There was reason for pride. Started only eighteen months ago, Tien Sia, which means Commonwealth, has captured two of this year's Golden Tripod Publishing Awards: for the best monthly magazine and for best editor (Diane Yin).
As a serious, no-nonsense—and as a matter of fact, the first-business magazine in Taiwan, Tien Sia won immediate recognition and acceptance. The first issue appeared in June 1981; its first printing, of 10,000 copies, sold out in two days. Since, the magazine's circulation has increased steadily, to a printing of 30,000 for the December issue.
Among the over 2,000 magazines in Taiwan, only Times Weekly, a pictorial entertainment magazine, and the Chinese edition of Readers' Digest, both with long histories and strong financial bases, do better. Considering the population of Taiwan, Tien Sia's circulation is equivalent to an American magazine circulation of more than 327,000 copies a month, according to a recent article in the New York Times.
Magazine president Charles H.C. Kao—Nobody was more surprised
No one seems to be more surprised by these developments than the magazine's president, Charles H.C. Kao, 46. "After all, we started less than two years ago, and are still a long way from our goal"
The goal, to be the Fortune or Business Week of Taiwan, was set by Charles Kao, Diane Yin, and Li-shin Wang, 36, the three major original investors.
All three had completed postgraduate studies in the United States. Charles Kao is still a professor of economics at the University of Wisconsin in River Falls. He now splits his time between Taipei and the American university. Diane Yin won her journalistic spurs as reporter and correspondent for English language newspapers in both the United States and Taiwan. Li-shin Wang, a seasoned reporter, was deputy managing editor of Times Magazine, published by one of Taiwan's leading newspaper groups. The three form the basic core of Tien Sia.
Compared to the over 300 professional staff members of the major American magazines, the 25 at Tien Sia, including 9 reporters, are relatively numerous only by Taiwan standards. The staff's average age is also limited-a low 27. Partly because of a shortage of true professionals in the business magazine field, Tien Sia's editors decided to train their own staff. Yin, who moonlights as a lecturer at a college of journalism, takes joy in training her own reporters: "We take them fresh from school. They may be inexperienced, but they are young, aggressive, and eager to learn. That is most important. Since we're a young team, we are not bound by tradition and rules. If we feel something is right, we will go ahead and do it despite the rules." Reporters are asked to research and prepare only one article a month. Yin and her co-founders also write from time to time.
When it comes to topics, Tien Sia does not strictly confine itself to business or economic issues. "Everything in life, in a sense, is related to economics," maintains Yin.
The magazine is specially known for its in-depth features on current socioeconomic trends in Taiwan and the world. But it focuses on the economic scene, while reporting also on connecting population policy, pollution problems, traffic problems, etc.
A surprising number of Tien Sia articles have been reprinted by other magazines and newspapers. A May 1982 special article, probing the relationship between economic development and social discipline, touched off widespread discussion in the island's newspapers, other magazines, and on the airwaves.
But, says Charles Kao, "It's not enough to offer well-documented, well-written articles. We would like to eventually build ourselves into a fully authoritative publication."
Tien Sia is also known for its probing portraits of Taiwan's major companies, business leaders, and government officials. A recent feature on the second generation of Taiwan "business tycoons", noting that most Taiwan companies are managed by founding family members, stressed a seldom asked but important question: "Are they able?"
Book reviews and special human interest pieces add to the attractions of the magazine. "We try for a balance between being informative, educative, and entertaining," says Yin, sounding more like the journalism teacher than the journalist.
Readers compliment the magazine: " Tien Sia takes up the current issues of our society. The articles also reflect the thinking of contemporary intellectuals," comments Yin Lai, 40, a Taipei English-language newspaper editor.
"The language is precise and well-written—easy to read," says Chen Sheng-teh, 29, a junior bank executive. "It gives a balanced view of current problems."
Style, topics, overall content, and timing combine as factors in Tien Sia's instant success.
It is to the emerging class of professionals in business, government, and academia that Tien Sia mainly appeals, though the magazine also garners subscriptions and letters-to-the-editor from such unexpected categories as housewives and college history students.
Taiwan, which started its industrialization 30 years ago, is in the process of transforming a labor-intensive economy into one centered on technology development and management. During the process, a class of professionals has emerged that is well-educated, conscious of their environment, and hungry for information and new knowledge. This is Tien Sia's target readership.
Since the Taiwan population percentage receiving higher education is continuously increasing, it is only natural that they demand a greater depth of information. Tien Sia feeds this highly educated group the facts about basic problems and directions in society for their further contemplation and discussion. In addition to helping its audience build knowledge, Tien Sia attempts to focus attention on public issues-to help create public concern.
Tien Sia wants to be more than a business magazine; it looks to "serving as the missing link between the public sector, the private sector, and the general public," declared Kao. Through magazines like Tien Sia, the public can assert its right to know, and decision makers be made increasingly aware of public reaction, he said.
Diane Yin—"Since we're a young team, we are not bound by tradition"
Yin added, "When we talk about economic development, we mean more than just elevation of the machine sophistication level. We intend, through our reporting, to display the issues, create consensus, and to influence the decision makers in a wider sense."
To critics who say Tien Sia only "adds flowers to the brocade"—that it accentuates the positive side of the story, features only successful personalities, etc.-Kao acknowledges, "Yes, we criticize, but we don't condemn."
Tien Sia's constructive attitude has proved successful in attracting readers, and, therefore, attractive to the advertisers. As a result, the young magazine is unusually well-balanced financially; it has gained the advertising of such major foreign companies as I.B.M., Citibank, Ford, Adidas, and Honda.
For the three founders and the staff, winning the Golden Tripods in the magazine's infancy has been more than an honor or an encouragement: it is a confirmation of direction. And added to that is the fact that, on the bottom line, Tien Sia has been in the black from its beginning. A new economic magazine can hardly have better business credentials.
Two NEW photographic art books on the REPUBLIC OF CHINA
The Republic of China
by Andrea Luppi & Corrado Pizzinelli
1982-Magnus Edizioni Spa, Udine
Printed in Italy by Grafiche
LEMA, Maniago/Pordenone, in English, Italian, Spanish, and French editions
NT$800/US$ 20.00
TAIWAN/The Republic of China
by H.G. Dawe & Chen Shih-fu, C.A.S. Williams
1981-Printed in Taiwan
China Color Printing Co. Taipei, Taiwan, ROC Text in English & German
NT$400/US$10.00
Now available at the Central Television (CTV) Cultural Service Center, and Chiang Kai-shek International Airport
Quality photographic art gifts for friends, or as permanent memory albums for foreign residents, and business representatives