Home>Service> Awardees of Fervent Global Love of Lives Award> 22nd Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2019> Tree-planting Chairman - Lai, Shui-Huo
 
Tree-planting Chairman - Lai, Shui-Huo
[Developing filial piety through loving the earth more]

Ask less about desires but a little more about love for the planet
- Lai, Shui-Huo
 
The renowned Filial Piety Forest Trail
    Lai, Shui-Huo, the Chairman of Her Juen Industry Co., Ltd and the founder of Her Juen Foresty Park especially planted a trail of Taiwan incense cedar, the national treasure tree, for the sake to let his mother breathe phytoncide every day. This filial piety story has touched so many people that everyone acknowledged it as the “Filial Piety Forest Trail.”
 
Shui-Huo also advocates “ask less about desires but a little more about love for the earth” and took the plunge to buy 7 hectares of an abandoned hillside using the company’s surplus of more than NT$60 million that he has saved for many years. For 18 years, he has mobilized the whole family and the entire company’s staff to plant trees with his mother. So far, they have created a first-grade national treasure forest with such trees as Taiwan incense cedar, stout camphor trees, Taiwan cypress, indigenous cinnamon trees, and agilawood, just like a poem “Growing Trees” described by the anti-cancer poet Chou Ta-Kuan:
 
Planting the trees from generation to generation,
turning it into a healthy forest,
turning it into a forest of love,
and turning it into a forest of hope.
 
Seven main reasons for tree planting
The most valuable thing is that Shui-Huo opens this healthy forest of hope and love, known as “Her Juen Forest Life Education Base,” to the public and has determined to call for more people to plant trees to save the earth. He also shares seven main reasons of tree planting through various means, namely greening the forest, beautifying the environment, maintaining soil and water, generation of phytoncide, regulating the climate, paying attention to environmental protection, and caring for the earth. At the same time, it emphasizes that the farthest distance in the world is: you know it and until you have it done.
 
Whereby, Lai, Shui-Huo uses the trees to express filial piety to his mother, payback to the society, promote life education, and love the earth. He deserves to be praised as the “Tree Planting Chairman,” and stood out among 2,723 recommended candidates from all over the world and earned him the “22nd Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2019” from Taiwan’s Chou Ta-Kuan Cultural and Educational Foundation.
 
The Foundation welcomes all walks of life around the world at any time to recommend candidates of life warriors who possess the contexts of endeavors, love, braveness, and achievement.
 
The Fervent Global Love of Lives Medal - Chou Ta-Kuan Cultural and Educational Foundation, Taiwan
Recommended hotline: 886-2-29178770
Fax: 886-2-29178768
Address: 3F, No. 52, Mingde Road, Xindien District, New Taipei City 231, Taiwan
Website: http://www.ta.org.tw
Email: ta88ms17@gmail.com
 
Tree planting Taiwanese
“The Man Who Planted Trees” is a story about planting hope and happiness. It is the famous best-selling novel by French contemporary literary writer Jean Giono, narrating the long-lasting work of nature care, sharing the green miracle of Provence.
 
In the Provence region of France, there was once a lonesome shepherd who transformed his deep thought about his family into care and loves for the nature, and put the rest of his life into the work of afforestation.
 
Using his hands and incomparable perseverance, he planted 100 oak seeds a day for 30 years, and let the desolate land that was initially destroyed by drought to re-emerge with a healthy life and become a garden where people can live and work in peace.
 
However, the shepherd remained anonymous throughout, did not want to seek fame and fortune, and finally left the world silently.
 
The shepherd loved trees and planted trees to contribute his selfless spirits, creating a new life and vitality, and enriching the vitality of human interaction with nature.
 
Shui-Huo bought the orangery hillside at Ruanshiken, Dongshi District of Taichung City in 1995, which was initially an abandoned land with bare soil and stones.
 
He began to plant trees following the method written in “The Man Who Planted Trees,” mobilizing his family and employees to plant small seedlings on a large scale on a hillside of about 7 hectares.
 
For 18 successive years, Shui-Huo has spent a total of NT$60 million on buying land, planted 8,000 Taiwan incense cedar trees, and 2,000 indigenous cinnamon trees, stout camphor trees, and other native species. Now the trees have grown with thick trunks and measured up to about 5 to 6 meters tall.
 
