Chapter 247: The Oriental Daily
"Alright," Wei Zetao agreed. "Taipei is the economic and talent hub of Taiwan, and there are universities with relevant departments. It's a good place for us to set up a research base."
"Yes. Find a site with a decent location and size. Buying is fine—it's still much cheaper than land in Hong Kong," Yang Wendong added.
Taiwan's property market would eventually follow the same trajectory as Hong Kong's. Even the mainland would mirror this trend in a few decades. Though Yang didn't plan to invest heavily in real estate in Taiwan, if they were already establishing an R&D center, buying some land now would be worth it. Maybe two decades later, they could relocate and build a skyscraper on it…
But for now, the priority was research and development. Ideas without technology couldn't create an industrial empire. Look at 3M—creative, yes, but equally strong in R&D. Their glue technologies were unmatched globally.
Before Yang's transmigration, 3M's tapes and adhesives were widely used in high-end construction, automotive, aerospace, deep-sea exploration, and medical applications.
"I'll head to Taipei after the European transaction is finalized and bring all the materials with me," Wei said.
"Good," Yang nodded.
Although developing new materials was challenging, plastic had already become the core of his industrial empire. It was essential to at least give it a shot.
Who knew? Maybe one day he'd be like Formosa Plastics, venturing even into upstream petrochemicals. Even if he couldn't match their size, a smaller version would be fine.
Whether he built it in Hong Kong, Taiwan, the mainland, or elsewhere—time would tell.
…
By December 1961, Yang had accomplished many major goals. The second half of the month was noticeably lighter in schedule.
His focus shifted back to family life. He spent more time with his son, who could now sit up and was beginning to show signs of crawling. It was a precious age—and for a father, an unforgettable stage of life.
Meanwhile in Taiwan, Wei Zetao had secured the material patent from Sweden and flew to meet Wang Yongqing at Formosa Plastics' office.
After some brief greetings:
"Mr. Wang, here's the new material we're planning to develop." Wei handed over a file. "This includes various compositions of polyethylene blended with other plastics. The final pages show the lab synthesis method. You'll need to figure out how to scale it for mass production."
"Let me take a look," Wang said, taking the folder. He knew this was a key project for one of his biggest clients and shareholders.
Wei calmly sipped tea. Though he'd spent his life around plastic products, the manufacturing process was another world entirely. Few people in Hong Kong understood it. That's why they relied on Taiwan.
After a long pause, Wang said, "The formulas are detailed. The only missing part is the industrial process. But with lab synthesis already established, scaling up should be possible.
Of course, with no experience, the first batches may have low yield and high cost. But that's expected."
"Exactly. It's a new product, after all," Wei agreed. "Even if you produce it successfully, I still have to make significant preparations in Hong Kong before we can launch it."
They had already ordered a custom bag-making machine from Japan. The manufacturer, originally focused on cloth and paper packaging, needed time to adapt their equipment for plastic film.
Different film materials—softer or harder—would affect the machine's performance, and those variations needed attention.
Being the first mover always came with headaches. But success brought the highest returns.
"I understand," Wang replied. "I'll have my lab start synthesizing the material. Once we have samples, I'll send them to you. You can use them to test bag production.
As for the production line, I'll reach out to machinery suppliers in Japan and Germany. It'll require custom designs. I can't give a timeline yet, but I'll try to expedite it."
"Sounds good. Let's each do our part. Mr. Yang is highly invested in this project. Once it's ready, I guarantee we'll place orders with you," Wei said.
Plastic bags hadn't even launched, but everyone in the company already loved them. They were far more convenient than paper bags.
Once released, the bags would find eager markets not just in Hong Kong, but across Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and Japan. In volume, it would easily outstrip Post-it notes.
The only drawback was that there were no idea-based patents, only material patents. That meant competitors could replicate the concept using different compositions.
So success would rely on speed, scale, cost control, and follow-up R&D.
"Alright, we'll move as fast as we can. Mr. Yang's business is bound to soar after this," Wang said with a smile.
Currently, nearly 40% of Formosa Plastics' pellet sales went to Changxing Group. Yang wasn't just a customer—he was a major shareholder.
If Changxing grew, Formosa would grow too.
"And we hope you grow right alongside us," Wei replied. "One more thing—we plan to set up an R&D center in Taiwan…"
"An R&D center?" Wang asked curiously. After hearing the full explanation, he nodded thoughtfully.
"Mr. Wei, I've actually been planning to build one myself. If we want to grow Formosa into a global brand, we need our own materials. If the patents stay in foreign hands, we're just working for others."
"You're absolutely right," Wei nodded. "That's our goal too. We'll move upstream from finished products to raw materials.
