Day 3

Today we met the chairman of TSMC. He talked  a lot about leadership.  He said a leader knows which direction to go, and the people will follow behind him. But if he is the ruler and does not show respect no one will follow him,  which makes him not a true leader. After that  Christina, Simon, Yoyo, Tom, Christina’s mom, Tom’s mother, and I  went to dinner. It was very cool and different.  It’s hard to explain. Tomorrow my host family and I will go on an over night trip to Mountain Ali which is the 2nd biggest mountain in Taiwan.  So I don’t  think I will be able to blog tomorrow.  I am having a great time so far.

Mr. Chang of the TSMC

(Today started off the same as yesterday and the day before, so I shall skip that part and go straight to the interview.)

“Chung-Mou ‘Morris’ Chang, Ph.D. is the founding Chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufactcuring Company Ltd. (TSMC) in 1987. TSMC pioneered the “dedicated silicon foundry” industry and is the largest silicon foundry in the world.” – Wikipedia

When we first entered the Taipei office of TSMC, we were greeted by a black-suited man and led to the meeting room. After moments of waiting, (doesn’t this seem awfully familiar?) Mr. Chang came in. We introduced ourselves, explained about CKSAP, gave him our presents, and then the interview began.

My first question was: What qualities must a great leader have? Mr Chang first gave his definition of a leader: one that knows what direction to go and has people following him. He also gave his definition of a GREAT leader: Someone who takes his followers the right direction. He mentioned a quote by Winston Churchill: “Great Britain is the leader of the world, but the world doesn’t follow Great Britain,” which further emphasizes the importance of being a GREAT leader. Then, Mr. Chang remarked that integrity was the most important attribute to him. His advice to kids like us: be a good person, and work hard. His favorite principles of like are integrity, commitment, innovation, and friendship, which he said brought him to his present position today.

Unfortunately, we only had about 20 minutes to interview him, so we had to close up early. We took some pictures together, and Mr. Chang left. After packing up, the CKSAP crew also left.

-Christina

Dean of the National Taiwan University

NTU is a large comprehensive university with 11 colleges, 54 departments. 98 graduate schools and 25 research centers, and consistently plays an active role in promoting higher education in the Asia Pacific region. NTU is home to over 30,000 students, of whom 17,000 are undergraduates, and the rest graduate students. Of the 30,000 plus students, about 680 come from other countries, and the number is increasing. We offer courses and degree-programs taught in English and run the world’s best Chinese programs for over 40 years for international scholars and students. The main campus of NTU is located in the subtropical Taipei metropolis, and is conveniently served by other forms of public transportation. The campus is green and park-like, with modern facilities and new as well as veteran buildings surrounded by short, well-shaded hiking trails. -NTU pen

Like all the other mornings we spent in Taiwan, we first drove to my aunt’s office, and then waited until it was time to go meet the leader we had scheduled to meet that day. While we waited, Simon hijacked the DS from Tom, Megan checked the blog, and I stared over Megan’s shoulder. After about thirty minutes, we all piled into our private bus and left for Taiwan University.

When you first drive into Taiwan University, you see a boulevard of palm trees, which is named the Royal Palm Promenade. We looked on in awe at the long lines of palm trees. Then, the bus took a turn and we arrived at the main office. We jumped out, went up a few flights of stairs, and then entered the meeting room.

The meeting room was surrounded by chairs on three sides, the right,  the left, and the head of the room. There were some pottery jars, and a few plants. We settled down, and then Dr. Lee, the president of the NTU came in. We stood, introduced overselves, and then my dad gave a short explanation of CKSAP. Afterwards, we handed him our presents, and then we started the interview.

Dr. Lee believes that great leaders must have sympathy and determination, and must know to use the right person at the right position. Synergy is very important, apparently. Collaboration is one of the skills much used at NTU. It seems that all the leaders we interviewed have one thing in common: they didn’t exactly want to be part of the business they’re in right now, but only became the president/CEO/etc. when they were asked to by other people. Dr. Lee strongly emphasized what he learned in college about how even the best of friends can become enemies. His favorite principle in life? He replied that it depends on age. He commented that when he grew older, he found out the meaning of life. At the end of the interview, my dad asked why Dr. Lee decided to accept our interview offer. Dr. Lee said that he was proud that he would be able to spend time with future leaders. (Simon, Megan, Yoyo, Tom, and I all felt very warm when we heard that answer.)

After some last goodbyes, we all left the meeting room and continued on our ways.

-Christina