Since no pesticides are used in the forest land, it has attracted the fireflies to return, flying around the mountains and lighting up the mountaintops like sparkling diamonds.
 
Shui-Huo named this mountain forest as Her Juen Forestry Life Education Base, or the Forest Park in short.
 
Shui-Huo filmed a CD-ROM stating that it is “a letter to friends who love the earth” and printed a large number of cards to advocate the benefits and advantages of planting trees extensively.
 
Shui-Huo always instructs his children that: “This mountain forest belongs to the earth. In the future, you can neither sell nor cut down the trees, but only plant trees.”
 
Initially, the local farmers thought that Shui-Huo was a big fool for investing more than NT$200,000 on the mountain without planting fruit trees but only native species that are accustomed to the local climate. He even opens the place to the public and donated 200 pings (approximately 648m2) to build a Groundskeeper God Temple.
 
However, 18 years have elapsed. Looking at the forest now that was initially overdeveloped, it is capable of preventing landslide and mudflow and protecting the downhill residents. Now they realize that Shui-Huo is forethoughtful and his deed has touched everybody.
 
These “tree employees” will never strike
Passing through the mountain road from Dongshi to Dasyue Mountain, what the passersby see are fruit trees covering the entire mountains. In late autumn and early winter seasons, one would see the low fruit trees densely hung with grafted pears and the reddish-orange persimmons wrapped in brown paper bags. Even if they make a turn to Ruansiken, they would also see the fruit trees covered with persimmons.
 
However, after making another turn and reaching the Forestry Park, the visitors’ mood would immediately feel refreshed. What they see is a large piece of greenish Taiwan incense cedar trees that gently embrace everybody’s heavy heart. The mountains are no longer covered with trees full of fruits, but the view of green trees that they should initially be there.
 
After spending nearly NT$80 million and long-term investing in the field of tree planting, Shui-Huo has discovered that planting trees are far better than other vegetation. He found seven main reasons for planting trees, namely greening the forest, beautifying the environment, soil and water conservation, generation of phytoncide, regulating climate, paying attention to environmental protection, and caring for the earth.
 
From a business management point of view, he sums up that these “tree employees” will never strike, and never need labor insurance, health insurance, severance payment, pension, and complain about their boss, and yet, they can generate daily limit up or down, and daily hope.

Despite being plating trees diligently for 18 years, Shui-Huo said: “In fact, it seems to be too late to plant trees now.” His planting area of more than 7 hectares only accounts for one in 2.1 billion part in area of the world. No matter how many trees you plant, it’s never enough, and there is no time to protect the earth from being swallowed up by industrial pollution.
 
Therefore, he believes that what’s more important than planting trees should be “reducing people’s desires.” For this precise but straightforward idea, Shui-Huo patiently explains to each visiting guest and also willing to accept invitations to speak for various places. The purpose is to promote “ask less about desires but a little more about love for the earth.”

In his speeches, he often points out that everyone should do three meaningful things: “To love the earth, do good deeds, and filial piety.”
 
Shui-Hou has profoundly realized that: “No matter how much you earn, you still have to leave the world one day. So making money is not the priority among all things.”

Urging people to ignite their love towards the earth
Shui-Huo has built a briefing room and would personally explain the thought of “planting trees to love the earth” for the guests who come to the Forest Park.
 
He hopes that visitors should have a mindset to protect nature before visiting the Forest Park that he has painstakingly managed.

After leading the visitors to climb a 64-step wooden stairway, they would see a towering and beautiful deciduous cypress. During the fall season, its leaves in mixed golden yellow and reddish brown are most charming.
 
Under the tree, its aerial roots have protruded to form a fantastic small hill. There is a small ginkgo forest near the settlement of deciduous cypress trees that appears in breathtaking golden yellow in fall.
 
The Arachis duranensis have crawled from the roadside to the trail. The cluster of these two species is the most colorful and stunning zone of Forest Park.

Next, visitors would come to a green zone consisting of stout camphor trees and agilawood, and further inside is the Taiwan incense cypress forest. Here, everybody can enjoy being embraced cozily in an atmosphere of phytoncide.
 
