The Yue Loong Group is the country's third largest business organization. The chairman of the board, a woman named Wu Shun-wen, is therefore regarded in industrial and business circles as the most influential woman in the ROC today.

Her subordinates describe her as ambitious, quick-witted, and equipped with an excellent memory. During meetings she seldoms lectures; she requires each of her managers to give brief reports and then plies them with questions aimed at pinpointing the most relevant information, providing them with on-the-spot instruction.

Under Wu's direction, Yue Loong, which was gradually losing its share of the domestic car market, has recently made a sudden recovery. Wu has proven herself to be a shrewd, capable businesswoman. She attributes her success to her husband, T. L. Yen (the pioneer of the domestic car industry), who laid the company's foundation.

Wu and T. L. Yen both come from textile business families. Before she finished high school, her parents betrothed her to T. L. Yen, who had received a master's degree in mechanical engineering from a German university. On the eve of the Communist take-over, she and her husband transferred U.S.$ two million worth of textile equipment to Taiwan. This equipment was used later to set up the Tai-yuan Textile Factory.

In 1950, T. L. Yen decided to establish the first automobile-making company in Taiwan. Subsequently, Yen and his wife made a trip to the United States to investigate the feasibility of the venture. During their year-and-a-half stay, Wu (who had already received her B.A. in political science from St. John's University) went on to complete her master's degree in International Relations at Columbia University.

After returning to Taiwan, Yen devoted himself to the growth of Yue Loong and gave Wu control of the Tai-yuan Textile Factory. While her husband was struggling to keep Yue Loong afloat, Wu displayed her finesse at running a factory, making Tai-yuan the first textile factory to export its products.

In 1976, Yen had an accident that resulted in partial brain damage. The same year the couple went to the United States for treatment. The doctor's prognosis was that while Yen's life could be prolonged for a few years, his debility was incurable. Wu knew that if the facts of her husband's condition were made public, they could seriously damage the company's standing in the stock market. Fearful for her husband's business and concerned about his health, she gradually began to take on the responsibilities of running the company. At this time the planning for Yue Loong's new Sanyi factory was in progress, so Wu moved the meetings to their home in order that her husband might also attend. In 1981, she watched with satisfaction her husband's smile as he received the news of the new factory's successful completion. Two days later he passed away.

Wu has now taken over the reins at Yue Loong. Her management philosophy emphasizes honesty, simplicity, straightforwardness, face-to-face communication, and goal orientation. Her success has caused the business world to reappraise her, noting that although she lacks her husband's mechanical engineering background, she is more adept at management.

When asked to review her life, she laments that most of it was spent shouldering responsibility, causing her to forego many of the "pleasures" of life. On the other hand, her work has also been rewarding. She maintains that every time she finishes a task or overcomes an obstacle, she has a "feeling of success." This feeling of success is the impetus that keeps her in the business.

(Craig Scott Galper)