What kind of debt has interest that makes it grow by more than 4,000 percent in just a year? For the president of a Taipei technology company, it was a debt of gratitude.
The Chinese-language Apple Daily recently reported that a man in his 40s, surnamed Hsiao (蕭), donated NT$2.9 million (US$97,000) to Zihnan Temple (紫南宮) — a famous temple to the earth god in Nantou County’s Jhushan Township (竹山) — after borrowing NT$600 from the temple.
He did not need the money, of course. Zihnan Temple offers microloans to people looking more for good luck than for capital, with the implicit promise that they will pay it back with interest after finding success.
The Apple Daily reported that Hsiao told temple employees that his company had run into some financial trouble around Lunar New Year last year, leading him to borrow the money with a promise that if he could overcome the difficulties, he would pay it back thousands of times over.
“I’d like to thank the earth god by giving back NT$2.9 million,” Hsiao was quoted as saying, referring to the deity favored by businesspeople. “Would it be better for you to accept the money in cash or through a bank transfer?”
They ended up going with the bank transfer.
Before Hsiao’s generous payment in the middle of last month, the most the temple had ever received in a single repayment was NT$670,000.
Last year, the temple gave out NT$380 million and received NT$560 million in gratitude payments. Over the Lunar New Year holiday in February this year, temple-goers borrowed NT$35 million and have paid back NT$40 million so far.
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