in memory of Yang chiao Wang - JM Eagle

MARCH 2011EmployeeSpecialBuilding essentialsfor a better tomorrowIn memory of Yang Chiao WangIt is with great sadness that Mr. Walter Wang announces the recent passing of hismother, Yang Chiao Wang, at the age of 86.Yang Chiao always worked tirelessly and selflessly for those she loved, and her limitlessenergy, relentless confidence and tremendous courage—strength drawn from herunwavering Christianity—made an indelible mark on everyone she knew.The story of her remarkable life follows.All employees are welcome to visit and to pay their respects to Yang Chiao in amemorial room, Suite 495 of the 5200 WestCentury Blvd. building.In addition, there will be a memorial service inTaiwan on April 7.In lieu of flowers, the family requests that thosewishing to make donations please visit or makea donation at their local church.Please keep the Wang family in your thoughtsand prayers as they grieve the loss of Mr.Walter Wang’s beloved mother, Yang Chiao.Please share the story with other employees whodo not have Internet access.

In memory of Yang Chiao WangIt is with great sadness that Walter Wang announces the recent passing of his mother,Yang Chiao Wang, at the age of 86.Yang Chiao always worked tirelessly and selflessly for those she loved, and her limitlessenergy, relentless confidence and tremendous courage—strength drawn from herunwavering Christianity—made an indelible mark on everyone she knew.She was a child of humble beginnings, born into a time of hardship and war in Taiwan.Yang Chiao was given away by her birth parents to be raised by another family whoafterwards also experienced difficult times. At the age of 12, she had to go out to workperforming manual labor to help put food on the table of the family that had adoptedher. She moved 220 pounds of bricks per load and, in one day, could carry a thousandpounds.At 15, she became a personal assistant to a Japanese family during the Japaneseoccupation of Taiwan. She was grateful for all of her jobs, always managing to findsomething to learn from them and always working hard.She first made her acquaintance with her beloved husband, Chairman Wang, at age21 when he generously provided poor families with medicine. Chairman Wang alreadyhad a wife, but she was unable to bear children. In the Asian culture of that generation,it was acceptable for a man to take a second wife in that situation. In the early yearsafter Yang Chiao married Chairman Wang,she cared selflessly for the entire family,which included her mother-in-law, the firstwife, nephews, sisters and extended familymembers.Yang Chiao awoke at 4 a.m. every day toprepare for the needs of others both at homeand at the company. She prepared lunchand dinner for 20 to 40 people for the familyand unannounced guests. Despite the everchangingnumber of people, she managed thehousehold budget, and walked to the marketoften, as they had no refrigerators during thosetimes, always making the most of every pennyand letting nothing go to waste. She made anddelivered bento boxes for the whole family and2

an the busy household herself. While others napped, she diligently took lessons in theMandarin language to better herself.Yang Chiao was also the right-hand support of Chairman Wang in building his business,Formosa Plastics, which today has a market capital of close to $100 billion. She sawto business matters such as the company budget, and cared for the workers. She wasan excellent judge of character and guided the chairman in his business dealings. Shecould tell if a person was good for the company.She was very respectful, especially in honoring the Chairman’s parents. It was theChairman’s father’s dying wish that the family have Christian faith and continuouslygo to church. Chairman Wang brought the family to church together every Sunday foryears. This is where she found her faith in Christ and took the values of the bible toheart.In 1975, the Chairman was led away by another woman. Yang Chiao, not wanting tocreate conflict and wishing to give the Chairman the space and peace to run FormosaPlastics, brought two of her children, Walter (age 9 at the time) and Cher, to the UnitedStates, forgoing fame, wealth and status.She arrived in the United States with nothing, drawing strength from her faith that Godwould always provide. With daughters Charlene’s and Margaret’s marriage dowries of$10,000 each as a down payment, she managed to purchase a $50,000 house, selectedbecause it was in walking distance to the supermarket.The family lived on a monthly budget of $1,500 a month, which provided for Walter, Cherand many extended family members. She walked to the supermarket every day to getgroceries. It was years before Yang Chiao could afford a $500 car.Back in Taiwan, the Chairman’s mother missed Yang Chiao and realized the value shebrought. She asked the Chairman to invite Yang Chiao back. The Chairman thentraveled to Yang Chiao’s home in California and begged her to return to Taiwan. YangChiao refused to return to avoid tensions that she knew would cause stress for theChairman. Yang Chiao was always thinking of other people.When Walter was a teenager, he often questioned why his mother would work as hardas she did for 30 years, supporting his father to grow his successful business, and thenleave it all and relocate to the United States. Later on, he understood that his motherfreely sacrificed fame, power and fortune so that the Chairman could concentrate on hisbusiness. After all, how could there be two wives in one family?3

