Lind Din’s Rice Dumpling in TES

Written by Peter Li-Chang Kuo

On May 31, 2025 (Saturday), the Dragon Boat Festival arrives. We bought a string of “vegetable rice dumplings” (vegetarian zongzi) in advance to offer at the temple for ancestor worship. Coincidentally, all the offerings from the others are also zongzi, though I’m not sure if theirs are vegetarian or not.

Fig 1: A Vegetable Zongzi Containing Only Glutinous Rice and Peanuts

Each vegetable zongzi costs NTD 40, and its ingredients consist solely of glutinous rice, peanuts, and bamboo leaves. Back when developing the circulation goods of "TES" (The eStore System) system, the inventor Linda Din created the “vegetable zongzi,” designed the “Jingzhi Zong” trademark, and drew the “Gimaron” mascot.

Fig 2: Gimaron Represents Vegetable Rice Dumplings

“Vegetable zongzi” ranks among the top ten key products in TES because it is low-cost and high-margin. The raw material cost is 22.10 yuan, direct labor cost is 3 yuan, and overhead cost is 2.9 yuan, totaling 28 yuan in cost per zongzi, yielding about 12 yuan in profit per unit and a gross margin of roughly 30–40%.

In addition, it is a "low-calorie diet" (LCD) product, with each 100-gram vegetarian zongzi plus 10 grams of peanuts providing approximately 350 kcal—a super low-calorie meal, sufficient to sustain energy for a mid-meal work interval if consuming two pieces.

As for the "meat zongzi," in addition to stir-frying the glutinous rice with oil, it contains pork belly, lard, salted duck egg yolk, dried shrimp, fried shallots, stir-fried ingredients, and soy sauce. The fat and salt contents are too high, with one meat zongzi delivering up to 1,500 kcal, which we completely do not recommend.

The World Health Organization (WHO) promotes “healthyeating” (Healthy Diet), recognizing that a healthy diet helps prevent all forms of malnutrition and reduces the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer. Calorie intake should be balanced with energy expenditure; salt intake should be limited to no more than 5 grams per day to help prevent hypertension and reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. WHO member countries have agreed to reduce global salt intake by 30% by 2025. They also agreed to curb the rise of diabetes and obesity in adults and adolescents and to halt the rise of childhood overweight by 2025.

On May 22, U.S. President Donald Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the “MAHA” (Make America Healthy Again) initiative at the White House. This policy focuses on the following aspects:

1. Whole food diet,

2. Reducing ultra-processed foods,

3. Supporting natural, local, and organic agriculture,

4. Avoiding pesticides, additives, and GMOs,

5. Enhancing the nutritional density and naturalness of food.

Fig 3: The MAHA Report announced at the White House

Kennedy said, “Chronic disease is bankrupting our country,” and noted that the prevalence of chronic disease is rising exponentially. The U.S. spends over $4 trillion on healthcare, and he is deeply concerned that half of Americans have chronic diseases. He advocates the concept of a “Whole Food Diet.”

Our “IIA-TES” U.S. pilot program proposed the “Healthy Mini Hot Pot eStore” during an expert meeting—advocating a “low-calorie diet” (600–1000 kcal) in a direct and positive response to the MAHA initiative. Today, we further recommend the boiled, whole-food-based “Vegetable Zongzi.”

Whole food diets and low-calorie diets (such as the TES Healthy Mini Hot Pot) have scientifically supported benefits in preventing and managing chronic diseases. These dietary approaches emphasize consuming natural, unprocessed or minimally processed foods and controlling total calorie intake, which helps reduce the risk of chronic illnesses.

First, a whole food diet focuses on natural, unprocessed foods, including vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. Its benefits include:

1. Reducing cardiovascular disease risk: Whole food diets are rich in dietary fiber and antioxidants, which help lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, thereby reducing the risk of heart disease.

2. Reducing inflammation: Antioxidants and phytochemicals in plant-based foods help reduce chronic inflammation in the body.

