Finding its own path_Interview with Tien-Bao Won, chairman of Hongxing Business Co., Ltd.

Morality is fundamental to what we do. Always behaving harmonically in a natural way.

By Xin-En Wu

　　"My expectations for my children can be seen by their names. The eldest son is named YiFan( 逸帆。逸 " means joy, free of regulation"; 帆 means "ship sail"), and the second son names Yi-Min( 逸民。 民 means "citizens, people"). I want my children to be as free as the wind on the sea but also grateful and concerned about the people's livelihood. At sea, I understand that the essential truth is to go with the flow," Tian-Bao Won said.

　　Tien-Bao Won, the current chairman of Hongxing Business Co., Ltd. and White Dolphin Co., Ltd., is highly educated and knowledgeable. Graduated from the first choice Kaohsiung Senior High School, Won entered the Law Department of National Chung Hsing University. "The company was founded in 1976, when whales and dolphins, especially white dolphins, were still commonly seen on the western coast of Taiwan. The white dolphin is endemic to Taiwan and is a different branch from the white dolphin of China. This sea is an environment that I am familiar with, and I purely want to share the joy with people. So I started a sightseeing boat business and operated a fleet of boats to take tourists out to sea to see white dolphins." said Won.

　　At that time, the business was quite successful and unprecedented. As a result, many well-known people sign up to go out for sea touring. Won recalled that almost all political and business celebrities had taken his boat, and suddenly he realized how most Taiwanese people were strange to the sea. It was just the time for semiconductors to become the major developed industry in Taiwan. The top ten critical commercial ports in the world include Taiwan Port as a vital cargo handling area, which also led to the rise of maritime engineering. "I major in law, and I understand that there were many maritime-related laws and regulations in Taiwan that were not perfect because of the temporal and spatial background and the factors of industrial development. However, now because of offshore wind development, the emphasis on the industry has begun to shift. It is a good start. At least the Taiwanese people began to build awareness and understanding of the sea area again," Won said.

Left: Tien-Bao Won, chairman of Hongxing Business Co., Ltd. / Right: Yi-Min Won

The offshore wind industry has become an opportunity for the transformation of the sea touring fleet

　　With a fleet of 12 ships, Won is also facing the challenge of transformation under the change in Taiwan's industrial development and the concept of the young generation.

　　The offshore wind began to flourish in Taiwan in 2016. Many well-known developers, WTGs system providers, and maritime vessel companies invested in Taiwan. Because of the localization requirements, the costless approach is to collaborate with Taiwanese enterprises. But Taiwan is mainly small and medium-sized enterprise-oriented(SMEs), facing unfamiliar professional technology, in addition to laws and regulations, but also required to have the ability to communicate in English. As a result, the offshore wind industry has become an industry that many people "focus on" but dare not "participate in".

　　The trickiest project for Taiwanese SMEs is Won's most secure strength due to his legal training. "I remember when the first TPC anemometer tower and two foundations of the demonstration wind project were installed, we were involved in all the processes. I am familiar with the law's logic and the implications behind the regulations, and my two sons are engineers themselves, so English is easy for them. After that, more and more enterprises, including developers, vessels companies, and marine engineering companies, started to contact us to see if we could provide services regarding guarding vessel and cetacean observation ships of the OWF project."

　　It was also at that time that Won began to think about the transformation of the fleet. However, because of his earlier attempts, Won was relatively affected by the impact within a certain degree of control during the pandemic outbreak in 2019.

　　Soon after, Won officially cooperated with foreign companies under the introduction of some friends to formally provide the guarding vessels services of the offshore wind farm. "We always say we want to learn the knowledge from the foreigner expertise, but have we done it? The technology and the management approach of the foreign fleet can be accurate to predict the weather conditions of the sea the day before construction, such as what time the wind begins to rise, what time the wind direction changes, and then decide whether to go to sea to install the foundation. That's whom we work with, the technology they master, and how they manage projects. It is not like we are familiar with the sea, so we don't have to respect the professional technology of others. The other way around, it is not the advanced technology of foreign countries own so they can ignore the local experience of Taiwan. Only you know it when you work with them," Won further pointed out.

Morality is fundamental to what we do Always behaving harmonically in a natural way

　　Witnessing the development and change of Taiwan's maritime engineering and the process of Taiwan's democratic transformation, Won has always firmly believed in the existence of "morality" deep inside the people's hearts.

　　"Perhaps the young generation can't imagine the situation in Taiwan 30 years ago was not what it is now. I grew up at the Kaohsiung port, I have seen the US fleet, the cargo ships of other countries, and you can say that the port and the dock are the first line in Taiwan to receive the deepest impact of different cultural industries," said Won.

　　If the most prosperous scenery always has places that cannot be illuminated, the docks and ports in Taiwan in the early years were such an existence. Sometimes, it felt like one spent a day on the docks seeing many people's lives. Won believes that precisely because his work can reach a world that ordinary people cannot imagine, he is more convinced that morality is what they should hold up to, especially in the maritime engineering and ship management industries.

　　"People will better understand not fighting against nature and go with the flow. But the meaning behind it is based on the fact that you know very well that the situation on the sea is changing rapidly, you have all the professional skills. To go with the flow is not to give up, but to be prepared," Won Yi-Min, who is currently the general manager of Hongxing Business Co., Ltd., talked about his father's philosophy of life. Yi-Min worked as an engineer sharing his memory that he had just returned from the Institute and was thrown to experience life at sea a few years ago. "I am a civil engineer, I am familiar with the land, but the sea environment is another world. When I was standing in front of the wheel of the vessels with waves of approximately 5 or 6 meters high and then began to negotiate with foreign companies regarding the details of the project, I deeply understood my father's attitude toward life. You must have your ground base and insist before you "do" or "not do" with the trend," Yi-Min Won said.

　　The world's declarations and initiatives for net-zero have driven the further development of the industry. The Russo-Ukrainian war has made countries worldwide think more deeply about the allocation of energy portfolios and resources. Germany has announced a net-zero target of 5 years ahead of schedule in 2045, and Taiwan announced 2050 on March 30 regarding the net-zero roadmap. "It is the world trend; the development of offshore wind and other renewables will gradually become more important than ever. Perhaps many people still feel that net-zero, and these renewables industries are far away from themselves, but only plan earlier, people find where to start. To actively participate in offshore wind and think more about how to achieve cleaner and sustainable use of fleet equipment, we eventually find our path." said Won.