Life was challenging but rewarding in the United States. Despite their having noEnglish-language skills and limited funds, plus having to work hard, Yang Chiao drewstrength from her faith that God would always provide. When they moved to theirhome, the family was at first afraid to open the front door. But Yang Chiao’s steadfastfaith in God gave her tremendous confidence, which always attracted people to her.Many of those people, including two pastors, moved into the neighborhood to be closerto her. She considered these friendships a providence of God, and they all walkedtogether with her throughout life.Through all her struggles in the United States, she still found the time to learn theEnglish language and become a proud American citizen. She earned her driver’s licenseat age 63 and continued to live in her small home in El Cerritos.Walter, her most beloved child, saw his mother’s hard work and the difficulties she facedand wanted to help. He tried to make a contribution by selling erasers and pencilsdoor to door and later shoes at Macy’s. By looking at the way Yang Chiao lived, all ofher children were inspired to work harder to make their mother proud and to achievesuccess.Charlene, Walter’s second sister, started her business of assembling laptops in YangChiao’s own basement. This company is now First International Computer Inc., thesiblings’ first publicly traded company and the leader in its market at that time. YangChiao also helped her daughter Cher, Walter’s third sister, launch her business by takingout a second mortgage on her house. Also in Yang Chiao’s basement, Cher started VIATechnologies and the company that is now the $30 billion public company HTC Corp.As Cher was growing her business, Yang Chiao lived with Cher to help take care of herchildren, always wanting to help and bring value.She also stood by the sides of the eldest daughter, Margaret, senior vice president ofNanYa’s window and door division, and son Winston, chairman of Grace THW Group,as they grew their own businesses. She remained a close and strong support to Walter,and stood by him when he—independently from his father—did a leveraged buy-out atfull market value of the company that is now JM Eagle.Walter and Cher were particularly close to their mother because in the early days theyonly had one another. Walter particularly wished to protect and to care for Yang Chiao.She instilled him the values of giving and working hard, and taught him to see people’sneeds and understand what was important to them. She also put the faith of Christ inhis heart, which gave him the courage to face whatever came his way.Her daughter-in-law Shirley says of Yang Chiao, “She was exceptionally kind to meand loved me as her own daughter. She looked past all of my faults and always4

demonstrated boundless generosity toward me.”Before her death, she told Cher she had had a vision of the beauty of heaven. Even indeep sadness over their loss, the family takes comfort that she is now with Jesus.Yang Chiao possessed an excellent sense for the goodness of people, and broughtout the best in others by being generous with praise, demonstrating forgiveness, andappreciating the attributes that made each person special. She always kept her heartand home open to those in need, especially children.She will be remembered by all as living her life by example and for how she gave morethan she got. Please keep the Wang family in your thoughts and prayers as they grievethe loss of their beloved mother.A memorial room was opened Thursday, March 10, in room 495 of the 5200 WestCentury Blvd. building. All employees are welcome to visit and to pay their respects toYang Chiao.In addition, there will be a memorial service in Taiwan on April 7.In lieu of flowers, the family requests that those wishing to make donations please visitor make a donation at their local church.5