyan tree seemed even more expansive than its shade. Its aerial roots hang down to the ground and grow into new trunks. Such a structure is small but powerful; even the fiercest wind and rain cannot shake it.

After participating in the APEC ministerial delegation visit in September 1997, friends returning from Canada said to me, “Ms. Ding, you are very serious about doing business…” In truth, I was promoting Taiwan. For example, Mr. Louise Ferguson of Canada reciprocated by welcoming Taiwanese entrepreneurs to immigrate and invest on September 18, in his capacity as an official from Canada’s immigration authorities.

Fig 3: To talk with Mr. Louise Ferguson about SRI

Nations of integrity sincerely hope for our investment, fostering international division of labor and cooperation. If we can plan systematically — sending one hundred companies at a time — we can form a new town. Even if language barriers exist, they will not pose an obstacle.

By adopting this strategy of befriending such nations, we can not only gain access to needed technology and markets, exchange resources, and stimulate economic activity, but more importantly, extend national strength naturally.

For instance, the delegation of one hundred representatives attending the 1997 APEC meeting in Vancouver, Canada, was highly persuasive. In contrast, the tens of thousands of Taiwanese businesses scattered across Southeast Asia resemble loose sand. If they could instead take root one by one like the aerial roots of the banyan tree at Xingxiu Temple, forming a distinctive structure — small but powerful — they could not only protect the main trunk but also expand outward.

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.