Talking Taiwan: Recent Episodes
Felicia Lin
Talking Taiwan is a Golden Crane Award Winner and the longest running Taiwan-related podcast. Hosted by Felicia Lin, it's about the interesting people and stories connected to Taiwan and Taiwan's global community – in Taiwan, the US, and around the world. Listen and subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, and everywhere - or on www.talkingtaiwan.com.
This year Taiwanese Waves is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year and will be back at SummerStage in New York City's Central Park's Rumsey Playfield on Sunday August 16th. Doors open at 5:00pm. When Taiwanese Waves debuted in 2016, it set an all-time record for the highest single-day attendance at SummerStage. And since then it's continued to introduce audiences to Taiwanese Music.
This year's lineup includes Golden Melody Award regulars 9m88, YELLOW and ØZI.
You'll also be hearing the psychedelic sounds of Mong Tong and from Taiwanese American singer-song writer Chance Emerson, and finally New York's Chinatown Records will spin tracks from past Taiwanese Waves alumni.
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While we were at last year's Taiwanese American Conference West Coast in July of 2025 which was hosted in San Francisco Silicon Valley, we sat down with Akio Yaita (矢板明夫), the keynote speaker of the conference. As a senior journalist at Sankei Shimbun Akio has covered Beijing and Taipei. He's been a strong advocate for Taiwan. In 2024 Akio obtained citizenship in Taiwan and founded the Indo-Pacific Strategy Thinktank.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/akio-yaita-%e7%9f%a2%e6%9d%bf%e6%98%8e%e5%a4%ab-outspoken-taiwan-advocate-in-taiwan-i-can-make-a-bigger-contribution-ep-355/
As we were working on translating and editing our interview with Akio we were disturbed to learn that on July 6th Akio was assaulted after a speaking engagement in Taichung. While Akio was in the lobby of a hotel, a Chinese man approached him and punched him in the face. The man, surnamed Liao (廖) was later arrested at the Taichung International Airport. Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council described the attack as the "first case of transnational repression" in Taiwan since China's Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law took effect on July 1. After the attack Akio has said that he will not be intimidated.
What timing it's turned out to be for us to be sharing our interview with Akio Yaita now. You'll get know about his backstory and how you can follow him and his work.
This episode is sponsored in part by the Pacific Times.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/akio-yaita-%e7%9f%a2%e6%9d%bf%e6%98%8e%e5%a4%ab-outspoken-taiwan-advocate-in-taiwan-i-can-make-a-bigger-contribution-ep-355/
The Taiwanese American Arts Council is celebrating its 10th anniversary and third year as an organization in residence on Governors Island. Island Reverence is the theme of this year's residency. I recently sat down to interview three of the artists in residence at TAAC's house 17 on Governors Island: Chia-Che Tsou, Dena Paige-Fischer, and Leon Chuang. Chia-Che has a fascinating story about how he ended up becoming an artist. Dena and Leon both coincidentally grew up with parents who are artists. Dena and Leon's artwork are currently on view at TAAC house 17 on Governors Island until August 2.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/celebrating-taacs-10th-anniversary-island-reverence-on-governors-island-house-17-ep-354/
We will be releasing a YouTube video of my interview with Chia-Che, Dena, and Leon for listeners who'd like to see some of the visuals referred to in this episode. You can find it soon on Talking Taiwan's YouTube channel.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/celebrating-taacs-10th-anniversary-island-reverence-on-governors-island-house-17-ep-354/
We were at the dress rehearsal of BIRDY, one Hung Dance's most critically acclaimed productions, which will be premiering in New York at NYU Skirball on July 17 & 18th. BIRDY explores the relationship between freedom, limitation, and identity through a distinctive movement language inspired by Tai Chi, traditional Peking opera and contemporary dance.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/birdy-explores-universal-themes-of-freedom-limitation-and-identity-relevant-to-taiwan-ep-353/
We sat down to speak with Lai Hung-Chung, Choreographer and Artistic Director of Hung Dance about his artistic vision for BIRDY and Wei-Ping Chen the dance company's Operations Director. Lai told us that the themes of freedom, limitation, and identity not only reflect his personal struggles but also relate to Taiwan's situation.
Hung Dance is an award-winning Taiwanese contemporary dance company founded in 2017. The troupe's name comes from the Chinese character 翃 (Hóng), meaning to fly.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/birdy-explores-universal-themes-of-freedom-limitation-and-identity-relevant-to-taiwan-ep-353/
We sat down to speak with Claire Wang (王婉諭), chairwoman of the New Power Party, one of Taiwan political parties, that emerged from the Sunflower Movement. While she never imagined herself going into politics, personal circumstances changed that. She's a powerful example of transforming personal tragedy into action. Wang is a passionate advocate for progressive values and local democracy, from judicial reform and child protection to housing justice. Now she's leading a new chapter for the New Power Party. Last July we brought Talking Taiwan to TAC-WC, the Taiwanese American Conference West Coast hosted in San Francisco/Silicon Valley.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/claire-wang-%e7%8e%8b%e5%a9%89%e8%ab%ad-chairwoman-of-the-new-power-party-talks-about-relaunching-the-party-ep-352/
It was just weeks before the historic July 26th vote to recall 24 Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang lawmakers. At the time it was the largest recall effort attempted by the citizens of a democracy. As a result of what was called the Great Recall Movement, a total of 31 KMT legislators were put up for a recall vote. Another 7 KMT legislators in addition to the first 24 would be up for a recall vote on August 23. Last July Talking Taiwan traveled back to witness the first recall vote on July 26th. To learn more about the Great Recall movement we encourage you to listen to our past episodes 316 with recall campaigners Carol, Acho and Eric, and 317 with Courtney Donovan Smith.
This episode is sponsored in part by the Pacific Times (太平洋時報).
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/claire-wang-%e7%8e%8b%e5%a9%89%e8%ab%ad-chairwoman-of-the-new-power-party-talks-about-relaunching-the-party-ep-352/
Dr. Hsing-Huan Wang is Chairman of the Taiwan Statebuilding party. Last July we sat down to speak with him at TAC-WC, the Taiwanese American Conference West Coast hosted in San Francisco/Silicon Valley. We talked about how he went from studying Buddhist philosophy and aspirations to pursue academic research as a professor, to accidentally becoming a politician. The Taiwan Statebuilding has a clear vision for an independent Taiwan and a Taiwanese Republic. The party also takes a hard line on China as an enemy state.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-hsing-huan-wang-chairman-of-the-taiwan-statebuilding-party-an-unwavering-voice-for-taiwans-independence-ep-351/
This interview was recorded just weeks before the historic July 26th vote in 2025 to recall 24 Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang lawmakers. At the time it was the largest recall effort attempted by the citizens of a democracy. As a result of what was called the Great Recall Movement, a total of 31 KMT legislators were put up for a recall vote. Another 7 KMT legislators in addition to the first 24 would be up for a recall vote on August 23. Last July Talking Taiwan traveled back to witness the first recall vote on July 26th. To learn more about the Great Recall movement we encourage you to listen to our past episodes 316 with recall campaigners Carol, Acho and Eric, and 317 with Courtney Donovan Smith.
This episode is sponsored in part by the Pacific Times (太平洋時報).
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-hsing-huan-wang-chairman-of-the-taiwan-statebuilding-party-an-unwavering-voice-for-taiwans-independence-ep-351/
Happy Pride month! Cony Hsieh is President of the Kaohsiung Pride Parade Association. We recently spoke with Cony about her experience as a lesbian woman serving in Taiwan's military, and how she hopes her research on gender issues in the military can help push for reform in Taiwan's military.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/cony-hsieh-kaohsiung-pride-president-focuses-on-lgbtq-issues-and-reforming-taiwans-military-ep-350/
She's also a podcaster and her podcast 微叛逆ê副駕 (which has been translated as "The Slightly Rebellious Co-pilot") is about LGBTQ+ life experiences and gender issues in the military. She once created 28 days of podcast episodes covering a range of LGBTQ+ experiences for Pride Month!
Cony has a master's degree from the Graduate Institute of Gender Education at National Kaohsiung Normal University.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/cony-hsieh-kaohsiung-pride-president-focuses-on-lgbtq-issues-and-reforming-taiwans-military-ep-350/
This year's Taiwan Pride Float at the New York City Pride March was inspired by Taiwan's Betel Nut Beauty culture. The concept and design was conceived by Nymphia Wind, who was already an established drag queen in Taiwan when she won RuPaul's Drag Race season 16 in 2024.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/nymphia-wind-brings-taiwans-betel-nut-beauty-culture-to-the-new-york-pride-march-ep-349/
Nymphia dedicated her win to Taiwan and that same year Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen congratulated Nymphia and invited her to perform at the presidential office. In 2024 Nymphia also appeared on the Taiwan Pride Float at the New York City Pride March. In 2025 Nymphia performed at the Paris Cultural Olympiad.
Right before the New York City Pride March on Sunday, June 28th, we were invited to an event where Nymphia shared her creative vision behind this year's Taiwan Pride float. We also had a chance to meet the other betel nut beauties Yolanda Mesula and Tina Banana, who would be joining Nymphia on the float. After Nymphia's initial comments, I did have a chance to ask her a question and to get some other soundbites.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/nymphia-wind-brings-taiwans-betel-nut-beauty-culture-to-the-new-york-pride-march-ep-349/
Jotham Hung is a ceramic artist and educator based in Southern California reflecting on his early experiences with art. Late last year I sat down to speak with Jotham about his evolution and journey to becoming a full-time educator artist and he shared the dark moment that led to his creative process which has resulted in pieces that reflect the themes of deconstruction & reconstruction, damage & repair.
If you think you're not creative, don't write yourself off. Jotham believes everyone is an artist and has the potential to be creative.
This episode is sponsored by the Taiwanese United Fund (TUF). TUF is an arts and culture foundation that celebrates the cultural heritages of Taiwanese Americans. Established in 1986, the foundation's mission is to facilitate cultural exchange between the Taiwanese American community and other American cultural communities, hoping to enrich and expand our cultural experiences.
Related Links:
Late last year, I sat down to speak with John Enger Cheng about the early roots of his creativity in childhood, his creative process as an artist, what it means to him to be Taiwanese American and how that shows up in his art. We also talked about how he maintains a creative practice and believes that inspiration finds you working.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/john-enger-cheng-on-his-creative-process-and-how-inspiration-finds-you-working-tuf-part-2-ep-347/
In this candid conversation, John talks about his artwork that has been inducted into the permanent collection of Taiwanese Art Treasures Preserved Overseas – The Homecoming Exhibition of the Sun Ten Collection at the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, which is located in Taichung
John Enger Cheng is Designer, Co-founder, and Creative Director of the design practice Winnow+Glean, and a visual artist known as @madebyenger on Instagram. You can find his work on madebyenger.com
We will be releasing a YouTube video of my interview with John for listeners who'd like to see some of the visuals referred to in this episode. You can find it soon on Talking Taiwan's YouTube channel.
This episode is sponsored by the Taiwanese United Fund (TUF). TUF is an arts and culture foundation that celebrates the cultural heritages of Taiwanese Americans. Established in 1986, the foundation's mission is to facilitate cultural exchange between the Taiwanese American community and other American cultural communities, hoping to enrich and expand our cultural experiences.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/john-enger-cheng-on-his-creative-process-and-how-inspiration-finds-you-working-tuf-part-2-ep-347/
We sat down to speak with George Yin, Board Chair of the Vincent Price Art Museum Foundation & Political Law Attorney about his interest in supporting the arts, why he thinks it's important to do so, and how so-called "non-artists" can support the arts and more specifically artists in their community.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/george-yin-arts-advocacy-can-be-a-lifelong-passion-tuf-part-1-ep-346/
This episode is sponsored by the Taiwanese United Fund (TUF). TUF is an arts and culture foundation that celebrates the cultural heritages of Taiwanese Americans. Established in 1986, the foundation's mission is to facilitate cultural exchange between the Taiwanese American community and other American cultural communities, hoping to enrich and expand our cultural experiences.
In the spirit of supporting artists in their community, we also spoke with two Taiwanese American artists based in Southern California John Cheng and Jotham Hung. Stay tuned for my interviews with John and Jotham.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/george-yin-arts-advocacy-can-be-a-lifelong-passion-tuf-part-1-ep-346/
We stepped out in the drizzling rain for this year's Passport to Taiwan on Sunday, May 24th in New York City's Union Square Park, and were happy to see that the weather hadn't put much of a damper on the number people that came out for this annual tradition.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/passport-to-taiwan-2026-making-our-rounds-with-taiwanese-community-organizations-fapa-tccny-natma-ep-345/
We made our rounds and spoke to people at some of the booths representing different Taiwanese American community organizations including the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA), the Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce New York, (TCCNY) and the North American Taiwanese Medical Association (NATMA). And if doing a deep dive into historical facts related to Taiwan is your thing, we recommend you check out @formosa.forever on Instagram.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/passport-to-taiwan-2026-making-our-rounds-with-taiwanese-community-organizations-fapa-tccny-natma-ep-345/
In part two of our interview with Vickie Wang (王宇平), she talked about how the COVID lockdown of 2022 in Shanghai affected her mental health, her thoughts on the Great Recall movement in Taiwan last year, how she questions her Taiwanese-ness i.e. if she's Taiwanese enough, generative propaganda, and how she got into stand-up comedy. Vickie Wang a writer, interpreter, and stand-up comedian born and raised in Taiwan. Now based in New City York she co-produces a monthly stand-up show called Wang's World Comedy.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/vickie-wang-%e7%8e%8b%e5%ae%87%e5%b9%b3-surviving-the-shanghai-covid-lockdown-part-2-ep-344/
Vickie Wang (王宇平) is a writer, interpreter, and stand-up comedian born and raised in Taiwan. She's lived in Shanghai, China for nearly a decade, where she started doing stand-up comedy under censorship. Last year I sat down to interview Vickie. in part one of my interview with Vickie, we talked about the perceptions and attitudes that many Taiwanese have about the Chinese, and on the other end how the Chinese she met in China perceived the Taiwanese and Taiwan.
We also talked what it was like for her to go through the strict COVID lockdown in Shanghai in 2022. Now based in New City York Vickie co-produces a monthly stand-up show called Wang's World Comedy (pronounced WAYNE) and writes a Substack called Happy Medium. Stay tuned for the second part of my interview with Vickie.
She has published two Taiwan op-eds in The New York Times, one on the metoo movement, and one on what another Trump term means for Taiwan's future. She is currently working on a nonfiction book about her experience of COVID and comedy in China.
Related Links:
Every year we try to dedicate an episode of Talking Taiwan to 228, an important date in Taiwan's history, marking the 228 Massacre. 228 stands for February 28 1947. February 28th is now commemorated as a national holiday in Taiwan known as the 228 Peace Memorial Day.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/kita-foundation-mapping-the-path-of-the-trailblazers-that-paved-the-way-for-taiwans-democracy-and-freedom-ep-342/
However, the 228 Massacre is not confined to this single date in history. There were circumstances leading up what happened on February 28th and there were also subsequent events after February 28th which escalated into bloody violence and massacres leading to what some refer to as the March Massacre.
Under the authoritarian Chiang regime, and Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang, what followed after 228 was 38 years of martial law and the White Terror era. Anyone could be disappeared, executed or worse for just saying or doing the wrong thing, or for what was seemingly wrong in the eyes of the authorities. The people of Taiwan were horrified and terrified. For decades there was denial and suppression of 228 by authorities in Taiwan, and generations dared not speak of 228.
228 was absent from high school textbooks until relatively recently. To learn more about the specifics of 228 I invite you to listen to some of our past episodes on the topic. We recommend episodes 309, 277, 228, and 172.
In an effort to confront its authoritarian past, in recent years Taiwan has taken steps to acknowledge historical sites of injustice such as buildings where military police fired on civilians on February 28, 1947. Around this time of year, around February 28 and leading into March, it's a time to reflect on the past, and what we can learn from it.
So in the vein of reflecting on the past, this year I thought I'd share my interview with Sabrina Liu and Meng Chiang who are part of the team that makes up the KITA Foundation, an organization that was formed as an oral history project to understand who are the trailblazers that paved the way for Taiwan's democracy and freedom.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/kita-foundation-mapping-the-path-of-the-trailblazers-that-paved-the-way-for-taiwans-democracy-and-freedom-ep-342/
Last July, we brought Talking Taiwan to the 2025 Taiwanese American Conference, West Coast. While we were there, I sat down to speak with Dr. Shih-Fen Chen (陳時奮), who's also been known by his pen name Wēngdáruì (翁達瑞). Dr. Chen is Professor Emeritus at Ivey Business School, and a Professor at Western Washington University. He's an outspoken political commentator, self-described as a scholar with a sense of responsibility to reveal the truth.
This episode is sponsored in part by the Pacific Times (太平洋時報)
Related Links:
Back in April 2021 we covered news about a record breaking 25 Chinese air force aircraft including fighters and nuclear-capable bombers that entered Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ). At the time 25 seemed like an alarming number. It was the largest incursion by Chinese military planes into Taiwan's ADIZ to date.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/chinas-alarming-gray-zone-tactics-around-taiwan-and-its-neighboring-nations-in-asia-ep-340/
To be clear these sorts of activities had been going on long before this and long before September of 2020 which is about the time that Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense started to publicly report China's incursions.
China's People's Liberation Army has shown no signs of letting up. The PLA's gray zone tactics have also included the use of drones and balloons. Incursions by warplanes and naval ships into the airspace and waters surrounding Taiwan are now a daily occurrence. And they have completely shattered the record 25 aircraft in Taiwan's ADIZ many times over.
Major military exercises have included the Joint Sword-2024A. Three days after Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te's inauguration on May 20 of 2024, China's PLA conducted two days of military exercises in the air and sea space around Taiwan.
More recently, at the end of 2025 on December 29 and 30, People's Republic of China (PRC) military forces carried out a large-scale exercise in the air and ocean areas around Taiwan called "Justice Mission-2025." These two days of PLA military exercises involved at least 200 warplanes.
Unfortunately these types of gray zone tactics by China have become commonplace and while they have been more widely reported on, even more troubling are the other gray zone tactics that the PRC has been levying on Taiwan, which include the presence of Chinese owned and operated oil rigs in Taiwan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and on January 16th the New York Times reported that China quietly mobilized thousands of fishing boats twice already, most recently in the first few weeks of this new year.
Quoting from the New York Times, "By January 11, they had assembled into a rectangle stretching more than 200 miles. Maritime and military experts said the maneuvers suggested that China was strengthening its maritime militia, which is made up of civilian fishing boats trained to join in military operations."
This was not the first time. A month earlier on December 25th the Times reported that "about 2,000 Chinese fishing boats assembled in two long, parallel formations on Christmas Day in the East China Sea. Each stretched 290 miles long, about the distance from New York City to Buffalo, forming a reverse L shape."
According to the New York Times, "The unusual formations were spotted by the chief operating officer of ingeniSPACE, a company that analyzes data, and were independently confirmed by The Times using ship location data provided by Starboard Maritime Intelligence.
About ingeniSPACE:
ingeniSPACE is a geospatial intelligence company integrating remote sensing data across multiple phenomenologies. We are an insight-as-a-service platform delivering all weather day-night multi-temporal understanding around the world. Our intelligence extends the "executive decision making time" that public sector and commercial leaders need to make well-informed decisions.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/chinas-alarming-gray-zone-tactics-around-taiwan-and-its-neighboring-nations-in-asia-ep-340/
At the end of 2024 I sat down with Dr. Meng Chiang, the Executive Director of the 2024 Taiwanese American Conference- East Coast. We had a really wonderful heart-centered conversation about the conference theme Collective Memory and that led to collective trauma as it relates to the Taiwanese and Taiwanese American communities. We talked about the 4 types of trauma responses, the 4 Fs- flight, fight, freeze and fawn and post-traumatic growth.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/collective-memory-collective-trauma-a-conversation-with-meng-chiang-ep-339/
This episode is dedicated to the memory of Sharon Huang, who passed away in December of 2025. She was a dear friend, mother, wife, sister, auntie, a community organizer and a cornerstone of the Taiwanese American community, especially in New York where she resided. Most notably she and her husband Patrick Huang ran the Brooklyn Artists Studio (BAS) and have supported the Taiwanese American Arts Council (TAAC) and Talking Taiwan. Together they have advocated for Taiwan democracy, human rights, and culture. The loss of Sharon is felt by so many who knew and loved her, she leaves behind family in the U.S. and Taiwan.
Mengchun "Meng" Chiang, PhD (she/her/hers), is a member of the Taiwanese American community. She has served in various community leadership roles, most recently as Executive Director of the Taiwanese American Conference East Coast (TACEC) in 2024.
Professionally, Meng is the founder of CHI Executive Consulting, LLC, where she provides leadership coaching and consulting services, specializing in workplace inclusion and organizational wellness. She is passionate about empowering leaders from diverse backgrounds, helping them enhance their communication, negotiation, and inclusive leadership skills. Meng regularly facilitates workshops to help leaders integrate their identities into effective leadership practices that drive business success and personal growth.
Meng is a licensed clinical psychologist with affiliations to Harvard Medical School, Carnegie Mellon University, the Tepper School of Business, and National Taiwan University. Her experience spans education, training, and leadership roles. She pioneered the Leadership and Connection for Asian Women+ Leaders program and served as Assistant Director of Training at Carnegie Mellon University.
In her free time, Meng enjoys traveling, practicing loving-kindness meditation, listening to music, taking walks, and grocery shopping.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/collective-memory-collective-trauma-a-conversation-with-meng-chiang-ep-339/
It's time to reveal the Top 5 episodes of Talking Taiwan in 2025. What's notable about these 5 episodes is that they are among the most popular Talking Taiwan episodes of all time.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/talking-taiwan-top-5-of-2025-award-winner-end-of-year-review-ep-338/
But before revealing the Top 5 episodes of 2025, let's take look back on 2025, which was a busy year for Talking Taiwan! We hosted the inaugural Talking Taiwan Fundraising Gala at the elegant Eichholtz showroom in New York City in April. It was truly a magical memorable night. In April we were also invited to speak at the North American Taiwanese American Women Association's (NATWA) Annual Conference.
For sometime we've been watching what was happening with the Great Recall in Taiwan which ultimately led to 24 legislators being put up for a recall vote on July 26th and another seven on August 23. The world had not seen anything like this happen on a national level in a democracy! And after Felicia interviewed a group of highly dedicated recall campaigners, she learned firsthand about the grassroots mobilization efforts that resulted in over one million signatures being collected in support of the recall vote, and she felt this was a historic moment that Talking Taiwan should be in Taiwan to cover.
Thanks to an anonymous donor who offered to pay for our flights back to Taiwan and others who made generous donations we were able to travel back to Taiwan for a week to cover the first recall in vote on July 26th. We left shortly after returning from the Taiwanese American Conference- West Coast (TAC-WC) which was held in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was the first time we were invited to speak at TAC-WC about our work. While we were at the conference, we also set up an on-location podcasting studio where we interviewed several of the conference's speakers. We look forward to releasing those episodes very soon in the New Year.
It's been an extremely eventful year for Talking Taiwan with many ups and downs. Spending only a week in Taiwan to cover the Recall Vote in July, and trying to conduct interviews, and edit and produce them in that time period proved to be a bit unrealistic and we'll need to pace ourselves better in the future.
It was also crushing to witness the results of the Recall Vote on July 26th with none of the 24 legislators successfully recalled from office. While still recovering from that ordeal in July, we traveled to T.O. Webfest awards in September where Talking Taiwan was nominated in the Best Ensemble Cast category. While we didn't win, it was our second nomination after being shortlisted at the International Women's Podcast Awards in 2024 and winning a Golden Crane Award in 2021.
As we go into the 13th year of Talking Taiwan, I'd like take a moment to especially thank everyone who has supported Talking Taiwan over the years and made a contribution to help fund our trip to return to Taiwan to cover the Great Recall in July.
We also want to thank each and every one of all of our amazing guests for being a part of the Talking Taiwan podcast.
Special thanks to our listeners. We remain committed more than ever to producing content that matters to people who care about Taiwan.
For links to the top 5 episodes of 2025 visit our website TalkingTaiwan.com. Wishing everyone a Happy Healthy New Year 2026! I'm your host Felicia Lin.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/talking-taiwan-top-5-of-2025-award-winner-end-of-year-review-ep-338/
In July of 2024, we brought talking Taiwan to the 53rd annual Taiwanese American Conference (TAC), East Coast at Westchester University.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/the-charm-of-tainan-taiwans-oldest-city-a-talk-with-author-and-historian-jinyu-hsieh-%e8%ac%9d%e9%87%91%e9%ad%9a-ep-337/
Jinyu Hsieh (謝金魚), one of the speakers at TAC is a writer and a historian. I sat down to talk to her about the charm of Tainan, located in southern Taiwan. It is the oldest city in Taiwan and was founded in 1624. In 2024, Tainan was celebrating its 400th anniversary.
This episode is sponsored in part by the Taiwanese American Council of Greater New York.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/the-charm-of-tainan-taiwans-oldest-city-a-talk-with-author-and-historian-jinyu-hsieh-%e8%ac%9d%e9%87%91%e9%ad%9a-ep-337/
To commemorate its anniversary on December 10th, we thought this would be a great time to reshare one of our most popular CLASSIC episodes, an interview we did with Taiwan Democracy fighter Dr. Linda Gail Arrigo, Ai Linda (艾琳達) in 2024 about events leading up to the HISTORIC Kaohsiung Incident.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-linda-gail-arrigo-taiwan-democracy-fighter-talks-about-events-leading-up-to-the-kaohsiung-incident-classic-ep-336/
Last year when we were in Taiwan in January for the presidential election, we were privileged to meet Dr. Linda Gail Arrigo, Ai Linda (艾琳達) in Taipei and sat down for a one-on-one interview. Few have experienced such historic events first-hand in the way Linda has, as she speaks from the doorstep of history.
Linda talked about the era and events that precipitated the Kaohsiung incident, also known as the Formosa Incident, which is widely considered the watershed moment in history that led to Taiwan's democratization. The Kaohsiung Incident happened in December of 1979
During this interview Linda talked about how, in 1975 she had been sent to observe a trial that had been stated to be an open trial but when she arrived there, she saw that it wasn't. In the face of intimidation by the Taiwan Garrison Command officers, she chose to speak up about the injustice she saw, and reported it to Amnesty International. To me, Linda's self-directed action was a moment of historic defiant courage.
Thank you Linda Gail Arrigo, Ai Linda (艾琳達) for sharing your story and for advocating for the people of Taiwan.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-linda-gail-arrigo-taiwan-democracy-fighter-talks-about-events-leading-up-to-the-kaohsiung-incident-classic-ep-336/
Earlier this year, on March 30, at the Taiwan Center in Flushing NY, FAPA (Formosan Association for Public Affairs) hosted a panel discussion, Lessons from the Battlefield: What Taiwan Can Learn From Ukraine. Representatives from the Ukrainian community, Razom for Ukraine and Dignitas Ukraine and FAPA discussed how NGOs can strengthen advocacy, humanitarian aid, and international collaboration.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/what-taiwan-can-learn-from-ukraine-a-panel-hosted-by-fapa-part-2-ep-335/
It was a very substantive discussion that we wanted to record and share with FAPA's permission to our listeners. This episode part two is the second half of the panel discussion. To listen to the first half of the panel discussion listen to the previous episode, episode 334.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/what-taiwan-can-learn-from-ukraine-a-panel-hosted-by-fapa-part-2-ep-335/
Earlier this year, on March 30, at the Taiwan Center in Flushing NY, FAPA (Formosan Association for Public Affairs) hosted a panel discussion, Lessons from the Battlefield: What Taiwan Can Learn From Ukraine. Representatives from the Ukrainian community, Razom for Ukraine and Dignitas Ukraine and FAPA discussed how NGOs can strengthen advocacy, humanitarian aid, and international collaboration.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/what-taiwan-can-learn-from-ukraine-a-panel-discussion-hosted-by-fapa-part-1-ep-334/
It was a very substantive discussion that we wanted to record and share with FAPA's permission to our listeners. This episode part one is the first half of the panel discussion.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/what-taiwan-can-learn-from-ukraine-a-panel-discussion-hosted-by-fapa-part-1-ep-334/
I recently sat down with Dr. Raymond Kuo, Director of RAND's Taiwan Policy Initiative and Catherine Kish, Research Assistant and Chinese Language Specialist at RAND to talk about their War on the Rocks article, "Taiwan's Will to Fight Isn't the Problem."
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/does-taiwan-have-the-will-to-fight-ep-333/
Later on in the interview we also talked about how Taiwan could leverage its diaspora.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/does-taiwan-have-the-will-to-fight-ep-333/
Get Access to the Replay of the Talking Taiwan Gala Make a Donation at Humanitix
https://events.humanitix.com/talking-taiwan-2025-fundraising-gala For Free Access the Replay of the Talking Taiwan Gala Give Us Your Feedback by emailing podcast@talkingtaiwan.con with the Subject Line: 12 MORE Talking Taiwan's inaugural fundraising gala was on April 30th here in New York City at the elegant Eichholtz showroom in Chelsea. The gala was a celebration of Taiwanese American cuisine, culture and community. We had Peter Lin's AAPI Jazz Collective perform, and food catered by 886 Restaurant, DAE tea and Taiwan Beer. It was a memorable, magical night and if you're wondering what you missed out on it, don't worry, later on in the episode I'll be sharing how you can watch the replay that we made of the event. We'll also share the Humanitix link where you can make a donation to watch the replay of the Talking Taiwan Gala.
At the gala I interviewed comedian Esther Chen, Thomas Duh of DAE Tea, artist Kaarina Chu MacKenzie, and Jonny Lee, President of TAP-NY (Taiwanese American Professionals- NY chapter). And that's what we'll be sharing in this episode.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/talking-taiwans-2025-inaugural-fundraising-gala-ep-332/
Dr. Yang Szu Pang (楊斯棓) is an author and speaker. He has donated 100% of his books royalties to causes and organizations that he cares about. He has been invited to speak at several Taiwanese American conferences and communities across the country.
In July of 2024 he sat down to speak with at the Taiwanese American Conference East Coast which was held at Westchester University. We talked about a broad range of topics from how to be financially prepared to care of aging, ailing parents to his most recent book, It Only Takes One, where the title of the books comes from and how it's related to Hsiao Bi-khim, the current the Vice President of Taiwan.
Special thanks for translation assistance provided by Dr. Lee-Yuan Liu.
This episode is sponsored in part by the Taiwanese American Council of Greater New York.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/author-and-speaker-dr-yang-szu-pang-%e6%a5%8a%e6%96%af%e6%a3%93-dont-think-youre-too-small-to-make-a-difference-ep-331/
Wang Guo-ren's deer sculpture measures well over 10 feet if you include its antlers. Constructed completely of fallen pieces of wood and tree branches that have been colorfully painted, the deer seems to have magically taken up residence on the lawn outside of the Taiwanese American Arts Council House 17.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/eco-art-on-island-the-deer-god-and-wearable-art-now-at-governors-island-house-17-ep-330/
Inside of the house we spoke with Julia Hsia about her exhibit "Wear Enough" which includes artifacts made with paper and receipts.
In September we ventured over to Governors Island to meet artists in residence Wang Guo-ren and his sculpture entitled the Deer God, and Julia Hsia.
This year's house theme is Eco Art on Island and as you hear at the beginning of the episode we were outside with the lovely sounds of nature like birds, and the more than occasional airplane flying overhead, many of which had to be edited out. Special thanks to Julia Hsia for helping to translate for Guo-ren at the beginning of the episode, before we moved indoors to interview her.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/eco-art-on-island-the-deer-god-and-wearable-art-now-at-governors-island-house-17-ep-330/
In this episode, the husband-and-wife team, gypsy jazz and classical guitarist Antoine Boyer and chromatic harmonica player Yeore Kim shared about their real life “Love in Taipei” story. He’s from France and she’s from South Korea, so music was their first common language. We also talked about how they navigate their partnership as life partners and as musical partners, and their debut duet album You and I.
If you’d like to know more about Antoine you can check out Kaju’s in-depth interview with Antoine on YouTube
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On Friday, September 12th at the Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza which is across from the UN Headquarters, in New York representatives from the Taiwan United Nations Alliance or TAIUNA, an NGO from Taiwan, held a press conference urging the UN to include Taiwan in its system. TAIUNA Youth Representatives performed a dance, a white protest of Taiwan’s exclusion from the UN.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiunas-white-protest-of-taiwans-exclusion-from-the-un-ep-328/
September is when the UN General Assembly takes place and delegates from TAIUNA have been coming to New York for the past twenty years to call for Taiwan’s membership in the UN. This year is the 80th anniversary of the United Nations and the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The General Assembly High-level Week runs from September 22-30th.
The following day, Saturday, September 13th was the UN for Taiwan rally and march which has been organized by the Taiwanese American Council of Greater New York since 1992.
The annual press conference and UN for Taiwan Rally are reminders of Taiwan’s long-standing isolation from the international community.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiunas-white-protest-of-taiwans-exclusion-from-the-un-ep-328/
In July of 2024, we brought talking Taiwan to the 53rd annual Taiwanese American Conference, east Coast at Westchester University, where I had the pleasure and honor of interviewing Taiwan's, former vice President, Dr. Chen Chen (陳建仁). We talked about how Dr. Chen was trained to be an epidemiologist and was initially reluctant to go into politics, but then fate intervened and changed his mind when SARS hit Taiwan in 2003, and his experience handling the SARS outbreak as Taiwan's Minister of Health played an important role preparing him to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic as Taiwan's Vice President.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-chen-chien-jen-former-vp-of-taiwan-reflects-upon-his-life-in-politics-and-as-a-public-servant/
I asked Dr. Chen why it's important for Taiwan to be a member of the WHO World Health Organization and about the challenges he's faced as the Vice President and Premier of Taiwan. how he overcame them and why he decided not to run as Vice President with Tsai Ing-wen for a second term.
And finally, for some context, at the time of the interview, the Bluebird movement had emerged in Taiwan a month and a half earlier. I touched upon this with Dr. Chen briefly at the end of the interview.
At the time, more than a hundred thousand people in total had taken to the streets of Taiwan in a series of massive protests. It was a very public objection to controversial bills passed by Taiwan's opposition controlled Legislative Yuan. After interviewing Dr. Chen, I was left thinking if only the world had more politicians like him with a public service mindset, the world would be a better place.
This episode is sponsored in part by the Taiwanese American Council of Greater New York.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-chen-chien-jen-former-vp-of-taiwan-reflects-upon-his-life-in-politics-and-as-a-public-servant/
In this episode of Talking Taiwan we sat down to speak with Eugenie Chao who describes herself as Taiwanese American maker, educator, and musician who works in the intersection of ceramics, sound, and history. Her exhibit at the Taiwanese American Arts Council House 17 on Governors Island aptly named Listening Vessels, features ceramic objects turned musical instruments created by Chao and is on display until September 7th.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/working-in-the-intersection-of-ceramics-sound-and-history-taiwanese-american-maker-eugenie-chao-ep-326/
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What came first for Eugenie music or working with clay?
- What made her combine ceramics with music?
- Where did that idea come from?
- How did she get interested or start working with clay?
- Eugenie’s musical training and what instruments she plays?
- What was her early artwork like?
- How her artwork has evolved over time?
- What does it mean to work at the intersection of ceramics, sound, and history?
- What is her creative process is like?
- How sound affects her artwork?
- How she decides the size of the objects she creates?
- The challenges involved with making large scale pieces vs pieces that can be made by hand
- How does the size of an object affects the sound it makes
- The ceramic instruments from ancient cultures that inspire her, how she discovered them and what was their purpose
- What inspires you? Where do you get your inspiration?
- Eugenie’s connection to Taiwan
- How Eugenie considers herself a maker and not an artist
- What can we expect to see and experience from Eugenie’s Listening Vessels exhibit at the TAAC house on Governors Island
- The most ambitious or challenging piece of work that Eugenie has made
- How Eugenie deals with a creative block
- Eugenie’s future projects can we expect to see from you?
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/working-in-the-intersection-of-ceramics-sound-and-history-taiwanese-american-maker-eugenie-chao-ep-326/
When we decided to travel back to Taiwan to cover the vote to recall 24 KMT legislators on July 26th we had no idea how things would turn out. The Great Recall (or da ba mian) as it came to be known in Taiwan, was notable not just because it led to a record number of 31 KMT legislators in total being put up for a recall vote. What was most impressive about is that it was a nationwide effort that started at a grassroots level by everyday people.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/3-perspectives-in-taiwan-why-the-great-recall-failed-ep-325/
It’s been incredible to watch everything leading up to the Great Recall. Going back to last May in 2024 during what came to be known as the Bluebird Movement when tens of thousands of people and upwards of 100,000 took to the streets of Taiwan in a series of protests against controversial bills proposed in the legislative yuan. What happened during the Bluebird Movement protests is said to be what in part galvanized citizens to organize the recall campaigns.
I can’t deny that our hopes were high for the results of the July 26th recall vote and after we learned that none of the KMT legislators were successfully recalled, we did our best during the remaining days of our time in Taiwan to try to make sense of the results by talking to a number of our friends and peers.
What you’ll hear in this episode are some sound bites from conversations we had on July 30th with Rath Wang, Safe Spaces Senior Policy Fellow and Dennis Chen, Chairman of Wikimedia Taiwan. They shared their observations and thoughts on why the recalls failed, the recall campaigners and what the results of the recall vote could mean for President Lai.
Later that day I also spoke with Morrison Lee a Taiwanese businessman who went to China on what was supposed to be a 48-hour trip and ended up getting detained and stuck there for nearly 4 years. Morrison talked about his personal involvement in the recall effort also shared his thoughts on why the recall votes failed.
As mentioned, recall campaign groups succeeded in putting up a total of 31 KMT legislators for a recall vote. Another 7 legislators will be up for a recall vote on August 23rd.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/3-perspectives-in-taiwan-why-the-great-recall-failed-ep-325/
As part of our great recall coverage in Taiwan, on July 25th the day before the vote to recall 24 Kuomintang (KMT) legislators, we sat down to interview A-Mei the spokesperson for the Shān chú wēi hài (山除薇害) recall group.
We talked about why she got involved in the recall effort, how she got doxed by the Kuomintang (KMT) and how the recall effort was supported by overseas Taiwanese in over 38 cities from over 20 different countries. We previously interviewed three recall campaigners from this group- Carol, Eric and Acho in episode 316. We were also with A-Mei and the recall group on the day of the recall vote July 26th to watch the results of the recall vote.
Special thanks to Mei-Ling Lin for her translation assistance.
Related Links:
This is a part of our continued coverage of Taiwan’s Great Recall. On July 26th, the people of Taiwan voted on whether or not to recall 24 Kuomintang KMT legislators from all across the island. None of the 24 KMT legislators were recalled. This was a blow to the Democratic Progressive Party that could have benefited from a rebalancing of the legislative yuan since it only has 51 of the 113 seats in the legislative yuan or congress.
Among the concerns that motivated these civil society recall groups to take action were the unchecked visits of KMT legislators with high level officials in China. In April of 2024 KMT caucus convener Fu Kun-chi led a delegation of 17 KMT legislators to China where they met with the head of China’s United Front. When asked the delegation has not been transparent about what was discussed in the meetings with Chinese officials.
Two days after the recall vote, on July 28th , I sat down with Jiho Chang, Keelung City Councilor who shared how he faced a retaliatory recall by the KMT. He discussed his thoughts on the outcome of the July 26th recall vote and what this means for the DPP.
On August 23 another 7 KMT legislators will be put up for a recall vote.
Related Links:
On July 27th the day after Taiwan’s island wide historic recall vote of 24 Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) legislators, I sat down with Linda Gail Arrigo, Ai Linda (艾琳達) to reflect on the results of the recall vote, and the impact of the civic mobilization behind the recall effort.