This plastic bag project is the first step toward building our own R&D culture—personally ordered by Mr. Yang."
"Compared to developing high-end polymers, this is much simpler," Wang said. As an industry veteran, his words carried weight.
…
"By the way," Wei asked, "do you know anyone in Taiwan with expertise in this field?"
Wang thought for a moment. "I know a well-respected chemistry professor, but he's older. I doubt he'd want to join your center. Still, I can introduce him."
"That's fine. Even if he's not interested, he probably knows someone who is," Wei said with a smile.
"I'll make the connection," Wang promised. "Also, would you mind if we also ran our own research on this material?"
"Of course not," Wei said. "Mr. Yang believes in parallel development. If your team discovers a superior formulation, we'd be happy to buy it or license the rights."
"Fair enough," Wang nodded.
He understood well—no one wanted to be controlled by someone else in critical tech.
…
Over the next few days, Wei met with officials in Taipei and conveyed Changxing Group's plans.
They were thrilled to receive investment from Hong Kong and took him on site visits to several suitable locations.
December 22 – Christmas Eve
Wei returned to Hong Kong and reported back to Yang Wendong.
"Mr. Yang, these are the five locations proposed by Taipei's officials." He spread out a map with five marked circles. "Each plot is about 50,000 square feet, or roughly 5,000 square meters. I wanted more space, but anything larger would be in remote suburbs."
"50,000 square feet is fine. We'll be building upwards anyway," Yang replied. "Just pick the one with the best access and surroundings."
Yang didn't know Taiwan's history well and wasn't planning to heavily invest in its real estate sector. As long as the location was decent, it would do.
"Alright," Wei said. "I also spoke with Professor Tao—a leading polymer chemist in Taiwan. He's too old to join our team but recommended his protégé, Hu Yunjie. He has a PhD from Stanford and currently works for Mobil Oil. Coincidentally, he's returning to Taiwan for the holidays. I plan to meet him then."
"You handle it. No need to involve me," Yang nodded. "Just let me know the result."
As Changxing grew, Yang had to start delegating more. He only needed to set the direction and review the results.
The R&D center was important, but Yang wasn't an expert. Interviewing technical personnel would be a waste of time.
"Understood. I'll handle it. I'll also stay in touch with Mr. Wang—our progress depends heavily on their success," Wei added.
"Yes. Keep a close eye on it," Yang nodded.
Once the plastic bag industry matured, anyone could make them. The profit margin would never match Post-it notes. But demand would be massive. Even if profits were slim, local manufacturing could create thousands of jobs.
That alone made the effort worthwhile—especially since Hong Kong would soon see a flood of Chinese migrants. Creating large-scale employment was crucial. Electronics might have a brighter future, but they couldn't create that kind of job volume right away. High-tech products needed time, talent, and resources to scale.
"I understand," Wei replied firmly.
December 23
Yang Wendong brought Bai Yushan to the Kong Wah Tower. Inside, only the newspaper and radio divisions remained—the space was more than sufficient.
"Miss Bai is so elegant."
"I still think Mrs. Su is more beautiful."
"They're both gorgeous. Mr. Yang is truly blessed."
"Didn't you also marry two wives?"
"Mine are average-looking."
"Sigh, if Mr. Yang doesn't mind, my daughter could join him too."
"Dream on—trying to marry up like that?" Laughter.
As Yang walked Bai Yushan through the halls, whispers followed. Everyone at the company knew about Mr. Yang's other companions—but in Hong Kong, polygamy was still legal, and no one thought it strange.
A man's ability was often judged by how many wives he could afford. Most didn't have mistresses because they couldn't afford it—or had married into wealthy families where that was not an option.
They entered the executive office of Honghua Daily.
"What a view," Bai Yushan said, standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Yang smiled. "Changxing Tower has an even better one. I'll take you there next time."
She hadn't yet visited all his offices, but he planned to show her around gradually.
Soon, Qin Zhiye arrived.
"Mr. Yang, Miss Bai."
"Take a seat," Yang gestured. "So, did Honghua Daily hit 10,000 daily sales recently?"
Qin replied, "We had a few days at that level, but the average is still around 8,000 to 9,000."
"Hard to grow beyond that?" Yang asked.
"Yes," Qin said. "Our paper isn't cheap, and the number of readers in our target demographic is limited. Also, other papers have started offering color editions. Content is mostly the same, and viral news doesn't happen every day.
That said, we're still the number one in color print in Hong Kong."
"Well, that's the advantage of being the first to try," Yang smiled. "But I can see the ceiling now. High-end readership probably maxes out at just over 10,000.
So I'm planning to launch a more affordable version—call it the Oriental Daily. It'll represent Hong Kong, the Pearl of the Orient."
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