Shui-Huo has found a variety of tree frogs in the Forest Park and the recent emergence of the rare and precious Atlas moth!

One can see how natural and pure the environment of the Forest Park is, allowing the endangered species of Atlas moth to survive here.

Shui-Huo believes that his painstaking efforts to manage this Forest Park will undoubtedly awaken people to love nature sincerely. Every visitor who has visited the Forest Park will surely ignite his or her desire to plant trees and love the earth. Soon in the future, there will be more men and women planting trees.
 
When more people are planting trees, fewer people will pollute the earth. In such a way, the earth will have a chance to survive.
 
Besides saving the earth, planting trees has saved his life
Shui-Huo recalled a past event. He once participated in an activity at Dasyue Mountain. On the return journey, the brake system of his car malfunctioned on the downhill section and slipped down the valley. In a split second of crushing down the bottom of the valley, the uncontrollable car was blocked by a tall and stout tree lying on its path, thus saving the life of Shui-Hou from a fatal disaster.
 
At that time, he felt that the trees were rewarding him. The thousands of trees he planted have saved his life at the crucial moment of life and death. “Even the trees know how to be grateful.”
 
It should be an expression of gratitude from the trees, thanking him for the countless efforts he has contributed to the mountain.
 
He suddenly understood the truth. Not only have tree planting saved the earth, but have also saved him.

In addition to planting trees in the Forest Park, Shui-Huo has also planted trees near his factory. With an area more than 400 pings (approximately 1,296m2), he has planted more than 300 pings (approximately 972m2) of Taiwan incense cypress trees, making Her Juen Industry Co., Ltd to look like a beautiful little forest.
 
Amid this settlement of Taiwan incense cypress, there is an exceptional stone brick flat trail that measures 125(L) x 1.2m (W) that meanders between the shades of his house and the factory.
 
Everybody acknowledges that this trail is the “Filial Piety Forest Trail.” This flat trail is specially laid for his 97-year-old mother, allowing her elderly mother to walk smoothly with a cane at any time and visiting him at the factory from home. It is also meant to let her mother exercise in a safe and comfortable environment. There is a small iron hut at midway, constructed to facilitate her mother to stop and rest intermittently.

Tender mother and filial son are more appealing than planting trees
Speaking of the friendship between Shui-Huo and his mother, it is even more touching than planting trees.
 
In Shui-Huo’s heart, his mother will always be the priority. No matter how busy he is, he would go home every day to dine with his mother. Thus, the daily dinner time is the happiest time for both mother and child.
 
At dinner time, his mother would always chatter some trivial things in his son’s ear. He would nod his head to answer while eating. Shui-Huo said that no matter what his mother says, he would listen quietly but hum seriously, calling such reaction as a “humming song.” After hearing such “humming song” every evening, his mother would then go to bed happily.

Shui-Huo said that in his mother’s mind, he is always a child who needs to be taken care of. The 97-year-old mother is still able to see and hear clearly. She often wakes up in the middle of the night and walks out of her room to see if her son has fallen asleep or worked late at night? If he knows that her son has gone out and has not returned, she will wait all night.
 
Therefore, Shui-Huo tends to refuse many business entertainments in the evening despite his busy career. Even if he has to go out to participate in important activities, he would always go home before 10:30pm. For Shui-Huo, the most frightening scene is to see her mother waiting anxiously at the door when he comes back late at night.
 
Sharing the forest weekend with mother
Of course, Shui-Huo would try his best to accompany her mother to walk towards the Forest Park every weekend holidays to spend a quiet weekend holiday together.
 
He knows that his mother is old and needs to take different drugs of chronic diseases.
 
Fearing that his mother would forget to take the medicines or eat the restricted diet, he would always take out a memo from his pocket to grasp his mother’s health status at any time.
 
Worrying that his mother would fall off from the bed and get hurt, he once slept in the living room all night to check out his mother whenever he woke up, hoping to show up in time by her bedside when her mother needed him urgently.
 
To keep her mother at ease, it has been nine years since Shui-Huo had gone overseas to engage in official businesses or private affairs.
 
Therefore, when the visitors visit the Forest Park, not only can they witness the legend of planting trees, but also the filial piety story worthy of being told. Shui-Hou has done three meaningful things: love the earth, do good deeds, and filial piety.