Related Links:
On July 26th the day of the historic vote to recall 24 Kuomintang (KMT) legislators we were with the Shān chú wēi hài (山除薇害) recall group in Taipei at Rongxing Garden (榮星花園) Rongxing garden, which is more like a park, for a sort of watch party with about a hundred volunteer recall campaigners. The recall vote results were being televised live on a series of oversized screens that had been set up in the park.
When we finally learned the results of the recall vote It was a shock. 0 of 24 legislators had been recalled. What a sad, disappointing day. I could see it in the faces of the recall volunteers and at the same time it was touching to see how they consoled each other as some could help but burst into tears. The leaders of the recall group asked everyone to join hands and to form a circle in a sign of solidarity and encouragement Carol and Eric shared their initial thoughts with us.
Related Links:
On our first day in Taiwan July 25th we went into the streets of Taipei where recall campaigners from the the Shān chú wēi hài (山除薇害) recall group were doing a last minute push asking people to get out and vote for the recall of 24 KMT legislators on July 26th.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/first-day-in-taipei-day-before-the-great-recall-ep-320/
We previously interviewed 3 recall campaigners from this group- Carol, Eric and Acho in episode 316. Eric explaining the meaning behind the recall group’s name.
Later that day we sat down to interview A-Mei the recall group’s spokesperson who was doxed by the Kuomintang.
We will be releasing our full interview with A-Mei at a later date so stay tuned for that.
We ended the night at a recall campaign rally so spirited that you’d never guess that we were all standing in the pouring rain getting soaked.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/first-day-in-taipei-day-before-the-great-recall-ep-320/
Summer is upon us and I’m sure that a lot of our listeners especially those in New York will be happy to know that Taiwanese Waves will be returning to Central Park’s Summer Stage on August 3 at the Rumsey Playfield. Doors open at 5:00pm
Since 2016 Taiwanese Waves has introduced Taiwanese music to audiences at Central Park’s Summer Stage. If you’re not familiar with Taiwanese Waves you’re in for a treat. In this episode I sat down with Mia, the main organizer of Taiwanese Waves and we are about to walk through and give you a taste of all of the acts that have performed at Summer Stage in the past nine years. You’ll also get to hear a preview of what to expect at this year’s concert.
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In late June, we met up with YouTuber Bā Jiǒng (八炯) when he was in New York. If you’re not familiar with Bā Jiǒng you might want to check out 2 of his most popular videos which expose China’s United Front’s tactics to target the Taiwanese and to recruit Taiwanese influencers to attack and spread disinformation about Taiwan. Then you’ll know why he’s had death threats.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/meet-taiwanese-youtuber-ba-jiong-%e5%85%ab%e7%82%af/
Bā Jiǒng is among those spearheading the recall of Fu Kun-chi, the KMT legislator known as “The King of Hualien.” Fu Kun-chi is 1 of 24 Kuomintang KMT legislators who will be up for the mass recall vote in Taiwan on July 26th. To get up to speed on the Great Recall Effort that’s been happening in Taiwan checkout our past 2 episodes 316 and 317.
Talking Taiwan is getting ready to head back to Taiwan to cover this historic mass recall vote of 24 KMT legislators, in fact we might already be there by the time you hear this episode. We look forward to having Bā Jiǒng on Talking Taiwan to talk about the recall efforts in Hualien and his videos exposing how the United Front works with Taiwanese influencers
Special thanks to Winston Liao for connecting us with Bā Jiǒng.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/meet-taiwanese-youtuber-ba-jiong-%e5%85%ab%e7%82%af/
In Taiwan recall bids have been filed against 35 of the 39 Chinese Nationalist Party (the Kuomintang or KMT lawmakers who were directly elected to the legislative yuan in January, 2024. Recall campaigners have said that they want to restore order to Taiwan’s legislative yuan, by removing pro-China KMT legislators who have passed amendments to expand the legislature’s powers, undermined Taiwan’s constitutional order by paralyzing the constitutional court, cut budgets and made Taiwan vulnerable to infiltration by the Chinese Communist Party.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/the-great-recall-explained-by-courtney-donovan-smith-ep-317/
Just a few days ago we learned that a total of 31 KMT legislators will be up for a vote to be recalled from office. 24 on July 26 and another 7 on August 23.
Since my interview with 3 recall campaigners in episode 316, I thought it would be good to follow up with an explainer video with political commentator and analyst Courtney Donovan Smith about how the recall mechanism in Taiwan works and what led to this mass recall effort.
And in a few days from now our two-person team will be heading back to Taiwan to witness and cover the July 26th recall vote. History is being made in the only way it can be in a vibrant democracy like Taiwan!
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How the recall mechanism works in Taiwan
- Past cases of politicians who have faced a recall vote
- Factors leading to the Bluebird Movement and Recall Efforts
- The expanded powers of the legislative yuan that were ruled unconstitutional
- What happened to paralyze Taiwan’s constitutional court
- What has motivated the people campaigning to recall KMT legislators
- Why the KMT’s recall efforts against DPP legislators have failed
- How Ko Wen-je’s supporters have reacted to his detainment due to corruption charges
- DPP involvement with recall efforts
- How some of the Kuomintang KMT have shifted from being anti-Communist China to pro-Communist China (PRC)
- The historical significance of Taiwan’s mass recall votes of legislators
- If the DPP is behind the recalls of KMT legislators
- What happens next after the recall vote
- The impact of the Sunflower Movement
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/the-great-recall-explained-by-courtney-donovan-smith-ep-317/
Have you heard about the great recall movement that’s happening in Taiwan? What’s it all about?
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/the-great-recall-movement-effort-in-taiwan-boots-on-the-ground-ep-316/
24 lawmakers, or legislators from the Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang KMT party are being put up for a recall vote.
I don’t think the world has ever seen anything like this happen on a national level in a democracy- 24 lawmakers being recalled from office, and that number is likely to be even higher at the time that this episode gets released. It’s truly unprecedented!
This recall vote certainly didn’t happen overnight. It was through dedicated grassroots efforts, of the everyday people of Taiwan. Questions have been raised as to whether the recall efforts are a partisan politically motivated effort on the part of the Democratic Progressive Party to oust KMT legislators.
That’s what I wanted to get to the bottom of in this episode as I talked to some of the volunteers who have been boots on the ground in Taiwan’s recall effort.
As you’ll hear in this episode, what’s happening in Taiwan is a historic demonstration of the will of the people to exercise their rights in a democracy.
The island-wide effort in Taiwan to recall lawmakers has been going on since last year and I sat down to speak to three volunteers Carol, Acho and Eric about how this mass movement has successfully gone through two stages, first signatures from1% of eligible voters in a legislator’s district must be collected to initiate a recall. Then in the second stage signatures from 10% of eligible voters in a legislator’s district must collect to in order for a recall vote to proceed. The hard part is that the signatures on the 1% and 10% petitions cannot be the same.
On July 26 Taiwan’s Central Election Commission (CEC) will hold recall votes for now possibly even more than 24 KMT lawmakers.
Special thanks to Julien Oeuillet the Founding Editor of IPON (the Indo-Pacific Open News) for his help in making this interview possible.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What the recall movement that’s happening in Taiwan is about
- Why and how Acho, Carol and Eric volunteer their time and energy in the effort to recall legislators
- How the recall efforts are targeting pro-CCP Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang KMT legislators
- How the recall is necessary so that Taiwan’s parliament/legislature can function normally
- How the first volunteers for the recall met through a LINE group
- How what happened after the Bluebird Movement protests motivated people to attempt to recall KMT legislators
- How the Sunflower Movement compares to the recall movement
- How they vetted volunteers from outside of Taiwan who wanted to help with the recall effort in Taiwan
- How they dealt with people trying to infiltrate the recall volunteer groups
- How the recall effort got started with 10 volunteers and has grown to 500 volunteers globally
- How A-Mei one of the lead recall movement volunteers was targeted by the KMT who accused her and revealed her personal information and identity
- How the Taiwanese people feel they are at risk of losing their country to pro-CCP KMT legislators
- How the KMT has smeared and sued recall movement volunteers including Carol
- How the KMT has broken up recall movement volunteer groups
- How Carol has put her job on hold to be dedicated to being a leader of her recall movement volunteer group full-time
- What Carol does as leader of her recall movement group
- How Acho volunteers for the recall effort by editing and creating videos
- How Eric volunteers for the recall effort by dealing with the media
- The types of videos they produce to promote and create awareness of the recall effort
- How the majority of recall volunteers are women (60% women, 40% men)
- How over 100 recall volunteers are dedicated full-time to the effort
- How the women recall volunteers have been confronted by people who don’t support the recall
- The standard for collecting signatures for the recall
- Why the KMT’s efforts to recall DPP have failed due to forgery or signatures of the deceased on their recall petitions
- How the KMT is trying to paint the picture that the DPP are orchestrating the recall of KMT legislators
- How the recall effort is a grassroots effort not about conflict between the DPP and KMT political parties
- How there could be more than 24 KMT legislators put up for a recall vote
- The demographics of the districts that Carol, Eric and Acho are volunteers in for the recall
- How Acho and Eric balance volunteering for the recall effort with their day jobs
- How KMT legislators have not offered any explanation of what was discussed in a closed door meeting in 2024 with Chinese officials
- How public reaction to volunteers of the recall effort has changed over time
- How the recall volunteers now need to focus on encouraging the public to vote on July 26
- How Carol encouraged creativity and idea of the recall volunteers that she manages
- How the sentiment of the recall volunteers is that we are all in this together
- How if eight to 10 KMT legislators are recalled there will be a better balance in the legislative yuan
- How Carol, Eric and Acho feel they are working selflessly for a common goal and that they are taking care of each other
- How this experience with the recall effort has helped Acho to see how the people of Taiwan can be so united
- How Carol has seen many recall volunteers evolving
- How what is happening in Taiwan is important for Asia and other democracies in the world
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/the-great-recall-movement-effort-in-taiwan-boots-on-the-ground-ep-316/
Julien Oeuillet is an independent journalist, who has produced content for Radio Taiwan International and TaiwanPlus. He is the Founding Editor of IPON the Indo-Pacific Open News.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/julien-oeuillet-the-voice-of-south-taiwan-shines-a-spotlight-on-kaohsiung-ep-315/
Back in November of 2024 we interviewed Julien about a broad number of topics including:
- How he is very much at home in Kaohsiung
- How he got his start in broadcasting and media
- What he thinks makes a good and bad journalist especially in Taiwan
- How he focuses on putting a spotlight on Kaohsiung and southern Taiwan through his Radio Taiwan International show, The Voice of South Taiwan
- His documentary Taiwan’s Little Big Friend about Luthania and its relationship with Taiwan
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Why Julien saw the need to start IPON (Indo-Pacific Open News)
- Julien’s upbringing
- How Julien got started in broadcasting and media
- How Julien was taken under the wing of veteran journalist and documentary filmmaker Philippe Dutilleul
- How Julien sees himself as a Kaohsiung resident
- How Julien has seen Kaohsiung transform
- How Julien thinks that Kaohsiung should receive more international attention
- Julien’s Radio Taiwan International show, the Voice of South Taiwan
- What Julien thinks makes someone a good or bad journalist especially pertaining to Taiwan
- Julien’s thoughts on English and education in Taiwan
- Julien’s observations on the Taoist nature of people in Taiwan
- What is Taiwanese identity
- Julien’s connection to Lithuania
- Parallels between Lithuania and Taiwan
- Julien’s documentary, Taiwan’s Little Big Friend
- If Lithuania will keep its Taiwan Representative Office
- Julien’s thoughts on China’s fear mongering
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/julien-oeuillet-the-voice-of-south-taiwan-shines-a-spotlight-on-kaohsiung-ep-315/
We recently sat down with Wen-Jen Deng one of the artists in residence at the Taiwanese American Arts Council’s House 17 on Governors Island and Ming Turner, curator of Wen-Jen’s art exhibit :The Embedded Stitch- Contemporary Fiber Art, which is currently showing at Tenri Cultural Institute until June 28th
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/a-conversation-with-wen-jen-deng-taiwanese-fiber-artist-and-curator-ming-turner-ep-314/
According to Deng’s curator Ming Turner, “Deng is a core member of the influential Taiwanese artist collective, Hantoo Art Group. Her early works were primarily oil paintings which incorporated embroidery and collage using traditional Taiwanese floral fabrics. Deng often draws inspiration from Taiwanese food culture— her earlier pieces explored the island’s distinctive betel nut culture, while more recent works have focused on everyday culinary traditions and the cultural heritage of the Sirayu Pingpu people.”
Special thanks to Ming Turner for translation assistance during this interview.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Wen-Jen’s upbringing in Taiwan and how she knew she wanted to be an artist
- What Wen-Jen thinks an artist’s role in the world is
- Why Wen-Jen studied art in France and how she was inspired by Marc Chagall
- How Wen-Jen started off doing oil painting as an artist
- How Wen-Jen switched from using oil paint as her medium to fiber and textiles
- How Wen-Jen worked in a textile shop making Chinese dresses while she was a student in France
- Why her early source of inspiration was food
- Her series of work that focused on lotus shoes and pig’s hooves (pigs feet), betel nuts, and other everyday Taiwanese cuisine
- How Wen-Jen discovered her mother’s was from the Siraya tribe during her 2017 residency at Soulangh Cultural Park in Tainan, and that inspired her to move her focus from food to indigenous culture
- How Wen-Jen learned indigenous weaving techniques
- How Wen-Jen’s mother was a seamstress but Wen-jen did not pick out any of those skills from her mother
- How Wen-Jen taught herself to embroider when she was working in the textile shop in France
- How all of the embroidery and sewing on Wen-Jen’s works are done by hand
- How in the process of weaving and embroidering Wen-Jen gets in a focused state of meditation
- The field work that Wen-Jen does related to her artwork
- Ming shared some of her thoughts on the significance of Wen-Jen’s artwork
- Wen-Jen’s artwork “Oyster Noodles” which will be on display at the TAAC Governors Island House 17
- How Taiwan’s transition from authoritarianism to democracy has impacted artists in Taiwan
- How artists in Taiwan get funded
- How Wen-Jen’s sculptural piece which is shaped like the island of Taiwan and shows its topography will be displayed at the TAAC House 17 on June 21
This past Sunday, May 26th we stopped by the annual Passport to Taiwan that’s held in New York City’s Union Square Park. The first Passport to Taiwan was held in 2002 and it’s become the largest outdoor Taiwanese American event in the entire United States.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/passport-to-taiwan-2025-ben-hedges-a-laowais-view-of-china-and-ambassador-lee-of-teco-ep-313/
While there I spoke with the Taiwanese American Arts Council’s (TAAC’s) Executive Director Luchia Meihua Lee, Ambassador Tom Lee of TECO-NY, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York, and Ben Hedges, host of Lao Wai Kan Zhongguo also known as the A Laowai's View of China & Taiwan YouTube channel.
Passport to Taiwan is a celebration of Taiwanese art, culture, music, community, and of course food.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· The Taiwanese American Arts Council’s (TAAC’s) house on Governors Island, House 17 is twice the size of last year’s house
· The theme of the Taiwanese American Arts Council’s (TAAC’s) House 17 on Governors Island is Eco Art on Island
· How the Taiwanese American Arts Council’s (TAAC’s) House 17 on Governors Island will be open from May 17 to November 2
· Ambassador Tom Lee mentioned this is the first time that TECO-NY (Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York) has had a booth at Passport to Taiwan
· Ben Hedges, host of the YouTube channel, Lao Wai Kan Zhongguo has emceed Hello Taiwan events
· How 7-11 stores in Taiwan sponsored travel videos on Lao Wai Kan Zhongguo’s YouTube channel
· How Ben will be relaunching the Lao Wai Kan Zhongguo’s YouTube channel
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/passport-to-taiwan-2025-ben-hedges-a-laowais-view-of-china-and-ambassador-lee-of-teco-ep-313/
Since May is both Mental Health Awareness Month and Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, we think it’s fitting to reshare this episode with Jane W. Wang.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/jane-w-wang-navigates-a-multicultural-heros-journey-classic-ep-312/
What we really appreciate about this interview with Jane back in 2021 is how she spoke so openly about how she dealt with her bouts of depression. She also shared how getting back in touch with her roots in Taiwan had a part in leading her to start her coaching practice. While she no longer offers the Multicultural Hero’s Journey course that she refers to in this episode, she is still actively coaching clients.
It’s our hope that Jane’s personal story can help destigmatize mental health and create more understanding about the coaching profession.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Jane’s connection to Taiwan
- How being a third culture kid (TCK) has shaped her identity and life purpose
- Her career path before becoming a coach
- Why she wanted to become a coach
- Her personal journey, the struggles and depression that she dealt with along the way before she became a coach
- Why she decided not to get a degree in counseling from Columbia University and instead got certified in coaching
- What is coaching and how it differs from counseling or psychotherapy
- Jane’s own experiences with coaching, being the person being coached by someone else
- Jane’s advice on how to pick a coach to work with
- The challenges Jane faced in becoming a coach
- The depression and imposter syndrome she experienced in the process of becoming a coach
- How Jane dealt with her self-judgment and learned to love herself
- How Jane dealt with three bouts of depression
- What she learned from going through depression
- How someone can identify whether or not they themselves or someone they know is experiencing depression
- How Jane created her Multicultural Hero’s Journey coaching program
- Who would benefit the most by going through the Multicultural Hero’s Journey coaching program
- Jane’s advice for people who are interested in becoming a coach
- What it takes to be a good coach
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/jane-w-wang-navigates-a-multicultural-heros-journey-classic-ep-312/
May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and since 1999, Congressman David Wu (OR) and the co-chairs of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus have supported the celebration of Taiwanese American Heritage Week starting from Mother's Day Weekend, so we thought this would be a good time to reshare one of our most popular episodes, an interview we did with Dr. Jerome Keating in 2020 about the history of Taiwan.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/understanding-the-history-of-taiwan-through-dr-jerome-keating-classic-ep-311/
Few contemporaries are more qualified than Dr. Jerome Keating on understanding the history of Taiwan. He has been living in Taiwan for over 30 years. Initially he came over to Taiwan to work on the MRT. He has written several books about Taiwan. We invited him on to the podcast to talk about this latest book, Taiwan The Struggle Gains Focus. Dr. Keating also reflected on how Taiwan has changed in the past 30 years, and we discussed things past and present including Taiwan’s complicated international status, amendment of the constitution, changing the official name of Taiwan (which is the Republic of China) and redesigning the passport and flag of Taiwan.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What motivated Dr. Keating to write his latest book, Taiwan The Struggle Gains Focus
- Who the book was intended for and who Dr. Keating writes for
- How Taiwan has changed in the last 30 years
- The semi-martial-like atmosphere of Taiwan when Dr. Keating arrived in 1988
- Keating’s first book Island in the Stream and what motivated him to write it
- What intrigues Dr. Keating about Taiwan as a subject matter
- How the San Francisco Peace Treaty (signed in 1951) left Taiwan in a limbo status
- How the US position on Taiwan 75 years after World War II is still undecided
- The circumstances surrounding “Taiwan” aka the Republic of China losing its seat in the United Nations in 1971, which included a proposal to have 2 Chinas in the United Nations
- The Republic of China and People’s Republic of China’s claims on China
- How Taiwan has never had a seat in the United Nations
- The Republic of China framework and constitution that Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang brought to Taiwan
- Keating’s thoughts on amending Taiwan’s constitution
- Changing the official name and flag that represent Taiwan
- Submissions for the new Taiwan passport cover design
- The Taiwan Civil Government wanting to make Taiwan the 51st state of the United States
- How Dr. Keating sees Taiwan’s future
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/understanding-the-history-of-taiwan-through-dr-jerome-keating-classic-ep-311/
Last year I came across an article in the Gothamist titled, A Taiwanese food crawl in the East Village with NYC writer Cathy Erway. I have of course heard of Cathy Erway and her cookbook and thought to myself, Why haven’t I had her on Talking Taiwan as a guest yet? For those of you who aren’t familiar with Cathy’s work, she is a James Beard Award-winning food writer and author based in New York City. Her cookbooks include The Food of Taiwan: Recipes From the Beautiful Island and Win Son Presents: A Taiwanese American Cookbook.
Her cookbook, The Food of Taiwan which was published in 2015 is the first cookbook from a major U.S. publisher to explore the food culture of Taiwan from home-style dishes to authentic street food. We talked about how publishers rejected the cookbook at first and how it eventually got published.
She also has a Facebook page called The Food of Taiwan, and if you’re a Taiwanese food lover, I highly recommend liking and following it. On the page, Cathy shares news about Taiwanese food like where to get the best Taiwanese food in and out of Taiwan, and new Taiwanese restaurant openings.
Cathy Erway’s journalism has appeared in The New York Times, Food & Wine, Eater, Grub Street, T: The New York Times Style Magazine and more. She is a columnist at TASTE, and received the James Beard Award for Home Cooking journalism in 2019. In 2021, she received the IACP Culinary Award for her column.
This episode is part of the trailblazing Taiwanese women's series sponsored by NATWA the North America Taiwanese Women's Association, which was founded in 1988. To learn more about NATWA visit their website, www.natwa.com.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How Cathy started off writing a blog called Not Eating Out in New York, which led to her first book, The Art of Eating In
- Cathy’s cookbook The Food of Taiwan
- The article in the Gothamist about Taiwanese restaurants in the East Village
- Cathy’s Facebook page The Food of Taiwan
- How Cathy has had a Google alert set on the term Taiwanese food for 20 years
- How things have changed in the 10 years since The Food of Taiwan was published
- How the owners of Taiwanese restaurants in New York City (Win Son, 886, and Ho Foods) are all friends
- How Yun Hai Taiwanese Pantry has contributed to the interest in Taiwanese cuisine
- How Cathy learned to cook and her parents’ cooking styles
- How Cathy’s family is foodies
- Cathy’s connection to Taiwan
- What went into creating The Food of Taiwan
- How the photography of The Food of Taiwan was an important part of the cookbook
- How The Food of Taiwan got rejected by several publishers
- How The Food of Taiwan is a snapshot of all the foods in Taiwan including home-style foods and street food, up to 2015, the year it was published
- How The Food of Taiwan includes foods that are unique to Taiwan
- How the recipes in The Food of Taiwan suggests substitutions for certain ingredients that might be hard to find
- How Cathy met Josh Ku and Trigg Brown of Win Son
- How Cathy collaborated with Josh Ku and Trigg Brown of Win Son on Win Son Presents a Taiwanese American Cookbook
- How hard it was to convince the editor to publish The Food of Taiwan
- Other Taiwanese cookbooks that have been written by Clarissa Wei, Frankie Gaw, Tiffy Chen, and George Lee
- How Cathy is working on an article about the frozen dumpling business for Taste
- Topics that Cathy writes about like how tamari is a different product in Japan vs. the U.S.
- Té Company tea house in the West Village, Yumpling restaurant in Long Island City, Ho Food restaurant in the East Village
- Cathy’s favorite Taiwanese dish is sān bēi jī (three cup chicken)
- How Taiwanese breakfast foods are now available at Win Son Bakery and Ho Foods
Related Links:
It’s about a month after 228, an important date in Taiwan’s history, marking the 228 Massacre. 228 stands for February 28 1947. February 28th is now commemorated as a national holiday in Taiwan known as the 228 Peace Memorial Day.
For this year’s 228 episode, we wanted to release my interview with Nâ Sū Phok (藍士博), the Executive Director of the 228 Memorial Foundation in Taiwan. Last July 2024, I sat down with him at the Taiwanese American Conference at West Chester University about his work for the 228 Memorial Foundation. You may be wondering why we are sharing this episode a month later.
Since Sū Phok spoke in Taiwanese Hokkien during the interview, it required translation from Taiwanese into English, and that took a bit longer than anticipated. Secondly, 228 is not a single date in history, subsequent events after February 28th lasted beyond and into March leading to what some refer to as the March Massacre.
Here’s a brief summary for those unfamiliar with the 228 Massacre.
The first thing to know is that like most significant events in history, they do not just take place on a single date. There are usually circumstances and other happenings that lead up to the date in history. Two years before the 228 Massacre in 1945, at the end of World War II, the Chinese Nationalists (aka the Kuomintang/KMT) had fled from China to Taiwan bringing with them the Republic of China framework. Since then, tensions had been mounting for quite some time.
In the case of the 228 Massacre, there were conflicts and protests that began much earlier, leading up to what happened on the night of February 27th, 1947 when Tobacco Monopoly Bureau agents tried to confiscate contraband cigarettes from a 40-year-old woman and brutally knocked her out. When an angry crowd gathered in protest, one of the agents fired a shot into the crowd killing a bystander. Within 24 hours, by the next day, February 28th, the incident had escalated into bloody violence and massacres. More killings happened in March of 1947, which have led some Taiwanese dissidents to call it the March Massacre.
Under the authoritarian Chiang regime, what followed after 228 was 38 years of martial law and the White Terror era. Anyone could be disappeared, executed or worse for just saying or doing the wrong thing, or for what was seemingly wrong in the eyes of the authorities. The people of Taiwan were horrified and terrified. Generations dared not speak of 228.
228 was absent from high school textbooks until relatively recently. Denial, distrust, suppression, and the passage of time have made it hard for many to come to terms with 228.
If you’d like to learn more, I invite you to listen to our past episodes about 228 that are listed in the Related Links section below.
Special thanks to Mei-Ling Lin for her translation assistance for this episode.
This episode is sponsored in part by the Taiwanese American Council of Greater New York.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What does 228 refer to and what is its historical significance
- Sū Phok’s background and upbringing
- How Sū Phok first learned about or heard about 228
- If Sū Phok has any family members/relatives that have been impacted by or victimized by 228
- Why/How did Sū Phok got involved with the 228 Memorial Foundation
- Where does Sū Phok’s interest in history comes from
- Why it’s important to preserve history
- What the 228 Memorial Foundation does
- How what the 228 Memorial Foundation does is different from what the Transitional Justice Commission does
- What Sū Phok’s responsibilities are as the Executive Director of the 228 Memorial Foundation
- What kind of work Sū Phok was doing before working for the 228 Memorial Foundation
- How the work of the 228 Memorial Foundation has changed since it was founded in1995
- Some of the milestones/major accomplishments of the 228 Memorial Foundation
- News from early 2024 about how Taiwan’s Transitional Justice Commission identified 42 historical sites
- The 228 Memorial Foundation’s opinions on historical sites of injustice related to 228
- Current initiatives/projects of the 228 Memorial Foundation?
- What Sū Phok has learned about 228 since working for the 228 Memorial Foundation that he didn’t know before
- What's on display at the National 228 Memorial Museum
- Future initiatives/projects of the 228 Memorial Foundation
- What Sū Phok would like us to consider about 228 and how it might be relevant to the present
Related Links:
If you’ve been following our social media, you might already know that Talking Taiwan is participating in the Podcasthon which is a global movement calling on as many podcasts as possible to dedicate one episode of their show to a cause of their choice. The idea is to release these episodes simultaneously, from March 15-21, 2025 and by doing so this will create a massive and international wave of inspiring audio content.
We are proud to represent Taiwan in the Podcasthon and to dedicate this episode to FAPA, The Formosan Association for Public Affairs.
FAPA was established in 1982, during Taiwan’s 33rd year of martial law.
In this episode you’ll soon learn about all of the important, hard work that FAPA does in order to advocate for Taiwan in the U.S. For many Taiwanese Americans, friends of Taiwan and supporters of democracy, FAPA’s work will probably resonate with you.
Here’s something that will hit home especially for Taiwanese who have immigrated to the United States. Did you know that before 1994 Taiwanese Americans were forced to list "China" as their place of birth on U.S. passports? I’m old enough to remember this happening to my parents and some of my relatives.
This misrepresentation fueled a policy campaign by FAPA advocating to correct this oversight and affirm the rightful identity of Taiwanese Americans. As a result, Taiwan was allowed to be listed and recognized as a place of birth on U.S. passports. This is just one of FAPA’s lasting achievements and an example of how FAPA is a leading voice for Taiwan in America.
If this is the first time you are hearing about FAPA you might be wondering about FAPA’s name and where it comes from.
Once upon a time, Taiwan was known as Formosa. The name goes back to the Portuguese who named Taiwan “Iha Formosa!” which means Beautiful Island when they discovered it in the 16th century, back when Portugal was known for its exploration prowess.
But even knowing this, I still wondered why Formosa or Formosan was used instead of Taiwan or Taiwanese, so I asked around and FAPA’s current President Dr. Su-Mei Kao shared some stories that Taiwanese Hokkien speakers who are listening to this episode are going to be able to appreciate.
The early founders did try to come up with a name that used Taiwan, the Taiwanese Association on Public Affairs, but the acronym, TAOPA or when pronounced in Taiwanese Hokkien “TAOPA” sounds like “help hit” and then a shorter alternative, TAPA, “TAPA” sounds like the word for a Spanish appetizer.
It turns out, the acronym for The Formosan Association for Public Affairs, FAPA when pronounced in Taiwanese Hokkien “huapa” sounds like “calling to hit or attack.” The name has stuck and has served the organization well.
Last July while we were at the Taiwanese American Conference, we sat down to interview FAPA’s Executive Director, Anny Hsiao, President Dr. Su-Mei Kao, and Vice-President Chia-chun Chung.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Dr. Su-Mei Kao, Vice President Chia-chun Chung’s connection to Taiwan
- How and why Executive Director, Anny Hsiao, President Su-Mei Kao, Vice President Chia-chun Chung each got involved in FAPA
- The 1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis and Taiwan’s first direct presidential election
- FAPA's major accomplishments and achievements
- FAPA’s Passport Place of Birth Campaign (1992-1994) that allowed the Taiwanese to list Taiwan as their place of birth on U.S. passports
- How has FAPA’s work changed since it was founded in 1982
- How U.S.-Taiwan relations have changed since FAPA was founded
- FAPA's programs and initiatives
- Why it’s important to change the name of TECRO (Economic and Cultural Representative Office)
- Why Taiwan should not have to compete at the Olympics under the name “Chinese Taipei”
- How Taiwan should be allowed to compete in the Olympics using the flag and anthem of its choice
- FAPA's mission
- FAPA’s Song Yea Lee Memorial Fund
- FAPA’s most famous intern is Hsiao Bi-Khim, Taiwan’s current Vice President
- What happens during FAPA's annual national advocacy training
- How overseas Taiwanese are in a unique position to advocate for Taiwan
- Anny, Su-Mei and Chia-chun’s hope and vision for the Taiwan American community
- How to get involved with FAPA or to donate
Related Links:
If you’ve listened to our most recent episode of Talking Taiwan, you’ll know that the sixty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women or CSW69 is now taking place at United Nations Headquarters in New York. It began on March 10th and runs until March 21st.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiwan-on-the-margins-of-csw-69-celebrating-womens-resilience-progress-at-taiwan-main-stage-ep-307/
On March 12th the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York (TECO-NY) hosted an event called “Taiwan Main Stage: Celebrating Women’s Resilience & Progress on the margins of CSW 69.” This smartly worded event title is undoubtedly a soft reference
the fact that Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations, and therefore on the margins of CSW69.
We were there at TECO-NY’s fully packed event on the 12th where we heard from Po-Chun Sophiyah Liu and Chia-Hui Lu. Sophiyah is Ambassador-at-Large for Sports Diplomacy of Taiwan, and she is Taiwan’s first female umpire. Chia-Hui Lu is a classical musician, cross disciplinary artist and an associate professor at National Taiwan University of Arts.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· How Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations
· Sophiyah Liu’s remarks at TECO-NY’s event called “Taiwan Main Stage: Celebrating Women’s Resilience & Progress on the margins of CSW 69”
· How the Global Sports Mentoring Program that set Sophiyah on the path to sports diplomacy
· How when Sophiyah won the IOC and UN Women: Women and Sport World trophy in 2019, a special arrangement was made for her to enter the UN building to receive the award
· When Sophiyah was invited to attend the UN Global Sport Program working group which met in a conference room in the United Nations building but when it came time to attend the meeting, she was told she couldn’t enter the UN building because she has a passport from Taiwan
· Sophiyah’s thoughts on the controversy over questions about the gender eligibility of female boxer Lin Yu-ting at the Paris Olympics
· Sophiyah’s thoughts on gender eligibility testing in sports
· Chia-Hui Lu’s remarks at TECO-NY’s event called “Taiwan Main Stage: Celebrating Women’s Resilience & Progress on the margins of CSW 69
· The technology, AI training and experimentation involved in creating the real-time music recognition system that captures melodies from Chia-Hui’s piano playing and transforms it into a surreal visual story
· The mission and past projects of the Egret Cultural and Education Foundation
· How the Egret Cultural and Education Foundation’s cross art productions combine theater, music, dance, technology, culture, and history
· How the Egret Cultural and Education Foundation was published books about Taiwan’s history, nature, music, and art
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiwan-on-the-margins-of-csw-69-celebrating-womens-resilience-progress-at-taiwan-main-stage-ep-307/
March is Women’s History Month and in this episode of Talking Taiwan I’ll be speaking with the Angela Feng, the organizer of the Empowering Women Through Education and Community Action panel, a UN CSW69 Parallel Event that’s going to be held here in New York City on Friday, March 14th from 4:30pm-6:00pm. CSW69 stands for the 69th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Also with me in this interview are the other two panelists Cindy Wu who’s been a previous guest on Talking Taiwan and Dr. Remi Duyile.
There are quite a few acronyms tossed around in this conversation so I thought I’d mention them upfront here like SDG goals, which stands for Sustainable Development Goals which were adopted by United Nations Member States. There are 17 SDGs because ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.
The other acronym you’ll hear is BPW which stands for Business and Professional Women.
The theme of the panel is how education and community initiatives equal empowerment. The session will dive into how education and grassroots programs can transform lives.
Angela, Cindy and Dr. Remi not only talked about the panel, and work of their respective organizations, but I ask each of the women who were their earliest role models who helped to shape who they are today, and to share about challenges that they’ve had to overcome in their careers thus far.
If you’d like to know how you can attend the Empowering Women Through Education and Community Action panel visit TalkingTaiwan.com where we’ll share a link to register for it on Eventbrite.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· Angela Feng, Cindy Wu, and Dr. Remi Duyile are the organizers and panelists for the Empowering Women Through Education and Community Action Panel.
· The panel's theme is "How Education and Community Initiatives Equal Empowerment."
· The session will explore how education and grassroots programs can significantly transform lives, particularly for women and girls.
· Angela Feng is the president of Soroptimist Taipei International, Girls Power, a female non-profit organization recognized by the UN and Taiwan.
· Cindy Wu is a trilingual financial management professional, singer-songwriter, and motivational speaker, involved with the International Federation of Business and Professional Women (BPW).
· Dr. Remi Duyile is a Nigerian-American, a UN ambassador of peace, and the founder of Legacy Premier Foundation, a global developmental non-profit.
· The discussion will delve into the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how these goals relate to women's empowerment
· Angela, Cindy and Dr. Remi the work that they have done with each of their respective organizations
· Angela, Cindy and Dr. Remi talked about their early role models and the challenges they have overcome in their careers.
· The panel aims to provide practical insights and inspire action, moving beyond abstract concepts of women's empowerment.
· The women want to provide action steps, and resources to the audience
· Soroptimist International of Taipei Girls Power focuses on education for young women, from elementary school through college.
· The Legacy Premier Foundation focuses on financial literacy, and providing access to resources to underserved communities, and teaches skills that are needed in the market place.
· The International Federation of Business and Professional Women works to create opportunities for women through promoting employment, and protecting rights.
Related Links:
In July of 2024, we brought Talking Taiwan to the Taiwanese American Conference at West Chester University and I sat down to interview Sherry Chou, the Director of Dr. Chen Wen-chen Memorial Foundation.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-sherry-chou-remembers-dr-chen-wen-chen-and-circumstances-surrounding-his-mysterious-death-ep-305/
Dr. Chen Wen-chen was an assistant professor of statistics at Carnegie Mellon University when he and his family returned to his native Taiwan for a vacation in the summer of 1981. Dr. Chen’s permit to leave the country to return to the U.S. was rejected and so the Taiwan Garrison Command called in Dr. Chen for questioning regarding his political beliefs and activities in the United States. They questioned him on June 30th and July 2nd, but then on July 3, 1981, Chen’s body was found on the campus of National Taiwan University (NTU) in Taipei. At the time the autopsy reported that his death was due to a fall. Chen’s mysterious death shed light on how the work of Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang spies on U.S. campuses led to Chen’s interrogation by the Garrison Command.
Sherry and I talked about how and why it took 10 years to establish the Dr. Chen Wen-chen Incident Memorial Square at National Taiwan University (NTU), and the Rainbow Taiwan Independence Flag. Sherry also shared some memories of the Sunflower Movement, which you’ll hear Sherry refer to as sān yī ba, which is three one eight in mandarin Chinese, and a reference to March 18, 2014, the date that activists and students occupied Taiwan’s legislative yuan which became known as the Sunflower Movement.
Dr. Chen Wen-chen’s memory was honored at Taiwanese American Conference’s 2024 memorial concert.
This episode is sponsored in part by the Taiwanese American Council of Greater New York.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Who Dr. Chen Wen-chen was
- The events leading up to the mysterious death of Dr. Chen
- Dr. Chen's body was found on July 3, 1981, on the ground at National Taiwan University
- Initial autopsy reported his death as a fall, but circumstances were suspicious
- His death shed light on the activities of Kuomintang (KMT) spies on U.S. campuses
- Why it took 10 years to establish the Dr. Chen Wen-chen Incident Memorial Square at National Taiwan University
- Sherry also talked about the Rainbow Taiwan independence flag project
- Sherry discussed her memories of the Sunflower Movement
- Dr. Chen Wen-chen was honored at the Taiwanese American Conference's 2024 Memorial Concert
- Dr. Chen fundraised for Formosa Magazine, which drew the attention of KMT agents
- Formosa Magazine is linked to the Formosa Incident, also known as the Kaohsiung Incident
- Recent findings by the Transitional Justice Commission revealed that Dr. Chen had been under surveillance since 1979
- Forensic evidence confirmed that Dr. Chen died before falling from a building
- The Lin family murders occurred on February 28, 1980; Lin Yi-hsiung’s mother and his twin daughters were stabbed and killed and his oldest daughter survived
- The death of Chen Wen-chen angered both local and overseas Taiwanese people
- Sherry talked about a photo of protestors in the 1980s wearing paper bags over their heads to disguise their identities
- The idea for the memorial started in 2011 with professors and students co-signing a petition
- The initial proposal was just to place a sign on campus, not a square, but the university didn't want even a sign
- The social atmosphere in 2011 was different, with Taiwan moving closer to China under President Ma Ying-jeou
- There were many ridiculous objections to the sign
- The turning point came in 2014 when Dr. Yang Pan-chyr, a more progressive president, agreed to set up the memorial square
- There was uncertainty about whether the university would change its stance after Dr. Yang left and Kuan Chung-ming became president
- Kuan Chung-ming was unpopular, especially among the DPP and progressive community, due to his conservative views and ties to China
- Dr. Yang tried to push for the sign before he left
- After Kuan Chung-ming became president, he withdrew support for funding, and the Dr. Chen Wen-chen Foundation covered the costs
- The public contributed to fundraising efforts through social media
- Around 2016, there was a surge in advocacy for gender equality in Taiwan and its connection to Taiwanese sovereignty and identity
- In 2016, Taiwan’s marriage equality movement gained attention with people protesting on the streets
- On May 24, 2017, Taiwan’s Constitutional Court ruled that same-sex couples had the right to marry
- Someone used photoshop to combine the rainbow flag and Taiwanese independence flags
- Funds were raised through social media and distributed 1300 flags at events
- The flags allowed people to express support for both marriage equality and national issues
- 2016 marked the beginning of more people expressing concern for both gender equality and national issues
- LGBTQ individuals were more actively engaged in the Bluebird Movement, possibly due to increased mobilization since 2016
- Sherry was previously the marketing director for Watchout, a media company
- Watchout started at the end of 2013, around the time of the Sunflower Movement, capturing many photos from then
- The company shifted focus to issues related to Taiwan's independence and civil defense
- Watchout published two books: Civil Defense Guide (covering disasters and war) and Active Civil Defense Guide (focused on war)
- How Sherry got interest in feminism
- She admires figures like Professor Fan Yun and Liu Wen for their feminist contributions
- Sherry emphasized the importance of efforts from both Taiwanese communities in Taiwan and those outside of Taiwan in order to make significant change happen
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-sherry-chou-remembers-dr-chen-wen-chen-and-circumstances-surrounding-his-mysterious-death-ep-305/
Grace Loh Prasad’s debut memoir, is The Translator’s Daughter. I spoke with her about how she started off writing it and how it evolved over the two decades it took to write it.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/a-conversation-on-the-translators-daughter-a-debut-memoir-by-author-grace-loh-prasad-ep-304/
A lot can happen in two decades. One by one Grace started losing her family members- her brother, mother and father. Her memoir is very much about loss, not just the loss that Grace experienced of her family members, but also her lost connection to Taiwan. When Grace was just two years old her family left Taiwan and moved to the U.S. and then Hong Kong. Her parents didn’t return to Taiwan until Grace was in college in California.
