After Lee Kai-fu finished a meeting with Ma Ying-jeou in April 2006, he gave flowers to his mother and greatest influence, Wang Ya-ching. (courtesy of Lee Kai-fu)

Kind, gentle, self-sacrificing and devoted to her children are the qualities most people traditionally associate with mothers. One remarkable mother, however, has never sacrificed herself to conform to social expectations; instead, she has always cared about her appearance and met the challenges of life with courage and "no regrets." Her name is Wang Ya-ching; she is nearly 90 years young, full of life, and the mother of Lee Kai-fu, vice president of Google Inc. International and president of Google Greater China.

"It was March in Taipei. The whole family was very nervous because mom was 42 when she got pregnant with me and everyone was worried that giving birth at that age wasn't safe. But mom said full of confidence: 'All my children are healthy and intelligent!' With my mother's assured words, I was finally able to come into this world safe and sound. Mom's self-confidence and courage gave me the most precious gift of all: life."

With these words, Lee Kai-fu began a newspaper article entitled "A Son is a Mother's Sweetest Worry," which was published earlier this year.