3. Improving blood sugar control: With over 500 million people worldwide living with diabetes, the market potential is vast. High-fiber whole foods help stabilize blood sugar levels and play a positive role in preventing and managing type 2 diabetes.

Second, low-calorie diets that control calorie intake are another key strategy for preventing and managing chronic diseases—for example, TES Healthy Hot Pot emphasizes low-calorie, nutrient-dense ingredients. This dietary approach helps:

1. Weight management: According to WHO, moderate calorie restriction helps reduce body fat and lower the risk of obesity-related diseases. (WHO + 1PMC + 1) (WHOHealthy Diet)

2. Improving metabolic health: Low-calorie diets help improve insulin sensitivity, lower blood glucose and lipid levels, and reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome.

3. Delaying aging-related diseases: Research suggests that calorie restriction may help delay the development of aging-related chronic diseases.

In short, whole food diets and low-calorie dietary patterns help improve cardiovascular health, control blood sugar, reduce inflammation, and promote overall well-being. Today, while purchasing a “vegetable rice dumpling” for ancestral offerings, we also thought of another excellent boiled food.

If we aim to promote “vegetable rice dumplings” in the U.S., we must do our homework, starting with cost analysis:

1) The average cost per rice dumpling is USD 0.90 for materials, USD 0.50 for labor, and USD 0.30 for overhead, totaling USD 1.70 per unit.

2) The projected retail price is USD 3.00 per piece, yielding a gross profit margin of approximately 40–70%, which appears to be higher than in Taiwan.

3) The key lies in leveraging new technological economic system to promote the concepts of whole food diets and low-calorie diets, thereby achieving the goal of making America healthy again.

In earlier years, when public awareness was limited, we showcased the “TES” (The eStore System)—a new tech-economic system that integrates physical and virtual commerce, demonstrating its multitasking capabilities. The system featured consumer purchases through “contactless TranSmart chip cards,” facilitating "B-C" (business-to-consumer) transactions. It integrated ATM and vending machine into what we called "VAM" (Vending plus ATM Machine)—an intelligent vending machine representing the eStore, delivering long-term educational enlightenment to industry, government, academia, and research sectors.

Fig 4: Linda Din’s VAM in TES

After consumers make purchases, the VAM automatically stores and records transaction data, transmitting it via the communication module’s "Interphone" to the enterprise’s "ICT Control Center," with satellite support. Cloud-processed transaction data is then sent to suppliers for logistics and restocking, completing the "B-B" (business-to-business) process. Additionally, consumers can place orders and make electronic payment (cashless system) from home via computers or smartphones, with the control center notifying suppliers to deliver.

Fig 5: The eStore in TES

In a recent expert meeting, we discussed upgrading the 7.5 million vending machines in the U.S. to our VAM model—“Vending Machine Operated By A ChipCard.” If each machine generates an "IP" (intellectual property) revenue of USD 100, this could generate USD 750 million—funds that could establish a "Social Responsibility Investment Fund" (SRI Fund) to assist 10 innovative companies in going public on NASDAQ, potentially creating USD 10 billion in value.

The value creation process—from USD 100 in IP revenue, to USD 750 million in social responsibility investment, to nurturing companies with 100-fold growth—will unleash explosive economic value.

The TES system embodies three major social responsibility characteristics:

1. Reduce cash circulation risks—lowering theft and counterfeit risks.

2. Create jobs and new industries—for example, upgrading vending machines to VAMs promotes supply chain upgrades, ICT industries, cloud computing, logistics, and restocking jobs.

3. Environmental sustainability—smart restocking reduces waste and lowers carbon emissions.

This aligns perfectly with the core principles of SRI.

At this moment, the MAGA (Make America Great Again) policy is driving the U.S. to advance infrastructure upgrades and localize smart supply chains. Upgrading 7.5 million vending machines into “VAMs” is tantamount to initiating a large-scale smart retail infrastructure project, perfectly aligned with MAGA. This social responsibility investment (SRI) will elevate the digitalization and global competitiveness of America’s retail sector, create abundant employment opportunities (ICT, maintenance, cloud management, logistics), and establish a robust electronic payment infrastructure.