I found the book moving and appreciated how Grace was able to take her grief and personal experiences and put them into this beautifully written book. If you’d like to hear Grace reading an excerpt from The Translator’s Daughter, check out the episode right before this one, episode 303.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· What motivated Grace to start writing her memoir
· How the memoir evolved and changed over the twenty years it took to write and complete it
· What changed in her life during those two decades
· How Grace lost her brother to cancer, her mother to Alzheimer’s and father to Parkinson’s
· The challenge of maintaining a connection with Taiwan and relatives there due to language barriers
· The unconventional style of the book which is a mix of narrative chapters and essays
· Grace’s writing process and how she put the book together
· What Grace learned in the process of writing the book
· How her family’s migrations due to her father’s work affected Grace and her brother Ted
· How to find belonging in a place that you don’t intend to stay
· How Grace feels about being a third culture kid
· How much of the writing in the book comes from Grace’s diary entries
· What Grace left out of the book
· People who have reached out to Grace about her book because they knew her father and his work translating the Bible
· Grace reflects on her father’s education and career compared to her own
· How Grace’s family’s story doesn’t fit the typical immigrant or model minority story
· The op ed Grace wrote about Taiwan’s 2000 presidential election
· How important Taiwanese Americans have been in highlighting issues in Taiwan
· How Taiwan is excluded from international organizations and events like the UN, WHO, Olympics
· The authors and books that have influenced Grace
· How her book touches on mythology, film, music, and art
· Her family’s connection to the Thornberries and Milo Thornberry who wrote Fireproof Moth: A Missionary in Taiwan’s White Terror
· Grace’s advice for someone struggling with writing their first book
· Feedback and reactions that Grace has gotten to the book
· How it’s worthwhile to make the effort to pass on specific things from one’s culture or family to children or the next generation
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/a-conversation-on-the-translators-daughter-a-debut-memoir-by-author-grace-loh-prasad-ep-304/
For the first episode of 2025, we’ve decided to share an excerpt from The Translator’s Daughter, a personal memoir written by Grace Loh Prasad.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/an-excerpt-from-the-translators-daughter-by-grace-loh-prasad-ep-303/
The book opens on the eve of the Lunar New Year in February of 2000 and so it seems like the right time of year to be sharing this as we approach another Lunar New, the Year of the Snake. Here’s a taste of The Translator’s Daughter read by its author, Grace Loh Prasad, to pique your interest before we release our interview with Grace in the next episode of Talking Taiwan.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/an-excerpt-from-the-translators-daughter-by-grace-loh-prasad-ep-303/
Here’s our 2024 Top 5 Award Winners. 2024 was an eventful year!
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/talking-taiwan-2024-top-5-award-winners-end-of-year-end-of-year-review-ep-302/
In January we headed to Taiwan to cover the Presidential election, thanks to the generous support of donors. While we were there, we covered the election from Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung. We were also able to hold two in-person podcast events where we met several of our Taiwan-based podcast guests in person for the very first time.
In May we were shortlisted in the International Women’s Podcast Awards Moment of Visionary Leadership category.
Then in July we brought Talking Taiwan to the 53rd annual Taiwanese American Conference East Coast (TAC-EC) where we created an on-location podcast studio and conducted 12 interviews in 3 days. We are grateful to have interviewed many of TAC-EC’s wonderful speakers. And it we had the honor of interviewing Taiwan’s former Vice President Dr. Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) who is best known for his excellent handling of the COVID pandemic in Taiwan. After speaking with him I came away thinking that the world would be a much better place if we had more politicians like Dr. Chen. We’ll be giving first listening access to this and other select interviews to anyone donating $50 or more to Talking Taiwan.
We never know what episodes are going to make the top 5 of the year and in this episode you’ll hear the story behind number 1 episode of 2024.
2024 marked a big change in the way we do things. Previously nearly all of our interviews were done remotely, but in 2024, we did a number of interviews in person, most notably the one with Dr. Linda Gail Arrigo that got shortlisted in the International Women’s Podcast Awards Moment of Visionary Leadership category.
We will be incorporating more in person interviews in 2025, and Talking Taiwan will be embarking on a North American Tour taking the podcast to communities on the East Coast, West Coast and Canada. In July we will be returning to the Taiwanese American Conference East Coast, and then heading to the Taiwanese American Conference on the West Coast in San Francisco. Later on in the year we will also head north to Taiwanfest in Toronto, Canada.
Your donation can help make all of this happen. Right now It’s a great time to make a contribution because all contributions made will be doubled. The first $11k we raise will be doubled thanks to our generous matching donors. To support Talking Taiwan you can make donation by PayPal or Zelle using our email address talkingtaiwanpodcast@gmail.com or Venmo @talkingtaiwan. You can also send us a check at our PO box that you’ll find on our website talkingtaiwan.com/support.
Thank you for listening. Wishing you a Happy New Year in 2025 and beyond!
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/talking-taiwan-2024-top-5-award-winners-end-of-year-end-of-year-review-ep-302/
In this episode of Talking Taiwan, I started off speaking with Taiwanese American documentary filmmaker Hsuan Yu Pan about how she got interested in documentary filmmaking. As we talked about her films, we covered a broad range of topics from the COVID-19 pandemic to parallels between the 2017 travel bans that barred people from seven Muslim majority countries from entering the U.S. and internment of Japanese Americans in the1940s. Time and time again entire groups of people have been targeted and blamed groups.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/documentary-films-on-the-pandemic-immigration-and-human-rights-issues-our-talk-with-taiwanese-american-filmmaker-hsuan-yu-pan-ep-301/
This led us back to the pandemic and recalling the high incidence of Asian hate that happened at that time. Her current film project Hear, Eat, Home touches on many of these topics including the Syrian Revolution and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. After speaking to Hsuan Yu I get the sense that through her documentary filmmaking she wishes to create understanding so that history doesn’t repeat itself and to foster more empathy in the world.
Below in the Related Links section is a link where you can support and watch a work in progress version of Hsuan Yu’s film Hear, Eat, Home.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Hsuan Yu’s upbringing and how she initially had aspirations to be a visual artist
- How Hsuan Yu got interested in documentary filmmaking
- How Hsuan Yu’s early experiences editing wedding videos taught her how to use video footage to tell a story
- How her work at Bric TV taught her how to find stories
- How she came up with the concept for her documentary film Alone Together that was shot during the pandemic
- How footage for Alone Together was gathered and planned
- How Alone Together featured footage from 11 different countries
- What Hsuan Yu learned from making the film Alone Together
- Hsuan Yu views her filmmaking as being about telling people’s stories
- How she met the Taiwanese puppeteer, Mr. Tsai who is the subject of her documentary film project I, Puppet
- How Hsuan Yu was able to encourage Mr. Tsai to do some impromptu puppetry in New York’s Washington Square Park
- How Mr. Tsai attended a Puppet Slam event in Coney Island, NY and brought the puppet slam concept back to his puppet museum in Taipei, Taiwan
- The relationship between Mr. Tsai and his father who is also a puppeteer
- How and why Mr. Tsai’s parents didn’t want him to become a puppeteer
- What Hsuan Yu loves about making documentaries
- Her documentary film project Hear, Eat, Home
- How two of the subjects of the film Hear, Eat, Home, Kinan Azmeh and Kevork Mourad are members of Yo-yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble
- How the internment of Japanese Americans and the travel bans of 2017 (aka Muslim bans) are examples of how the U.S. government has labeled certain groups of people as a threat and discriminated against them
- How Kinan Azmeh was affected by the travel bans of 2017 (aka Muslim bans)
- How different groups have been blamed such as the Japanese Americans, Muslim Americans and Asian American
- How as a documentary filmmaker Hsuan Yu feels that sne should document history so that people can learn from history
- Kevork Mourad’s background and family story
- What the film Hear, Eat, Home is about
- Hear Eat Home tells the story of Syrians, Japanese Americans and Ukrainians
- What Hsuan Yu believes makes a good documentary
- How Hsuan Yu was trying to finish working on Hear, Eat, Home in 2020, but she wasn’t satified with it
- When the Russian invasion of Ukraine happened in 2022 Hsuan Yu felt that she should include stories of her Ukrainian friends in to the film Hear, Eat, Home
- Hsuan Yu plans to complete Hear, Eat, Home me next year
- Hear Eat Home is available for view as a work in progress until January 5th
- Anyone wishing to support the completion of Hsuan Yu’s film Hear, Eat, Home can make a donation on the link provided on TalkingTaiwan.com for this episode
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/documentary-films-on-the-pandemic-immigration-and-human-rights-issues-our-talk-with-taiwanese-american-filmmaker-hsuan-yu-pan-ep-301/
NATWA (the North America Taiwanese Women's Association) has been around since 1988 and for this episode about NATWA I interviewed Elena Ling, one of NATWA’s founding members, Hui-Na Lin, a past NATWA national president, Susan Liao, two-time president of NATWA’s Toronto chapter, and Sue Kuo NATWA’s current vice president and president elect for 2025. It is impossible to properly acknowledge the unique contributions of each NATWA national president, or all of NATWA’s board and committee members, NATWA’s supporters, donors, and countless others who have made NATWA what it is.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/the-history-of-natwa-unique-contributions-by-three-national-presidents-ep-300/
As I reflect on this, I’d like to share a poetic analogy that Hui-Na Lin, 2022-2023 NATWA national president shared with me to describe the essence of NATWA. It’s from a short story she wrote “Fly Together Over Mountains” which she told me was inspired by the Canadian geese’s migration down south for the winter each year. A single goose could not make the trip as efficiently alone. Several geese fly together as a group in a V formation. There is one bird that leads the group initially, but when the lead bird gets tired, it moves to the back for a rest, and another bird takes the lead. The birds all take turns leading the group to their final destination. Like the Canadian geese NATWA’s members work together to support each other in turn. It’s not about one single leader.
As you listen to this episode you’ll learn more about how NATWA meets its five point mission statement which is:
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to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
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to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
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to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
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to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
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to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
Special Thanks to Elena Ling and Alvina Ling for providing useful details about NATWA’s formation and history for this episode. And a very special thank you to NATWA and its members for all of the encouragement and support that you’ve given to our two-person team here at Talking Taiwan. Thank you for making our work possible.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How and why NATWA (the North America Taiwanese Women's Association) was founded
- Annette Lu’s (former Vice President of Taiwan) connection to NATWA
- How Annette Lu was one of the Kaohsiung Eight (one of eight people arrested as a result of the Kaohsiung aka Formosa incident)
- The first meeting with the 30 founding members of NATWA
- How NATWA has a President-elect who serves as Vice President the year before becoming President
- How NATWA started off as a national organization
- The early formation of NATWA
- How progressive it was at the time to form NATWA
- How NATWA has grown from 30 to 1,000 members
- How NATWA became a 501(c)(3) organization
- How NATWA has 2 major events a year, an annual convention (in April) and a mid-year leadership meeting (in October)
- The impact that NATWA has made in the lives of its members
- How Hui-Na Lin and Susan Liao got involved in NATWA initially and later took on leadership roles in the organization
- NATWA’s early struggles in attracting members due to pressure from Taiwan’s Kuomintang (KMT) government at the time
- NATWA’s early successful fundraising efforts
- Why NATWA avoided accepting any government funding
- NATWA’s early successful projects
- NATWA’s charitable fundraising efforts
- How NATWA’s members are aging
- How NATWA’s membership and programs grew during the pandemic
- What made NATWA’s WebEx programs during the pandemic successful
- What types of WebEx programs NATWA offered during the pandemic
- Major activities organized by NATWA Toronto
- The first NATWA event that Felicia Lin, the host of Talking Taiwan was invited to attend
- How Hui-Na and her team got NATWA’s members to attend the first in-person mid-year meeting and annual conventions that took place after restrictions on COVID were eased
- How NATWA addresses women’s issues and promotes women’s dignity
- The formation of NATWA II an organization for second generation Taiwanese American women
- Questions about the future direction of NATWA
- What Elena, Hui-Na and Susan have each gotten out of their involvement with NATWA
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/the-history-of-natwa-unique-contributions-by-three-national-presidents-ep-300/
After hearing about Team Taiwan’s historic gold medal baseball win at the Premier 12 on November 24th I reached out to Richard Wang who I previously interviewed in 2020 about how Taiwan was the only place on the planet where professional baseball was being played during the COVID pandemic and since the entire world was watching, it led to English broadcasts of Taiwan’s baseball games.
Related Link:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/team-taiwans-historic-gold-medal-baseball-win-our-conversation-with-richard-wang-ep-299/
Well, it turns out that Richard was at the Tokyo Dome for Premier 12 and even had the honor of calling out all the names of Team Taiwan’s players as they were awarded their gold medals.
In the spirit of Giving Tuesday, which was on December 3rd, I thought it would be fun to celebrate Team Taiwan’s win by inviting others to be “in the audience” during my online interview with Richard, so I put out the word on social media. Special thanks to all those who attended the online event on such short notice.
Related Link:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/team-taiwans-historic-gold-medal-baseball-win-our-conversation-with-richard-wang-ep-299/
In July we brought Talking Taiwan to the 53rd annual Taiwanese American Conference, East Coast (aka TAC-EC) at West Chester University where we set up an on-location podcast studio and I interviewed 12 people in 3 days. It was pretty nonstop but it was well worth it. One thing we strive to do with Talking Taiwan is to record oral histories, so it was my pleasure to sit down with several of TAC-EC’s past organizers to talk about the conference’s history.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/oral-histories-by-three-tac-ec-past-organizers-talking-with-terry-tsao-sue-mei-kao-and-powen-wang-ep-298/
First, I spoke with Powen Wang aka Ong Po-bun (王博文), who told me about how TAC started out as a summer retreat for Christian families in 1970 and later evolved into a conference for the entire Taiwanese American community. At the time Taiwan was under Chiang Kai-shek’s Chinese Nationalists authoritarian regime, and Pok-wen recounts how the Chinese Nationalists (KMT) tried to interfere with TAC in those early years.
I also spoke with past TAC organizers Su-Mei Kao, and Shih-Chieh or Terry Tsao.
TAC is a conference with a 50 year plus long history and its programs have covered diverse issues impacting Taiwanese Americans, including human rights in Taiwan, and momentous social, historical, political events related to Taiwan and their implications.
About TAC-EC:
The first Taiwanese American Conference East Coast (TACEC) was held in 1970 in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. It was a summer retreat for the area's Christian families but has turned into an event for the entire Taiwanese American community. Over the years, the conference has expanded its programs to encompass diverse issues impacting Taiwanese Americans, including human rights in Taiwan, and momentous social, historical, political events and their implications. TACEC invites Taiwanese and Taiwanese Americans from diverse professional backgrounds to share their experiences. The number of participants has steadily grown, numbering over 2,000 in the late 80s and 90s.
TAC-EC is hosted by Taiwanese Communities in four different regions: New York, New Jersey, Washington and Philadelphia (including south Jersey and Delaware). Each region is currently on a four-year rotation and takes turns chairing the TACEC board that oversees the operation of TAC-EC.
The conference today draws about 600 - 800 participants annually, with the majority being first generation Taiwanese Americans. Many second generation Taiwanese Americans who now have children have eagerly expressed interests in developing TAC-EC programs for their children and re-engage their peers who were past participants.
TAC-EC’s MISSION:
- To stimulate public interest in the cultural, religious, educational, socioeconomic and other activities of Taiwanese/Taiwanese Americans
- To pass down Taiwanese cultural and religious heritage in the Taiwanese Americans community
- To facilitate exchanges among Taiwanese Americans organizations, and to foster exchange, mutual support and collaboration between Taiwanese American organizations and Taiwanese or other ethnic groups’ organizations
- To organize an annual conference or workshops of various topics about current affairs and future development of the United States and Taiwan
This episode is sponsored in part by the Taiwanese American Council of Greater New York.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Powen Wang aka Ong Po-bun (王博文), an early participant and organizer of TAC-EC talks about how he got involved in TAC-EC, the formation of TAC-EC, and its early years
- How the conference started as a Christian summer camp and then the Formosan Club (aka Taiwanese Association) joined
- What caused a split between the Christians and Formosan Club
- The year Powen Wang aka Ong Po-bun (王博文) organized the conference (1989)
- How TAC-EC has evolved from the 1970s to 2013
- The formation of TANG (Taiwanese American Next Generation)
- Su-Mei Kao, organizer of TAC-EC in 2015 talked about her experiences organizing the conferences and how changes were made to create more interaction and shared events between TAC-EC and TANG attendees
- The speakers and topics covered at TAC-EC 2015
- How Su-Mei Kao had attended TAC in the southern region before TAC on the East Coast and how the conferences in these regions differ
- Shih-Chieh (Terry) Tsao, organizer of TAC-EC 2023 talked about how he got involved in TAC-EC
- Shih-Chieh (Terry) talked about the theme of TAC-EC
- How China reacted to Nancy Pelosi’s (former speaker of the United States House of Representatives) visit to Taiwan in August of 2022
- Some of the most memorable speakers that were invited to speak at TAC-EC 2023
- How FAPA (Formosan Association for Public Affairs and GTI (Global Taiwan Institute) and WUFI (World United Formosans for Independence) were instrumental in helping to organize TAC-EC 2023
- How Shih-Chieh (Terry) hopes that TAC-EC can welcome more participants with a wider spectrum of political leanings on Taiwan
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/oral-histories-by-three-tac-ec-past-organizers-talking-with-terry-tsao-sue-mei-kao-and-powen-wang-ep-298/
Last year in August of 2023 I interviewed Dr. Jung Tsai about the medical mission to Ukraine that he had organized. If you haven’t already had a chance to hear my first interview with Dr. Tsai about his medical mission to Ukraine, check out Episode 251: Dr. Jung Tsai: On His Courageous Medical Mission to Ukraine for Taiwan.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/aftermath-of-his-medical-mission-to-ukraine-one-year-later-dr-jung-tsai-ep-297/
This past July we took Talking Taiwan on the road to the 53rd annual Taiwanese American Conference, East Coast that was held at Westchester University. And we set up an on-location podcast studio there. Dr. Tsai was one of the speakers at TAC, so nearly a year after his return, we sat down with him to hear how his medical mission went.
This episode is sponsored in part by the Taiwanese American Council of Greater New York.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/aftermath-of-his-medical-mission-to-ukraine-one-year-later-dr-jung-tsai-ep-297/
Since 2020 Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense has been reporting the number of incursions China makes by sea and air into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone. These incursions now happen on a daily basis and already the tally for this year alone has surpassed the total number of occurrences that took place last year in 2023.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/psychological-defense-and-practices-to-manage-stress-for-the-people-of-taiwan-a-talk-with-dr-hsiao-wen-lo-ep-296/
Recently, on October 14th, just days after President Lai Ching-te’s Double Ten Day speech, China’s military initiated the "Joint Sword-2024B" drills, a simulated blockade which took place in the Taiwan Strait and areas to the north, south and east of Taiwan. According to Taiwan’s MND, a record number of 153 Chinese military aircraft were detected around Taiwan within a 25-hour period.
We’ve previously discussed China’s gray zone military tactics and civil defense preparedness, on this podcast, but just as important is something called psychological defense.
In July we brought Talking Taiwan to the 53rd annual Taiwanese American Conference, East Coast that was held at West Chester University. I sat down with Dr. Hsiao-Wen Lo (駱筱雯) who spoke at the conference about Psychological Defense for the People of Taiwan.
We also got into a discussion about the related topics of trauma and
practices to manage stress and maintain good mental health.
This episode is sponsored in part by the Taiwanese American Council of Greater New York.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· How Dr. Lo got interested in psychological defense
· What is psychological defense
· The importance of the mind-body connection
· Types of trauma: psychological trauma, generational trauma, collective trauma
· What is psychological warfare
· The Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s psychological warfare tactics
· The impact of long-term stress
· Post traumatic growth
· Fight or Flight states
· Strategies to deal with stress
· The erasure of Taiwan by China
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/psychological-defense-and-practices-to-manage-stress-for-the-people-of-taiwan-a-talk-with-dr-hsiao-wen-lo-ep-296/
In July we took the show on the road bringing Talking Taiwan to the 53rd annual Taiwanese American Conference, East Coast that was held at West Chester University. I sat down and spoke with New Taipei City Councilor Chen Nai-Yu (陳乃瑜市議員). We spoke about how she went from being a journalist to a politician, working on Lai Ching-te’s presidential campaign, and the controversial bills that got passed in Taiwan’s legislature in May and that led to massive protests and the Bluebird Movement.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/counselor-chen-of-new-taipei-city-talks-about-her-political-career-and-the-controversial-bills-passed-by-taiwans-legislature-ep-295/
Special thanks to Bill Wu who sat in on the interview to provide translation assistance to City Councilor Chen, and to Anmy Lee for additional research and translation assistance.
This episode is sponsored in part by the Taiwanese American Council of Greater New York.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· How Naiyu went from working as a journalist for 14 years to becoming a politician
· Issues she’s focused on as a City Councilor
· Anti-Han Kuo-yu rally in Kaohsiung
· Naiyu’s work as a journalist
· How her experience as a journalist prepared her to be a politician
· The challenges she faced in working on Lai Ching-te’s presidential campaign
· Cases of state-owned land on which people built personal mansions
· The different communication styles and approaches to social media use of Lai Ching-te and Ko Wen-je
· What Naiyu has to say about President Lai Ching-te’s personality and character
· What could happen with the controversial bills that led to the Bluebird movement protests in Taiwan in May
· Cases of ill-gotten assets and how the handling of ill-gotten assets could be reversed
· Naiyu’s observations of the Bluebird movement
· The most rewarding thing about being a City Councilor
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/counselor-chen-of-new-taipei-city-talks-about-her-political-career-and-the-controversial-bills-passed-by-taiwans-legislature-ep-295/
I recently spoke with Michael Fahey about some developments on human rights related issues in Taiwan, including the anticipated ruling by Taiwan’s constitutional court on the Death Penalty.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/recently-debated-human-rights-issues-in-taiwan-a-conversation-with-michael-fahey-ep-294/
We spoke on September 16th and Taiwan’s constitutional court made its ruling on September 20th. At the time I had spoken to Michael about a campaign and online petition to expand access to dual nationality for long-term foreign permanent residents of Taiwan. To learn more about that check out episode 293.
Michael is an American lawyer and resident of Taipei since 1988. He is foreign counsel at Formosa Transnational (萬國) and also founder of Forward Taiwan.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/recently-debated-human-rights-issues-in-taiwan-a-conversation-with-michael-fahey-ep-294/
Did you know that there is a campaign underway in Taiwan that is calling for foreign permanent residents to be able to apply for dual nationality, effectively allowing them to obtain Taiwanese citizenship after 5 years without giving up their original passport?
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/dual-nationality-for-long-term-permanent-residents-of-taiwan-discussion-with-michael-fahey-ep-293/
An online petition for this proposal was launched on August 19th and they are trying to collect 5,000 signatures to support it by October 19th: https://join.gov.tw/idea/detail/951c745d-4484-4923-953f-4cdaefe7f344
I recently spoke with Michael Fahey, about this campaign which was initiated by Crossroads and Forward Taiwan. We talked about many of the most common concerns raised by a proposal like this, given the sensitive position that Taiwan is in due to the threats it faces from the PRC (People’s Republic of China).
Michael is an American lawyer and resident of Taipei since 1988. He is foreign counsel at Formosa Transnational (萬國) and also founder of Forward Taiwan.
If you’d like to sign the online petition to expand access to dual nationality for long-term foreign permanent residents of Taiwan, please note a few things:
1) In order to be able to sign the petition you must be a citizen of Taiwan or holder of an A(P)RC (Alien Permanent Resident Certificate) and have a Taiwan mobile number.
2) When filling out the petition form it’s best to use a computer not a smart phone but have your phone nearby and have patience when going through the process.
3) Whether or not you are personally able to sign the petition, please consider also sharing this with friends, family or colleagues who would and are able to support it.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· How the proposal to expand access to dual nationality for long-term foreign permanent residents of Taiwan came about
· The case of Michael Boyden, a British citizen and permanent resident of Taiwan
· How Taiwan’s nationality law was drafted in the 1920s and how it compares with other countries laws on nationality
· How Taiwan’s nationality law is not symmetrical for native-born Taiwanese and naturalizing foreign citizens
· How expanding access to dual nationality for long-term foreign permanent residents of Taiwan could make Taiwan more resilient
· How immigration could be a way to deal with Taiwan becoming a super-aged society
· Concerns about whether this proposal will make it easier PRC (People’s Republic of China) citizens to immigrate to Taiwan and become citizens
· PRC (People’s Republic of China) citizens are governed by a different law; the act for the relations between peoples of the mainland and the Taiwan region
· The proposal is to change the nationality law not the act for the relations between peoples of the mainland and the Taiwan region
· How to handle concerns about PRC citizens who've naturalized in third countries using their foreign citizenship to come and naturalize in Taiwan
· How the fear that crime would go up is unfounded because foreign nationals in Taiwan commit crimes at a rate of 50 percent of the native population
· What exactly is being proposed
· The procedure for foreign permanent residents in Taiwan to obtain dual Taiwanese citizenship
· The types of people and special cases that have been granted dual Taiwanese citizenship
· The standards required for foreign permanent residents in Taiwan to be granted dual Taiwanese citizenship
· Cases of foreign permanent residents in Taiwan that applied and failed to attain dual Taiwanese citizenship
· How the process to get the nationality law amended could actually be a very long process that could take 5-20 years
· Arguments for and against the proposal
· How people who wish to sign the online petition must be citizens of Taiwan and have a Taiwan mobile number
· When filling out the petition it’s best to do so on a computer and not on a smart phone, but to keep your mobile phone nearby
· Have patience in filling out the online petition form because the interface is a bit difficult to use
· How foreign permanent residents can’t get household registration and how that limits them
· Reasons people would like to get dual Taiwanese citizenship
· How to deal with individuals who have dual nationalities
· How male citizens of Taiwan under the age of 36 are required to serve in the military
· How Taiwan could take steps to ensure that people serve in the military
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/dual-nationality-for-long-term-permanent-residents-of-taiwan-discussion-with-michael-fahey-ep-293/
In September the UN General Assembly takes place at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. This year, the 79th session of the UN General Assembly opened on Tuesday, September 10th and will conclude on Monday, September 30th. The theme of the General Debate is "Leaving no one behind: acting together for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations.”
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/un-membership-for-taiwan-a-nyc-press-conference-peace-truck-and-a-rally-ep-292/
Since 1992, the Taiwanese American Council of Greater New York has promoted UN membership for Taiwan and organized the UN for Taiwan rally and march to coincide with the UN General Assembly. This year the UN for Taiwan rally and march was held on Saturday, September 14th.
Delegates from the Taiwan United Nations Alliance or TAIUNA, an NGO from Taiwan have been coming to New York for the past twenty years to call for Taiwan’s membership in the UN.
On Friday, September 13th representatives from TAIUNA held a press conference in Ralph Bunche Park, which is across from the United Nations Headquarters. The open letter from TAIUNA Chairman Yet-Min Lin addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was read. The full letter will be posted in the Relate Links section of Talking Taiwan website for this episode. The letter urged the UN to hold a formal hearing to clarify the interpretation of UNGA Resolution 2758.
China’s distortion of Resolution 2758 has been used to block Taiwan from being included in the UN.
TAIUNA (The Taiwan United Nations Alliance) was founded on October 24, 2003:
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To realize UN’s purposes and to foster justice, peace and security for Taiwan and the world.
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To promote Taiwanese understanding of and education on the UN and its related organizations.
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To elevate the global perspectives of the Taiwanese people and to participate in such international activities as human rights protection, humanitarian assistance, and environmental protection.
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To campaign for Taiwan’s membership in the UN and to make Taiwan a Normal State both in name and in fact in the world community.
Talking Taiwan covered TAIUNA’s press conference in Ralph Bunche Park on Friday, September 13th. On Saturday, September 14th we stopped by the “Peace Pop-up Truck” organized by the Taipei Economic Cultural Office of New York (TECONY) with the theme being “UNity through Peace: Chip in with Taiwan.” Afterward we also participated in the UN for Taiwan rally and march.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/un-membership-for-taiwan-a-nyc-press-conference-peace-truck-and-a-rally-ep-292/
Earlier this summer, in June, I spoke with John Groot the author of An Emergency Preparedness Guide for Expats in Taiwan.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/an-emergency-preparedness-guide-for-expats-in-taiwan-our-discussion-with-survivalist-author-john-groot-ep-291/
John has made the book is available for free on his website and you download a copy of it by >> clicking here
The recent Paris Olympics has just passed and may already be fading into memory. This year Team Taiwan won 2 gold medals and 5 bronze at the Olympics.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/my-conversation-with-mike-chinoy-award-winning-journalist-on-his-new-film-decathalon-ep-290/
Do you know when and who won Taiwan’s first Olympic medal?
It happened at the 1960 Rome Olympics, which was the first Summer Olympics that was televised in North America. The man who was known as the “Iron Man of Asia,” C.K. Yang won a silver medal in the decathlon. C.K. was of the Amis indigenous tribe from southeastern Taiwan. His Amis name was Maysang Kalimud, but then Japan colonized Taiwan he had a Japanese name when, and then after the Chinese Nationalists the Kuomintang lost the civil war in China to the Chinese Communist and fled to Taiwan, his father gave him a Chinese name, Yang Chuan-kwang.
Like many Amis, he used his athletic prowess to gain status and success that might otherwise have eluded him. But not much is known about how heavily he identified as Amis.
The gold medal winner at the Rome Olympics was Rafer Johnson, an African American.
Rafer and C.K. trained together under the same coach at UCLA and then competed against each other in the decathlon at the Rome Olympics. They were not only rivals but also the best of friends.
Their extraordinary and unlikely friendship inspired the making of a documentary film and I sat down recently to speak with Mike Chinoy, the co-creator, co-writer, and co-producer of that film which is called "Decathlon: The CK Yang and Rafer Johnson Story,”
Mike Chinoy is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the University of Southern California’s US-China Institute and is based in Taipei. Previously, he spent 24 years as a foreign correspondent for CNN, serving as the network's first Beijing bureau chief and as Senior Asia Correspondent.
"Decathlon: The CK Yang and Rafer Johnson Story" is currently streaming on the Taiwan Plus Docs YouTube channel.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· Team Taiwan’s performance during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris
· How flags and signs in the shape of Taiwan or with the word Taiwan on them were confiscated from fans during the men’s doubles badminton finals at the Paris Olympics
· How China's state-run broadcaster CCTV cut the feed during parts of the men's badminton doubles match and did not broadcast the medal ceremony
· Why Taiwan has to compete under the name “Chinese Taipei” at the Olympics
· The “Iron Man of Asia”
· The man that won Taiwan’s first Olympic medal
· C.K. Yang was Amis and had three names, an Amis name (Maysang Kalimud), a Japanese name and a Chinese name (Yang Chuan-kwang, 楊傳廣)
· How C.K. first met Rafer Johnson at the Melbourne Olympics in 1956
· How C.K. and Rafer were trained by the same coach at UCLA and became close friends
· The International Olympic Committee (I.O.C) told the government of Chiang Kai-shek that the team sent to participate at the 1960 Rome Olympics could not be called the Republic of China
· Chiang Kai-shek almost boycotted the Olympics but didn’t because he realized that C.K. Yang could possibly win a medal and bring glory to Taiwan
· How Taiwan competed under the name Formosa during the 1960 Rome Olympics
· C.K. Yang was the first person with a Chinese surname to win an Olympic medal
· At the opening ceremony of the 1960 Rome Olympics Rafer Johnson was the first African American to carry the American flag at the Olympics
· At the opening ceremony of the 1960 Rome Olympics, the Taiwan team marched in carrying a placard that said under protest, which was the first overt political protest by a team in Olympics history
· Where the idea for "Decathlon: The CK Yang and Rafer Johnson Story" came from
· How Mike’s co-creator, co-writer, and co-producer, John Krich sought out, befriended and interviewed C.K. Yang in 2006
· How Mike met and befriended Rafer Johnson and C.K.’s widow Daisy in Los Angeles
· Taiwanese Canadian film director of "Decathlon: The CK Yang and Rafer Johnson Story," Frank W. Chen also directed “Late Life: The Chien-Ming Wang Story”
· How C.K. Yang, Rafer Johnson and athletes have become political symbols
· How C.K. Yang and Rafer Johnson were intense athletic rivals and close friends
· The close personal friendship between C.K. Yang and Rafer Johnson
· How C.K. Yang and Rafer Johnson had the same coach, Ducky Drake at UCLA
· How C.K. Yang and Rafer Johnson joked that they were the “Two-Man United Nations”
· How C.K. Yang’s story tells the story of Taiwan in an unconventional way
· Why C.K. was sent to UCLA to train for the Olympics
· The 1958 Kinmen Matsu Crisis (aka The 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis)
· How C.K. Yang and Rafer Johnson’s coach, Ducky Drake showed no favoritism
· When U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1968, Rafer was next to him, Rafer grabbed the assassin, tackled him and grabbed the gun
· Rafer’s involvement in the Special Olympics
· What happened to C.K. at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics
· C.K. later became the coach of the Taiwan track team for the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Canada
· Why the team from Taiwan was barred from participating in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal
· Rafer Johnson lit the flame at the 1984 Olympic games in L.A.
· How C.K. went into politics briefly in Taiwan, switching from one party to another
· The Iron Man house that the government of Taiwan built for C.K.
· How statues of C.K. are in a locked fourth floor room of the National Sports Training Center in Kaohsiung
· There cover of Sports Illustrated magazine in 1963 with the headline “ C.K. Yang, the world's greatest athlete.”
· The tremendous sportsmanship and loyalty that C.K. and Rafer exemplify
· C.K.’s performance at 1954 Asian Games in Manilla
· The use of animation in "Decathlon: The CK Yang and Rafer Johnson Story,"
· The National Sports Training Center in Kaohsiung
· How the film addresses the Taiwan, China conflict, and the fight for social justice and equality in the United States; 64 years later the world is still wrestling with these issues
· Mike’s future projects
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/my-conversation-with-mike-chinoy-award-winning-journalist-on-his-new-film-decathalon-ep-290/
This is the second part of our interview with Dr. Linda Gail Arrigo, Ai Linda (艾琳達). Earlier this year when we were in Taiwan in January for the presidential election, we sat down to interview Linda about the era and events that precipitated the Kaohsiung incident also known as the Formosa Incident, which is widely considered the watershed moment in history that led to Taiwan’s democratization. The Kaohsiung Incident happened in December of 1979.
If you haven’t had a chance to listen to the first part of this interview, you can go back to episode 287 and give it a listen. By the way, that episode of Talking Taiwan, episode 287 got us shortlisted in the top 15 podcasts selected in the category of "Moment of Visionary Leadership" for the 2024 International Women's Podcast Awards. This year the IWPA had 700 submissions from over 33 different countries. Results were announced in London on Wednesday, June 19th.
While we were not selected as the winning podcast in this category, we are deeply honored to have our work recognized. Any increased visibility for Talking Taiwan also means greater visibility for Taiwan. In case you didn’t know, Talking Taiwan is also on YouTube, and we did video record my interview with Linda, so we do plan on releasing it on our YouTube channel, but please be patient with us since we are only a two-person team. We do have some interesting content on YouTube that’s different from our podcast episodes, so if you haven’t already, we encourage you to look for Talking Taiwan on YouTube and to subscribe to our channel: https://www.youtube.com/@talkingtaiwan Issues of Formosa Magazine
Photo Credit: Linda Gail Arrigo The Kaohsiung Eight (from left to right): Chang Chun-hung (張俊宏), Huang Hsin-chieh (黃信介), Chen Chu (陳菊), Yao Chia- wen (姚嘉文), Shih Ming-teh (施明德), Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), Lin Hung-hsuan (林弘宣 ), and Lin Yi-hsiung (林義雄)- not pictured
Photo Credit: Screenshot from Formosa Incident, Explained YouTube video from Taiwan Explained by TaiwanPlus: https://youtu.be/2eaxPhA9RN8?si=_YF0brrtyjOwlu6D International Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Taiwan (ICDHRT)- Lynn Miles’ organization
Photo Credit: Linda Gail Arrigo
Linda Gail Arrigo (艾琳達) wearing the three-colored sash, and the three-colored banners and signs of the dangwai (黨外) i.e. outside party or opposition.
Related Links:
Early last year I spoke with Boba Guys co-founders Andrew Chau and Bin Chen. At the time Andrew had just gotten back from visiting Taiwan and other parts of Asia, so it was interesting to hear his observations. Andrew and Bin shared so many great nuggets. We talked about how they got started with a pop-up shop while working fulltime and how they continued to so even after they opened their first few stores.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/the-boba-guys-andrew-chau-and-bin-chen-bubble-tea-entrepreneurs-bridging-cultures-for-11-years/
Other topics covered include how Boba Guys weathered the pandemic, Andrew and Bin’s book called The Boba Book, and how they see boba as a way to bridge cultures. What has Boba Guys been up to since we spoke? Lots of interesting collabs with other brands, and the release of a loyalty program called “Passport” which gamifies the experience through loot boxes instead of linearly earning points to redeem for a drink.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· How Andrew and Bin first met when they both worked at Timbuktu
· How they decided to start a bubble tea business
· Andrew’s recent trip to Taiwan and the other Taiwanese Americans he met up with while there
· Andrew’s thoughts on Taiwan’s bubble tea scene
· How they started with a pop-up shop
· How they have not taken any VC (venture capital) money
· The social costs and risks of being an entrepreneur
· How other Taiwanese American entrepreneurs like Steve Chen and Kevin Lin mentored them
· How Andrew does advising for the small business council and testified in Washington D.C. on behalf of small businesses
· How they were working on Boba Guys Japan when the pandemic hit
· How Boba Guys dealt with the pandemic
· The biggest challenges they’ve experienced
· The third wave of boba
· The meaning of the word boba and how Andrew’s mom reacted to the name Boba Guys
· How Boba Guys name their drinks
· Their book, The Boba Book and how they choose their co-author Richard Parks
· What happened when they went to Taiwan and tried to determine which tea shop invented bubble tea
· The Boba Guys’ merchandise and aardvark mascot
· The Boba Home Kit and how they created a boba kit that was on Williams Sonoma
· How they teach people how to make boba online
· How they have mentored other entrepreneurs
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/the-boba-guys-andrew-chau-and-bin-chen-bubble-tea-entrepreneurs-bridging-cultures-for-11-years/
Earlier this year when we were in Taiwan in January for the presidential election, I sat down to interview Dr. Linda Gail Arrigo, Ai Linda (艾琳達).
She talked about the era and events that precipitated the Kaohsiung incident aka Formosa Incident (on December 10, 1979) which is widely considered the watershed moment in history that led to Taiwan’s democratization. This is part one of a two-part interview.
Related Links:
After fights broke out in Taiwan’s legislative yuan on May 17th sending several legislators to the hospital, the public gathered in protest outside of the legislative yuan. There have been over 30,000, 100,000 and 70,000 people gathered at three of the major protests which are being called the Bluebird movement. The name is a play on the name of the road nearby the legislative yean where protests began (青島東路).
