Dear Reader,

My name is Kirk Wang, SVP of subscription at The Epoch Times. I was part of the staff who produced the first-ever issue of The Epoch Times in John Tang’s (CEO) basement back in 2000.

In the early days, most of us were scientists and engineers by trade. We didn't know much about newspapers. Coming up with our 14-page PDF for the first issue was a days-long struggle in an Atlanta basement.

Our software crashed multiple times while we were working on our first issue. We learned the importance of pressing the “save” button rather quickly. If we didn't do so, hours of hard work could be erased in a second.

What's more, the printing press we used back then couldn't make plates directly from computer files. So we had to print out our files on sheets of 11-by-17-inch paper, stick them together two by two, and send them to the press, which would then make films out of the physical papers.

Now it seems silly what we had to do to make that first issue. But when I finally emerged from that basement after our last all-nighter with the completed proof behind me, there was no better feeling. When I felt the sunlight on my face, a calm determination welled up inside me from the depths of my heart; it assured me that despite all the challenges still ahead for The Epoch Times, truth would win out over lies in the end.

I burst into tears.

You can read the complete story from here.

You can also watch the story of Kirk Wang here.

Truth and Tradition,
Kirk Wang