With U.S. healthcare costs exceeding USD 4 trillion, we advocate combining "low-calorie diet" (LCD) with the "TES" system, aiming to realize Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s "MAHA" (Make America Healthy Again) policy. The combination of "TES and VAM + low-calorie diet + MAHA" holds the potential to significantly impact U.S. healthcare costs, chronic disease issues, social responsibility, and employment benefits—especially in terms of health.

Approximately 60% of U.S. adults have chronic diseases (cardiovascular, diabetes, obesity, etc.), with high-sugar and high-calorie diets being among the leading causes. Therefore, we propose the “VAM + low-calorie health food” strategy:

1. Introduce low-sugar, low-salt, low-fat, high-fiber beverages and foods into VAMs.

2. Utilize data collection and AI-driven recommendation systems to guide consumers towards healthier choices.

3. Integrate with the MAHA policy for a nationwide “Healthy Diet Revolution.”

4. Combine education and health promotion—e.g., VAM screens displaying health information and offering health points rewards.

Through the TES system, circulating those low-calorie products such as vegetable rice dumplings via VAMs can deliver the following benefits:

1. Reduce consumption of high-sugar, high-calorie products—evidence shows that dietary interventions can lower the risks of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. (WHO Healthy-diet)

2. Enhance public health awareness through technological promotion, fostering healthy consumer habits—similar to how carbon footprint labels influence consumer behavior.

3. Reduce chronic disease-related healthcare costs—with U.S. healthcare expenses at $4 trillion/year, even a 1% reduction could save USD 40 billion/year.

In terms of employment benefits, if every 5 VAMs create 1 job, upgrading 7.5 million machines would generate 1.5 million jobs. In addition to “technical labor” such as ICT/IoT hardware manufacturing, cloud and big data engineers, and lab researchers, there is also demand for “non-technical labor,” including logistics, delivery, and mobile store managers.

As global health awareness rises and America’s "MAHA" policy gains momentum, leveraging new tech-economic systems (TES) to promote whole-plant-based, boiled, cholesterol-free, non-fried, additive-free products—packaged naturally in bamboo leaves and with a low carbon footprint—like the vegetable zongzi, not only presents challenges but also offers foresight of compassion. The key point is that it aligns with mainstream healthy eating trends.

Actually, I have a deep personal connection with “vegetable rice dumpling.” When I was young, I lived at No. 45 Chong-An Street in Tainan City. There was a “bare window” between my home and No. 43 next door—no glass, no traditional window, just a frame. Every afternoon, Aunt Tao from next door would finish bathing the children of similar age and then start wrapping vegetable rice dumplings.

Aunt Tao would sit on a small stool facing a pillar, where a cotton string was hung from a hook. On the ground were three bowls of ingredients—"glutinous rice, peanuts, and bamboo leaves." She would use her left hand to fold two bamboo leaves into a triangular shape, scoop about 100 grams of glutinous rice into the hollow of the triangle with her right hand, quickly add a handful of peanuts, wrap the string around twice, and in no time, one rice dumpling was tied up.

In one afternoon, before nightfall, she would have wrapped 1,000 vegetable rice dumplings. At night, Uncle Chin would place all the dumplings into a large sealed pot, cover it, and simmer them slowly. At around 5 a.m., he would lift the lid, and I would always wake up to the fragrant aroma of bamboo leaves. Thanks to the rice dumpling he gave me, I had the strength to go to Park Elementary School, enduring those naive and bewildering years, eventually finding my way into a prosperous career as a master of precision manufacturing.

Later, my wife, Linda Din decided to tackle unemployment and invented that "The eStore System" (TES). When she was studying product circulation, she remembered the story I told her about "vegetable rice dumplings." At the time, she was a committed "Vegetarian" and even bought ingredients to make dumplings herself. Often, she would make hundreds at once and give them away, eventually uncovering the “secret of the vegetable rice dumpling.”

Uncle Chin would set up his stall at the temple entrance on Hsimen Road at 6 a.m., and by 8 a.m., the 1,000 dumplings were nearly sold out!