I spoke with Taipei Times columnist Michael Turton and his son Sebastian on May 27th about the controversial bills that have caused such widespread dissent. Sebastian shared what he saw at the protests in Taipei on Tuesday, May 22 and Friday, May 24.
I also spoke with Sean Su after a set of the controversial legislative reform bills passed on May 28th.
There have been protests all over Taiwan in 15 different cities, and even globally. The New York Bluebird, a group of politically conscious New York City-based Taiwanese have worked with Keep Taiwan Free to raise funds for a billboard in New York’s Times Square to promote awareness of the Bluebird movement. The billboard will appear on Tuesday, June 4 at 6:00pm.
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On May 26th we stopped by the annual Passport to Taiwan in New York City’s Union Square Park and I caught up with a few of our past guests, Taiwanese hip hop and rap artist, Dwagie who performed at this year’s Passport to Taiwan, and Lisa Cheng Smith who was also there with her Yun Hai co-founder Lillian Lin her co-founder. Yun Hai Taiwanese Pantry 雲海 offers a selection of premium ingredients for Taiwanese and Chinese cooking online and at their shop located in Brooklyn.
I spoke Dwagie about his thoughts on the protests that have been happening around the legislative yuan in Taipei. Stay tuned for our next episode which will cover the protests around the legislative yuan that started around May 17th.
I also spoke to Lillian and Lisa, co-founders of Yun Hai Taiwanese Pantry about what it was like to have President Tsai Ing-wen visit their shop in Brooklyn, and a few of their products including their qq dragon T-shirt and dried mango.
To learn more about Dwagie check out episode 50 of Talking Taiwan and to learn more about Yun Hai check out episode 135.
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Vanessa Hope is the director of Invisible Nation, a documentary film that takes a look at the presidency of Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan's first female president and events that happened during her tenure. We talked about what first brought Vanessa to Taiwan which meant that she was there in 1996 during the inauguration of Lee Teng-hui, Taiwan’s first directly elected president. Then in 2016 after Vanessa came to Taiwan with an international delegation to observe Taiwan’s presidential elections and witnessed the election of Tsai Ing-wen, she came up with the idea for a film about Tsai Ing-wen’s presidency.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/invisible-nation-director-vanessa-hope-discusses-her-documentary-about-tsai-ing-wens-presidency-ep-284/
Vanessa’s first feature length documentary, All Eyes And Ears examined relations between the U.S. and China through the stories of U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, his adopted Chinese daughter Gracie Mei, and blind legal advocate Chen Guangcheng.
When I asked Vanessa about her experience making a documentary film in China, she recounted a story that explained why she personally related to the backlash and pressure from China that Chou Tzu-yu, a Taiwanese member of a K-pop band has faced.
We also talked about the challenges in making Invisible Nation over a seven year period, Vanessa’s personal motivations for making the film and where Invisible Nation is going to be screened in the near future.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· What brought Vanessa to Taiwan and got her interested in Taiwan
· What Vanessa observed when she was in Taiwan for the inauguration of Lee Teng-hui, the first directly elected president of Taiwan
· The first time she dabbled in filmmaking
· How Vanessa wrote and recorded the podcast, Love Is a Crime, which tells the story of her family’s connection to film
· The state of the film industry which Vanessa’s husband Ted Hope writes about on Substack
· How Vanessa came up with the idea for the film, Invisible Nation
· Vanessa worked at the Council on Foreign Relations
· Vanessa came to Taiwan with an international delegation to observe Taiwan’s presidential elections in 2016 and witnessed the election of Tsai Ing-wen
· How Vanessa secured a grant focused on women, peace and security
· How film producer Sylvia Feng helped Vanessa with submitting a proposal to President Tsai’s office regarding her idea for a documentary film
· How they filmed an interview with Chen Chu before hearing an answer from President Tsai’s office about the documentary film proposal
· How Vanessa originally envisioned working a film about Taiwan’s first female president
· The backlash President Tsai received from China initially
· The discrimination that Taiwan faces internationally
· How Taiwan has been excluded from international organizations like the WHO, the United Nations, the Olympics and others
· How Russia’s invasion of Ukraine highlighted concerns about the threat Taiwan faces from China
· How Xi Jinping has said that he will not renounce the use of force against Taiwan
· Where the name of the film, Invisible Nation came from
· The film Vanessa produced, Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America, about
· If President Tsai had any say in the film Invisible Nation
· What personally motivated Vanessa to make the film, Invisible Nation
· How the interview and scene with Chen Chu in the film came about
· How Chen Chu wrote her will when she was in prison and dedicated her life to the people of Taiwan
· What it was like meeting former President Ma Ying-jeou
· How Vanessa’s mentor at the Council on Foreign Relations, Jerome Cohen had been a professor at Harvard Law School to Ma Ying-jeou and Annette Lu
· What Vanessa learned from working at the Council on Foreign Relations
· What fascinated Vanessa about how the singer Chou Tzu-yu was forced to apologize for waving a flag that represented Taiwan
· Wen Liu’s comments about President Tsai that didn’t make it into the film Invisible Nation
· How it was decided that historical facts to keep in the film or not
· How part of the editing process for the film Invisible Nation was to test it on audiences
· How Vanessa has had to edit down Invisible Nation from 85 minutes to 55 minutes for television
· Who is the target audience of the film, Invisible Nation
· Why some of the Taiwanese who worked on Invisible Nation had to use pseudonyms
· China’s 3 T’s that you are not supposed to talk about, Taiwan, Tibet, and Tiananmen
· The difference in working on documentary films in China vs. Taiwan
· What happened to Vanessa when she was in Tibet and tried to board a train with U.S.
Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, who she was filming for her first documentary film, All Eyes and Ears
· Why Vanessa could relate to what happened to the singer Chou Tzu-yu
· Scenes that had to be cut from the film, Invisible Nation
· The challenge in making Invisible Nation
· Feedback that Vanessa has received at screenings of Invisible Nation
· What Vanessa hopes that people take away from the film Invisible Nation
· If Vanessa has gotten any negative feedback or threats from pro-China media or parties
· Where Invisible Nation is going to be screened
· Vanessa’s future film projects
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/invisible-nation-director-vanessa-hope-discusses-her-documentary-about-tsai-ing-wens-presidency-ep-284/
Last year I spoke with Robin, Jerry and Peng-Hsuan about the U.S. Taiwan Watch after they organized a hackathon at the Taiwanese American Conference- East Coast that’s held annually around July 4th.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/us-taiwan-watch-creates-hackathons-and-podcasts-that-stimulate-bright-ideas-ep-283/
U.S. Taiwan Watch was founded in 2017 to synthesize data on Taiwan-related bills in Congress. Later, they expanded their work to include analysis on U.S. foreign policy and podcasts discussing U.S.-Taiwan relations. Here’s our interview.
Jerry Hsu is Co-founder and President of US Taiwan Watch
Robin Liao is Co-founder of US Taiwan Watch
Peng-Hsuan Chen is Project Manager of the Hackathon Project, Program and Policy Specialist of US Taiwan Watch
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· How the U.S. Taiwan Watch got started
· How the U.S. Taiwan Watch educates people in Taiwan about the U.S.’s Taiwan-related bills, U.S. Congress, how bills are passed
· Taiwan’s ban of pork from the U.S. containing ractopamine
· Taiwanese people’s perceptions of the U.S.
· Misinformation from Chinese language media in Taiwan
· Taiwan-related bills for messaging vs. passage
· How they synthesize data on the U.S’s Taiwan-related bills
· How the U.S. Taiwan Watch has changed over time
· The U.S. Taiwan Watch’s connection to American Citizens for Taiwan
· How the U.S. Taiwan Watch started as a civil tech project
· How the U.S. Taiwan Watch deals with anti-American sentiments from their audience
· U.S. Taiwan Watch publishes articles, and produces a podcast
· How in 1979 the U.S. switched recognition from the Republic of China to the People’s Republic of China
· U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s visit to China in June 2023 and his statement that the U.S. does not support the independence of Taiwan
· U.S. President Joe Biden’s remarks on the U.S.’s willingness to help defend Taiwan
· Former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August of 2022
· The controversy over expansion of the A.I.T office in Neihu, Taiwan
· How the U.S. Taiwan Watch deals with disinformation
· How the pro-China media in Taiwan is anti-American
· U.S. Taiwan Watch’s podcast covers its articles. Taiwan-related bills and U.S. news
· The U.S. Taiwan Watch’s most popular podcast episodes
· How WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus accused Taiwan of slandering him
· The U.S. Taiwan Watch hackathon at TAC-EC 2023 (Taiwanese American Conference- East Coast)
· How the U.S. Taiwan Watch concept came out of a hackathon at the 2017 TAC-EC
· Projects created at the U.S. Taiwan Watch hackathon at TAC-EC 2023
· How the U.S. Taiwan Watch hackathon at TAC-EC 2023 was run
· What is so meaningful about the work that U.S. Taiwan Watch does
· How people have volunteered to wok for U.S. Taiwan Watch
· How Peng-Hsuan got involved with U.S. Taiwan Watch
· How Jerry got involved with U.S. Taiwan Watch
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/us-taiwan-watch-creates-hackathons-and-podcasts-that-stimulate-bright-ideas-ep-283/
Isa Ho is a photographer based in Taiwan. Last year I spoke with her about her photography and the Westbeth project, which consists of a series of photos and videos of artists who live at Westbeth Artists Housing, which is located in New York City’s West Village.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/isa-ho-talks-about-her-career-as-a-photographer-and-her-westbeth-exhibit-in-nyc-ep-282/
Westbeth is so named because it sits at the corner of West and Bethune Streets, and was conceived in the 1960's as a partial solution to the acute need to provide affordable housing and studios for artists and their families.
The abandoned 13-building complex that was constructed between the 1860s and the 1930s, was formerly used by Bell Telephone Labs, and was turned into affordable permanent housing and workspace for hundreds of artists, as well as space for arts and cultural organizations. Westbeth was the first subsidized housing for artists in the United States. In 2009 it was added to the National Registrar of Historic Places. And in 2011 the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously designated Westbeth Artists Housing a New York City landmark.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· Isa’s exhibit at the Westbeth gallery that features her photos and videos of artists who reside at Westbeth
· How Isa is working on a documentary about the residents of Westbeth
· How Isa arrived for a residency at Westbeth in 2013 after Hurricane Sandy
· The residency project that brought Isa to Westbeth was initially about multicultural New York but as she got to know many of the people who lived at Westbeth, it became the Westbeth project
· Isa’s connection to Taiwan
· How Isa is fascinated by people
· Isa has interviewed over 50 people and what was on display at the Westbeth gallery is only a third of her work
· The personal stories of several of the artist who live at Westbeth
· How the photos and videos were displayed at the Westbeth gallery
· How the Westbeth project has been exhibited in Israel, Italy, Germany and Taiwan
· How people have reacted to the Westbeth project
· How one of the pieces of the Westbeth project won an award in Italy
· How Isa got interested in photography
· How Isa creates a collage of photos that serve to tell a person’s story
· How Isa does her photography full-time
· Isa’s advice to those interested in pursuing photography
· Isa’s video comparing the movements of Kunqu opera dancer and K-POP dancer
· Why Isa is planning to go to Ukraine
· How Isa felt useless as an artist during the pandemic but realized that when facing tragedy or if feeling like there is nothing that we can do, art can connect us with humanity
· How there aren’t many housing communities like Westbeth in the world
· The wait list of people who want to live at Westbeth
· How one of the Westbeth residents George Cominskie has advocated for artists
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/isa-ho-talks-about-her-career-as-a-photographer-and-her-westbeth-exhibit-in-nyc-ep-282/
On April 3, 2024 at 7:58am (in Taiwan) an earthquake that’s been reported as measuring 7.2 and 7.4 hit Hualien which is located on Taiwan’s east coast. The last major earthquake of similar magnitude was 25 years ago on September 21st, 1999 in Nantou, which is located in central Taiwan. The earthquake also referred to as the 921 earthquake killed over 2,400 people, and left over 100,000 people homeless.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/th-schee-survivor-of-taiwans-most-powerful-earthquakes-gives-a-lesson-on-preparing-for-natural-disasters-ep-281/
In this episode I’m bringing back one of our previous guests onto this podcast, T.H. Schee, who I interviewed about civil defense in Taiwan. In that interview T.H. mentioned that it was his firsthand experience with the 921 earthquake that made him concerned about disaster preparedness and civil defense. I asked T.H. to share his recollection of the 921 earthquake and thoughts on how Taiwan’s disaster response has improved since then. By most reports the death toll from the Hualien earthquake was around 13 at the time of this interview.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· Where T.H. was during the Hualien earthquake on April 3, 2024 and during the earthquake on September 21, 1999 in Nantou
· The situation in Puli, after the earthquake on September 21, 1999 in Nantou
· How around 5,000 buildings collapsed and another 5,000 buildings were damaged in Nantou
· How people in the mountainous area of Nantou were stuck there for a month
· How a volunteer guard patrol group was formed to protect people who were camped outside
· How the damage in Puli was so extensive that navigation assistance needed to be provided to volunteer assistance groups
· How a state of emergency was declared on the fourth day of the earthquake
· Most of the deaths from the Hualien earthquake have been due to landslides and rockfalls rather than building collapses whereas most of the deaths in 1999 were due to building collapses
· How there were around 10,000 aftershocks within a month after the 921 earthquake
· Why people needed to camp outside after the 1999 earthquake in Nantou
· How police station and schools collapsed (in Nantou) and students had to relocate to another building as a temporary school
· How T.H. witnessed the death of three of his neighbors in Nantou
· How it took three years for buildings to be rebuild in Nantou
· Lessons from the 921 earthquake included a change in building codes, changes in laws regarding disaster response
· How businesses including TSMC in the Hsinchu Science park had to be shut down for five days in 1999
· How the stock market had to be shut down in 1999
· How Tai Power had to make improvements to the power grid to make it more resilient in case of natural disasters
· How Taiwan has offered humanitarian assistance to others e.g. the earthquake in Turkey in 2023
· How medics who went to Nantou were poorly prepared because they did plan on bringing enough food for themselves
· How ATMs didn’t work in Nantou after the earthquake
· The first response to the Hualien earthquake
· How the train between Yilan and Hualien was repaired within a day
· How notifications after the Hualien earthquake were not sent to people in New Taipei
· How well prepared people in Taiwan are for earthquakes
· How the Tzu Chi foundation has been providing support to those affected by the earthquake in Hualien
· Do’s and don’ts after an earthquake
· How it is important to get buildings checked after an earthquake
· How aftershocks can cause landslides and it not advisable to go into the mountains
· The earthquake that happened in New York on April 5th and comparing the notification system in New York with the notification system for earthquakes in Taiwan
· How to be prepared for an earthquake (have a flashlight, whistle and bottled water)
· Do’s and Don’ts during an earthquake and aftershocks
· How Taiwan’s government used to be a strong party state system in 1999, but after the 921 earthquake they learned the value of working with civil society and there were legal reforms
· A few months after the 1999 there was a change in government when people voted for Chen Shui-bian in 2000
· How TSMC resumed 80% of its capacity within a day after the Hualien earthquake
· T.H.’s gym 4SC Crossfit and the training and workshops the support and offer related to disaster preparedness and civil defense
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/th-schee-survivor-of-taiwans-most-powerful-earthquakes-gives-a-lesson-on-preparing-for-natural-disasters-ep-281/
Earlier this year when we were in Taiwan, we traveled down to Kaohsiung where we met with Wan-jen Lin the architect who worked on Weiwuying (衛武營國家藝術文化中心), Kaohsiung’s performing arts center and the Echo Across the Harbor, which up to now is the largest public art project in Taiwan.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/wan-jen-lin-architect-for-echo-across-the-harbor-largest-public-art-project-in-taiwan-ep-280/
She shared how the design of the Echo Across the Harbor was inspired by the history of Kaohsiung harbor. We will have Wan-jen back on for a more in-depth interview at a future date.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/wan-jen-lin-architect-for-echo-across-the-harbor-largest-public-art-project-in-taiwan-ep-280/
Last September we had the pleasure of interviewing actor, writer and director Michelle Krusiec. Her IMDB page displays an impressive list of acting roles dating back to 1992.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/michelle-krusiec-acclaimed-actor-writer-and-director-talks-about-dealing-with-institutional-racism-and-her-sources-of-inspiration-ep-279/
We talked about the different phases of her career starting with her one-woman show, Made in Taiwan, which earned her much critical acclaim. She wrote, directed and acted in it in her 20s. Then there was her first main character role in a feature film, Saving Face, a film that put her on my radar and so many others’ in 2004. In 2020 she portrayed the legendary Anna May Wong in the Netflix series Hollywood. Stepping into that role helped her to rethink the institutionalized racism that she’s experienced as an actor. Michelle also talked about her directorial projects, and expressed her thoughts on the SAG-AFTRA strike, and so much more.
March is Women’s History Month and so we thought this would be the perfect time to release the first episode of the Trailblazing Taiwanese Women’s series sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women’s Association, which was founded in 1988. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· How she got on the path of acting
· The stereotypical Asian roles she took on early in her career
· The struggles she’s faced in her acting career
· How playing the role of Anna May Wong helped her to rethink the institutional racism that she’s faced as an actor
· Her first leading role in a feature film (Saving Face)
· How she grew up she didn’t see many people who looked like her on television and longed to change that
· How Michelle prepared for her role in Saving Face by going to Taiwan to learn Mandarin
· How Michelle prepared for her role as Anna May Wong in the Netflix series Hollywood
· Michelle’s directing projects
· Michelle’s one woman show Made in Taiwan and how it opened doors for her and got her a deal with ABC TV
· How anti-Asian hate became more prevalent during the pandemic but was around long before
· Her upbringing and how it impacted her early career
· Michelle’s Washington Post op ed piece
· How a fortune teller impacted Michelle’s adoption
· The connection between Made in Taiwan and Michelle’s short film, Bite
· Michelle’s short film Nian
· Michelle’s thoughts on motherhood and parenthood
· The writing/directing projects that Michelle is working on
· Michelle’s thoughts on the SAG-AFTRA strike
· Michelle’s support for SB 805, a bill that supported funding for nonprofit theaters
· How Michelle was affected by the BLM (Black Lives Matter) demonstrations that arose during the pandemic
· Michelle’s advice to others who want to pursue acting or directing
· Michelle’s connection to Taiwan
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/michelle-krusiec-acclaimed-actor-writer-and-director-talks-about-dealing-with-institutional-racism-and-her-sources-of-inspiration-ep-279/
Ten years ago, on the night of March 18, 2014 students and activists broke into Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan in an effort to block the passage of the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement, a trade agreement between Taiwan and China. The day before, on March 17, the Kuomintang (KMT) had attempted to force through passage of the trade agreement in the Legislative Yuan, without giving it a clause-by-clause review. The occupation of the Legislative Yuan lasted over 20 days, until April 10 th and Fire EX.’s song Island’s Sunrise became the anthem of the movement, which came to known as the Sunflower Movement.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/fireex-10th-anniversary-sunflower-movement-sam-yang-tells-how-island-sunrise-became-its-anthem-ep-278/
To commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Sunflower Movement, I sat down and spoke with Sam Yang, the lead singer of the band Fire EX. about how the opportunity to write the song Island’s Sunrise came about. As it turns out there’s a New York connection to the story and an exhibit and event to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the Sunflower Movement be taking place in New York on March 15 and running until April 15. Sam and I also spoke about where he gets his musical inspiration and how the band nearly broke up in 2015, the same year that Island’s Sunrise was named Song of the Year at the Golden Melody Awards.
Fire EX. now has its own music production company and since 2017 they have been organizing something called Fireball Fest. The band is now on a North American tour and most notably will be performing at this year’s South by Southwest in Austin Texas. We’ll share their tour dates below. This interview was a real treat for me because I happened to be in Taiwan in 2014 when the Sunflower Movement happened. I remember all of the events that unfolded and being so moved when I heard the song Island’s Sunrise. Special thanks to Katie Wei for her translation and May Wu for her help in making this interview possible.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
How Sam got interested in music How Fire EX. got started and where its name comes from Fire EX.’s musical influences Sam’s path to becoming a full-time musician Sam’s advice for young aspiring musicians How the opportunity for Fire EX. to write a song for the Sunflower Movement happened The New York connection to the story of how Fire EX. was asked to write a song for the Sunflower Movement
How there will be a month-long exhibit in New York to commemorate the 10- year anniversary of the Sunflower Movement from March 15-April 15 at the Tenri Cultural Institute in New York City March 18, 2014 the night students and activists broke into and occupied the Legislative Yuan The March 23, 2014 attempt to occupy the Executive Yuan The rallies that happened worldwide on March 30, 2014 in support of the students and activists’ actions to block the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement How students who occupied the Legislative Yuan often listened to Fire EX.’s song Good Night Formosa before falling asleep Why students of the Taipei National University of the Arts approached Sam to writ a song for the Sunflower Movement Sam’s approach to writing the song Island’s Sunrise How Sam decides to write songs in Holo Taiwanese or Mandarin Chinese Sam’s thoughts on the differences and challenges of the twenty-somethings who were involved in the Sunflower Movement vs. the twenty-somethings who just voted in Taiwan’s recent election (January 13, 2024) How Sam’s sense of social activism was influenced by his roommate Wu Zhining (吳志寧) whose father Wu Sheng (吳晟) is a famous Taiwanese poet How Fire EX. almost broke up in 2015 The Fireball Festival How Fire EX. will be touring in North American in March and performing at South by Southwest in Austin, TX One of the most touching things that Sam has heard from one of the band’s fans What we can expect from Fire EX. in the future, a concert in Taipei on June 15 and Fireball Festival at the end of November
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/fireex-10th-anniversary-sunflower-movement-sam-yang-tells-how-island-sunrise-became-its-anthem-ep-278/
Remembering 228.
On this day, we remember February 28, 1947, a sad tragic date in Taiwan’s history that marks the murder of tens of thousands. Some estimates put the number as high as 28 30 thousand. Two years earlier, in 1945, the Chinese Nationalists or Kuomintang had fled from China to Taiwan. After Japan’s occupation of Taiwan had ended and since the arrival of the KMT, discontent had been brewing for some time.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/remembering-228-tragic-stories-and-the-march-massacres-ep-277/
So on the night of February 27, 1947 when Tobacco Monopoly Bureau agents tried to confiscate contraband cigarettes from a 40-year-old woman and brutally knocked her out, an angry crowd gathered in protest. Then one of the agents fired a shot into the crowd killing a bystander. What followed was a bloody crackdown by authorities, widespread violence and what some have called the March Massacres since most of the killings actually happened in March.
In this episode, is an account that James Shau, chairperson of the Taiwanese American Association of New York shared at last year’s 228 commemoration at the New York Taiwan Center.
Mr. Shau’s account is a reminder of how widespread the violence was at that time. And while we now know that intellectuals and community leaders were among those who were specifically targeted, there were many unknown, unnamed who also senselessly lost their lives.
228 led to 38 years of martial law and an even longer period of White Terror in Taiwan. Let us also remember those who suffered during those subsequent periods of time.
In more recent news related to 228, Taiwan’s Transitional Justice Commission has identified 42 historical sites where injustice related to 228 have happened.
On Monday, February 26 just a few days ago, the Executive Yuan compound was designated as a historical site of injustice. 77 years ago, it was the Taiwan Provincial Administrative Executive Office when the Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang KMT military police fired indiscriminately on protestors on February 28, 1947.
Other historical sites of injustice that have been unveiled include the Jing-mei White Terror Memorial Park which used to be the Taiwan Garrison Command’s detention center and military court, the Ankang Reception House, and the Tang Te-chang Memorial Park in Tainan.
Special thanks to Meiling Lin for her translation assistance for this episode.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/remembering-228-tragic-stories-and-the-march-massacres-ep-277/
On January 25th we held the second in-person event during the Talking Taiwan Election Tour at the PicCollage office in Taipei thanks to John Fan, who was a guest on episode 179 of Taking Taiwan. Many of our past guests, friends and supporters were in attendance at the event, and what made the event extra special for us of course was the chance to meet some of our past guests in-person for the very first time.
In this episode you’ll hear me speaking with our previous podcast guests and a few people from the audience also came up and spoke with me at our impromptu on-stage podcasting booth. Previous guests featured in this episode include: Eric Chang (episodes 121, 127 and 231), Jane W. Wang (episode 150), Karen Chung, (episodes 217 and 219), Elias Ek (episode 59), Brian Foden (episodes 184 and 185), Richard Wang (episode 77), Jerome Keating (episodes 97, 98 and 186).
This episode bookends the Talking Taiwan Election Tour episodes, but we do have some other interviews that we recorded while in Taiwan. Those will be released at a later date.
We are extremely grateful to our supporters and donors who made the Talking Taiwan Election Tour possible.
By the way, if you'd like to listen to the episode featuring our first in-person on January 19th at 4SC Crossfit thanks to T.H. Schee, check out episode 273 and if you want the full visual experience, visit Talking Taiwan’s YouTube channel where you can watch video footage from both of our in-person events.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· Jenny Luo talked about the Taiwan Plus show she’s producing called, Anything Goes with JL
· Eric Chang shares his thoughts on the January 13th election in Taiwan, and talked about his work at Taiwan News and enjoying Taiwan’s natural beauty
· Jane W. Wang talked about her interest in permaculture and degrowth
· Karen Chung talked about an app she’s been working on to improve the listening skills of those learning English called Ear Bug
· Elias Ek talked about how his early career in radio shaped him as an entrepreneur, Dragon’s Chamber and his latest business venture Keego
· Brian Foden talked about his podcast, If the Phrase Fits
· Richard Wang shared how he’s helping to bring baseball games to the Taipei Dome, that the Yomiuri Giants (Japanese baseball team) will be celebrating their 90th anniversary with games at the Taipei Dome, and starting this year, the local baseball league will have six teams
· John Fan made introduced and explained what PicCollage does
· Jerome Keating shared his thought on the future direction of Taiwan and where Taiwan is headed
· Nancy Baldwin talked about her book, One Thousand Layers of Water and Clouds: The Tale of a Taiwanese Daughter
· Elias Ek shared a few pet peeves that he has about terms and phrases commonly used in Taiwan
· Felicia acknowledged Gus Adapon the original producer of Talking Taiwan who was in the audience
· Dylan Black a Canadian who has lived and taught English in Taiwan for many years talked about how he is now doing so in China, and how life China compares to life in Taiwan so far
Related Links:
While in Taipei, we were able to meet up with Keelung City Councilor Jiho Chang who’s been a guest in episodes 149, 156 & 174.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/jiho-chang-his-thoughts-about-new-speaker-legislative-yuan-and-taians-vice-president-elect-ep-275
We spoke about the recent announcement that Daniel Han Kuo-yu of the Kuomintang had become the speaker of the Legislative Yuan and Bi-khim Hsiao’s role as vice president of Taiwan.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/jiho-chang-his-thoughts-about-new-speaker-legislative-yuan-and-taians-vice-president-elect-ep-275/
As part of Talking Taiwan’s Election Tour, we spoke with Courtney Donovan Smith a week after Taiwan’s presidential and legislative elections. Lai Ching-te of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was elected president with 40.05% of the vote. Hou Yu-ih the Kuomintang’s (KMT) presidential candidate got 33.49% of the vote and Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) got 26.46%. It was the first time in Taiwan’s history that any political party has been elected for three consecutive four-year terms in office.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/our-post-presidential-election-analysis-2024-with-courtney-donovan-smith-ep-274/
The DPP won an unprecedented third presidential term but lost its majority in the legislature. We talked about how ballot counting in Taiwan is highly transparent and also about how the Taiwan People’s Party could have a crucial role in the legislature, and if the TPP will suffer the same fate as Taiwan’s other third parties
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· Reflections on the 2024 election compared to past elections
· How the election of Lai Ching-te has earned the DPP an unprecedented third term in office
· How Terry Guo had expressed interest in running for president
· The opposition unity ticket deal that fell through
· Taiwan’s first direct presidential election in 1996
· How ballots are counted in Taiwan
· How voting is done in Taiwan
· Donovan’s thoughts on if the Taiwan People’s Party will survive as a third party
· Taiwan’s third political parties and what has happened to them
· The 2000 election in which Lien Chan was the KMT presidential candidate and James Soong ran as an independent presidential candidate
· The origin of the terms “Pan Green” and “Pan Blue
· The possibility that Hou You-yi could be recalled as mayor of New Taipei City
· Comparing the recall of Hou You-yi with the recall of Han Kuo-yu
· What the election results tell us about how people feel about the Democratic Progressive Party
· How Ko Wen-je has managed to attract many young voters
· How voting results may have differed if the presidential election were not a three-way race
· What could happen with the Legislative Yuan speaker and deputy speaker positions
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/our-post-presidential-election-analysis-2024-with-courtney-donovan-smith-ep-274/
During the Talking Taiwan Election Tour we planned to host two in-person events for our guests, supporters and friends. The first event was held on January 19th at 4SC CrossFit’s Xindian branch in New Taipei, thanks to T.H. Schee who’s been a guest on Talking Taiwan several times.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/live-conversations-with-our-past-guests-at-4sc-crossfit-in-new-taipei-city-taiwan-ep-273/
In fact episode 234 with T.H. is one of the Top 5 episodes of 2023. On January 19th we had a chance to meet some of our past guests in-person for the first time in person. We started off talking to JD Chang from episode 80 about Crushing the Myth.
Next up was John Eastwood who talked about legal reforms needed in Taiwan in episode 203. We talked about the election results in Taiwan’s legislature that had the KMT with 52 seats, the DPP with 51 seats and the TPP with 8 seats and 2 seats going to Independents
We next spoke with Jerome Keating who talked about understanding the history of Taiwan in episode 97. Jerome explained why he wrote in his recent Taipei Times article that he doesn’t expect the TPP, the Taiwan People’s Party to survive to the next presidential election in 2028.
And finally at the end of the night Kaju and I talked to TH Schee who’s been on Talking Taiwan several times, and who’s one of the investors of 4SC Crossfit where we held our January 19th event.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/live-conversations-with-our-past-guests-at-4sc-crossfit-in-new-taipei-city-taiwan-ep-273/
Talking Taiwan is on an Election Tour and we traveled down to Kaohsiung where I cast my vote in Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election. Voting booths opened at 8am on January 13th and we spoke with Sean Su, midday on election day. He was also in Kaohsiung to cast his vote. Sean shared some of his observations and we talked about the alarming text message alert many in Taiwan received on January 9th. I remember reading the text about a missile flyover on my phone just as Kaju and I arrived in Kaohsiung on the high-speed rail. Sean is Co-Producer of Taiwan Report. Known for jump starting Keep Taiwan Free. He is also a frequent guest on ICRT.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/sean-su-observations-on-election-day-2024-from-kaohsiung-taiwan-ep-272/
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· Sean’s observations on election day in Kaohsiung
· How if the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Lai Ching-te wins it would be the first time in history that an incumbent party after eight years in office is re-elected
· Courtney Donovan Smith’s recent article about Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election, which mentions that Ko Wen-je’s YouTube subscribers have surpassed one million
· The DPP’s rally that was held at Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei on January 11
· Ma Ying-jeou’s comments that Taiwan has no choice but to trust Chinese leader Xi Jinping
· The text message alert from Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense on January 9th that stated in English that there was a missile flyover Taiwan airspace
· Bilingual 2030
· The case of the two Michaels from Canada that were kidnapped by China
· How China conducted a series of missile tests in the waters surrounding Taiwan, including the Taiwan Strait in 1995 in response to President Lee Teng-hui’s visit to Cornell University and in 1996 before Taiwan’s first direct presidential election
· What China would need to do in order to successfully invade Taiwan
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/sean-su-observations-on-election-day-2024-from-kaohsiung-taiwan-ep-272/
Talking Taiwan is taking the show on the road back to Taiwan on the Talking Taiwan Election Tour and we traveled down to Taichung on January 7th to meet up in person with political commentator Courtney Donovan Smith, to do some pre-election coverage. We talked about the backgrounds of the three presidential candidates Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) nominee, Lai Ching-te (賴清德), the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜), the Kuomintang (KMT) nomineeand their running mates, the opposition unity ticket between the Kuomintang and Taiwan People’s Party that fell apart.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/background-of-taiwan-presidential-candidates-2024-political-analyst-courtney-donovan-smiths-rundown-for-upcoming-election-ep-271/
At one time it looked like Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election could have been a four-way race but Terry Gou, the founder of Foxconn who withdrew from the presidential race. To learn more about the candidates and their policies be sure to check out episode 270 with Courtney about the presidential debate. After the election results are in, we will bring Courtney back to share his post-election results analysis with us.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· The background of TPP presidential candidate Ko Wen-je
· How Taiwan has a lot of politicians with medical backgrounds
· The background of DPP presidential candidate Lai-Ching-te
· The DPP campaign video” On the way” featuring Tsai Ing-wen, Lai Ching-te and Bi-khim Hsiao
· The background of KMT presidential candidate Hou You-yi
· Hou You-yi’s background as a police officer
· The background of Jaw Shau-kong the KMT vice presidential candidate
· The background of Bi-Khim Hsiao the DPP vice presidential candidate
· The background of Cynthia Wu the TPP vice presidential candidate
· Some of the controversies and allegations involving the presidential candidates
· What happened to Terry Gou founder of Foxconn who withdrew from Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/background-of-taiwan-presidential-candidates-2024-political-analyst-courtney-donovan-smiths-rundown-for-upcoming-election-ep-271/
On December 30th there was a debate held between Taiwan’s three presidential candidates Lai Ching-te (賴清德), the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) nominee Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜), the Kuomintang (KMT) nominee and Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) nominee. The three candidates started with eight minutes each to present their candidacy, that was followed by a media question answer session, and then in the second half each candidate had a chance to question each other. I sat down and spoke with political commentator Courtney Donovan Smith who shared his thoughts and observations about the debate.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiwan-presidential-debate-2024-political-analyst-courtney-donovan-smiths-insights-on-the-upcoming-election-ep-270/
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· How candidates were doing at the polls at the time of this interview was recorded (December 30, 2023)
· How undecided voters could influence the outcome of the presidential election
· How Courtney calculates the Taiwan News Poll of Polls
· How the presidential candidates performed in the first policy forum in comparison to the presidential debate
· The 60-70% of what was covered during the debate was related to China
· The second issue covered during the debate was properties owned by the three candidates
· Little time was spent on domestic issues like Taiwan’s low birth rate, and energy
· Each candidate’s position on China and how they would handle relations with China
· Hou You-yi, Ko Wen-je and Lai Ching-te’s take on the 1992 Consensus
· How from China’s point of view, the 1992 Consenus includes acceptance of the One China principle
· How Hou You-yi wants to bring back the cross strait services pact
· Courtney’s opinion of the cross strait services pact
· How Ko Wen-je wants to pass the cross strait oversight bill
· During the debate Ko Wen-je claimed that the Sunflower Movement was a protest against black box political dealings and not a protest of the services trade pact, when it in fact was a protest about both black box political dealings and the services trade pact
· Each of the presidential candidate’s position on national defense spending
· Each of the presidential candidate’s position on extending or shortening military service
· The candidate’s policies on housing, death penalty and energy and nuclear power plants in Taiwan
· How Taiwan’s energy reserves are a matter of national security
· If younger voters care more about domestic issues or the China issue
· Courtney’s thoughts on watching Taiwan Plus’ broadcast of the debate with simultaneous English translation
· How Hou You-yi spoke some Taiwanese during the policy forum, debate
· The Kuomintang’s strategy behind picking Jaw--- as the vice presidential candidate
· How the KMT put Han Kuo-yu in the number one slot on their party list, which indicated that he is probably their candidate for the legislative speaker
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiwan-presidential-debate-2024-political-analyst-courtney-donovan-smiths-insights-on-the-upcoming-election-ep-270/
Here we are again… at the end of another year and we’re getting ready to reveal the top 5 Talking Taiwan episodes of 2023!
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/talking-taiwan-top-5-episodes-of-2023-end-of-year-review/
We want to take a moment to especially thank all those who have supported and donated to the Talking Taiwan Election Tour. So far we have raised 40% of our overall fundraising goal of $25,000. Because of your support we will be heading to Taiwan in January to cover the presidential election and also producing additional episodes in Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung.
We’re also grateful to all of our amazing guests and want to thank each and every one for being a part of the Talking Taiwan podcast.
Stay tuned for the first new episode of the New Year featuring political commentator Courtney Donovan Smith sharing his analysis of Taiwan’s presidential debate.
Soon Talking Taiwan will be taking the show on the road to Taiwan for the Talking Taiwan Election Tour. We’ll be covering Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election with pre-election coverage and a post-election discussion. Plus, we’ll be traveling to Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung and producing additional episodes related to these 3 major cities.
Wishing you a wonderful rest of 2023 and a Happy New Year!
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/talking-taiwan-top-5-episodes-of-2023-end-of-year-review/
With the presidential election in Taiwan fast approaching (on January 13, 2024). We thought it would be a good time to discuss disinformation related to Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election with Summer Chen, the Editor-in-Chief of Taiwan FactCheck Center and Wei-Ping Li, a research fellow at Taiwan FactCheck Center.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiwan-factcheck-center-discussing-the-disinformation-related-to-taiwans-2024-presidential-election-ep-268
We also talked about disinformation that circulated in 2020 around the time of Taiwan’s presidential election and the United States’ presidential election, TFC’s work to combat the spread of disinformation and how the general public can prevent themselves from falling prey to fake news by creating something called a trust circle.
Taiwan FactCheck Foundation (TFC) is a non-profit/non- government organization jointly established by the Association for Quality Journalism and Taiwan Media Watch Foundation in April 2018. In December 2020, TFC legally registered as an independent foundation, Taiwan FactCheck Foundation.
As COVID-19 first broke out in China, TFC was the first fact-checking organization to alert the potential disinformation threat to the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) in January 2020, which led to the launch of the biggest ever fact-checking project, CoronaVirusFacts Alliance. The alliance unites more than 100 fact-checkers across the globe and has published more than 10,000 fact-checks surrounding the pandemic.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· The difference between the terms disinformation and misinformation
· Disinformation that was spread about Taiwan’s government donating US $200 million to Israel
· How Taiwan FactCheck Center (TFC) has joined Facebook’s third party fact checking program and what that means
· The difference between a journalist and fact checking organization (or between the media and a fact checking organization)
· How TFC collaborates with tech Facebook, Google and messaging apps like LINE (which is popular in Taiwan)
· TFC is certified by the IFCN (International Fact Checking Network)
· What TFC when disinformation or posts go viral
· How people can file a claim or report to debunk or fact check something they see on social media or a messaging app
· How people in Taiwan have become aware of suspicious information after having experienced disinformation that happened during the elections in 2018, 2020 and 2023
· The Cofacts chatbot that people can use to report disinformation in Taiwan
· Fact checking sites that people in Taiwan can use such at MyGoPen
· Disinformation related to 2020 elections in Taiwan that TFC debunked
· TFC was published a disinformation playbook
· How disinformation that could impact Taiwan’s presidential election in January has been spread several months in advance
· The misinformation and disinformation observed during Taiwan’s 2020 presidential election
· How disinformation related to Taiwan’s 2020 presidential election on Facebook and LINE disappeared around December 25th when Wuhan went under lockdown
· Disinformation about the 2020 U.S. presidential election that floated into Taiwan’s LINE and Facebook groups
· How there will be several elections in several different countries around the world in 2024, and the challenge this poses for fact checkers
· How it is difficult to confirm the origin of disinformation
· How misleading information makes it into Taiwan’s social media networks, message boards and get picked up by journalists and reported as news
· How Taiwan FactCheck Center has hosted workshops for journalists to educate them about how to do fact checking
· Concerns about AI for fact checkers
· The responsibility of media owners and companies to maintain the quality of journalism
· The role of AI in creating disinformation
· How to debunk AI generated disinformation
· How people can evaluate the trustworthiness of information by having several different sources of information and a circle trusted sources and individuals that they can check in with
· Reliable fact checking sites
· The accuracy and reliability of Wikipedia
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Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiwan-factcheck-center-discussing-the-disinformation-related-to-taiwans-2024-presidential-election-ep-268/
These days Taiwan is known to be the most free and democratic country in Asia, but it wasn’t always that way. It’s hard to imagine that Taiwan has had a very dark period of history during which there was massive censorship. At one time Taiwan had the longest period of martial law in the world at 38 years. During the martial law period from 1949 to 1987, and the White Terror era that extended beyond the lifting of Taiwan’s martial law, there was no freedom of speech, expression or thought, and advocating for the independence of Taiwan was a crime punishable by death. This episode examines how Taiwan’s transformation from an authoritarian state to a democracy, has impacted Taiwan’s media environment.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-wei-ping-li-how-taiwans-media-environment-changed-from-martial-law-era-to-present/
I spoke with Wei-Ping Li about the laws and mechanisms of the censorship from Taiwan’s martial law era and the impact it had on Taiwan’s media environment, and how Taiwan’s media environment had changed since then.
