The Story

  Written by Peter Li-Chang Kuo ( Chinese ) The Scriptures say: " Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. " (Proverbs 3:27) My wife, Linda Din ( 丁玲虹 ), after witnessing mass unemployment caused by foreign companies withdrawing investments and closing factories in Taiwan, at that time, unemployed workers who turned to driving taxis were often victims of robbery; consequently, she vowed in 1986 to invent a " Cashless System " to resolve those structural social issues. Linda not only invented the Cashless System but invested all the substantial income she earned into the development of " TSCM " (Transaction & Transmission Supply Chain Management Software System). For demonstration purposes, she installed a " Contactless TranSmart Reading Device " (TRD, also called Toller) into vending machines, upgrading them into an "Total Electronic Store System" (TES). She conducted triangular tes...

Written by Peter Li-Chang Kuo ( Chinese ) My father, Kuo Kun-Cheng, was born in 1926. Next year, he’ll be turning one hundred years old—and so will the Tainan Canal . Ever since I started my own business in 1966, my grandmother—whose leg had been broken by the police—lay beside my workspace so I could take care of her nearby. In 1969, I built the first house of the Kuo family in Lane 451, Park Road after the family had been completely confiscated by the Japanese army for 32 years. But because of a unfilial sister-in-law, my grandmother still had to live in a corner of my studio. Every time I came back from night school and was preparing materials for the next day, I would help her sit up next to me, and she would always tell stories of our family. Grandmother would say, “Ah-Chang, your father was born in the 15th year of the Taisho era—the same year your grandfather helped the Japanese build the ‘ Tainan Canal .’ The celebration banquet stretched from the canal all the way ...

 Written by Peter Li-Chang Kuo ( Chinese ) The one I long for in my heart, Why did you leave my side? Because of you, my heart pines day and night, Deeply longing for you. My love, please come back, Come back to my side — Every time my grandmother, Kuo Chen Shu-Jean (1896–1970), heard Hung Yi-Feng’s song “ The One I Long For ” playing on the radio, she would silently shed tears. Whenever I witnessed this scene, I couldn’t bear to change the station. So, I could only let my grandmother wander through time and space, reminiscing about her dead son. Fig 1: “ The One I Long For ” (AI-generated image) Since the Lunar New Year of 1966, after the police violently broke my grandmother's bound feet, she spent most of her final time lying in the corner of my workspace so that I could take care of her. Late at night, when everything was quiet, I would return from night school and prepare materials for the next day. During these moments, grandmother would reminisce about play...