I realized that what people were buying was not just the rice dumpling, but rather a “social memory,” a kind of emotional connection, a sense of familiarity and comfort. Uncle Chin’s family business had been passed down through three generations, with the recipe unchanged for a century. Getting up at six in the morning to eat his vegetable rice dumplings had become a “daily ritual.” Some people, as children, would go to the temple to pray and then eat a rice dumpling with his grandfather. When they grew up, they brought their own children to buy them. This wasn’t just about purchasing a rice dumpling—it was about emotional transmission.

It was the ultimate form of "minimalist philosophy." The single-item vegetable rice dumpling meant production could be highly standardized and stable, without the complexities of sourcing diverse ingredients, storage, or quality variation. Each dumpling was a “handcrafted standard component” made tens of thousands of times, with consistently high quality. This simple vegetable rice dumpling challenged the conventional business management notions of constant innovation or diversification.

Once, in Tokyo, an older Japanese gentleman who knew I was from Tainan said that if I could bring him a few vegetable rice dumplings, they would be more precious than any gift. To my surprise, he was referring specifically to Uncle Chin’s vegetable zongzis, which made me deeply appreciate "the power of minimalist philosophy."

Since 1984, Linda began eating a "strict vegetarian diet," praying for my recovery from a mysterious illness. In 1996, with new insight, she concluded her 12-year vegetarian journey. During her vegetarian years, she initiated the "Rich Taiwan Plan," engaging in social responsibility investment (SRI) and inventing one of humanity’s highest-value innovations— USD 36 trillion annual cashless transactions, helping 1.5 billion people earn global income from home.

Fig 6: Linda Din promoting the "Rich Taiwan Plan"

This long thread of faith, humanistic philosophy, technology, culture, and now, the emerging MAGA and MAHA policies, forms an unbroken chain. It truly requires a contextualized and systematic approach to organize these elements, revealing a layered and causally linked “philosophy + application” structure.

At its core lies "universal concern." Since 1984, Linda Din has maintained daily morning and evening prayers—to meditate day and night, reading at least three newspapers daily, and engaging in social welfare work. Thus, she became particularly sensitive to social issues. After seeing a news report about a taxi driver being robbed, she sketched out a diagram for the "TES" (The eStore System). After 11 years of effort, she presented the research results at APEC 1997 in Vancouver, sparking international attention.

Linda Din then dedicated another six years—including serving as a invited speaker at APEC in 1998 and 2003—to promoting the global adoption of "E-Commerce" and "Cashless System." Today, with international attention focused on combating cartels, her achievements in social responsibility investment (SRI) are once again being highlighted.

Moreover, the “IIA-TES” proposal from APEC CEO Summit 2009 has now, in 2025, formed a fascinating connection with America’s new policies—"MAGA" and "MAHA." The core spirit of TES— “Innovative industries to solve unemployment”—is bearing fruit. Through commercial and technological applications, it drives social responsibility and promotes common prosperity.

TES also embodies the "philosophy of simplicity," achieving the greatest societal benefits through straightforward means and guided by the moral foundation of “love your neighbor as yourself.” This forms a narrative arc from daily life to philosophy, from philosophy to technology, and from technology to societal practice.

Linda Din has been promoting the "Rich Taiwan Plan" for 40 years. Through her efforts at major international conferences, she has facilitated the establishment of a new tech-economic system (TES). During this time, Taiwan’s GDP has grown tenfold, and with the gradual realization of "IIA-TES," Taiwan’s GDP is projected to reach USD 3.8 trillion. Now, the concept of "Rich Taiwan" has spread from this island to the Americas, with hopes that this gift from above can bring justice and prosperity to the land and its people.

“Donateto the NDART”

Peter Li-Chang Kuo, the author created Taiwan's Precision Industry in his early years. Peter was a representative of the APEC CEO Summit and an expert in the third sector. He advocated "anti-corruption (AC)/cashless/e-commerce (E-Com)/ICT/IPR/IIA-TES / Micro-Business (MB)…and etc." to win the international bills and regulations.