Wei-Ping is speaking in a personal capacity (as a media scholar who studied Taiwanese media) and the views expressed in this interview were all her own personal opinions.
About Wei-Ping Li
Wei-Ping Li is a research fellow at Taiwan FactCheck Center. She collaborates with fact-checkers to monitor disinformation trends in Taiwan and produces analysis reports for both English and Chinese audiences. Her English analyses are published in Taiwan FactCheck Center's biweekly newsletter "TFC Disinfo Detector."
Li received her Ph.D. degree at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland. Her research interests include propaganda, social media content moderation, free speech challenges faced by democratic countries, and privacy issues in the digital era. She has published scholarly articles in academic journals, books, and law reviews.
Before pursuing an academic career, she offered consulting services on digital human rights in Asia. She also worked as a journalist for media outlets in Taiwan for several years. She earned her LL.M. (Master of Laws) degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and has been admitted to the practice of law in New York State.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· Wei-Ping’s previous career in journalism that started in 2001
· How Wei-Ping was one of the speakers in a discussion about America Skepticism Theory organized by GTI (Global Taiwan Institute)
· How Taiwan is currently the most free and democratic country in Asia
· Taiwan has had the second longest period of martial law in world history, and a dark period of extreme censorship and authoritarianism during and after martial law was lifted in 1987
· The restrictions, and laws of Taiwan’s martial law era included two tracks one was martial law and the other was called The Period of Mobilization for the Suppression of Communist Rebellion
· The mechanisms that enforced the restrictions, and laws of Taiwan’s martial law era, such as publishing laws, Article 100 of the Criminal Code and the Betrayers Punishment Act
· Bans on the media, newspapers, songs, films, books
· Why Mark Twain’s book, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and the wuxia novels of Jin Yong were previously banned in Taiwan
· Some of the bureaus and departments that enforced censorship laws include: Taiwan Garrison Command, Information Bureau, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Interior, Council for Overseas Communities
· How the Kuomintang extended their censorship to newspapers issued overseas
· How private correspondence was monitored and surveilled
· How the Kuomintang was trying to build a comprehensive mechanism of censorship in the 1950s
· After martial law was lifted in Taiwan the government imposed a National Security Law
· How it took the efforts of many advocates and advocates to break up the barriers and restrictions to gain more freedom
· The Period of Mobilization Law was lifted in 1991by President Lee Teng-hui and the bans on newspapers were lifted in 1988
· How in 1989 (a year after bans on newspapers were lifted) Cheng Nan-jung, the publisher of the Freedom Era Weekly or New Era Weekly barricaded himself in his office and set himself on fire in protest against the restriction of media freedom
· The nature of the bans on newspapers that were lifted
· How Criminal Code Article 100 did not allow people to advocate for Taiwan independence, or criticize high ranking officials or presidents
· The article written by Cheng Nan-jung in 1987 that criticized the authorities’ methods of restricting freedom of speech
· Topics that the Freedom Era Weekly addressed included the health of President Chiang Ching-kuo, power struggles inside the intelligence bureaus
· The police that tried to arrest Chen Nan-jung on April 7, 1989 was headed by Hou You-yi, who is the KMT’s presidential candidate for Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election
· How the Taiwan Independence Association led the repeal of the Betrayers Punishment Act, and amendment of Criminal Code Article 100
· In 1998 Taiwan’s constitutional court made a decision that advocating for Taiwan independence is no longer a crime
· How Taiwan’s history has affected its media environment
· The trauma of censorship on the Taiwanese
· Taiwan’s current media environment
· Taiwan’s ranking on the World Press Freedom Index
· Challenges in Taiwan’s current media environment
· The self-censorship of businesses with close ties to China
· How disinformation could flow into Taiwan through PTT (Taiwan’s bulletin board system)
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-wei-ping-li-how-taiwans-media-environment-changed-from-martial-law-era-to-present/
Our deepest apologies.
Listen to find out why.
And looking ahead to 2024, we are making some changes.
January 13, 2024 is not just the date of Taiwan’s presidential election; seats for the Legislative Yuan will also be elected on that day.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-foun-chung-fan-the-quest-to-get-out-the-vote-for-lai-chuing-te-for-the-taiwan-presidential-election-2024/
My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Dr. Fan, the Coordinator of the Overseas William Lai (Lai Ching-te) for President Committee.
We talked about why he’s supporting Lai Ching-te and two grassroots efforts that are being organized get out the vote for Lai Ching-te and his vice presidential running mate Bi-khim Hsiao. The DPP has had a history of coming up with creative, innovative, grassroots campaign tactics for its presidential candidates. Dr. Fan also shared his perspective on the other two presidential candidates and why the election for the Legislative Yuan is just as important as the presidential election.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
·
· Dr. Fan’s background and how he got interested and involved in Taiwan’s political situation
· How the Kaohsiung incident happened not long after Dr. Fan had gone to the United States
· How he met Trong Chai and Peng Ming-min and came to understand more about Taiwan’s situation
· How Dr. Fan started meeting with U.S. senators and congressmen and tried to put pressure on Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo to give the people of Taiwan the right to assemble and to remove the black list
· The presidential election in Taiwan is especially important since China’s President, Xi Jinping, is no longer subject to any term limits
· That Taiwan should not fall into the hands of a party friendly with China
· How the Kuomintang (during the presidency of Ma Ying-jeou) advocated for Chinese students to be allowed to come to work in Taiwan, to shorten military service from one year to four months
· How if a comparison of Ma Ying-jeou’s presidency with Tsai Ing-wen’s, will show that the tock market, economy and national GDP improved under Tsai Ing-wen
· How China is using the 1992 Consensus as the basis for its One China Policy
· How Xi Jinping has said that Taiwan will be unified with China
· Whether called Republic of China, or Taiwan, Xi Jinping considers it Taiwan independence
· Dr. Fan’s opinions of William Lai (Lai Ching-te) and Bi-khim Hsiao
· Why Dr. Fan is supporting William Lai (Lai Ching-te) and Bi-khim Hsiao
· How Lai Ching-te served as the mayor of Tainan and got re-elected with 70 percent vote
· The qualifications of William Lai (Lai Ching-te) and Bi-khim Hsiao
· Dr. Fan’s thoughts on TTP presidential candidate Ko Wen-je and KMT presidential candidate Hou You-yi:
· How the KMT could support the legislator Ma Wen-chun who leaked national security information related to Taiwan’s development of submarines
· Two events being organized to encourage people to get out and vote for Lai Ching-te and Bi-khim Hsiao
· On December 13an event is being organized for people in the U.S. to make phone calls back to Taiwan urging people to vote on January 13
· How the January 13 election is not only for Taiwan’s President but also for the Legislative Yuan
· The importance of the election for the Legislative Yuan
· How in 2006 the KMT blocked passage of budget for the sale of submarines from the U.S. to Taiwan
· How people can participate in the phone call effort privately on their own by calling people within their own personal circles
· How the DPP has used creative, grassroots campaign to promote their candidates
· The merchandise created for the DPP presidential candidate Chen Shui-bian and Tsai Ing-wen to fundraise
· The 228 Hand-in-Hand Rally that helped Chen Shui-bian get elected in 2004
· Team Taiwan theme songs and merchandise
· The slogans used for the Lai-Hsiao ticket
· Overseas voters and supporters of Lai and Hsiao are encouraged to participate in the January 8th event at National Taiwan University which will involve a press conference to showcase overseas support for Lai and Hsiao
· The overseas voters include people from the east and west coast of the US, Taiwanese associations, and groups from Thailand, Japan, East Asia, West Europe, East Europe, and South America, and a Hakka group
· The January 8th event aims to encourage people to get out and vote
· How people can do their part to get out the vote even after December 13 by calling and asking others to vote on January 13
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-foun-chung-fan-the-quest-to-get-out-the-vote-for-lai-chuing-te-for-the-taiwan-presidential-election-2024/
My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Hsin-Tai Wu (吳欣岱), a member of the Taiwan Statebuilding party. We talked about how and why she went from being a cardiovascular surgeon to joining the Taiwan Statebuilding party and becoming a politician, the background and goals of the Taiwan Statebuilding party, and how the party was instrumental in the recall of Han Kuo-yu as the mayor of Kaohsiung, after he ran as the Kuomintang presidential candidate in Taiwan’s 2020 presidential election.
Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/hsin-tai-wu-from-cardiovascular-surgeon-to-joining-the-taiwan-state-building-party-ep-264/
Hsin-Tai Wu is running for Taiwan’s legislature on January 13th, the same day as Taiwan’s presidential election, so we talked about the issues she cares about and her thoughts on the presidential hopefuls.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· Hsin-Tai’s background and upbringing
· How Hsin-Tai went from being a cardiovascular surgeon to a politician
· The impeachment of Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu
· How Hsin-Tai became a member of the Taiwan Statebuilding Party
· The anti-extradition movement in Hong Kong in 2019
· Han Kuo-yu was the Kuomintang presidential candidate in Taiwan’s 2020 presidential election
· The background of the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and how it was founded
· Taiwan’s attempt to enter the WHO in 2003
· When Hsin-Tai Wu joined the Taiwan Statebuilding Party
· What happened in Kaohsiung after Han Kuo-yu became the mayor
· Why Han Kuo-yu was recalled as the mayor of Kaohsiung
· How Han Kuo-yu as the mayor of Kaohsiung said he wouldn’t run for president but then after serving three months as mayor he was nominated and later became the KMT candidate for Taiwan’s 2020 presidential election
· Han Kuo-yu’s proposals
· The outcome of Taiwan’s 2020 presidential election
· The procedure to recall a mayor
· The outcome of the recall vote
· What it’s been like for Hsin-Tai Wu switching from being a cardiovascular surgeon to a politician and member of the Taiwan Statebuilding party
· The goals and principles of the Taiwan Statebuilding party
· Problems with the Kuomintang
· The Brazilian egg issue that led the Minster of Agriculture in Taiwan to resign
· The problem with Taiwan’s state system, the Republic of China
· How China is using UN Resolution to say that Taiwan is a part of China
· The confusion caused by Taiwan’s official name the Republic of China
· Bills drafted by the Taiwan Statebuilding party
· Issues that Hsin-tai cares about
· China’s interference in Taiwan’s presidential election
· how a possible opposition alliance in between the Kuomintang and Taiwan People’s Party in Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election would have used polls to determine who would be the presidential candidate- the Kuomintang’s (KMT) candidate Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) or the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲)
· Hsin-Tai’s thoughts on the 2024 presidential hopefuls Terry Guo, Ko Wen-je, Hou Yu-ih, Lai Ching-te
· Challenges faced by the Taiwan Statebuilding party
Help us Get the Show on the Road by Supporting the Talking Taiwan Election Tour!
Support Talking Taiwan: https://talkingtaiwan.com/support/
GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/building-talking-taiwans-legacy/donate
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Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/hsin-tai-wu-from-cardiovascular-surgeon-to-joining-the-taiwan-state-building-party-ep-264/
We’ve got some big news for you! Talking Taiwan is taking the show on the road, back to Taiwan. Kaju and I are planning to be back there during the upcoming presidential election on January 13th. We will be doing election coverage and in-person interviews with some of our most popular guests, and new guests who are based in Taiwan. In order to do all that we want to do, we are going to have to do some fundraising and crowdfunding. Hear what we have planned and to learn how you can support the Talking Taiwan Election Tour!
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/talking-taiwan-election-tour-2024-taking-the-show-on-the-road-ep-263/
Help us get the show on the road as we take the Talking Taiwan podcast back to Taiwan just in time for the presidential election on January 13th. There’s never been a better time for us to do this! The presidential election comes around once every 4 years. We want to take this opportunity to showcase Taiwan’s young vibrant democracy and to do some in-person episodes with guests who are based in Taiwan.
We’re calling it our “Talking Taiwan Election Tour” campaign. We plan to do several election coverage episodes with Courtney Donovan Smith, who is a seasoned political commentator, Taiwan News columnist, ICRT correspondent, and has frequently appeared on Taiwan Plus News, and on the Taiwan Plus Taiwan Talks show. We’re planning to meet with Courtney in Taichung to do a live in-person episode there.
During this trip we are not only going to be in Taipei and Taichung but we plan to also travel down to Kaohsiung. We’ll be doing coverage and meeting with special guests from northern, central and southern Taiwan. I’m looking forward to meeting some of our past guests in-person for the very first time. Speaking of meeting people in person…
While we are in Taiwan there will be two special in-person gatherings organized for Talking Taiwan, one at the Pic Collage Office, thanks to John Fan, and another gathering will be held at 4SC CrossFit’s Xindian Branch, thanks to T.H. Schee.
PLEASE NOTE: GoFundMe donors will not be eligible to attend these in-person gatherings, due to GoFundMe’s rules and regulations which state that 1) fundraisers that offer perks or rewards to donors aren’t allowed and 2) no raffles, sweepstakes, giveaways, or promotions may be offered in exchange for any donations made to your GoFundMe.
If you’d like a special invitation to one of these in-person gatherings with us in Taipei, make sure you make your donation via Paypal: https://tinyurl.com/zn3zm9ux, Zelle, Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/talkingtaiwan, or personal check and provide us with your email address.
Our goal is to raise $25,000 to cover all expenses for the “Talking Taiwan Election Tour” like air fare, accommodations, travel within the island, transporting all of our equipment and other incidentals. We are setting a deadline of December 31st to raise money for this trip.
We’re off to a great start because we are starting off with a Matching Donation Pledge of $5,000 offered by Patrick Huang. This means the first $5,000 we raise will be automatically doubled to $10,000 and we’ll be nearly halfway to reaching our fundraising goal.
During this campaign we will be completely transparent in publicly listing the names of donors and the amounts donated, however if you’d like to be kept anonymous, you can indicate this when you donate on GoFundMe or inform us at the time of your donation via email at talkingtaiwanpodcast@gmail.com. The tally for “Talking Taiwan’s Election Tour” will be shown on the Talking Taiwan website and on our GoFundMe page the count will begin after $19,129. So we will need to reach a total of $44,129 on GoFundMe.
There are some other ways that you can support us. You can donate/offer housing during our stay, or donate airline tickets, or hook us up with discounted airfares.
We’ll be sure to share more exciting news and announcements as the campaign progresses. So stay tuned for more updates from us.
We are so grateful for our growing listenership and want to thank you to all of our listeners, past, present and future. It’s thanks to you and all of our supporters and donors that make what we do possible.
So help us get this show on the road. And raise the money by December 31st!
Support Talking Taiwan: https://talkingtaiwan.com/support/
GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/building-talking-taiwans-legacy/donate
PayPal: https://tinyurl.com/zn3zm9ux
Zelle: talkingtaiwanpodcast@gmail.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/talkingtaiwan
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/talking-taiwan-election-tour-2024-taking-the-show-on-the-road-ep-263/
This interview with photographer, filmmaker Gao Yuan was originally part of episode 260 about coincidences connected with the Taiwanese American Arts Council’s house, Building 7B on New York’s Governors Island, which has affectionately come to be called the Taiwan house. The Taiwanese American Arts Council was selected to be an Organization in Residence on Governors Island this year from May to October and was also the only Asian organization on Governors Island this past year. In this episode I’ll be talking with Gao Yuan about her short film Between Us which deals with the conflict between the indigenous and Hakka in southern Taiwan, and also how Gao Yuan uncovered a surprising connection to Taiwan that actually came knocking on the door of TAAC’s house Building 7B.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/gao-yuan-her-occidental-journey-to-becoming-a-photographer-and-filmmaker-ep-262/
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· Gao Yuan’s background
· How Gao Yuan got into photography
· Gao Yuan’s short film, Between Us
· The significance of the river in Gao Yuan’s short film, Between Us
· Gao Yuan’s approach to photography and filmmaking
· How Gao Yuan started photographing people with tattoos
· How many of the tattooed people Gao Yuan photographed in Taiwan were part of the mafia or considered gangsters
· Gao Yuan’s short film, Ocean, tattoo, and bar
· How Gao Yuan met Commander Douglas Stevenson who previously lived at the Taiwan house (Building 7B) with his family and his connection to Taiwan
· The short documentary film the Gao Yuan made about the Douglas Stevenson Family
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/gao-yuan-her-occidental-journey-to-becoming-a-photographer-and-filmmaker-ep-262/
Abigail Hing Wen was recently in New York for the launch of her latest YA book Loveboat Forever, the third book in her Loveboat trilogy. We caught up with her at her book launch and she stopped by our podcast studio for a quick visit.
If you’re a long-time listener of Talking Taiwan you may remember when we interviewed Abigail (who’d just become a New York Times bestselling author) about her first YA novel of this series, Loveboat Taipei in episode 67.
We’ll be having Abigail back on Talking Taiwan at a later date for a more in-depth interview.
Related Links:
This is an episode about coincidences connected with the Taiwanese American Arts Council’s house, building 7B on New York’s Governors Island, which has affectionately come to be called the Taiwan house. The Taiwanese American Arts Council was selected to be an organization in residence on Governors Island this year from May to October and was also the only Asian organization on Governors Island this past year. In this episode I’ll be speaking with Andrea Coronil and Gao Yuan two of the many artists in residence at the Taiwan house.
Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/andrea-coronil-and-gao-yuan-on-riding-waves-tattoos-and-uncanny-connections-to-taiwan-house-7b-ep-260/
First, we’ll hear from artist Andrea Coronil about the concept behind her exhibit “To Ride the Waves of Turtle Island” and how she didn’t realize its connection to Taiwan.
Next, we’ll hear from photographer, filmmaker Gao Yuan about her short film Between Us which deals with the conflict between the indigenous and Hakka in southern Taiwan, and also how Gao Yuan uncovered a surprising connection to Taiwan that actually came knocking on the door of TAAC house, building 7B.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· How Andrea came up with the concept of her solo show at the Taiwan House, To Ride the Waves of Turtle Island
· The Turtle Island aka La Tortuga of Venezuela
· Turtle Island the name for North America used by some indigenous peoples and the creation story that the Lenape and Ojibwe have that involves a turtle
· Taiwan’s Turtle Island
· Pears and oysters, and their connection to the Caribbean and Governors Island
· Andrea’s connection to Venezuela
· What “riding the waves” means to Andrea
· Andrea’s artwork titled “We Wore Pearls First”
· Andrea’s painting titled “We Took Refuge in the Mountains” and Berta Cáceres
· How Gao Yuan got into photography
· The significance of the river in Gao Yuan’s short film Between Us
· Gao Yuan’s approach to photography and filmmaking
· How Gao Yuan started photographing people with tattoos
· How many of the tattooed people Gao Yuan photographed in Taiwan were part of the mafia or considered gangsters
· How Gao Yuan met Commander Douglas Stevenson who previously lived at the Taiwan house (Building 7B) with his family and his connection to Taiwan
· The short documentary film the Gao Yuan made about the Douglas Stevenson Family
Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/andrea-coronil-and-gao-yuan-on-riding-waves-tattoos-and-uncanny-connections-to-taiwan-house-7b-ep-260/
As Kaju announced that I’d be interviewing Jilliyeah in the Talking Taiwan podcasting booth at Passport to Taiwan in New York City’s Union Square Park, he mentioned the memorable acceptance speech that Jilliyeah made at last year’s Grammy awards on behalf of the Taiwanese designers who won the Best Recording Package Grammy award for the album Pakelan. Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/jilliyeah-taiwanese-pop-singer-at-passport-to-taiwan-ep-259/
A lot has happened for her since then. Now she’s in the U.S. working on her career as a singer and musician.
I’m looking forward to having her back on Talking Taiwan for a more in-depth interview.
She’s been hard at work releasing her new singles. To learn more about her follow her on Instagram at Jilliyeah. You can also find her music on most streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music or SoundCloud.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· Her performance at the Passport to Taiwan
· Her music career in Taiwan
· How she used to sing primarily in Hakka in Taiwan and the difference between singing in Hakka vs. English
· Jilliyeah’s connection to Taiwan
· What she misses the most about Taiwan
· What Jilliyeah has been working on lately
· How Jilliyeah studied opera when she was in university
· What vocal exercises she does
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/jilliyeah-taiwanese-pop-singer-at-passport-to-taiwan-ep-259/
The Taiwanese American Arts Council (TAAC) and the Yale CHATogether Group have collaborated on the NYC Art Bridge program. Several of the artists in residence at the Taiwanese American Arts Council’s house on Governors Island, Building 7B, which has affectionately come to be called the Taiwan house, have participated in the NYC Art Bridge program and created artwork for it. In this episode I will be speaking to Luchia Meihua Lee, the Executive Director of the Taiwanese American Arts Council, Dr. Eunice Yuen, Founder and Director of CHATogether, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine and Yale Child Study Center, and LuLu Meng one of the artists in residence at the Taiwan house who participated in the NYC Art Bridge program. We previously had Dr. Eunice Yuen on Talking Taiwan in episode 93 to talk about CHATogether (Compassionate Home Action, Together). Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/nyc-art-bridge-how-taac-and-chatogether-are-winning-at-achieving-emotional-wellness-through-art-ep-258/
There will be a closing ceremony for the Taiwanese American Arts Council’s house on Governors Island this Saturday, October 28 at 2:00pm. As a special treat Talking Taiwan’s very own Executive Producer Kaju will be performing as the artist Rad Jet at the closing ceremony with a special guest, Rico Jones, six time Downbeat Magazine Award Winner,Tenor Saxophonist. If you are in the New York area we hope to see you there at Building 7B located in Governors Island’s Nolan Park.
Luchia Meihua Lee, Executive Director of the Taiwanese American Arts Council
Eunice Yuen, MD, PhD. Founder and Director of CHATogether, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine and Yale Child Study Center
LuLu Meng, one of the artists in residence at the Taiwan house who participated in the NYC Art Bridge program
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· The concept behind NYC Art Bridge and its connection to CHATogether
· How NYC Art Bridge connects mental health with the arts
· How graphic media, illustration and other visual art can be used as tools to discuss mental health
· Through NYC Art Bridge there have been talks with the community, AAPI artists, a community art exhibition
· The two community NYC Art Bridge events that have been held on April 29 at the Queens Community College and on September 16 at the Taiwan house (on Governors Island)
· The CHATogether component of the NYC Art Bridge events and how it facilitated discussion among the audience
· The three parts of NYC Art Bridge: 1) an art exhibit 2) workshop, artist talks, role play, conversation with mental health professionals 3) artist interviews
· The purpose of the artist interviews
· How NYC Art Bridge serves to bridge artistic work with child and family mental health
· How art can be a powerful form of expression or communication without words
· How CHATogether use theater as a medium to destigmatize mental health and make people feel more comfortable to talk about mental health
· How CHATogether has components of drama therapy, psychodynamic psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy
· How CHATogether and NYC Art Bridge will be presented at AACAP (American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry) on October 25 and what will be presented there
· Pages from the graphic novel, Healing the Whole Family are displayed at the Taiwan house
· The graphic novel, Healing the Whole Family, that was based on a New York Times article written by CHATogether member Grace Chiang
· The illustration artwork of Elaine Shin (a psychiatry resident from, Northwestern University) is displayed at the Taiwan house
· LuLu Meng, one of the artists in residence at the Taiwan house who also participated in NYC Art Bridge
· How LuLu went from being a chemical engineer to an artist
· LuLu’s background and childhood in Taiwan
· LuLu’s family portrait artwork piece
· LuLu’s NYC Art Bridge interview and what it revealed
· The artwork LuLu created for NYC Art Bridge
· LuLu’s reflections and thoughts about the CHATogether workshop on April 29 at the Queens Community College
· LuLu’s artwork that has been displayed at the Taiwan house and what inspired LuLu to create them
· What being an artist means to LuLu
· The closing ceremony of the Taiwan house (Building 7B in Governors Island’s Nolan Park) will feature a performance by Talking Taiwan’s very own Executive Producer Kaju, who will be performing as the artist Rad Jet at the closing ceremony with a special guest, Rico Jones, six-time Downbeat Magazine Award Winner, Tenor Saxophonist
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/nyc-art-bridge-how-taac-and-chatogether-are-winning-at-achieving-emotional-wellness-through-art-ep-258/
As a follow up to last week’s episode featuring my interview with General Yu, I invited Taipei Times columnist Michael Turton back on to Talking Taiwan to talk about the 1992 Consensus, a term that General Yu mentioned, and in the lead up to Taiwan’s presidential elections in January, the Kuomintang presidential candidate Hou Yi-ih brought it up. In the Related Links section below, we’ll share Michael’s Taipei Times article about the Kuomintang presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih’s support of the 1992 Consensus.
Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/michael-turton-tapei-times-columnist-talks-about-the-1992-consensus-ep-257/
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· The meeting in Hong Kong in 1992 between the Kuomintang (KMT) and People’s Republic of China (PRC) from which the term 1992 Consensus came
· According to the KMT the two sides agreed that Taiwan was a part of China, but agreed to disagree on what China Taiwan was a part of
· China insists that the One China principle means the People’s Republic of China
· How Ma Ying-jeou, as Minister of Justice said that the People’s Republic of China wouldn’t accept any of the Kuomintang’s rational proposals, but later a president he said there was an agreement
· How the KMT and PRC met throughout the 1990s until 1999 when President Lee Teng-hui described the relationship between Taiwan and China as state-to-state
· The phrase 1992 Consensus doesn’t appear in the PRC until around 1997
· The phrase 1992 Consensus became popular in 2000 around the time of Taiwan’s presidential election, which was a three-way race between Chen Shui-bian, Lien Chan and James Soong
· How the KMT have tried to use the 1992 Consensus to put a cage around the Democratic Progressive Party’s foreign policy
· The 1992 Consensus was an agreement reached between the unelected parties of two authoritarian states
· After martial law was lifted in Taiwan it was replaced by something the KMT passed called the National Security Law, and pro-democracy dissidents were still jailed in Taiwan
· In the 1990s there was a shift in the people of Taiwan’s sense of identity as Taiwanese and a growing confidence in democracy
· How western writers in the 1950s and 60s thought that the KMT would be marginalized as Taiwan democratized
· How the KMT used the 1992 Consensus to cage Chen Shui-bian’s foreign policy
· How the KMT took the Republic of China out of the United Nations when recognition was switched from the Republic of China to the People’s Republic of China as the representative of China
· How the PRC has set rules about the usage of the term “1992 Consensus” in its media
· A MAC (Mainland Affairs Council) poll from October 2022 had a 80% rejecting the 1992 Consensus
· A Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation poll last year showed that 67% of people reject the 1992 Consensus
· How the term 1992 Consensus disappeared during President Tsai Ing-wen’s administration
· Why the KMT’s presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih brought up the 1992 Consensus
· How it’s important to have balance so that one political party doesn’t too big or corrupt in Taiwan
Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/michael-turton-tapei-times-columnist-talks-about-the-1992-consensus-ep-257/
I first heard about Yú Běichén (于北辰) otherwise known as “General Yu” at the Taiwanese American Conference in July where he was one of the most popular speakers. General Yu is a retired army general, and now a Taoyuan city councilor, He ran as an independent in the November 2022 elections. I was able to interview General Yu when he was in New York with translation assistance from Winston Liao. This interview would not have been possible without the help of Jacy Chen, Sue Kuo, and Winston Liao. And a very special thanks to Meiling Lin, my mother for her help not only with translation of the interview, but for her assistance with research and preparation for this episode. Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/general-yu-%e4%ba%8e%e5%8c%97%e8%be%b0-former-4-star-general-of-taiwan-army-shifts-from-kmt-to-independent-ep-256/
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· General Yu’s upbringing and how he started his career in the military
· How Taiwan has changed militarily during his 30-something years in the military
· His thoughts on how to maintain peace for Taiwan
· If people are willing and able to defend Taiwan if attacked by China
· How China has invited Taiwanese soldiers, including General Yu to visit and has offered them favors and opportunities
· The 2013 case of Hung Chung-chiu, who was a 24-year-old military conscript who died three days before the end of his compulsory military service and how General Yu was asked to step in after this incident and make some reforms
· General Yu’s thoughts on the Sunflower Movement
· General Yu’s comments and thought on presidential candidates who have suggested another cross-strait service and trade agreement
· General Yu’s thought on the Kumointang and how it needs to change
· The importance of Taiwan having a healthy, normal democracy
· The veterans group that General Yu used be a director of
· How General Yu’s identity shifted from seeing himself as Chinese to Taiwanese
Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/general-yu-%e4%ba%8e%e5%8c%97%e8%be%b0-former-4-star-general-of-taiwan-army-shifts-from-kmt-to-independent-ep-256/
We met Tom Fifield when he was in New York City at Passport to Taiwan in May. The Taiwan Employment Gold Card Office had a booth there and he stopped by the Talking Taiwan podcast studio, but the recording conditions were less than ideal since we had a very loud generator nearby. We re-recorded the interview remotely a few months later. Tom talked about how he later became a gold card holder, what he enjoys about living in Taiwan and later became a citizen of Taiwan Tom Fifield works for the Taiwan Employment Gold Card Office at Taiwan's National Development Council. His main role is to lead a whole-of-government task-force to improve Taiwan's migration and foreign investment environment.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/tom-fifield-of-taiwan-gold-card-what-the-gold-card-is-and-why-you-would-want-one-ep-255/
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· How Tom is from Australia and what brought him to Taiwan initially
· How Tom decided to move to Taiwan and to get Taiwan citizenship
· The myth that foreigners who apply for Taiwan citizenship have to renounce their other citizenship
· What Tom finds so livable about Taiwan
· How Tom became a gold card holder and involved with the Taiwan Employment Gold Card Office
· Where the Taiwan Employment Gold Card Office is located
· The 10 industries eligible to apply for the Taiwan Employment Gold Card
· Why someone should consider applying for the Taiwan Employment Gold card
· The most difficult thing about applying for a Taiwan Employment Gold Card
· What the Taiwan Employment Gold Card Office does and offers
· The Taiwan Employment Gold Card Office’s email address: help@taiwangoldcard.tw
· How the Taiwan Employment Gold Card Office opened in 2020 during COVID
· How Taiwan was one of the few places in the world to have a net migration increase in 2020 during the COVID pandemic
· What Taiwan Employment Gold Card holders have gone on to do and work on
· How Tom also helps others to become naturalized citizens of Taiwan
· Other options for those who don’t qualify for the Taiwan Employment Gold Card
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/tom-fifield-of-taiwan-gold-card-what-the-gold-card-is-and-why-you-would-want-one-ep-255/
This is our long overdue "About Us" episode Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/talking-taiwan-about-us-how-it-all-started-how-far-weve-come-and-where-we-are-going-ep-254/
In this long overdue About Us episode, Talking Taiwan’s producer and host Felicia Lin shares, in her own words, how she’s seen Taiwan transform, how Talking Taiwan got started, why she got involved with it, and who this podcast is for.
I may be dating myself, but I remember Taiwan still being under martial law. It wasn't until years after martial law was lifted (in 1987) that I made my first visit to Taiwan with my family. That's because there was something called the blacklist that kept certain overseas Taiwanese from being able to return to Taiwan.
And it wasn't until 1996 that Taiwan had its first direct presidential elections. This was also the time of the Third Taiwan Strait Missile Crisis, when China lobbed missiles across the Taiwan Strait as an intimidation tactic before Taiwan's first direct presidential election.
Four years later, in 2000, I remember the excitement over a three-way presidential race between Chen Shui-bian, Lien Chan, and James Soong. A few of my friends and I wanted to assess the different candidates, but it was hard to get English language sources on their backgrounds. It's hard to imagine that now because these days, Taiwan is known to be the most democratic country in Asia. But if you think about it, its democracy is not even three decades old. And the threat from China has only increased with daily incursions as it sends its military planes into Taiwan's ADIZ. That's a big part of why I do this podcast.
It's for the people who care about Taiwan.
Getting back to how this podcast got started. It was 2012 when Gus reached out to me about a podcast idea that he was working on, called Talking Taiwan. He was looking for a female voice talent, as he put it, to host the show and asked if I knew anyone. I didn't even know exactly what a podcast was at the time, nor did I know anyone I could recommend for the job.
But as I thought about it, I found myself coming up with all sorts of episode ideas, so I pitched myself as the host. It was on a very auspicious day, October 31st of 2012, which also happens to be my birthday, and here in New York City we were in the midst of dealing with Hurricane Sandy, no less.
It was on that day that Gus and I exchanged messages on LinkedIn and agreed to start working on Talking Taiwan together. By the way, for those of you who don't know, Gus Adapon is the founder of Forumosa. com, which is why, in case you've ever wondered, the show's outro mentions that Talking Taiwan is brought to you by Forumosa.com.
So I became Talking Taiwan's host and learned the ropes and booked all the guests.
In the early years of Talking Taiwan, it was just a fun side project, and we didn't have a regular production schedule. Then in late 2018, Gus decided to step down and handed the podcast over to me. I stepped into the role of producer of the show, and I knew that if I wanted to restart Talking Taiwan, I needed to find someone to help me with the sound engineering and technical aspects of producing the podcast. So the show went into hiatus until Kaju decided to come on board right before the pandemic.
And then when the pandemic hit in March of 2020, he and I decided to commit to producing weekly episodes of Talking Taiwan, and we haven't looked back since. We covered many topics related to the pandemic, including Taiwan's, early response to the pandemic, and how Taiwan was the only place at one time where professional baseball games were being played in the world.
In 2021 Talking, Taiwan won a Golden Crane Award for best special Interest podcast. We remain committed more than ever to producing content that matters to people who care about Taiwan. You'll hear not only from interesting people from all walks of life who are connected to Taiwan in some way, but about historically relevant topics, current events, issues and news related to Taiwan, social movements, and topics we believe our listeners care about. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/talking-taiwan-about-us-how-it-all-started-how-far-weve-come-and-where-we-are-going-ep-254/
Taliyah Huang is the creator of Bobaway, an online translator that converts English text into a Taiwanese audio clip. She is a sophomore studying biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University. After months away at college Taliyah felt her Taiwanese was out of practice so she created Bobaway to get better at Taiwanese and converse fluently with her grandparents. In June she posted a YouTube video about how she created it. A lot has happened since then. She’s been interviewed by TaiwaneseAmerican.org and listed on the Taiwanese American Archives. Many generous donors have allowed her to continue running Bobaway and she’s purchased a domain for it so now you can use Bobaway at Bobaway.org.
Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/taliyah-huang-young-inventor-of-bobaway-online-translator-that-converts-english-to-taiwanese-ep-253/
She’s continuing to work on improvements and additional features for BobaWay, but at much slower pace now that she’s busy with school. If you want to support her development of Bobaway visit her website ww.taliyahhuang.com.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· What motivated Taliyah to create Bobaway
· How Taliyah got interested in technology
· Taliyah’s first invention was a contraption to clean her flute
· How Taliyah presented her first invention to US Vice President Mike Pence
· Taliyah’s background and upbringing
· Taliyah’s relationship with her grandparents
· Taliyah’s favorite phrases in Taiwanese
· How Taliyah learned to program and code
· What Taliyah enjoys most about being an engineer
· How Taliyah installed 100 different libraries and made 17 attempts to create Bobaway
· How long it took Taliyah to create Bobaway
· Why Taliyah decided to make and post a YouTube video showing how she created Bobaway
· How Taliyah wants to inspire other young women to be interested in technology and engineering
· Why Taliyah thinks it’s important for women to other women in STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math)
· What kept Taliyah going and how she was not able to give up on creating Bobaway
· How long it took Taliyah to make the YouTube video about Bobaway
· Where the name Bobaway comes from
· What her parents and grandparents think about Bobaway
· The attention and response that Bobaway has gotten
· How Taliyah has been interviewed by Bao Dao Radio and Radio Taiwan and World Journal
· How Taliyah grew up in California and is now on the East Coast attending Johns Hopkins University
· Why Taliyah decided to attend Johns Hopkins and what it’s been like attending Johns Hopkins
· Inventions that Taliyah is currently working on
· Suggestions that Taliyah has gotten from people using Bobaway
· Taliyah’s role models
· How you can learn more about Taliyah and support her development of Bobaway
Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/taliyah-huang-young-inventor-of-bobaway-online-translator-that-converts-english-to-taiwanese-ep-253/
My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is the film director Arvin Chen. He just directed Love in Taipei, the film adaptation of Abigail Hing Wen’s bestselling YA novel Loveboat, Taipei.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/love-in-taipei-our-interview-with-award-winning-film-director-arvin-chen-ep-252/
If you’re a long-time listener of Talking Taiwan you may remember when I interviewed Abigail about her bestselling YA novel. That success was preceded by 12 years of writing and over 20 drafts of the novel. It was also in that episode that she announced that Loveboat, Taipei was going to be made into a film.
I remember watching her journey afterward on social media as the film was being shot in Taiwan during COVID. Arvin directed the film version of the book Love in Taipei and I had a chance to speak to him recently about the film.
Some of you may be familiar with some of Arvin’s other films, Au Revoir Taipei, Will You Love Me Tomorrow? and Mama Boy.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· The iconic scenes of Taipei that are captured in the film, Love in Taipei
· What it was like shooting at the Grand Hotel because Arvin got married there
· Some of Arvin’s favorite scenes from Love in Taipei
· The challenges of shooting huge crowd scenes
· Arvin’s favorite types of scenes to shoot
· What it was like shooting in Taiwan during COVID
· How the casting was an open call and what that process was like
· How Arvin usually writes and directs his films, but Love in Taipei was adapted from the YA novel Loveboat Taipei and Arvin was not involved with the screen adaptation
· Arvin’s directing approach to Love in Taipei
· How to capture the essence of the Loveboat experience
· The Loveboat program and what it is
· Parallels between Arvin’s experience of going back to Taiwan in his 20s and that of the characters of the film Love in Taipei
· What has changed and stayed the same about Taipei since Arvin went there to live and work in 2001
· How Taiwanese food has been softly exported around the world
· The music that was selected for Love in Taipei
· The Mandarin Chinese language version of the Whitney Houston song, How Will I Know
· The role of or choreography in Love in Taipei
· How Ashley Liao had to learn modern dance moves in a matter of weeks for her role as Ever Wong
· If anything unexpected happened during the filming of Love in Taipei
· What Arvin likes about the romantic comedy genre
· What it was like to co-write the script for Arvin’s latest film Mama Boy
· Changes in the Taiwanese film industry over the last 20 years
· How Taiwan has a thriving film industry because of commercial filmmaking and local film crews with technical know how to work on an American movie
· How Arvin’s films could be someone’s introduction to Taiwan or a Taiwanese movie
· Films that introduced Taiwan to Arvin and that Arvin would recommend people watch
· A more recent Taiwanese film that Arvin would recommend
· How working with film director Edward Yang influenced Arvin
· How Arvin’s directing style differs from Edward Yang’s
· What it is about Taipei that inspires Arvin
· What Arvin has been working on and what we can expect from him in the future
· What Arvin hopes that audiences come away with after watching Love in Taipei
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/love-in-taipei-our-interview-with-award-winning-film-director-arvin-chen-ep-252/
Dr. Jung Tsai is a retired surgeon. He had been in practice for nearly 50 years. He specialized in Cancer and Vascular Surgery. He is the founding President of The Greater New York Region Pen club in 2003 and was the National President of North American Taiwanese Medical association.
