Before the epidemic, Shih organized sports and talent competitions and said he pays great attention to team building and family relationships. He said he is concerned about the lives of the children of his employees, most of whom are migrant workers who have had to leave their young ones behind.

He has urged employees to communicate more with their children and learn to better balance work and family life.

When the children are on winter and summer holidays, Shih encourages his workers to bring their children to Dawang and help the children better understand their work, he said.

"Now, many of the children have become second-generation employees, working alongside their parents," he said.

Shih hopes that more young people from Taiwan come to the mainland to understand its development and take advantage of business opportunities.

Fan Chengjun, assistant manager at Sunspring, said that Shih provides staff with career development opportunities to bolster their sense of worth.

"By caring about the work and lives of his employees, Shih helps them make life and career plans, and even gives them interest-free loans to help them purchase apartments to live with their families," said Fan, who has been with the company since 1998.

"There are still about 100 employees who have been working here since 1998, and the second generation are now working alongside their parents."

Fan said his boss deserved to win the May 1 Labor Medal. "Shih is patriotic and agrees that both sides of the Taiwan Straits are members of one big family," he added.