He was the commissioner and current consultant of OCAC 僑委會
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-jung-tsai-on-his-courageous-medical-mission-to-ukraine-for-taiwan-ep-251/
I met Dr. Jung Tsai nearly 15 years ago and in July I happened to run into him when I was at the New York Taiwan Center for an event. That’s when I learned that he was organizing a medical mission to Ukraine and asked if he’d talk with me about it for Talking Taiwan. Dr. Tsai is a retired surgeon, who’s been in practice for nearly 50 years. His specialty is Cancer and Vascular Surgery. He is the founding President of The Greater New York Region Pen club in 2003 and was the National President of North American Taiwanese Medical Association. He was also the commissioner and is currently a consultant of OCAC (僑委會).
Dr. Tsai has 15 years of experience going on medical missions with the North America Taiwanese Medical Association, but nothing could have prepared him for this undertaking which has been full of ups and downs. Despite it all, Dr. Tsai has single-handedly made it happen.
He and his team will be heading to Warsaw on August 29th and spending 10 days in Rivne, Ukraine. We be holding you and your team in our thoughts during this live saving, live changing mission and looking forward to your safe return.
Dr. Tsai’s courage is a reminder to focus on what really matters in life and not to give up even when things seem insurmountable.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· Why Dr. Tsai decided to organize a medical mission to Ukraine
· Dr. Tsai’s observation that people in Taiwan do not want to go to war with China
· How Dr. Tsai went about organizing the medical mission to Ukraine
· How Dr. Tsai had planned to bring a group of 25 but then people suddenly started dropping out
· The concerns of people who dropped out of the medical mission and those who have committed
· How the Minister of Health in Ukraine wrote a letter in support of Dr. Tsai’s medical mission to help get visas needed for the people coming from Taiwan
· The challenges Dr. Tsai has faced in single-handedly organizing this mission
· The group of 15 people who will be going on the medical mission to Ukraine; 13 medical professionals and 2 reporters from Formosa Television
· The efforts of some people in Taiwan to help Ukraine
· How the U.S. State department advised Dr. Tsai against going to Ukraine
· The group will be in Rivne, Ukraine for 10 days from September 1-10
· Afterward 5 of the group will go to Lithuania for a meeting
· How the Baltic Way in 1989 inspired the 2004 Hand-in-Hand Rally in Taiwan
· The first person to commit to joining Dr. Tsai’s medical mission to Ukraine
· The logistics of procuring medical supplies, hiring a translator
· How Dr. Tsai was interviewed by a New York Times reporter about the medical mission to Ukraine
· How plans for the medical mission to Ukraine are constantly changing
· Dr. Tsai’s thoughts on people’s fatigue about the war in Ukraine and people’s concerns over the U.S.’s support of Ukraine
· How Dr. Tsai has saved the life of a high-ranking member of the Chinese Communist Party
· How a young Ukrainian activist whose father has been captured by Russia contacted Dr. Tsai to thank him and ask to meet with him
· How Dr. Tsai and his team will announce their medical mission to Ukraine at Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan on August 28
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-jung-tsai-on-his-courageous-medical-mission-to-ukraine-for-taiwan-ep-251/
On August 6th we stopped by the TaiwanFest at the Culture Lab in New York City’s Long Island City and what a treat it was!
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiwanfest-at-culture-lab-a-night-market-comes-to-long-island-city-ep-250/
You may remember that back in April we stopped by the first TaiwanFest of the year which got rained out and talk about night and day! This time we were happy to see that there were long lines and many of the food vendors got sold out early. There were also vendors selling all sorts of things from trinkets to T-shirts. To learn more about the different vendors at TaiwanFest just visit their website at Taiwanfest.nyc. We’ve been to several of the TaiwanFest’s throughout New York City this summer but what made the one on the 6th really special was the live music, and since it ran from 3-9pm it really took on a night market like atmosphere by the end of the night.
I spoke to a few of the community organizations that were there, like the Hakka Association of New York and FASCA (Formosa Association of Student Cultural Ambassadors).
Borcheng, TaiwanFest’s organizer also talked about how TaiwanFest is bringing more of Taiwan to New York City.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· the Hakka Association of New York
· the Hakka Association of New York’s Leicha experience at TaiwanFest
· FASCA (Formosa Association of Student Cultural Ambassadors)
· How TaiwanFest is bringing more of Taiwan to New York City
· The musicians that performed at TaiwanFest on August 6th
· The next TaiwanFest on August 26 will be a Bubble Tea Festival
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiwanfest-at-culture-lab-a-night-market-comes-to-long-island-city-ep-250/
The Taiwanese American Arts Council (TAAC) has been selected as an Organization in Residence on Governors Island this year from May to October. The Taiwanese American Arts Council’s house is at Building 7B in Nolan Park on Governors Island. There will be several artists in residence there. About 20 or 30 artists will use the studios there. Every month there’s something new to see and experience at the house. The art on exhibit is ever changing, plus there are performances and other events. Altogether 40 artists will be involved. The Taiwanese American Arts Council (is the only Asian organization on Governors Island this year.
In this episode you’ll learn about the theme of the house From Island to Island and what’s going to be happening at there in September.
As you walk up to the Taiwanese American Arts Council's Building 7B, the first thing you’ll see is what appears to be several oversized dandelions planted on the front lawn. I spoke to the artist Maxine Leu and asked her what inspired her to create them
I met Stan Kwiatkowski, better known as YouTuber Stan from Poland 斯坦-波蘭ê台灣囡仔, at this year’s Taiwanese American Conference where he was one of the speakers. His YouTube channel now has over 200,000 subscribers. And if that wasn’t impressive enough, the first thing you’ll notice after going to his YouTube channel is how fluently he speaks Mandarin Chinese in practically all of the videos. The content that Stan and his wife produce for their YouTube channel consists of political commentary, interviews and news with a focus on topics related to Taiwan’s political situation and security. Stan also has some English videos on the Love Taiwan YouTube channel. We’ll share links to both of these YouTube channels on TalkingTaiwan.com for this episode.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/stan-from-poland-youtuber-covers-political-commentary-interviews-and-news-of-taiwan-ep-248/
I interviewed Stan in person when he was in New York in July. We started off talking about some of the key dates in Taiwan’s history such as the 228 massacre of February 28, 1947, and ended up discussing his thoughts on Taiwan’s upcoming presidential elections in January of 2024. If you’d like to watch my interview with Stan, we will also be posting a video of it to Talking Taiwan’s YouTube channel. Here’s our interview.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· How Stan got interested in Taiwan
· How Stan started his YouTube channel which took five years to get up to 200,00 YouTube subscribers
· Stan’s first YouTube video on his channel was about Poland’s independence day (November 11)
· How there are parallels between the democratization of Poland and Taiwan
· What brought Stan to Taiwan
· What Stan’s time in Taiwan was like
· Poland’s pursuit of independence in the early 20th century
· The misperception that Poland was previously a communist country by the will of its people but the constitution was amended by Stalin
· How Stan’s sees parallels between Poland’s democratization and Taiwan’s
· How Stan and his wife’s perspectives shape the content they create for their YouTube channel
· How a visit to the Auschwitz concentration camp opened up a conversation about Taiwan’s Green Island
· Stan’s view of Taiwan before he came to Taiwan and how it’s changed
· Stan’s upbringing and aptitude for languages
· Poland’s anti-communist law
· Stan has made about 10 videos about Poland’s transitional justice and democratization
· The challenges to Taiwan’s transitional justice
· The challenges Taiwan faces in reforming its constitution, official name of the country and anthem
· How Stan’s YouTube channel reached its first milestone of 100,000 subscribers
· How Stan has covered the topics of the how the World Health Organization won’t let Taiwan join as a member, how Taiwan developed its own vaccine, the National Security Law in Hong Kong, mafia affiliated YouTubers in Taiwan
· Stan has livestreamed during the U.S. presidential elections and about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
· The research that Stan does for his YouTube videos
· How Stan hopes that his viewers learn not to believe in propaganda and that they will go deeper and do research, and consult difference sources of information/news
· Stan tries to create 2 videos and do one livestream a week
· How difficult it is to predict which YouTube videos will get more views
· The most popular videos on Stan’s YouTube channel
· What Stan has learned about himself from the experience of building his YouTube channel
· How Stan also works as a freelance interpreter
· Stan’s reflections on some of the people he’s interviewed: General Yu, Miao Poya, Freddie Lim, Kira Rudyk
· How more people are learning about and from Taiwan
· Stan’s most pressing concerns about Taiwan
· The different types of Chinese propaganda that is harmful to Taiwan
· How Chinese propaganda and disinformation could impact the outcome of Taiwan’s elections
· How Stan hopes more people will create content about Taiwan and debunking Chinese propaganda
· Sources to learn about Taiwan that Stan recommends for people who don’t read Chinese
· Stan’s thoughts on the fear of Taiwan being attacked by China
· What Taiwan must do to protect itself from China’s attack
· Stan’s thought on Taiwan’s upcoming presidential election in 2024
· Why it’s important for people to vote in Taiwan’s upcoming presidential election in 2024
· Ko Wen-je and the Taiwan People’s Party
· The Rally for Justice that happened in Taipei on July 16
· The U.S. support of Taiwan
· What happened when Stan asked random people in the streets of New York City whether or not the U.S. should support Taiwan
· U.S. support of Taiwan vs. Vietnam
· What is most rewarding and challenging about the work Stan does for his YouTube channel
· Stan’s opinion of how the U.S. would react if China attacked Taiwan
· How much longer Stan sees himself creating political commentary and news-related videos
· Stan’s thoughts on Taiwan’s upcoming presidential elections (in January 2024)
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/stan-from-poland-youtuber-covers-political-commentary-interviews-and-news-of-taiwan-ep-248/
During the pandemic, Kaarina Chu Mackenzie turned to art to find a sense of home. What resulted were a series of paintings inspired by the Raohe Night Market in Taipei. That became an immersive art exhibit called The Night Market which ran at the Bobble Haus, a gallery, shop and event space in New York City’s Lower East Side. While the exhibit has closed, some of Kaarina’s artwork can still be seen until the end of this month at the “On The Way” art gallery and tea shop experience curated by Jocelyn Hu and Thomas Duh at 48 Hester St, in New York City.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/kaarina-chu-mackenzie-on-her-immersive-art-exhibit-the-night-market-ep-247/
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· How the pandemic led Kaarina to focus more on creating paintings which later became part of an immersive art exhibit called The Night Market
· How Kaarina designed the immersive art exhibit at the Bobble Haus
· How she brought the night market experience to life at the opening reception of her art exhibit by and engaging all the senses through sound, light, and food
· How the art that Kaarina created was also a reaction to the Asian hate that happened during the pandemic
· How creating The Night Market exhibit was Kaarina’s way of creating a community for herself
· How and why Kaarina paints on large life-sized canvases
· How she hopes people feel when looking at her art
· Kaarina’s connection to Taiwan and upbringing in China
· Kaarina’s future plans for her night market series
· How Kaarina plans to explore her Taiwanese heritage and wants to use her art to create discourse and to connect with others
· How Kaarina deals with people who challenge her about her identity
· Kaarina’s advice for people who want to take the path of being an artist
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/kaarina-chu-mackenzie-on-her-immersive-art-exhibit-the-night-market-ep-247/
Chin Chi Yang stopped by the Talking Taiwan podcasting booth at Passport to Taiwan and we talked about his performance art and his 10-year project “Watch Us, Together We Can Do It” which he will be working on during his residency at the Taiwanese American Arts Council’s house, on New York’s Governors Island. The Taiwanese American Arts Council’s house, Building 7B is located in Noland Park on Governors Island. In June, we went to Governors Island and spoke with Chin Chi after his first live outdoor performance of “Watch Us, Together We Can Do It”
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/chin-chih-yang-talks-about-his-unique-performance-art-at-passport-to-taiwan-ep-246/
Chin Chih Yang is a Taiwanese multidisciplinary artist who has been inducted into the New York Foundation for the Arts Hall of Fame.
A full in-depth interview with Chin Chih will be released at a future date.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· The concepts and themes behind Chin Chih’s art
· The performance aspect of Chin Chih’s art
· Chin Chih’s interactive performance at the Queens Museum of Art opening in 2013, Invisible Love and Beauty
· Chin Chih’s residency at the Taiwanese American Arts Council’s house, located on Governors Island
· Chin Chih’s long term project, “Watch Us, Together We Can Do It and the concept behind it
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/chin-chih-yang-talks-about-his-unique-performance-art-at-passport-to-taiwan-ep-246/
Sam Lin is the New York-based veteran bubble tea shop owner who you heard from in episode 238 about bubble tea featuring Kristin McCoy-Ward. If you’re a bubble tea lover, that episode is definitely worth a listen, Kristen covered everything you’d ever want to know about bubble tea and more.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/bubble-tea-sam-from-quickly-to-coco-running-bubble-tea-shops-for-20-years-in-nyc-ep-245/
Sam talked to me about how he grew up in Taiwan eating tapioca in desserts, before there was even this thing called bubble tea. Consequently, he has some interesting thoughts on who invented bubble tea.
He brought the Quickly bubble tea shop from Taiwan to New York in 2003, and looking back on his first year of running a bubble tea shop, he recalls the trials and tribulations and that he barely survived it. With perseverance and an improved understanding of how to run a bubble tea shop, Sam moved on from Quickly to opening and running Coco bubble tea shops. Sam now owns and operates 22 Coco bubble tea shops in New York, New Jersey and Boston.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· Sam’s connection to Taiwan
· How Sam grew up eating tapioca before there was bubble tea
· How Sam brought the Quickly bubble tea brand from Taiwan to New York in 2003
· How Sam struggled during the first year of running his first Quickly bubble tea shop and later ran eight Quickly shops
· Which tea shop in Taiwan invented bubble tea
· The outcome of the 10-year lawsuit over who invented bubble tea Chun Shui Tang (tea shop in Taichung, Taiwan) or Hanlin (tea shop in Tainan, Taiwan)
· How Sam got involved in opening and running Coco bubble tea shops and now runs 22 shops in New York, New Jersey and Boston
· What affects the texture of tapioca balls (and makes them too hard or too soft)
· How the bubble tea scene in New York has changed since Sam opened his firs bubble tea shop in 2003
· How bubble tea is a relatively easy business to run compared to other restaurant or food-related businesses
· How tapioca balls only last for 4 hours after being cooked
· How Sam believes that there is more opportunity for bubble tea shops to open up in the U.S., and that there should be a bubble tea shop in every college town
· How it’s important not to undercut the price of bubble tea to maintain the health of the bubble tea industry
· Bubble Teak Kristen’s YouTube channel
· The need for a bubble tea business association
· Important considerations for people who want to open up a bubble tea shop
· How much capital is needed to start a bubble tea shop business
· What is required to set up a bubble tea shop
· What makes a bubble tea shop successful
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/bubble-tea-sam-from-quickly-to-coco-running-bubble-tea-shops-for-20-years-in-nyc-ep-245/
Pasuya Yao (姚文智) is a politician turned film producer. His film production company thuànn TAIWAN, produced the documentary Su Beng, The Revolutionist and more recently the feature film Untold Herstory that ranked third at Taiwan’s box office in 2022. The film is based on a book by authored by Tsao Chin-jung (曹欽榮) and published in 2012, the book’s title has been translated as "Bonfire Island: Untold Herstory." It is a collection of interviews of women political prisoners held on Green Island in the 1950s.
Mr. Yao is a former Democratic Progressive Party legislator and previously ran for Taipei City Mayor in 2018. We talked about why he decided to switch from a career in politics to film producing, and about the subjects his upcoming television and film projects: artist Chen Cheng-po （陳澄波）, the Taiyuan uprising of 1970, and Chen Nylon (鄭南榕).
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
-
to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
-
to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
-
to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
-
to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
-
to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· Pasuya Yao’s career as a politician before becoming a film producer
· How Mr. Yao got interested and involved in politics as a college student
· Mr. Yao recalls the Kuomintang’s authoritarian rule during Taiwan’s martial law era
· When Mr. Yao served as director of the News Bureau in 2004 he gained a more comprehensive understanding of Taiwan’s media culture and film industry
· Mr. Yao served as director of the GIO (government information office) in 2005 he
· How Mr. Yao ran for Taipei City mayor in 2018 but lost and decided to switch to producing films
· How Mr. Yao was exposed to opposition (dangwai) magazines when he was a teenager
· The meaning behind the name of Mr. Yao’s film production company, thuànn TAIWAN Film Company
· The difference between the first film Mr. Yao’s produced, Su Beng, The Revolutionist (a documentary) and Untold Herstory (a feature film)
· How fundraising is the most challenging part of film production
· The subjects of Mr, Yao’s future television and film projects: Chen Cheng-po, a Taiwanese artist that was executed in 1947, Taiyuan 1970, Cheng Nylon
· Mr. Yao’s relatives that were affected by the 228 Massacre and White Terror era
· How Chiang Kai-shek personally signed and changed verdicts changed to a death sentences
· Documents revealing Chiang Kai-shek’s orders to execute were gradually exposed and made public over two decades since the DPP was the opposition party
· How Mr. Yao feels it’s important that younger generations of Taiwanese need to understand Taiwan’s history and that Taiwan’s democracy was hard-earned and due to the sacrifices of many
· How a thousand or more people’s fate were changed directly by Chiang Kai-shek’s personal orders
· How the film Untold Herstory is based on the oral history research done by Tsao Chin-jung
· The challenges in casting actors for Untold Herstory
· Where Untold Herstory has been screened
· What kind of response the film has received
· How Untold Herstory was release around the time of Taiwan’s local elections in November 2022
· Untold Herstory ranked third at Taiwan’s box office in 2022
· Where Untold Herstory will be screened in the future
· Untold Herstory will be available on Taiwan Plus beginning February 28, 2024, the anniversary of the 228 Massacre
Related Links:
Summer is upon us and in the past it’s been a very busy time for the Taiwanese American community with several summer conferences and camps being organized across the country. There’s TAF, the Taiwanese American Foundation, TACEC, the Taiwanese American Conference East Coast, TAC-WC, the West Coast version of the Taiwanese American Conference, and TANG just to name a few.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/christine-su-of-tang-enriching-youth-through-a-loving-taiwanese-community-ep-243/
These conferences and camps have become an annual tradition, the basis for lifelong friendships, a place for reunions of sorts, and a way to build and connect with our community.
After all we’ve been through these past couple of years, it’s good to be back and able to meet again in person.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of TANG (the Taiwanese American Next Generation). This year TANG will be held at West Chester University in Pennsylvania from July 1-4.
You may have heard this organization mentioned in past episodes of Talking Taiwan with my guests Rolla Chng, Peter Lin and Ed Lin (who incidentally are not related to me or to each other). Also, several of my past guests like Michelle Kuo and Tim Chng have been involved with TANG or invited to speak there.
TANG’s mission statement is: For the youth to be enriched by a loving Taiwanese community, so they can obtain a stronger sense of self and passionately pursue their convictions.
Since TANG is just around the corner, I thought it would be good to invite Christine Su to stop by Talking Taiwan’s podcasting booth at Passport to Taiwan to talk about TANG and how it’s connected to TACEC. The Taiwanese American Conference East Coast, is an annual conference organized the TAA, the Taiwanese Association of America, one of the oldest Taiwanese organizations with chapters all across the United States. Each year TACEC is organized by a different East Coast chapter of the TAA.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
-
to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
-
to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
-
to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
-
to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
-
to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· The origins of TANG (Taiwanese American Next Generation) and its connection to TACEC (Taiwanese American Conference East Coast)
· This year is the 20th anniversary of TANG and 52nd anniversary of TACEC
· TANG staff consists entirely of volunteers
· The theme of this year’s TANG is “Identity: Write Your Story”
· The Taiwan Night show that happens at TACEC and TANG
· The programs for the different age groups that attend TANG: high schoolers, juniors, tiny tots, TANG parents, college, and young adults
· TANG and TACEC are usually held together over the July 4th weekend and is a multigenerational experience with kids, their parents and grandparents attending
· What TANG did during the pandemic
· How the TANG high school counselors created a virtual program for high schoolers during the pandemic
· In 2020 TANG organized a “Helping Hands Virtual Walk & Run” for the community to stay connected during the pandemic
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/christine-su-of-tang-enriching-youth-through-a-loving-taiwanese-community-ep-243/
Author Ed Lin stopped by to chat with me in the Talking Taiwan podcasting booth at Passport to Taiwan. This is the first of several live interviews we recorded at our outdoor on-location podcasting booth. We touched upon a broad range of topics, many that we’ve covered here in the past on Talking Taiwan. In fact, this gives us a good excuse to share some of our past episodes in the related links section for this episode on our website. On the other hand, my conversation with Ed brought up a few good ideas for future topics and guests that we should have on Talking Taiwan.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/ed-lin-our-interview-live-at-passport-to-taiwan-ep-242/
As Ed and I were talking, you’ll hear us talking to some of the people who walked by and stopped by to say hello, among them were of some of our supporters, mutual friends and a previous Talking Taiwan guest another Lin, Peter Lin who’s band the Asian American Jazz Collective performed at Passport to Taiwan that day. That’s the thing about Passport to Taiwan, when you’re there you never know who you’ll run into. We were also thrilled to meet and talk to some of our listeners who stopped by our booth.
For those of you in New York City, you can catch Ed Lin performing in Short Stack 2 at the Ma-Yi Theatre from June 15-18. We’ll include a link to purchase tickets online on the Talking Taiwan website.
CORRECTION: The restaurant that Ed refers to in the interview as 688 is actually the 886 Restaurant. The film that Ed mentions as Taipei Au Revoir is Au Revoir Taipei.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
-
to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
-
to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
-
to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
-
to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
-
to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· What Ed’s been working on lately
· How Ed will be performing in Short Stack 2 at the Ma-Yi Theater from June 15-18 to benefit Heart of Dinner, a community organization aiding and feeding working-class AAPI seniors throughout the city
· Ed will be speaking at the TANG (Taiwanese American Next Generation)/TAC (Taiwanese American Conference), which will be at West Chester University from July 1-4
· Taiwanese soft power and how it compares to that of other island nations like Ireland or Jamaica’s
· People who will be stopping by to be interviewed in the Talking Taiwan podcasting booth at Passport to Taiwan
· The upcoming movie adaptation of the novel Loveboat Taipei
· Things to do in the first 24 hours upon arriving in Taiwan
· Ximending Red House in Taipei
· The bells of Kaohsiung Harbor public art project (Echo Across the Harbor)
· The band Chthonic and how their song Supreme Pain for the Tyrant makes reference to Peter Huang, who tried to assassinate Chiang
· How activist Yuri Kochiyama encouraged Ed when he was a student at Columbia University working on bringing Asian studies to the campus
· How the Taiwanese and Taiwanese diaspora are becoming more outspoken and proud of their identity
· How the Famous Porkchop House on Doyers Street in New York City’s Chinatown was renamed Taiwan’s Porkchop House
· Cannabis use in Taiwan
**Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/ed-lin-our-interview-live-at-passport-to-taiwan-ep-242/**
In October of last year, Anna May Wong became the only Asian American and fifth woman to appear on the U.S. quarter as a part of the U.S. Mint’s American Women Quarters™ Program. Anna May Wong is one of the better known early Chinese American movie stars. She was the first Asian American actress to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She received it in 1960, the inaugural year of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Anna May Wong was regarded as a fashion icon in the 1920s and 30s, and was also politically outspoken. In May, Barbie announced the release of an Anna May Wong Barbie doll for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/peilin-kuo-on-indie-film-making-and-the-life-of-anna-may-wong-ep-241/
To talk about the life and times of Anna May Wong I’ve invited Peilin Kuo a Taiwanese filmmaker who’s made a few short films about Anna May Wong and has plans to work on a biopic about the actress. Peilin also talked about some of her recent film projects, her love of martial arts films and her next film project that will be set in Taiwan.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
-
to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
-
to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
-
to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
-
to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
-
to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· How Anna May Wong became the only Asian American and fifth woman to appear on the U.S. quarter as a part of the U.S. Mint’s American Women Quarters™ Program in October 2022
· Anna May Wong was the first Asian American actress to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960
· In May, Barbie announced release of an Anna May Wong Barbie doll for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
· Taiwanese filmmaker Peilin Kuo who’d made a few short films about Anna May Wong
· Peilin’s interest and start in filmmaking
· Peilin’s connection and upbringing in Taiwan
· What made Peilin decide to move to New York City
· How Peilin first learned about Anna May Wong and what impressed her about Anna May Wong
· Peilin’s approach to in creating her short films about Anna May Wong
· Peilin’s plans to make a biopic about Anna May Wong
· What set Anna May Wong apart from other Chinese American actresses
· Anna May Wong appeared in 50-60 films
· The stereotypical characters that Anna May Wong portrayed and the discrimination and anti-miscegenation laws she had to deal with
· How Anna May Wong was a fashion icon and politically outspoken
· Chinese press and government were critical of Wong but, Peking University awarded the actress an honorary doctorate in 1932.
· Later in life Anna May Wong was outspoken about better film roles for Chinese Americans
· Anna May Wong was passed over for the character O-Lan in the film version of Pearl Buck’s book, The Good Earth; MGM cast Luise Rainer to play the leading role in yellowface, later Rainer won an Oscar for her performance
· Other stereotypically Asian character played by non-Asian actors in yellowface like Mickey Rooney’s character in Breakfast at Tiffany’s
· Anna May Wong’s visit to China in 1936
· How Anna May Wong passed away at the age of 56 before she was supposed appear in the film, Flower Drum Song
· How there are no recordings of TV show Anna May Wong appeared in called the Gallery of Madam Liu Tsong
· Liu Tsong was Anna May Wong’s birth name
· Peilin’s next film project which will be set and shot in Taiwan
· Peilin’s other film projects in the sci-fi and martial arts genre
· Peilin’s love of martial arts films
· How Peiln’s short film Once Upon A Time In The Bamboo was inspired by the film, A Touch of Zen (by director King Hu)
· What Peilin loves about filmmaking
· What she would be doing if she wasn’t a filmmaker
· Peilin’s approach to filmmaking
· Peilin’s advice for others who want to pursue filmmaking
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/peilin-kuo-on-indie-film-making-and-the-life-of-anna-may-wong-ep-241/
We had a beautiful day on Sunday at the Passport to Taiwan in New York City’s Union Square Park. Congratulations to the Passport to Taiwan team for making the event a huge success! The park was packed and food lines were long. We were so glad to be invited to be a part of it. For us it was a welcome change of pace. It’s not often that we get to meet our listeners in person!
Related Links:
We want to thank everyone who stopped by the Talking Taiwan podcasting booth and those that tuned in to our livestream on Facebook. We did have some technical issues with the sound on our livestream and a very loud generator in the booth, so thank you for bearing with us. Kaju, our sound engineer and executive producer, is optimistic that he’ll be able to do some sound editing magic with the interviews we recorded that day.
Some of the people that stopped by that day included Tom Fifield of the Taiwan Employment Gold Card Office, author Ed Lin, multi-disciplinary artist Chin Chih Yang, singer and musician Jilliyeah, and Christine Su of TANG (Taiwanese American Next Generation). We’ll be sharing those interviews as future episodes of Talking Taiwan.
We’d also like to give a huge shoutout to our volunteers Josh and Marcellus. The two of you were indispensable in helping us to get set up and breaking down at the end of the day. We really couldn’t have done it without you!
In preparation for Passport to Taiwan, we created a selection of audio clips from some of our most notable interviews to play in our booth and we thought we’d share them with you here. Whether you’re new to Talking Taiwan or one of our loyal listeners we hope that you enjoy it and maybe even discover an episode that interests you.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
-
to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
-
to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
-
to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
-
to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
-
to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Related Links:
This year the Passport to Taiwan will be returning to New York City’s Union Square Park on Sunday, May 28th from 12 noon to 5:00pm. It will be the first in-person Passport to Taiwan in three years since the pandemic, and we are looking forward to it!
Talking Taiwan will be there with a special live on-location podcasting studio. Read on to learn more about what we have planned.
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/passport-to-taiwan-2023-u-s-largest-taiwan-festival-is-back-in-union-square-ep-239/
Since the first Passport to Taiwan was held in 2002 it’s become the largest outdoor Taiwanese American event in the entire United States. Passport to Taiwan is a celebration of Taiwanese art, culture, music, community, and of course food.
In this episode I mention some of the notable performances, organizations and businesses that will be at Passport to Taiwan. For a full list of performances visit the Passport to Taiwan website at: www.p2tw.org
If you’re going to be in New York City on May 28th stop by Talking Taiwan’s booth to hear clips from some of our most notable guests.
Maybe you’ll catch me interviewing some invited guests like Jilliyeah, who some may recognize for the memorable acceptance speech she made at last year’s Grammy awards on behalf of the Taiwanese designers who won the Best Recording Package Grammy award for the album Pakelan. Jilliyeah put Taiwan in the mind of viewers that night when she said, on behalf of the designers “We are from Taiwan…Taiwan is a beautiful and a peace-loving country.” And then she added, “I hope someday if you can go and visit Taiwan, super welcome.”
Jilliiyeah is now in the U.S. pursuing her own career as a singer musician. She’s going to be stopping by to do an interview with me at the Talking Taiwan podcasting.
Some past guests might be stopping by too. You never know who’ll show up in at our on-location podcasting studio!
We’ll also be doing some giveaways for anyone who comes and sits in the “hot seat” with me and answers my Flash Five Questions, or who wants to pitch themselves, or someone else to be a guest on Talking Taiwan.
For those of you who can’t make it to Passport to Taiwan, we want to let you know that we’ll be livestreaming throughout the day from Passport to Taiwan to our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/talkingtaiwanpodcast
So if you’d like to see what we are up to on May 28th from 12 noon-5pm Eastern Time, just visit our Facebook page to catch our livestream from New York City’s Union Square Park. If you can’t tune in or we experience any technical issues, don’t worry we’ll be recording the event and will post recordings from the event to our YouTube channel and social media.
To learn more about the background and history behind the Passport Taiwan, we’re resharing some of my interview that was done in 2014 with Borcheng Hsu, the event’s organizer.
Here’s a little preview of what’s covered in this podcast episode:
· Talking Taiwan will be at Passport with a special live on-location podcasting studio
· Some of the notable performances including: the featured presentation sponsored by the Overseas Community Affairs Council and performed by the College of Performing Arts, National Taiwan University of Arts, “A Touching Encounter with Music and Dance from Taiwan,” Peter Lin’s band the AAPI Jazz Collective, Jilliyeah, and Taiwan Republic
· Some of the organizations and businesses that will be at this year’s Passport to Taiwan
· Some of the individuals or organizations I’ll be interviewing in Talking Taiwan’s booth at Passport to Taiwan
· 2002 was the first time that Passport to Taiwan was held in Union Square Park
· How Taiwanese American Heritage Week was declared in 1999
· Where the idea and the name Passport to Taiwan came from
· How Passport to Taiwan started with a core group of 10 volunteers
· How Passport to Taiwan was modeled after the Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival organized by CAPA (Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans)
· On the day of Passport to Taiwan there are about 200 volunteers helping out
· How Passport to Taiwan has grown
· How other Taiwanese American communities participate in, visit and attend Passport to Taiwan
· How there were only four food booths at the first Passport to Taiwan
· Folk artists that have been invited to do demonstrations at Passport to Taiwan have included sugar paining, aborigine fabric weaving, clay figurines, straw weaving
· Artists and performers who have been invited from Taiwan to be a part of Passport to Taiwan
· How Passport to Taiwan is not just about Taiwan, but the Taiwanese American community and people, the shared democratic values of Taiwan and the U.S.
· Misconceptions about Taiwan
· The is most rewarding thing about organizing Passport to Taiwan
· The challenges of running and organizing Passport to Taiwan
· The most popular thing about Passport to Taiwan
· How most of the food booths offering Taiwanese dishes are made by local people in the Taiwanese American community, specifically for Passport to Taiwan, and are not available elsewhere
· Sponsors of Passport to Taiwan
· How people can sponsor Passport to Taiwan
· Future plans for Passport to Taiwan
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/passport-to-taiwan-2023-u-s-largest-taiwan-festival-is-back-in-union-square-ep-239/
How is it that I haven’t done an episode about bubble tea? It’s surprising that of all the things related to Taiwan, that I’ve covered on this podcast, I haven’t covered this one.
Last year I heard that April 30th was National Bubble Tea Day when I saw a tweet by President Tsai Ing-wen. So I got to work planning to release an episode about bubble tea for this year’s April 30th.
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/kristen-mccoy-ward-everything-about-bubble-tea-with-the-bobba-queen-ep-238/
I started off speaking to New York-based bubble tea shop veteran Sam Lin who brought the Quickly bubble tea brand from Taiwan to New York. His first Quickly shop was in Flushing near the public library on Kissena. Now he runs 22 Coco bubble tea shops in New York, New Jersey and Boston. Sam’s mother is a street vendor in Taiwan selling douhua (a sweet dessert tofu) and Sam grew up eating douhua with tapioca balls long before there was this thing called bubble tea. Sam had some interesting things to say about the origins of bubble tea and who invented it.
As I was getting this episode ready for the end of April, I also spoke to Borcheng Hsu, organizer of the Bubble Tea Festival in New York, who clarified the origins of National Bubble Day.
And finally, I came across a YouTube channel called Bubble Tea Kristin. It’s an amazing resource for almost everything related to bubble tea. Kristin has recipes for those wanting to make bubble tea drinks at home. In the past she’s owned and run several bubble tea shops and what she does now is help people who dream of opening their own bubble tea shop. I wanted to find out why she’s been called the “Boba Queen,” so I looked her up and invited her to be a guest on Talking Taiwan.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
-
to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
-
to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
-
to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
-
to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
-
to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· The origins of bubble tea and who invented it
· Why National Bubble Tea Day is on April 30th
· What should New York City celebrate as bubble tea day
· Kristin the “Boba Queen”
· Where Kristin’s love and interest in bubble tea comes from
· How she learned about the bubble tea business and opened her own bubble tea shops
· How she sold her bubble tea business at the beginning of the pandemic and now mentors and helps other people to open bubble tea shops
· How her past experiences and childhood prepared her for being an entrepreneur and business owner
· How it’s difficult to be profitable in the first year of running a bubble tea shop
· What it takes to have a successful bubble tea shop
· How to get the right texture for the tapioca pearls in bubble tea
· The different types of tapioca pearl balls and toppings
· How long tapioca pearls last after they are cooked
· Kristin’s visit to Taiwan in 2018
· How bubble tea shops are popping up all around the world
· The different flavors of bubble tea that Kristin created for her shops
· How bubble tea has evolved over the years since Kristin opened her first bubble tea shop
· The reactions from people that Kristin has gotten since she is not from Taiwan or Asia
· How she was once the only white female bubble tea shop owner in the U.K.
· Any backlash she’s experienced as a bubble tea shop owner
· How Kristin works with her bubble tea shop clients and advises them
· Her recommendations of what to do in the first year of running a bubble tea shop
· How the approach of business owners in the U.S. differs from those in the U.K.
· How the pricing of bubble tea is important
· How Kristin has helped bubble tea shop owners who have already started their business but run into some problems and need help
· How Kristin sees her role in the world of bubble tea
· What Kristin misses about running a tea shop
· A drink recipe that people can make at home
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/kristen-mccoy-ward-everything-about-bubble-tea-with-the-bobba-queen-ep-238/
May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and my guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan, Peter Lin is here to talk about the Asian American Pacific Islander or AAPI Jazz Fest which is coming up on May 20th in Newark, NJ. The AAPI Jazz Fest celebrates the diversity of the pan-Asian jazz community with a full day of performances and panels. Peter is Founder of Yardbird Entertainment and Producer of the AAPI Jazz Fest.
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/aapi-jazz-fest-2023-celebrating-the-diversity-of-the-pan-asian-jazz-community-with-peter-lin-ep-237/
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
-
to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
-
to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
-
to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
-
to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
-
to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- The AAPI Jazz Collective’s performance at the Metropolitan Museum for the Lunar New Year
- How AAPI Jazz Fest got started
- How the first AAPI Jazz Fest last year (in 2022) was organized in a month
- What it's like being an Asian American jazz musician
- The mission of AAPI Jazz Fest
- The AAPI Jazz Fest is a 10 hour event with performances and panels
- The artists performing at the festival
- At the end of the night there will be a jam session during which time any musicians are invited to join in
- Local organizations and vendors that will also be at the festival
- Peter’s band the AAPI Jazz Collective, and their recent performance opportunities
- How to support, attend, donate to, or volunteer for the AAPI Jazz Fest
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/aapi-jazz-fest-2023-celebrating-the-diversity-of-the-pan-asian-jazz-community-with-peter-lin-ep-237/
This past Saturday, April 29th was the first TaiwanFest of the year in New York City. So we decided to go check it out and see what businesses and community organizations were there.
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiwanfest-nyc-2023-our-first-live-stream-in-the-rain-ep-236/
For this episode we tried out something different by livestreaming and talking to people on location. It was a test run for May when Taiwan will be at this year’s Passport to Taiwan on Sunday, May 28th from 12-5pm in New York City’s Union Square Park. We’ll be having an outdoor on location podcasting studio. So if you’re in New York, drop by, I’ll be interviewing people in the booth throughout the day. Come and talk to us. Hear highlights from some of our most notable episodes. Suggest someone to be a guest on Talking Taiwan. We’ll be doing giveaways for anyone who willing to sit in the hot seat to answer my flash five questions or better yet, anyone who wants to pitch themself to be a guest on Talking Taiwan.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
-
to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
-
to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
-
to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
-
to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
-
to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Related Links:
TaiwanFest.NYC: https://taiwanfest.nyc/
Sweeeet NYC: https://www.instagram.com/sweeeetnyc/
Passport to Taiwan: https://p2tw.org/
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiwanfest-nyc-2023-our-first-live-stream-in-the-rain-ep-236/
This episode is a follow up on episode 233 that covered Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen’s 48-hour transit through New York from March 29-31en route to Central America.
When Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen left Taiwan to go on a ten-day state trip to Central America to meet with Taiwan’s diplomatic allies Guatemala and Belize. She first transited through New York from March 29-31 en route to Central America. At the end of her trip she transited through Los Angeles from April 4-5th, where she met with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/tim-chng-and-borcheng-hsu-the-day-president-tsai-ing-wen-met-protesters-from-the-peoples-republic-of-china-ep-235/
In this episode of Talking Taiwan I started off speaking with Tim Chng (who was previously on Talking Taiwan in episode 159) and Borcheng Hsu (a community organizer based in New York City) about how Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen was met with protestors representing the PRC, People’s Republic of China on the first day of her arrival in New York City. All three of us were all there that day, on the afternoon of March 29th at the first major site of the protests, the Lotte New York Palace Hotel where President Tsai was staying.
Our discussion raised a lot of questions, like: How organized the PRC protestors were. How did they know President Tsai’s itinerary in New York? As you’ll hear from our conversation, the protestors seemed to know when and where to show up and make a scene.
On the other hand, how prepared was the Taiwanese American community? What did community do in response? And what can concerned Taiwanese Americans do to be better prepared in the future when a similar situation arises?
After President Tsai’s 48-hour transit in New York, she headed to Central America to meet with Taiwan’s diplomatic allies Guatemala and Belize.
At the end of her she transited through Los Angeles from April 4 to 5th and met with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy before returning to Taiwan. While in L.A. she was once again met with PRC protestors. Tim, Borcheng and I also talked about what happened in L.A.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
-
to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
-
to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
-
to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
-
to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
-
to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· How Tim and Borcheng were involved in self-determination and pro-democracy demonstrations for Taiwan in the 1990s, when a thousand people or so could easily be gathered to show support
· What motivated Tim to drive up from Baltimore to be in New York in time to welcome Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen when she arrived at the hotel she was staying during her 48-hour transit through New York
· Why the bus from DC with Taiwanese American supporters of President Tsai wasn’t able to make it to New York in time for President Tsai’s arrival at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel where she was staying
· What the scene was like and what happened prior to President Tsai Ing-wen’s arrival at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel on March 29th
· How Tim and Chi Chun Wang, the President of the Taiwanese Association of America Baltimore chapter spoke to some pro-democracy Chinese activists who said that the PRC (People’s Republic of China) protestors were being paid $30 an hour
· What happened outside of the Lotte New York Palace Hotel on March 29th before and when President Tsai Ing-wen arrived
· How the PRC (People’s Republic of China) protestors were organized and seemed to know President Tsai’s itinerary while she was in New York
· How Borcheng worked with TECRO and the NYPD (New York Police Department) on March 29th
· How sound permits are required for the use of amplified sound in New York City
· The NYPD’s handling of the situation on March 29th
· What the PRC protesters were saying about President Tsai and Taiwan
· How prepared the Taiwanese American community was to respond by organizing counter protests
· What happened on March 30th when President Tsai accepted the Global Leadership Award from the Hudson Institute
· What happened on March 31st when President Tsai left her hotel in New York to go to Central America
· What happened with the protests of President Tsai’s visit to New York in 2019
· How one of Tim’s tweets about the protests of President Tsai in New York on March 29 was misconstrued by someone
· The questions about why pan-green supporters were waving ROC (Republic of China) flags and not green flags or other flags
· Former President Ma Ying-jeou’s visit to China
· The protests during President Tsai’s transit in Los Angeles (from April 4-5)
· What happened when President Chen Shui-bian visited New York in 2000 and later years
· What can concerned Taiwanese Americans, and supporters of Taiwan’s democracy do to be better prepared in the future when a similar situation arises
· How the NYPD and LAPD handled protests against President Tsai and Taiwan in New York and Los Angeles
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/tim-chng-and-borcheng-hsu-the-day-president-tsai-ing-wen-met-protesters-from-the-peoples-republic-of-china-ep-235/
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
In part two of our interview with T.H. Schee we talked about what concerns in particular that Taiwan should have about AI, ChatGPT and Baidu’s chatbot Ernie.
ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI in partnership with Microsoft, which is its largest investor. It was released in November of 2022. And in case you’re wondering, GPT stands for: generative pre-trained transformer.
ChatGBT is quite versatile. It can mimic human conversation, and do a whole range of things from drafting email to writing essays, taking tests and writing and debugging computer programs.
On February 7th Chinese company Baidu announced it would be creating a Chinese language ChatGPT, Ernie Bot. A week later, Taiwan’s Science and Technology Minister, Wu Tseng-tsong announced that Taiwan will be developing its own Chinese language chatbot due to fears of bias that could be created by China’s chatbot.
And on March 16th the Ernie Bot was publicly unveiled.
T.H. Schee is a digital veteran with twenty years of experience in the private and NGO sectors. He was a founding member of the Taiwan Internet Governance Forum and provided his expertise on digital crisis response to the UN Global Geospatial Information Management group. He has served as an adviser to government agencies and the city of Taipei (2016–18) and is a stalwart writer on the intersection of digital and tech policies.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
-
to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
-
to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
-
to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
-
to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
-
to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· Comparing people’s concerns about the Internet in 1995-1996 with concerns about AI today
· Yams.com the first Chinese language search engine which was created in Taiwan
· ChatGPT
· Baidu’s Chinese chatbot Ernie
· Baidu’s demo of Ernie
· How and open, free Internet is key to the successful development of chatbots like Ernie or ChatGPT
· How the government of Taiwan is supporting developing its own Chinese language chatbot
· T.H. Schee’s thoughts on ChatGPT
· How different generations use and access the Internet
· How ChatGPT is similar to a search engine
· If ChatGPT can produce responses in Chinese should Taiwan be concerned
· T.H. estimates that 30-40% of the results written in traditional Chinese characters that show up on page one of a Google search are actually sources from China
· Whether or not it’s a good idea for Taiwan to try to develop its own version of ChatGPT and if it will reap any benefits from doing so
· How to combat bias in ChatGPT or similar chatbots
· T.H’s thoughts on how Taiwan should approach developing its own version of ChatGPT
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
On March 29th Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen left Taiwan to go on a ten-day state trip to Central America to meet with Taiwan’s diplomatic allies Guatemala and Belize. In a pre-departure speech, President Tsai shared that the theme of her trip "Meeting Democratic Partnership, Fostering Shared Prosperity” expresses our determination to foster deeper exchange and cooperation between Taiwan and our allies.
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/president-tsai-ing-wens-48-hour-transit-through-new-york-en-route-to-central-america-ep-233/
This episode of Talking Taiwan is about first leg of President Tsai’s trip that brought her to New York for a 48-hour transit from March 29-31, 2023.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
-
to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
-
to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
-
to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
-
to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
-
to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/president-tsai-ing-wens-48-hour-transit-through-new-york-en-route-to-central-america-ep-233/
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/th-schee-on-taiwans-civil-defense-preparedness-one-year-later-after-the-war-in-ukraine-ep-232/
Last year I spoke with T.H. Schee about Taiwan’s civil defense preparedness in episode 178. This was a hot topic of discussion in Taiwan after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February of 2023. It made the military threat that the people of Taiwan face from the People’s Republic of China very real. A year has passed since Russia’s invasion and I wanted to bring T.H. back for a follow up conversation about this and how the government and people of Taiwan have adjusted and continue to deal with the situation there. We also touched upon some recent news stories in Taiwan that are related to the topic of internet security. Next week we’ll be sharing the second part of my interview with T.H. about AI. We’ll be talking about ChatGPT, Baidu’s chatbot Ernie and what concerns in particular that Taiwan should have about AI.
T.H. Schee is a digital veteran with twenty years of experience in the private and NGO sectors. He was a founding member of the Taiwan Internet Governance Forum and provided his expertise on digital crisis response to the UN Global Geospatial Information Management group. He has served as an adviser to government agencies and the city of Taipei (2016–18) and is a stalwart writer on the intersection of digital and tech policies.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
-
to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
-
to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
-
to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
-
to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
-
to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· The situation in Taiwan since we last spoke to T.H. last year
· Thoughts from T.H.’s March 3 talk with New Bloom Magazine “Lessons from Ukraine for Taiwan?”
· What the government in Taiwan is doing regarding Taiwan’s military preparedness
· Proposed changes to Taiwan’s Mobilization Act that include the military taking control of the media during wartime and the mobilization of people as young as 16 years old
· The importance of allies and partners for Taiwan
· The submarine cables that were cut and affected the internet access of people on Matsu
· How Vietnam had four out of five of its submarine cables cut which meant that there were no ships available to repair the cables that were cut and affected Matsu, so Matsu was without internet access for two to three months
· How the people of Matsu were impacted by the cut submarine cables
· The Taiwan government responded by providing a microwave transmission for Matsu
· How some people of Matsu purchased SIM cards from China to be able to access the internet, and what is problematic about that
· The Taiwan Internet Governance Forum
· How/why the submarine cables in the Taiwan Strait have gotten cut 25 times in five years
· The hi-resolutions photos from the National Palace Museum got hacked and ended up for sale online
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/th-schee-on-taiwans-civil-defense-preparedness-one-year-later-after-the-war-in-ukraine-ep-232/
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/eric-chang-on-the-unfolding-situation-at-the-legislative-yuan-during-the-sunflower-movement-ep-231/
The Sunflower Movement in Taiwan, which started in protest to the passage of the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement (CSSTA), happened nine years ago, on the night of March 18, 2014. I was in Taipei when the Legislative Yuan, which is the equivalent of the parliament in Taiwan, was occupied by students and activists in an effort to block the passage of the trade agreement between Taiwan and China. It was the beginning of what became known as the Sunflower Movement. The day before, on March 17, the Kuomintang (KMT) had attempted to force through passage of the CSSTA in Taiwan's Legislative Yuan, without giving it a clause-by-clause review.
Several days later at a press conference on March 23rd Taiwan’s then President Ma Ying-jeou stated his resolve in passing the trade agreement. That night, students and activists attempted to occupy the Executive Yuan in protest. A few days later, on March 28th I spoke with Eric Chang who joined students and protestors outside of the Executive Yuan on the 23rd. He was there when police started breaking up the students and protestors, himself among them, and he shared what he saw and experienced that night in episode 121.
At the time I spoke to Eric it had been only 10 days since the occupation of the Legislative Yuan, so the situation at the Legislative Yuan and the Sunflower Movement was still unfolding and this of course was before we knew what the outcome would be. It's interesting to look back on it and hear my conversation with Eric in pre-COVID times, and way before the insurrection of the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021. We talked about the role of social media in the occupation of the Legislative Yuan, how the Sunflower Movement galvanized young people in Taiwan at the time, and the atmosphere outside the Legislative Yuan while it was occupied; every day there were thousands of people from all walks of life gathered outside in the streets surrounding the Legislative Yuan.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· What the occupation of the Legislative Yuan by students and activists means for Taiwan’s democracy
· What the scene/situation around the occupied Legislative Yuan was like
· Comparisons between the occupation of Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan with what would happen if people tried to occupy the U.S. Capitol Building
· How peaceful and organized the student protestors are; they have set up a variety of stations for supplies, to charge mobile phones, for recycling, first aid
· Professors have given lectures outside in the perimeter of the Legislative Yuan
· A sausage vendor that’s set up outside of the Legislative Yuan and is giving out sausage for free
· Medical and legal professionals who have volunteered to help the student protestors
· How Eric and his friend Dwagie (Taiwanese hip hop artist/rapper) have visited the Legislative Yuan area since the occupation
· The March 30th Rally in support of the Sunflower Movement that took place globally
· The Taiwan Voice Facebook page
· How people can speak publicly or perform in the area surrounding the occupied Legislative Yuan
· Lazy Habits, a jazz hip hop band performed outside of the occupied Legislative Yuan
· High school students in Tainan (in southern Taiwan) are speaking out publicly about the occupation of the Legislative Yuan
· How the Sunflower Movement has galvanized people across Taiwan
· How Eric has seen friends who are KMT supporters come out in support of the Sunflower Movement and occupation of the Legislative Yuan
· How young people learn about news through social media, Facebook and PTT, a popular local bulletin board founded by a National Taiwan University student in 1995
· Whether or not the pact (Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement) will get passed
· How the Sunflower Movement has made people feel more comfortable to free to speak out publicly
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/eric-chang-on-the-unfolding-situation-at-the-legislative-yuan-during-the-sunflower-movement-ep-231/
The Kaohsiung Port Terminal just opened this week on March 6th and I had a chance to speak with Jesse Reiser AR’81 and Nanako Umemoto AR’83 of Reiser+Umemoto, RUR Architecture, the architects behind its design. They are the team that also designed the Taipei Music Center which opened on September 5, 2020. We spoke about their 35-year-long careers in architecture, how they landed both of these projects in Taiwan, the inspiration behind the design of the projects, and what contributed to delays in completion. Both projects were expected to be completed and in operation by 2014. Also with us when we spoke was Jasmine Lee, the project manager for the Taipei Music Center and Kaohsiung Port Terminal projects at RUR Architecture.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
-
to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
-
to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
-
to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
-
to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
-
to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· How Jesse, Nanako and Jasmine ended up choosing their careers in architecture
· How things have evolved in Jesse and Nanako’s 35-year-long careers in architecture
· How Jesse and Nanako started teaching and how that has shaped their careers in architecture
· How Jesse and Nanako started entering architecture competitions, and things transpired from there
· The Dubai tower project that Jesse and Nanako worked on
· The AIishan Mountain project that Jesse and Nanako won
· The inspiration behind the Taipei Music Center
· How and why the Taipei Music Center project changed over time
· The purpose/function of the Taipei Music Center
· How other projects like the stadium in Taipei aka the Taipei Dome have been delayed and not completed
· How Aldo Rossi, Jesse’s teacher and employer influenced the design of the Taipei Music Center
· The indoor and outdoor performance space of the Taipei Music Center
· Why it took over 10 years to complete the Taipei Music Center
· The Taipei Music Center opened on September 5, 2020, and on October 3rd the 31st Golden Melody Awards were hosted there
· The three functions of the music center: performance, history, production
· Social media’s impact on the visibility of the Taipei Music Center
· What a surprise it was to win the design competition for the Kaohsiung Port Terminal
· Why the Kaohsiung Port Terminal project took 13 years to complete and the adjustments that had to be made over time
· How the Taipei Music Center and Kaohsiung Port Terminal projects were inspired by Jesse and Nanako’s work in New York
· Jesse and Nanako’s work in New York
· How teaching affects their approach to architecture projects
· The O-14 tower in Dubai that Jesse and Nanako worked on
· What it is like seeing one’s architectural projects completed and come to life
· Jesse, Nanako and Jasmine’s thoughts on being architects and their advice for those interested in going into architecture
Related Links:
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/robert-tsao-founder-of-umc-pledges-to-donate-usd-100-million-to-taiwans-military-cause-ep-229/
In December we spoke with Robert Tsao, founder of UMC, who in August of 2022 pledged to donate 100 million U.S. dollars to help Taiwan defend itself. In 2011 he moved to Singapore and became a citizen there, but in September of last year he renounced his Singaporean citizenship, and reinstated his citizenship in Taiwan.
We talked about what motivated him to decide to make the donation to defend Taiwan, why he’s been perceived as pro business investment in China, and about his support for a referendum on unification between Taiwan and China.
We even asked him about his early support in 1993 for the New Party (Xin dang), a political party in Taiwan that had a pro Chinese unification stance.
Mr. Tsao also shared his thoughts on the Chinese Communist party today and why he thinks it’s important protect Taiwan from an attack by the Chinese Communist People’s Republic of China.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
-
to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
-
to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
-
to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
-
to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
-
to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
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Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· Mr. Tsao’s thoughts on the November 2022 local elections in Taiwan
· Mr. Tsao’s thoughts on whether the local elections will impact Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election
· Mr. Tsao’s donation of 100 million U.S. dollars for Taiwan’s defense and what it will be spent on
· Why Mr. Tsao decided to make the donation of 100 million U.S. dollars
· Taiwan’s first direct presidential election was in 1996
· How to protect Taiwan’s freedom and democracy
· President Chen Shui-bian's Task Force on cross-Strait Relations, headed by Academia Sinica President and Nobel prize winner Professor Lee Yuan-tseh
· Mr. Tsao’s suggestion regarding a referendum on Taiwan’s reunification with China in 2001
· Taiwan’s independence
· How Taiwan is unlike Hong Kong which was returned to China
· The July 21, 2019 attacks at the Yuen Long MTR station in Hong Kong
· Mr. Tsao’s thoughts on the Chinese Communist party
· Parallels between Russia’s President Vladimir Putin invading Ukraine and the possibility of China’ President Xi Jinping attacking Taiwan
· Questions about Mr. Tsao’s thoughts on investment in China, and his support for a referendum on unification between Taiwan and China
· Mr. Tsao’s support in 1993of the New party, a political party in Taiwan that had a pro-Chinese unification stance
· How Mr. Tsao considers himself Taiwanese
· The protests by people in China over strict COVID restrictions
· Name rectification and constitutional reform for Taiwan
· How much of a deterrent Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is to China attacking Taiwan
· Military reform in Taiwan
· Mr. Tsao’s thoughts on the unification of Taiwan and China
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/robert-tsao-founder-of-umc-pledges-to-donate-usd-100-million-to-taiwans-military-cause-ep-229/
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/commemorating-the-228-massacre-taboos-scars-stigmas-and-an-essential-lesson-in-taiwan-history-ep-228/
228, February 28, 1947 is an important date in history for Taiwan. In Taiwan it is a national holiday known as 228 Peace Day, and since 228, which is also known as the 228 Massacre is just around the corner, we thought we’d share the first of 2 special episodes that we did last year for the 75th anniversary of the 228 Massacre.
At the same time, we wanted to share some community announcements for our listeners who might be looking for ways to commemorate 228. If you’re in New York, the Taiwan Center in Flushing, NY will be having a 228 Remembrance Memorial Service on Saturday, February 25, 2023 from 2:00-3:30pm. And for those in California, Josephine Pan tells me that annual 228 Commemorative Concert will be held in person again this year on Tuesday, February 28, 2023 at 7:30pm at the Arcadia Community Church. Both of these events are open and free to the public.
Full details for the 228 commemorative events in New York and California are listed below in the Related Links section.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
-
to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
-
to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
-
to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
-
to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
-
to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· How each guest first heard of or learned about 228
· How the 228 was a forbidden topic of discussion
· How my guests and their families were personally impacted by 228
· The Formosa Incident aka Kaohsiung Incident
· The White Terror and Martial Law era of Taiwan
· The writer who was sent to prison because of his Chinese-language translation of a Popeye comic
· Why the topic of 228 has been so taboo
· Tsuann’s grandfather who was a political prisoner during the White Terror era
· Post-traumatic stress
· What Tsuann’s relatives experienced and witnessed about 228
· Why Tsuann decided to try to help 228 victims and their families
· Green Island, the place where political prisoners were exiled
· The case of a 15-year-old girl who was jailed
· How political prisoners, after being released were ostracized by society
· How things banned during the Martial Law era included books, music, art or any medium related to communism or that was critical of the Kuomintang
· Personal accounts of people persecuted during the Martial Law era
· The families whose husbands and fathers disappeared due to 228
· What Josephine’s relatives experienced and witnessed about 228
· The privileges and overrepresentation granted to the Chinese vs. local Taiwanese under Kuomintang (KMT) rule
· The injustices in Taiwan’s society under the initial rule of the KMT
· Why it’s important to remember and understand 228
· The importance of healing from historic trauma
· Canada’s residential schools
· What Tsuann discovered about 228 survivors through her work with the Transitional Justice Committee
· Why Josephine started organizing an annual concert to commemorate 228
· How 228 became a national holiday in 1998 but has almost been cancelled as a holiday twice
· Comparisons of 228 Peace Memorial Day with U.S. holidays such as Martin Luther King Jr. Day or Memorial Day
· My guests’ thoughts on whether or not 228 remains a national holiday
· Indigenous Peoples Day
· How to commemorate 228
· What young people in Taiwan know about 228
· What was previously taught to Josephine, Tsuann, and Wei-Wei about Taiwan in their textbooks when they were high school students in Taiwan
· How the 228 Massacre has only recently been included in high school textbooks
· How the 228 Massacre is being taught in high schools
· The Jing-Mei Prison Museum in Taipei
· Music that was banned during the White Terror era
· Experiential ways to learn about 228
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/commemorating-the-228-massacre-taboos-scars-stigmas-and-an-essential-lesson-in-taiwan-history-ep-228/
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/courtney-donovan-smith-of-taiwan-report-shares-his-analysis-on-taiwans-2022-nine-in-one-local-elections-ep-227/
With Taiwan’s next presidential election set for early 2024, what are the implications of Taiwan’s 2022 “Nine-in-One” Local Elections that took place back in November? We’ve invited Courtney Donovan Smith co-founder of Taiwan Report, ICRT’s Central Taiwan correspondent, and contributing columnist to Taiwan News to share his insights on the recent elections in Taiwan.
The topic of plagiarism also came up since plagarism scandals have plagued political candidates from all three political parties, the DPP, KMT and TPP. Donovan also shared his analysis on how each of the major political parties in Taiwan fared in the November elections.
While it might be a bit too early to discuss the 2024 presidential candidates, we’ll definitely have Donovan back at a later date to discuss Taiwan’s 2024 Presidential Race.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
-
to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
-
to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
-
to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
-
to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
-
to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· Taiwan’s local elections (aka the 9-in-1 elections) that were held in November 2022
· What positions were up for election
· 22 positions were up for election
· The results of the November 2022 elections in Taiwan
· How the DPP, KMT and TPP fared in the elections
· What implications the November elections might have for Taiwan’s presidential elections in 2024
· Why President Tsai Ing-wen stepped down as the DPP party chair
· The DPP and KMT’s strategies during the November 2022 local elections
· The DPP’s missteps during the November 2022 local elections
· The plagiarism scandals that have affected Taiwan’s 3 major political parties: the DPP, KMT & TPP
· The increasing numbers of women being elected as legislators and to other positions in Taiwan
· The referendum to lower voting age in Taiwan from 20 to 18 years old
· How Donovan got into writing and reporting about Taiwan’s politics
· Those who write and comment on Taiwan’s politics: Michael Turton, Nathan Batto
· How Donovan created an RPG (role playing game)
· Who will be the KMT presidential candidate for Taiwan’s presidential election in 2024
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/courtney-donovan-smith-of-taiwan-report-shares-his-analysis-on-taiwans-2022-nine-in-one-local-elections-ep-227/
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/ed-hill-talks-about-his-off-broadway-debut-and-comedy-special-candy-and-smiley-ep-226/
Ed Hill is a Vancouver based Taiwanese comedian on his first national North American tour. We spoke about his early years in Canada, his connection to TAIWANfest and how his overachieving Asian tendencies came out when he first started doing comedy.
In 2021, Ed became the first comedian of Taiwanese-Canadian descent to release a full one-hour comedy special titled “Candy & Smiley.” The special was named “Top 15 Comedy Specials of 2021” by Paste Magazine and “Best of 2021” by NPR Radio. The special is currently streaming worldwide on Amazon Prime and Apple TV.
From March 30-April 2 Ed will be doing an off-Broadway show, “Stupid Ed” at the Tank in New York City.
Ed's tweets have also been featured on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon", Buzzfeed, and The Huffington Post.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
-
to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
-
to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
-
to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
-
to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
-
to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· Ed’s connection to TAIWANfest
· Ed’s connection to Taiwan
· The discrimination he’s experienced and how it became a part of his standup routine
· How he got into doing standup comedy
· How he handles it when he bombs as a comedian in front of an audience
· How Ed’s training as a therapist informs his comedy
· Ed’s comedic influences
· Ed’s mentor the late comedian Louie Anderson
· Ed’s tweets that have ended up on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and how he comes up with them
· Ed’s first comedy special Candy and Smiley
· How Ed’s first comedy special Candy and Smiley was affected by the pandemic
· How Ed’s parents have reacted to his doing comedy
· Ed’s upcoming off-Broadway show, Stupid Ed
· Through his show Stupid Ed, Ed will be reflecting on his relationships with the female figures in his life
· What Ed wants to do with his comedy
· Ed’s story podcast, the Guide to Quarantine
· Ed’s advice to others interested in doing standup comedy
· What Ed gets out of doing standup comedy
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/ed-hill-talks-about-his-off-broadway-debut-and-comedy-special-candy-and-smiley-ep-226/
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/spark-accel-a-virtual-accelerator-for-taiwanese-american-entrepreneurs-ep-225/
SPARK Accel is a personalized 4-week virtual accelerator for Taiwanese American entrepreneurs. At the end of the program there will be a virtual pitch competition and a chance for participants to win up to $15,000. SPARK Accel is an initiative under the Taiwanese American Citizens League (TACL). TACL is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of Taiwanese Americans.
Stacey Pai, one of the founding team members of SPARK Accel, spoke with me about how SPARK Accel supports entrepreneurs, and what stage of entrepreneurs are eligible to participate in its accelerator program. As SPARK Accel grows, it is looking to recruit a volunteer program manager, fundraising manager, community manager, marketing manager, and startup mentors. This is a great opportunity for budding Taiwanese entrepreneurs.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
- to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
- to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
- to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
- to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
- to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What is Spark Accel?
- What stage of entrepreneur Spark Accel serves
- When Spark Accel launched
- The first cohort in the summer of 2021 had 6 startup participants and 10 ppl on the leadership team, and over 30 mentors
- Spark Accel plans to launch 2 cohorts in 2023, one in April/May, and the other in Sep/Oct.
- How to apply and qualify for the Spark Accelerator program
- What will happen during the 4-week program and what participants will learn
- Spark Accel’s in-person mixers San Francisco, New York, Boston, and Taipei
- Future locations that will host Spark Accel in-person mixers
- How Spark Accel is run by volunteers and supported by fundraising and donations
- How many participants there are in each accelerator cohort
- At the end of the 4-week program there will be a pitch contest in order to win a cash prize of up to $15,000
- The “audience component” at the end of the program, which involves a video recording of pitches that will be shared online and via social media, and friends and family will be invited to vote
- The startups and mentors associated with Spark Accel
- Spark Accel is looking for volunteer mentors
- Spark Accel is recruiting for a volunteer program manager, fundraising manager, community manager, and marketing manager
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/spark-accel-a-virtual-accelerator-for-taiwanese-american-entrepreneurs-ep-225/
Andrew Klerck is the founder of Taiwan Impact Entrepreneurs, a group that serves foreigners who want to start a business in Taiwan. He spoke with me about how much you need to start a business in Taiwan, and why Taiwan is a great place to do so.
Andrew also talked about how he got started on his own journey as an entrepreneur and lost his eyesight over 15 years ago while running an export company. Today he is a thriving entrepreneur, thanks to the assistive technology of smartphones, screen readers, and smart glasses.
He shared from a foreigner’s perspective, good reasons to do business in Taiwan and some of the challenges of doing business in Taiwan.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
-
to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
-
to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
-
to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
-
to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
-
to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Talking Taiwan has a donor who is willing to make a $5,000 matching donation!
Help us double what we raise to $10,000 by MAKING A CONTRIBUTION to Talking Taiwan at:
http://gofundme.com/building-talking-taiwans-legacy
https://www.patreon.com/talkingtaiwan
PayPal using: talkingtaiwanpodcast@gmail.com
Zelle using: talkingtaiwanpodcast@gmail.com
Checks or money orders made payable to Talking Taiwan can be sent to:
Talking Taiwan
PO Box 1049
New York, NY 10113
https://talkingtaiwan.com/support/
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
ï What brought Andrew to Taiwan
ï Why Andrew started the Taiwan Impact Entrepreneurs(TIE) group
ï What the Taiwan Impact Entrepreneurs group does and who they serve
ï The Taiwan Impact Entrepreneurs mastermind group
ï The difference between the Taiwan Impact Entrepreneurs Facebook group and the Taiwan Impact Entrepreneurs mastermind group
ï How the TIE mastermind group is run
ï Why Taiwan is a good place for foreigners to live
ï Why Taiwan is a good place for foreigners to start a business
ï The advantage of doing business in Taiwan
ï The difficulties and tradeoffs of doing business in Taiwan for foreigners
ï How to build good credit and get offered credit from banks in Taiwan
ï How it’s difficult for foreigners to get funding in Taiwan
ï The Taipei Entrepreneur Hub
ï Abled Minds Taiwan
ï What prevents disabled people in Taiwan from pursuing entrepreneurship
ï How Andrew lost his eyesight
ï How Andrew managed to run a business as he was loosing his eyesight
ï The technology that helps Andrew as a blind person with his daily life and to do business
ï Andrew’s upbringing in South Africa under apartheid
ï The entrepreneurial and business mindset of Andrew’s parents
ï How Andrew has run a company that had operations in nearly 60 different countries
ï Andrew’s TIE partner Jamie Rufe was an executive assistant to Foxconn CEO, Terry Gou
ï Andrew’s advice for people who want to start a business in Taiwan but don’t have a lot of cash
ï The importance of street hustling and selling
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/andrew-klerck-blindness-later-in-life-could-not-stop-this-thriving-entrepreneur-ep-224/
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/graci-kim-from-new-zealand-diplomat-to-new-york-times-best-selling-author-ep-223/
Graci Kim is a New York Times Bestselling author of the Gifted Clans series. In 2012, she was interviewed for Talking Taiwan about her cooking show called Graci in the Kitchen. We’ve invited her back to give us an update on what she’s up do these days.
She’s been a New Zealand diplomat, once ran a business that turned children’s drawings into cuddly toys, and given a TED Talk in 2018 that still resonates today.
She spoke with us about her Korean roots, how she decided to become a writer, what it was like when her book, The Last Fallen Star hit the New York Times Bestseller list, and her writing process.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
- to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
- to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
- to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
- to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
- to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Talking Taiwan has a donor who is willing to make a $5,000 matching donation!
Help us double what we raise to $10,000 by MAKING A CONTRIBUTION to Talking Taiwan at:
http://gofundme.com/building-talking-taiwans-legacy
https://www.patreon.com/talkingtaiwan
PayPal using: talkingtaiwanpodcast@gmail.com
Zelle using: talkingtaiwanpodcast@gmail.com
Checks or money orders made payable to Talking Taiwan can be sent to:
Talking Taiwan
PO Box 1049
New York, NY 10113
https://talkingtaiwan.com/support/
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What happened to Graci’s cooking show, Graci in the Kitchen
- Graci’s TED Talk in 2018 and how what she talked about in the talk still resonates today
- Korea’s occupation by Japan and how that impacted Graci’s family
- Graci’s Korean roots
- Graci’s Gifted Clanstrilogy and the inspiration behind it
- The connection between the Percy Jackson and the Olympiansbook series and Graci’s Gifted Clans trilogy
- Graci’s writing process and routine
- How Graci had a career as a diplomat and decided to try being a writer
- Writers who have influenced Graci
- What it was like when Graci’s book Last Fallen Starhit the New York Times Best Seller List
- Graci’s advice for first time writers
- Graci’s sources of inspiration and ideas for her writing
Related Links:
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/ep-222-lost-episodes-gracie-in-the-kitchen/
Here’s a Lost Episode of Talking Taiwan from 2012 featuring Graci Kim. At the time she had a YouTube show called Graci in the Kitchen, and she talked about some of the episodes that were in the works. Next week we’ll be sharing our follow up interview with Graci to find out what she’s been up to since then.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
- to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
- to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
- to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
- to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
- to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How and when Graci first learned to cook
- Graci in the Kitchen is show on YouTube that’s going to be shot in Taiwan
- How Graci’s show Graci in the Kitchen is about the power of food
- Graci’s philosophy of feeding the body, mind and soul
- How each episode focuses on a mood
- Graci’s episode featuring kimchi pancakes
- The good bacteria and health benefits of kimchi pancakes
- The difference between kimchi in Korea and Taiwan
- How popular kimchi is in Korea
- Why kimchi pancakes is a dish that most people would enjoy
- Graci’s tips for making kimchi pancakes
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
It’s that time of year again… time to reveal the top 5 Talking Taiwan episodes of the year.
As we were preparing for this last episode of the year I reflected on this past year and, I realize that there is a lot to be grateful for. Talking Taiwan has had 3 different sponsors throughout the year: The Taiwan Elite Alliance, The Taiwanese United Fund, and NATWA the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. We are grateful for our many individual donors and the generosity of Guy Gilchrist who donated 10 of his drawings that helped to raise money for Talking Taiwan.
And we’re also grateful to all of our amazing guests and want to thank each and every one of you for being a part of the Talking Taiwan podcast.
Our New Year’s wish is for there to be more peace, love and happiness in the world.
We’re really excited about the guests we’ve lined up to interview and topics to cover. We look forward to continuing to break new ground in the new year. For links to the top 5 episodes of 2022 visit our website TalkingTaiwan.com. Wishing you a wonderful rest of 2022 and a Happy New Year!
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/talking-taiwan-2022-top-5-award-winner-end-of-year-review-ep-221/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
In August the news broke that WorldPride 2025 was no longer going to be hosted by Taiwan.
Less than a year ago, InterPride and Taiwan had celebrated the selection of Kaohsiung Pride’s bid over the Capital Pride Alliance of Washington D.C. to host WorldPride 2025 in Taiwan. The announcement about WorldPride Taiwan 2025 was hugely significant since Taiwan was the first country in Asia to legalize same sex marriage in 2019 and It would be the first ever WorldPride event to be held in East Asia.
My listeners will recall that we did an episode about this news last December with Darien Chen in episode 162.
What had happened to make Kaohsiung Pride and the Taiwan Preparation Committee decide to withdraw from hosting WorldPride Taiwan 2025?
In August I came across a tweet about the cancellation by Bi-Khim Hsiao, Taiwan's Representative to the United States. She had tweeted an article written by David Yu, Don’t Sacrifice Taiwan in the Fight for LGBT Rights. The article had been published in Foreign Policy.
I reached out David and I invited him to come onto Talking Taiwan as a guest to discuss and reflect on what happened. David is Contractor CTO of an LA-based life sciences startup.
I also reached out to the Kaohsiung Pride committee, and InterPride for comment but have not received any responses to date.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women’s Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
- to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women’s dignity,
- to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
- to fully develop women’s potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
- to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
- to reach out and work with women’s organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- David’s involvement with ITASA
- The article that David wrote for Foreign Policy about the cancellation of WorldPride Taiwan 2025, which was tweeted by Bi-khim Hsiao
- How Taiwan won the bid to host WorldPride 2025 in November of 2021
- How on August 12, 2022, the WorldPride Taiwan 2025 Facebook page posted an announcement stating that they would be terminating hosting WorldPride 2025
- What’s been reported in the media regarding the cancellation of WorldPride Taiwan 2025
- The statement posted on the WorldPride Taiwan 2025 Facebook page regarding their termination of hosting WorldPride 2025
- InterPride’s request that the event name be changed from WorldPride Taiwan 2025 to WorldPride Kaohsiung 2025, and the offer to use WorldPride Kaohsiung, Taiwan
- How InterPride’s application for consultative status at the United Nations and China may have influenced to request to change the WorldPride event name
- Should Kaohsiung Pride and the Taiwan Preparation Committee found a way to still host WorldPride 2025 in Taiwan
- What is the loss of not hosting WorldPride 2025 in Taiwan
- LGBTQIA rights in Europe
- Europe’s views and dealings with China
- How Guzzler Leong, Standing Director of Kaohsiung Pride (originally from Macau) was able to have his same sex marriage recognized in Taiwan, however his case does not change the precedent of Taiwan only recognizing transnational same sex marriages to citizens of countries where same sex marriage is legal
- The parallels between Taiwan’s situation in the global arena and LGBTQIA rights within mainstream society
- How China interferes with Taiwan’s representation internationally
- How Taiwan has to compete under the name Chinese Taipei in the Olympics
- David’s personal experiences at sporting events where Taiwan was not accurately represented and how he handled it
- An inspiring quote about coming out, by Harvey Milk, a gay activist and member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
- How the Gay Games 2023 is being co-hosted by Guadalajara and Hong Kong and Dennis Philipse the founder and co-organizer of Gay Games Hong Kong has resigned
- How to move forward from the cancellation of WorldPride Taiwan 2025
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/what-caused-the-cancellation-of-worldpride-taiwan-2025-our-discussion-with-david-yu-ep-220/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Dr. Karen Chung is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures of National Taiwan University. She talked about something called the echo method when she was previously interviewed for Talking Taiwan in 2012 and we’ve invited her back to give us an update.
In this interview she shared some additional tips on how to use the echo method and her thoughts on the challenges that Taiwanese students face in learning English. We also spoke about Taiwan’s Bilingual 2030 Plan.
Professor Chung has a TEDx talk with over 1.5 million views and an online Open Course Ware course in phonetics on the Taiwan University site which has received over 1.3 million views.
A lifelong learner herself, she talked about when she first started learning Chinese, and how to this day, she continues improving her Chinese.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women’s Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
- to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women’s dignity,
- to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
- to fully develop women’s potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
- to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
- to reach out and work with women’s organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Where Professor Chung’s interest in language came from
- How she started teaching German in the 11thgrade
- How she got interested in learning Chinese
- Her love of the Chinese language
- Her resonance with Confucian values
- What brought Professor Chung to Taiwan
- How the Echo Method can be used to learn any language and can help to improve your native language
- Where the Echo Method came from
- What echoic memory is
- How to use echoic memory to learn a language
- Professor Chung’s tips for learning and practicing language
- How listening and seeking feedback by reading the reactions of those you are speaking to can help you to improve your speaking abilities
- Whether or not it is harder to learn a language the older people get
- If it is necessary to be in an environment where you can be fully immersed in a language, in order to acquire a near native accent
- How to most effectively use the echo method
- Taiwan’s Bilingual 2030 Plan and increase English translation of signs, websites, government and banking documents
- How the U.S.’s Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) has increased the burden of paper reporting for banks
- Karen’s Facebook page, Karen on Ivy League Analytical English
- Her collaboration with her former student Melissa on creating an English teaching app
- Karen’s interview on I’m Learning Mandarin podcast and morning routine
- What she enjoys about reading classical Chinese works
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-karen-chung-shares-secrets-of-language-learning-and-challenges-taiwanese-students-face-learning-english-ep-219/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
In part one of my interview with Dr. Mark Chen (episode 212) we talked about his advocacy work for Taiwan in the U.S. and the impact of the Kaohsiung Incident on Taiwan’s democratization. Several of the people who were tried and sentenced in connection with the Kaohsiung Incident later became prominent leaders in Taiwan’s first opposition party, the Democratic Progressive Party. The incident happened 43 years ago in 1979 on December 10th, which just passed, making it a good time to share part two of my interview with Dr. Chen.
In the second half of my interview with Dr. Mark Chen, we talked about his work in Taiwan as an elected official and public servant. He became a member of the Legislative Yuan in 1992; that year was the first time that elections were held for all 161 seats of the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan. Dr. Chen has also been elected Magistrate of Tainan County, and served in that position from 1993-2001. He was the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2004-2006, the Secretary General in the Office of the President from 2006-2007, the Secretary General of the National Security Council from 2007-2008 and a Legislator in Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan from 2001-2004 and 2012-2016. Currently he is the chairman of the Prospect Foundation.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
- to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
- to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
- to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
- to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
- to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- 1992 was the first time that elections were held for all 161 seats of the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan
- Dr. Chen was born in Tainan, Taiwan
- In 1992 Dr. Chen resigned from his job at the Department of Commerce to return to Taiwan and served as a congressman at large
- Dr. Chen ran for County Governor of Tainan in 1992, and he made history as first Democratic Progressive Party candidate (and non-Kuomintang candidate) County Governor of Tainan ever elected to the position
- He was rated the top County Governor in Taiwan and served as Country Governor of Tainan for two terms (eight years in total)
- Dr. Chen was a member of the Legislative Yuan but gave up his position when President Chen Shui-bian invited him to serve as the Minister of Foreign Affairs
- How Taiwan’s transition to democracy has been relatively peaceful
- The importance of Taiwan having the support of like-minded democratic nations
- Challenges that Dr. Chen had to deal with as the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Taiwan
- Dr. Chen’s work as a legislator in Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan
- ECFA (Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement) and the Sunflower Movement
- What happened during the 2014 occupation of the Legislative Yuan by activists and students during the Sunflower Movement
- Dr. Chen’s thoughts on his work as an elected official vs. a public servant at the highest levels of the government in Taiwan
- How Dr. Chen was inspired by the words of Former U.S. President John F. Kennedy
- The work of the Prospect Foundation, of which Dr. Chen is the chairman
- Dr. Chen’s thoughts on Robert Tsao, founder of UMC’s (United Microelectronics Corp) pledge of 100 million U.S. dollars to help Taiwan defend itself
- What overseas Taiwanese can do to advocate for Taiwan
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-mark-chen-talks-about-his-years-of-service-in-taiwan-ep-217/
A Note from the Host Felicia Lin
Here’s another one of the lost episodes of Talking Taiwan that we discovered were recorded back around 2012. Yes that’s 10 years ago when Talking Taiwan was just being created. Next week we’ll be bringing this guest back for a follow up interview to find out what they’re up to these days.
This lost episode of Talking Taiwan from 2012 features Karen Chung, an associate professor of English at National Taiwan University, she’s talking about something called the “Echo Method.” Next week we’ll be sharing our follow up interview with Karen to find out what she’s been up to since then.
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: J.W. Henley , author of Migante discusses how the plight of migrant workers in Taiwan came to him, and all the research that was involved.
Joe Henley is Freelance Writer and Author. The last time we had Joe on Talking Taiwan (in episode 64) we spoke about his book Bu San Bu Si. In this episode I spoke with him about his latest book, Migrante, which has recently been translated into Chinese. Joe shared how the idea for this book about the plight of migrant workers in Taiwan came to him, all the research that was involved, why he’s donating all of his proceeds from the sales of Migrante, and how his band nearly got arrested when they were performing in the Philippines.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women’s Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
- to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women’s dignity,
- to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
- to fully develop women’s potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
- to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
- to reach out and work with women’s organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: * How Joe got the Reading Times publishing company interested in translating his book Migrante from English into Chinese * How the translator of Migrante into Chinese is also the translator of Harry Potter books * Why the book cover for the English language version of Migrante is different from the Chinese language version of Migrante * The publisher of the original English language of Migrante, Camphor Press gave Joe a complete control over the design of the book cover * What Joe had in mind for the cover of the English language version of Migrante when he asked Isa Nthrope, a Manila-based artist and musician to created it * The two book cover options that the publishing company offered Joe for the Chinese language version of Migrante * What prompted Joe to write Migrante * The news reporting that Joe has done about communities of people in the Philippines who live in cemeteries and how this is related to the main character of Migrante * The research and various types of migrant workers that Joe interviewed for Migrante * Joe estimates that he’s interviewed 70-80 migrant workers during the five years he spent on writing Migrante * NGOs that Joe spoke to: Yilan Migrant Fisherman Union and Serve the People Association * Joe’s reporting on the “Drug War” in Manila * Migrante is a composite work of fiction * How Joe “met” the son of Rodrigo Duterte when he was the mayor of Davao * The time Joe thought he was going to get arrested and put in jail while performing with his band in the Philippines * Joe’s thoughts on the recent election of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Romualdez Marcos Jr. * How the journey of many Filipino migrant workers starts in the Philippines * Factory workers in Taiwan are covered by the Labor Standards Act but caregivers, and fishermen are not, and what that difference means * How Indonesia has made a stand for the rights of its migrant workers that work in Taiwan * May God, the only brokerage agency in Taichung, Taiwan that Joe has come across, that actively encourages employers of migrant workers to shoulder all the placement fees, transportation fees and monthly service fees, which are usually passed on to migrant workers * The research that Joe did to be able to describe scenes in the book * The range of factory dormitory conditions * The living conditions of caregivers * Joe’s writing process for Migrante * Why migrant workers can’t easily quit or leave their jobs * Professor Jose Mario de Vega and how Joe consulted with him for feedback on Migrante * How Joe hopes that his book will create awareness about the plight of migrant workers in Taiwan * Joe is donating all of his proceeds from the sales of Migrante to the Yilan Migrant Fishermen Union and Serve the People Association
Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/j-w-henley-author-of-migrante-reveals-the-plight-of-migrant-workers-in-taiwan-ep-216/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Dr. Bonny Ling is a scholar and practitioner who works on international human rights and development. She is Executive Director of Work Better Innovations, a research consultancy with a community service mission working on new ideas for a responsible economy. We spoke about her work with migrant workers, the challenges that Taiwan has faced in dealing with migrant workers, why it is important for Taiwan to address the wider challenges of combatting human trafficking and modern slavery. She also spoke about her forced labor project that is going to take her back to Taiwan to work with SMEs (small medium enterprises) in December. In Taiwan 98 percent of all businesses are small medium enterprises and they employ close to 80 percent of the total domestic workforce. The European Union (EU) defines a small enterprise as one with less than 50 employees and a medium enterprise as one with less than 250 employees.
Dr. Bonny Ling has worked in the UN system and in international civil society. Bonny is a Senior Non-Resident Fellow with the University of Nottingham Taiwan Studies Programme; Research Fellow with the Institute for Human Rights and Business; and Advisory Board Member of the INGO Human Rights at Sea. Bonny wrote her PhD in Law on human trafficking and China at the Irish Centre of Human Rights and is an expert on human trafficking and modern slavery. She graduated from Cambridge University (criminology) and the Fletcher School, Tufts University (law and diplomacy). Bonny has served as an international election observer in East Timor and for the OSCE. Previously at the University of Zurich in Switzerland, she writes on human rights, migrants, business responsibilities and international development and is a contributing writer for Ketagalan Media, New Bloom, Taipei Times, Taiwan Insight and The News Lens.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
- to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
- to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
- to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
- to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
- to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Bonny’s connection to Taiwan
- What constitutes a migrant worker
- The importance of addressing and speaking about hate and discrimination toward migrants
- The mistreatment of migrant workers who worked on construction for the 2022 Qatar World Cup
- The terms forced labor, human trafficking and modern slavery
- The Modern Slavery Act in the U.K. and Australia
- The definition of forced labor
- The indicators of forced labor
- The media coverage on how migrant factory workers in Taiwan were mistreated during COVID
- How movement restrictions on migrant workers in Miaoli initially applied to domestic workers and factory workers
- How the movement restrictions did not make scientific sense from a public health point of view
- How Taiwan is under scrutiny regarding the treatment of its migrant workers
- How everyone has a connection to Taiwan if you consider the statistic that Taiwan makes 90% of the world’s high-end chips
- What happened when Indonesia introduced a zero (pre-employment) fee policy for its migrant workers in 2020
- The international legal definition of a migrant worker
- Fees that low wage migrant workers are expected to pay
- How migrant workers are often indebted (due to the fees they owe) before their first day of work
- In private industry some brands have exerted pressure on their suppliers telling them that they cannot charge workers fees
- Bilateral discussions between Indonesia and Taiwan in August that led to the increase in the wage for domestic care workers, and the wage for all domestic care workers has been raised in Taiwan but there are some caveats
- The wage or domestic care workers hadn’t been raised in seven years in Taiwan
- How Taiwan needs to hire and retain skilled workers for its manufacturing industry due to its declining birthrate and aging population
- How Taiwan’s treatment of migrant workers is related to its image as a responsible global citizen
- How Taiwan’s economy largely consists of (98-99%) SME (small medium enterprises)
- How better wages and working conditions are related to attracting and retaining workers/employees
- How there needs to be more dialogue and open communication between employers and workers
- The importance of creating awareness of forced labor indicators amongst employers
- How to deal with the infrastructure involved with hiring and bringing over migrant workers
- Bonny’s forced labor project which will bring her to Taiwan in December to educate SMEs in Hsinchu, Taichung and Kaohsiung about the 11 indicators of forced labor
- SMEs employ 80% of Taiwan’s domestic workforce
- The case of Taiwanese who lured and trafficked to Cambodia
- How Taiwan was the first country in Asia to legalize same sex marriage
- When Taiwan lost representation in the United Nations in 1971, it was Taiwan’s SMEs that drove the economy
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-bonny-ling-discusses-the-challenges-taiwan-faces-dealing-with-migrant-workers-ep-215/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
On November 5th we hosted a special live online event for people to experience the artistry of Master Cartoonist Guy Gilchrist. Guy’s artwork is enshrined in the Smithsonian Museum and first lady Nancy Reagan has declared him a national treasure. In this episode we share highlights from the event.
HURRY! LAST CHANCE! YOU CAN WIN ALL OF GUY'S DRAWINGS FROM THIS PODCAST BY DONATING $25 OR MORE TO TALKING TAIWAN!
Guy has generously donated all 10 of the drawings he did that night of various Muppets and classic cartoon characters. You own Guy’s artwork! Just enter to win his drawings by simply by making a donation of $25 or more to TalkingTaiwan.com/support by 11:59 EST on November 30.
Deadlines to Enter th Contest for our fans abroad are as follows:
Great Britain: December 1 4:59am GMT
Taiwan: December 1 12:59pm CST
To Donate, the EASIEST WAY IS TO click this link and go to the Talking Taiwan Support Page
Alternatively, you can go directly on PayPal and use talkingtaiwanpodcast@gmail.com
*Note: When donating with PayPal or with a credit or debit card, be sure to select the option "Sending to a friend" to avoid withheld commissions
To see Guy in action and draw along with his tutorials visit our YouTube channel and watch A Master Class In Art and Life with Guy Gilchrist: Famous Cartoonist for The Muppets.
https://youtu.be/aijIsddfo8c
A full replay of the event (which is over two hours long) is also available on our YouTube channel. Guy Gilchrist: The Muppets Master Cartoonist Main Event REPLAY
https://youtu.be/L_K_zbbeiNg
We want to thank Guy Gilchrist and his cameraman Rich for sharing his amazing talent with us. Aside from being a talented artist, Guy really knows how to bring happiness to others through his art, as you’ll see if you watch any of the recordings of the event that we’ve posted on our YouTube channel.
A portion of the money raised will benefit Guy’s favorite charity World Central Kitchen.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
- to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
- to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
- to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
- to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
- to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here are the highlights from this episode:
[Timestamps for topics covered during the episode are on YouTube]
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/a-master-class-in-art-and-life-with-guy-gilchrist-famous-cartoonist-for-the-muppets-ep-214/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
John Ross and Eryk Michael Smith are the co-hosts of the Formosa Files podcast. Together John and Eryk tell stories from the history of Taiwan (formerly known as Formosa) in a nonchronological order. They spoke with me about where the idea for the podcast came from, their love of history and where they find inspiration for their podcast episodes. They are on a mission to share the history of Taiwan far and wide. Now in their second season, John and Eryk also shared what we can expect from season three.
John Ross is an author and co-founder of publisher Camphor Press, which specializes in books on Taiwan and China in English, while Eryk Michael Smith has worked as a writer and journalist for multiple media outlets in Taiwan, including the island's only English-language radio station ICRT (FM 100.7). Both Ross and Smith have lived in Taiwan for well over 20 years and call the island home.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
- to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
- to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
- to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
- to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
- to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What brought John and Eryk to Taiwan
- Eryk’s work at Next Media
- How John and Eryk met
- Where the idea and inspiration for the Formosa Files podcast came from
- The first episode of Formosa Files, The White Formosan
- Their approach to creating content for Formosa Files
- Why John and Eryk decided to focus on the time period from 1600-2000
- How John and Eryk came up with the name of the podcast
- Where John and Eryk’s love of history comes from
- Why John and Eryk think it’s important to know history
- The sources of research that John and Eryk use for Formosa Files
- How Eryk discovered the story of the Duck King
- Han Cheung’s Taiwan in Time column in the Taipei Times newspaper
- Steven Crook’s Highways and Byways column in the Taipei Times newspaper
- Why Formosa Files episodes don’t follow chronological order and how John and Eryk decide what topics to cover and when
- Episode ideas that John and Eryk have had to scrap
- Topics that their listeners are interested in
- How Formosa Files has evolved and changed over time
- Eryk and John’s favorite episodes of Formosa Files
- What we can expect from Formosa Files in the future
- What’s being planned for season three of Formosa Files
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/formosa-files-john-ross-and-eryk-michael-smith-are-on-a-mission-to-share-the-history-of-taiwan-ep-213/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
1979 was a crucial year for Taiwan. In January of that year the United States changed its diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing and in December of that same year the Kaohsiung Incident happened. Speaking with my guest, Dr. Mark Chen, for this episode made me realize that there are many people to thank for the important work that they did back then to safeguard Taiwan and the people of Taiwan.
Dr. Mark Chen (陳唐山 ) has spent much of his life dedicated to doing advocacy work for Taiwan both in the U.S. and in Taiwan. Listeners of this podcast may recall his name being mentioned in episode 199 when I spoke with Gerrit van der Wees about the Taiwan Relations Act.
When the United States formally recognized the communist People’s Republic of China and severed its diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979, Mark Chen and others reached out to U.S. congressmen and senators to express the concerns of the people of Taiwan. As a result, he and several others were invited to testify in front of the U.S Congress as the Taiwan Relations Act was being drafted. The act passed in April of 1979. Later that same year when the Kaohsiung Incident happened on December 10th Dr. Chen and overseas Taiwanese were galvanized to call for further investigation into the matter and to put international pressure on the Kuomintang government to release those charged and arrested in connection with the Kaohsiung Incident.
Dr. Chen also shared how the advocacy work being done for Taiwan at the time led to the formation of FAPA (the Formosan Association for Public Affairs) in 1982. This year marks the 40th anniversary of FAPA.
In part one of my interview with him we focus on the work he’s done for Taiwan in the U.S.- which started when he was a student at the University of Oklahoma.
Dr. Chen has been the president of the Taiwanese Association of America, World Federation of Taiwanese Associations, and the Formosan Association of Public Affairs.
In part two of my interview with Mark Chen, we’ll talk about his work in Taiwan as an elected official and public servant, and his current work as the chairman of the Prospect Foundation.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How the education Dr. Chen received when Taiwan was ruled by the Japanese influenced him
- How the arrival of the Kuomintang in Taiwan in 1945 at the end of World War II was without the consent of the Taiwanese people and changed things overnight for the people of Taiwan
- How the Chiang Kai-shek Kuomintang government was focused on retaking China at the time and a lot of this rhetoric ended up being taught in schools
- The impact of the 228 massacre on the people of Taiwan
- How subject matter taught in schools changed under the Kuomintang
- How Mark and many of his peers were able to study in the U.S. with the financial assistance of scholarships
- How an exit visa was needed to be able to leave Taiwan which was still under martial law at the time
- His involvement with Taiwanese student groups as a university student was forbidden by the Kuomintang government in Taiwan at the time
- Why his Taiwan passport was confiscated after sending it to the Taiwan embassy in Houston to be renewed; making him stateless
- When an ad about the 228 massacre that was to run to the University Oklahoma newspaper was denied publication, Dr. Chen who was a young student at the university, appealed directly to the university’s president who agreed to publish the ad
- When the U.S. cut its official relationship with Taiwan in 1979, Taiwan was known as “Free China” under the rule of the Chiang Kai-shek government, as opposed to “Red China” which refers to the People’s Republic of China
- How Dr. Chen and others in the Taiwanese American community worked to inform members of the U.S. Congress about the importance of the U.S. maintaining a relationship with Taiwan, and understanding the perspectives of the Taiwanese people
- How Dr. Chen was blacklisted for being involved with organizing Taiwanese student organizations not allowed to return to Taiwan for father’s funeral
- How Dr. Chen, Peng Ming-min and others were invited to testify to the U.S. Congress about on behalf of the people of Taiwan that there should be freedom and democracy in Taiwan, this formed the basis for the Taiwan Relations Act
- On January 1, 1979 U.S. President Jimmy Carter switched the U.S.’s diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to the People’s Republic of China
- How Dr. Chen asked the American Institute in Taiwan office in Washington D.C. to investigate the Kaohsiung Incident which happened on December 10, 1979
- Dr. Chen was the chairperson of the World Federation of Taiwanese Associations when he personally went to visit the chairman of Amnesty International in London to appeal of their help in calling for the release of those arrested due to the Kaohsiung Incident
- How Dr. Chen and others informed U.S. Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy about the Kaohsiung Incident and what was happening in Taiwan at the time
- What led to FAPA (Formosan Association for Public Affairs) being established in 1982
- When U.S. President Jimmy Carter officially recognized the People’s Republic of China, the annual 20,000 immigration quota that the U.S. had allotted for Taiwan would switch over to China, Dr. Chen, Chai Trong-rong and others started lobbying for the immigration quota
- They reached out to Senator Ted Kennedy, Senator Claiborne Pell, Congressman Jim Leach and Congressman Stephen Solarz, about the immigration quota and a bill was passed that allowed the U.S. to allot Taiwan an annual immigration quota of 20,000
- The success of recovering the U.S. immigration quota for Taiwan led to the idea to form FAPA (Formosan Association for Public Affairs)
- FAPA was modeled after AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee)
- The first president of FAPA was Chai Trong-rong and Dr. Mark Chen was the second
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-mark-chen-advocate-for-taiwan-in-both-the-u-s-and-taiwan-ep-212/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
In this episode of Talking Taiwan, we share the second half of my interview with illustrator and cartoonist Guy Gilchrist, picking up after part one in episode 207. In the second half of my interview with Guy, he talked about how Dr. Seuss has been an influence in his life. Guy also talked about how he had to deal with chronic pain and back surgery.
These days Guy can be seen on social media and at Comicons around the country doing what he loves most drawing cartoon character live for his fans. Guy is best known as the cartoonist of Jim Henson and The Muppets. He’s also had his hand in notable cartoons such as The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Looney Tunes, Tom & Jerry, Tiny Toons, Pink Panther, and Disney, among others. He was declared a national treasure by former First Lady, Nancy Reagan and his artwork has been enshrined in the Smithsonian.
Since one thing we can’t do on this podcast is to show the magic of Guy’s cartooning, we decided to host a LIVE online event where you can meet Guy this Saturday, November 5th at 6:30pm EST.
At the event you’ll have a chance to see him drawing live. Guy will also show you how to draw cartoon characters yourself. The best part of all this is that Guy has generously offered to donate all of the drawings he does that night and you can enter to win them by simply making a donation of $25 or more to Talking Taiwan’s GoFundMe page: http://gofundme.com/building-talking-taiwans-legacy
If you’d like to attend the event just Register at: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0qcuippj0oGNFuyKrRnUTpoPMCFSBcWEqP#/registration
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
- to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
- to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
- to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
- to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
- to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How hearing Dr. Seuss speak when Guy was in grade school left a lasting impression on him
- How Guy went from being a bad student to realizing that he could actually do something with his talents
- How Guy wrote to Dr. Seuss when he was struggling to get a children’s book published
- Guy’s encouragement not to give up on your dreams especially if you are in the arts
- How Guy’s children’s book about the character Mudpie had been rejected by a dozen publishers
- The story of how Dr. Seuss' first book I Saw It On Mulberry Street got published
- Guy's Mudpie character and the book series he’s created about Mudpie
- How Guy has dealt with arm and back issues, and chronic pain
- How Guy first had back surgery at the age of 29 and has gotten cortisone shots to deal with pain for years
- How Guy started having trouble walking about six years ago
- Guy’s recovery from the back surgery he had about six years ago after his muscles atrophied from not being active for a year
- How Guy now deals with pain
- Guy’s advice to love ourselves and take care of ourselves first
- Guy’s music and songwriting
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/guy-gilchrist-on-dealing-with-setbacks-and-how-dr-seuss-influenced-his-life-ep-211/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Emma Choi is the host of the NPR weekly short-form comedy podcast Everyone & Their Mom. She is the youngest host at NPR and currently in her final year at Harvard University. In January of 2021, she was an intern for the NPR show Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me! Initially she was told that she couldn’t be hired since she was a college student but apparently her PowerPoint prowess led to her working with the Wait Wait team to create Everyone & Their Mom, which began airing in February 2022. She's a second generation Korean American. Emma is definitely a trailblazer with a quirky sense of humor. I especially enjoyed the episodes of Everyone & Their Mom that she did about the job of a grizzly bear conflict manager, and the one about how her grandmother’s kimchi could be improved. She spoke to me about what it's been like working at NPR and why she did a satanic Tickle Me Elmo impression during her internship interview.
On Mon, Oct 24, 2022 at 11:32 PM Felicia Lin
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Emma Choi is the host of the NPR weekly short-form comedy podcast Everyone & Their Mom. In 2021, she was an intern for the NPR show Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me! Apparently, it was her PowerPoint prowess led to her working with the Wait Wait team to create Everyone & Their Mom, which began airing in February 2022. She's a second generation Korean American. We talked about that it's been like working at NPR and being NPR's youngest host, what why she did a satanic Tickle Me Elmo impression during her internship interview.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
- to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
- to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
- to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
- to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
- to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What it’s like being NPR’s youngest host
- Her keynote speech at the Asian American Journalists Association
- Who would be her dream guest
- Where Emma’s sense of humor comes from
- How her family has been on her podcast Everyone & Their Mom
- How Emma did an episode about how her grandma’s kimchi is missing something
- What goes into producing an episode
- What Emma has learned from Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!host Peter Sagal
- How Emma wrote a 400-page bookspanning three generations of Korean women
- Emma’s experience with the Harvard Lampoon
- Emma’s interest in writing in the future
- What Emma’s experience working at NPR has been like
- How Emma’s experience with the Harvard Lampoon has made her appreciate the diverse writing team she works with at NPR
- If Emma has thought about what she wants to do next
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/emma-choi-youngest-npr-host-talks-about-her-comedy-podcast-everyone-and-their-mom-ep-210/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
In mid-June I spoke with Michelle Kuo and Albert Wu about their weekly newsletter, A Broad and Ample Road. They began writing it in 2020 as a way to keep in touch with people during the pandemic.
We also spoke about the shooting at the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian church in Laguna Woods which had happened a month before on May 15th. We discussed how the shooting sparked debate on the shooter’s identity as Taiwanese or Chinese, and the terms benshengren (本省人) and waishengren (外省人) which are commonly used in Taiwan to differentiate people. Michelle reflected on how the close-knit nature of the Taiwanese community in Laguna. Her parents live five minutes from the church and knew members of the Taiwanese community in Laguna Woods. Albert shared why he felt that in a different life the shooter could have been one of his uncles.
Michelle Kuo is a social activist, lawyer, teacher, and writer. She is an associate professor at the American University of Paris in History, Law, and Society and a visiting associate professor at National Taiwan University.
Albert Wu is a historian and an associate research fellow at the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
- to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
- to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
- to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
- to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
- to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Why Michelle and Albert named their newsletter A Broad and Ample Road
- Why Michelle and Albert started their newsletter
- The piece that Michelle and Albert wrote about how Taiwan’s pro-China media depicts Ukraine and Russia
- How Michelle thinks that writing doesn’t have to be a solidary activity
- How Michelle and Albert decide what to write together
- How Michelle and Albert write together
- What Michelle and Albert’s writing process is
- How Michelle and Albert deal with disagreements in the writing process
- How often the newsletter is published
- One of the most enjoyable things about writing the newsletter
- How the newsletter had connected them with a variety of people who can relate to the things Michelle and Albert write about
- Michelle’s piece about moving to Taiwan
- Michelle and Albert have envisioned the newsletter being bilingual and through a grant from Substack have been able to work with translators
- Michelle’s book Reading With Patrickhas been translated into Chinese
- The shooting at Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church in May
- Divisions between the different groups of people who identify as Taiwanese and Chinese in Taiwan
- The terms benshengren (本省人) and waishengren (外省人)
- The Chinese character for sheng (省) means province which is how Taiwan was referred to under the Republic of China initially until constitutional amendments were made
- The term the “49ers” which refers to the Chinese that fled China with the with the Kuomintang to Taiwan in 1949
- How the gunman of the shooting at Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church was a son of waishengren
- Albert and Michelle’s experiences growing up a family that was a mix of bengshengren and waishengren
- The discrimination that Albert’s waishengren uncles experienced in Taiwan
- How Michelle was raised by her parents to identify as Chinese American
- The debate over whether to call the gunman Taiwanese or Chinese
- The idea that the term Taiwanese can be inclusive, multicultural
- The waishengren identity as victim vs. privileged
- The variety of reactions to the Taiwanese Presbyterian Church shooting
- Michelle’s parents’ connection to the members of the Taiwanese Presbyterian Church
- How members of the Taiwanese community in Laguna Woods coexist and interact despite their differences in political opinions
- How the circumstances of the shooter David Chou’s life were unraveling
- What makes someone become a killer or a hero
- The types of communities that could contribute to making people in to heroes or killers
- The brutal impact of authoritarian regimes on all members of its society
- Activists in the opposition (dangwai) movement have included waishengren, aboriginal, Hakka and other groups
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/michelle-kuo-and-albert-wu-on-a-broad-and-ample-road-and-the-taiwanese-presbyterian-church-shooting-ep-209/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
When Wilma Welsh left Canada to work with the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) in 1969, she told me that it changed her life.
Little did she know how she’d be a part of the pivotal role that the PCT would play as a voice for the people of Taiwan. During her time in Taiwan, Wilma experienced the Kuomintang’s surveillance and censorship, and felt the lingering impact of the 228 massacre which happened on February 28, 1947.
She was the English secretary to Reverend Kao Chun-ming, the General Secretary of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan. When Taiwan’s international status and the fate Taiwan’s people came in to question Reverend Kao and others wrote the Public Statement on Our National Fate, Wilma typed it up and took it out of Taiwan to Hong Kong where it could be safely mailed out. She also recounted how she was working at the Bible Society in Taipei in 1975 when the Kuomintang arrived to confiscate Taiwanese Hoklo language versions of the Bible and ended up smuggling out 2 copies of the Bible.
In 2006 she became the Moderator of the 132nd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. She was the first lay person to ever hold this position. In 2010 she was by the bestowing of a Doctor of Divinity Degree (DD) from Knox College, the University of Toronto. During her year as Moderator she received three additional honors, a life membership in the Women’s Missionary Society, the Mahatma Gandhi Peace Medal, and an honorary membership in the World Taiwanese Christian Association.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
- to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
- to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
- to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
- to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
- to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Wilma’s early involvement with the Presbyterian Church
- What brought Wilma to Formosa (as Taiwan was known then) to work with the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan
- Wilma’s parents’ reaction to her going to Taiwan
- What Wilma was doing before she went to Taiwan
- What Wilma knew about Taiwan before she went there
- The language training that Wilma did before going to Taiwan
- Wilma’s first impressions of Taiwan
- How Wilma first worked with M.C. Chong
- How Wilma work for Dr. Kao (Reverend Kao Chun-ming)
- How Taiwan was under martial law and Wilma had to beware of informers
- The censorship of postal mail coming from Taiwan
- Wilma’s work with Dr. Kao
- How she worked half a day on Wednesdays at the Bible Society
- How it was not safe for Dr. Kao to speak with Wilma about certain things in the office because there were planted informants in the office
- How the Taiwanese were afraid of the Kuomintang since the 228 Massacre had happened
- How she burned documents that Dr. Kao didn’t want people to read
- How the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan was pressured to cancel its membership in the World Council of Churches
- The letter that was written by Presbyterian Church in Taiwan stating that it was not their wish to withdraw from the World Council of Churches
- How Wilma hid this letter when she left Taiwan for Hong Kong where she mailed the letter out to partner churches
- The letter was also taken to the American embassy (AIT) to be sent out to the U.S.
- How the Republic of China’s United Nations seat was transferred to the People’s Republic of China in 1971 when UN Resolution 2758 recognized the PRC as the legitimate representative of China and what that meant for the fate of Taiwan and the people of Taiwan
- What prompted the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) to issue the Statement on Our National Fate
- How Wilma secretly took copies of the PCT’s Statement on Our National Fate with her to Hong Hong to be mailed out
- How the PCT’s Statement on Our National Fate stated:
- How the PCT’s Statement was perceived as a challenge to the Kuomintang’s authority
- What happened when the Kuomintang sent police to confiscate Hoklo (Taiwanese) language bible from the Bible Society in 1975
- How Wilma was asked to intervene and smuggle copies of the Bible out of Taiwan
- How Wilma smuggled the Bibles out of Taiwan to Canada
- How Wilma knew that despite the things she did, she was protected by the Canadian government
- How there were informants in the office of the PCT
- Wilma reflects on how the time she spent in Taiwan changed her
- Wilma’s thoughts on current events related to Taiwan, such as the church shooting in Irvine and the visit of Nancy Pelosi
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-wilma-welsh-how-the-presbyterian-church-of-taiwan-became-the-voice-of-the-people-in-the-1970s-ep-208/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
I first learned about illustrator and cartoonist Guy Gilchrist, when I interviewed Dr. Karen Tsai (in episode 120) about how she spearheaded the creation of Monster Dance, a children’s book created to help children deal with and understand the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Guy is best known as the cartoonist of Jim Henson’s Muppets comic strip that was printed worldwide in 660-plus newspapers daily in 80 different languages. Guy spoke with me about his humble beginnings, and how he made his childhood dreams of becoming a cartoonist a reality.
Guy has had a lead role on the creative team for the Muppet Babies, Jim Henson’s Fraggle Rock, and other Henson creations. Throughout the years, Guy has also had his hand in notable cartoons such as The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Looney Tunes, Tom & Jerry, Tiny Toons, The Pink Panther, and Disney, among others.
Since we can’t showcase or share all of Guy’s talents on the podcast, we are excited to announce that on November 5th, we’ll be hosting a live online event where you can meet Guy and see him draw your favorite cartoon characters live. Guy has agreed do a special live online event to help raise some money for Talking Taiwan on November 5th. To get invited to this special event to meet Guy online just make a donation to Talking Taiwan’s GoFundMe campaign: http://gofundme.com/building-talking-taiwans-legacy.
We'll be sharing more information about the fun things planned for this event in the upcoming weeks.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
- to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
- to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
- to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
- to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
- to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How Guy got involved with the children's book Monster Dance
- How Guy met Dr. Karen Tsai who spearheaded the creation of Monster Dance
- Dr. Karen Tsai's nonprofit organization Donate PPE
- How Guy helped Donate PPE’s efforts by drawing comic book characters with masks for kids and to thank frontline health care workers
- How they went from the idea to create a coloring book to a children’s book
- Madeleine Editions, the publisher they worked with to create the children’s book Monster Dance
- The Walt Disney quote that inspired Guy to put out the book in record time
- How the team working on the book worked via Zoom and from locations all around the world and Eva Lou the founder of Madeleine Editions
- How the book got done in record time during the pandemic
- Guy's childhood and how his mother nurtured his artistic talent
- Since childhood Guy always imagined that he'd be a famous cartoonist
- How Guy did not have a television when he grew up, so he often watched television in an appliance store near the diner where his mother worked
- How he was inspired by watching cartoonist Walter Lantz draw Woody Woodpecker on television
- Why at the age of 10 Guy sent in his artwork to Walter Lantz
- How as a kid Guy imagined that he'd get to Los Angeles or New York to find work
- The first time Guy went to a Comic Convention, now known as ComiCon
- The letter that Walter Lantz sent in response to Guy
- How at age 16 Guy landed his first job drawing for a Disney coloring book
- How Guy became the cartoonist who drew the Muppets comic strip, which debuted in September 1981
- The first time that Guy met Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets
- How the Muppets comic strip was the only one to appear daily in 80 different languages around the world because Jim Henson wanted the Muppets
- How Guy ended up being a guest of honor at the Whitehouse, declared a national treasure and having his work enshrined in the Smithsonian
- Which Muppet Guy identifies with the most
- Guy’s advice for illustrators who are struggling with their career or creativity
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/guy-gilchrist-cartoonist-for-the-muppets-talks-about-how-to-achieve-your-dreams-ep-207/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
On September first, the Taiwan military shot down a Chinese civilian drone that flew near Kimen. In this episode of Talking Taiwan. I speak with Eric Chan about what led up the incident, China’s increased gray zone tactics toward Taiwan since U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in early August, and other news related to Taiwan’s military, such as the Taiwan Policy Act and UMC founder, Robert Tsao’s donation for civil defense in Taiwan.
Eric Chan is a non-resident research fellow at the Global Taiwan Institute, a Washington DC-based think tank dedicated to policy research on Taiwan and its people. He is also a senior airpower strategist with the U.S. Air Force, where he provides USAF with expertise on People’s Republic of China military capabilities, political leadership, and strategic culture.
Mr. Chan was previously the China, Korea, Philippines, and Vietnam Country Director with the Air Force. In this role, Mr. Chan was responsible for USAF
engagement with the Chinese Air Force, and for managing security cooperation with key allies and partners.
Mr. Chan has published widely on Chinese influence operations and gray zone warfare, Taiwan military reform, and military diplomacy with the People’s Liberation Army. He has written for publications including the Global Taiwan Brief, the USAF Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs, The Diplomat, and War on the Rocks.
Mr. Chan holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science/History from the University of California, San Diego.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
- to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
- to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
- to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
- to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
- to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How China’s gray zone tactics towards Taiwan have changed over the years and since U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August
- Should there be concerns about these changes and China’s use of drones in their gray zone tactics towards Taiwan
- What kind of intelligence can drones collect and damage they can do
- When China started sending drones over to Taiwan
- To date about 30 drones have flown over Kimen
- What led up to Taiwan’s military shooting down a drone from China on September 1
- How Taiwan’s military is considering installing anti-drone systems
- The difference between civilian and miliary drones
- How Ukraine has rigged civilian drones with grenades in the war with Russia
- The impact of China’s military actions in response to Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan and was it a blockade
- How some have called China’s recent military actions against Taiwan the fourth straits crisis
- What would constitute a military blockade of Taiwan
- Based on China’s recent military actions, what do we know about China’s military capability
- How Beijing’s recent white paper “One China, Two Systems” does not include promises made in a previous 1993 paper that Taiwan could have its own administrative, legislative, and judicial institutions, run its own democratic system, have its own military and economic affairs
- How Beijing will use Taiwan’s rejection of the white paper to justify harsher tactics against Taiwan
- How has China’s’ recent military actions and white paper affected public perception of people in China
- UMC (United Microelectronics Corporation) founder, Robert Tsao’s sizeable donation for civil defense of Taiwan
- The Taiwan Policy Act which has been passed through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
- What the Taiwan Policy Act would mean for Taiwan and the Taiwan Relations Act
- The message that the Taiwan Policy Act would send to China
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/eric-chan-discusses-what-led-the-taiwan-military-to-shoot-down-a-chinese-civilian-drone-ep-206/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
In this episode of Talking Taiwan, I welcome back Reverend Michael Stainton to talk about his time in Taiwan and work with the indigenous people of Taiwan. Much of the time he spent in Taiwan was during the martial law era (before 1987) and he gives an interesting account of what Taiwan was like at the time.
Reverend Stainton is the President of the Taiwanese Human Rights Association of Canada and the Founder and Director of the Canadian Mackay Committee. We had Reverend Stainton on as a guest previously (in episode 173) to talk about Canadian missionary George Leslie Mackay’s contributions to Taiwan.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
- to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
- to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
- to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
- to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
- to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- In the 1970s, while Chiang Kai-shek was President of Taiwan Chinese Communist materials and materials from China were labeled “banditry materials” at the Stanford Center’s library
- Students could access the “banditry materials” but were required to sign out and promptly return them because the materials had to remain on premises
- The Garrison Command would periodically stop by the library to check to make sure none of the “banditry materials” was missing
- How the death of Chiang Kai-shek was covered by the three television stations in Taiwan
- How Taiwan was a totalitarian police state in the 1970s
- What happened when Reverend Stainton was sent to Taiwan as a missionary in 1980 to work with the Presbyterian Church of Taiwan
- Reverend Stainton’s work as the Director of the Taipei Aboriginal University Student Center
- How students of the Taipei Aboriginal University Student Center were required to report to the political commissary what Reverend Stainton was teaching them
- How Reverend Stainton tried to encourage the aborigine students to think about their identity and history by inviting various speakers such as local politicians and an academic who had critiqued the myth of Wu Feng (who was beheaded by the Tsou aborigine tribe)
- How the police were always watching and Reverend Stainton’s mail was opened and censored (during Taiwan’s martial law era)
- What happened when the police and garrison command arrived to break up a birthday party that students were having at the Taipei Aboriginal University Student Center
- How Reverend Stainton knew that his phone was being tapped
- Some students from the Taipei Aborigine University Student Center went on to become leaders and politicians including Icyang Parod who is the Minister of the Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP)
- In 1982 Reverend Stainton switched to doing work in a rural aboriginal development in Wulai
- How Reverend Stainton helped to uncover embezzlement by the director of the Taipei Presbytery’s community development center in Wulai
- How Reverend Stainton discovered that he was disinvited from continuing to stay in Taiwan and sent back to Canada
- The Atayal people began to request that they run the aboriginal development in Wulai be under the Atayal Presbytery church instead of the Taipei Presbytery
- How Reverend Stainton studied at the Coady Institute after returning to Canada in 1983 and learned methods of community of development
- How Reverend Stainton was invited to return to Taiwan
- How Reverend Stainton was invited to work at community development centers in Taidong and Hualien
- How the president of a cooperative ran for and was elected township mayor, but the KMT found a way to oust him
- People who planned to participate in the Aboriginal return our land movement demonstration march in Taipei on August 25,1988 were harassed by the police and warned not to participate, busloads of people en route to the demonstration were also stopped
- In this era Cheng Wen Chen’s murder at Taida happened in 1981 and in 1989, Deng Nylon (Cheng Nan-jung) committed suicide by self-immolation rather than be arrested
- Reverend Stainton and his wife returned to Canada in 1991
- How Reverend Stainton’s observation of the variations in behavior of different aborigine groups at the Taipei Aborigine University Student Center made him interested in anthropology
- How Columbus Leo challenged the blacklist after martial law had been lifted
- Reverend Stainton was sent by the United Church of Canada to be an observer at Columbus Leo’s trial
- Observers at Columbus Leo’s trial included David Mulroney
- The Columbus Leo Support Committee was renamed and continued as the Taiwanese Human Rights Association of Canada (THRAC)
- The Taiwanese Human Rights Association of Canada organized the first nongovernment sponsored delegation (that included three members of Parliament) to observe the 1992 legislative elections in Taiwan
- The 1992 delegation included: Jim Peterson (Liberal), Bill Blaikie (NDP) and Mary Clancy (Liberal)
- In 1996 the THRAC organized a visit of indigenous leaders from Taiwan to Canada, the group included Icyang Parod, some clergy, legislators (two KMT and one DPP)
- The group traveled to various parts of Canada learning about the different approaches to self- government that indigenous people had taken and met Ovide Mercredi
- The Nisga’a Treaty
- What is currently happening with indigenous peoples’ rights in Taiwan
- The “return our land movement” in Taiwan
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/rev-michael-stainton-working-with-indigenous-people-in-taiwan-before-and-after-martial-law-ep-205/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Edouard Roquette is the founder of Rooms.Taipei a co-living business. In episode 192 he spoke to me about his experiences as an entrepreneur and the challenges facing foreign entrepreneurs in Taiwan. I’ve invited him back on to talk about the life-changing scooter accident that happened to him in 2012. It landed him in a wheelchair for six months, and on crutches for eight years. With physical therapy and treatment Edouard has been able to walk and hike again. To this day he continues to consult with physical therapists about his condition. We also spoke about how he took on the role of playing Tiger Man at the annual festivities in Beigang celebrating the birthday of Mazu, the goddess of the sea, and his fascination with Taiwan’s religious festivals and ceremonies.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
- to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
- to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
- to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
- to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
- to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How Edouard recovered enough from his scooter accident to be able to walk
- How Edouard’s accident happened three days before his visa for Taiwan expired
- The approach that hospitals in Taiwan take with pain management
- As a result of overstaying his visa Edouard had to leave Taiwan for a year
- How Edouard has been able to go from not being able to stand for more than a few minutes to being able to walk and hike
- Edouard’s physical therapist in Taipei JJ. Physio
- How Edouard had to advocate for himself to get physical therapy
- As a result of Edouard’s accident he lost his company, money, health, and relationship
- How it took eight years for Edouard to walk again and how he got through it
- How it was important for Edouard to feel a sense of normalcy as he was dealing with his injury and recovering
- How he dealt with the way that people treated him at various stages of his recovery
- How Edouard has been open trying all different types of treatments
- The lessons that Edouard has learned throughout this journey to recover from his accident
- The importance of connecting with support groups or people who have had similar experiences
- Edouard’s advice to others who have visa issues in Taiwan
- How Edouard ended up playing the role of Tiger man for Mazu’s birthday
- Taiwan’s dense religious practices
- The Mazu festival in Beigang (北港) attracts 200,000 people
- The Mazu festival in Dajia (大甲) attracts 2 million people
- The Wanjin (aka Wanchin) Catholic Basilica in Pingtung, Taiwan
- Obscure religious festivals in Taiwan
- Edouard has posted videos of Mazu birthday festivities on Facebook
- How Edouard has been involved with the Mazu birthday festivities in Beigang for 14 years
- Edouard’s recommendations for people interested in attending religious festivals in Taiwan
- Being a tourist in your own country and constantly discovering things about the place you live
- The Taiwan Gods website
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/eduordo-roquette-talks-about-his-life-changing-scooter-accident-and-playing-tiger-man-ep-204/
John Eastwood discusses Areas in Need of Legal Reform in Taiwan.
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/john-eastwood-discusses-areas-in-need-of-legal-reform-in-taiwan-ep-203/
John Eastwood discusses Areas in Need of Legal Reform in Taiwan.
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/john-eastwood-discusses-areas-in-need-of-legal-reform-in-taiwan-ep-203/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
On this episode of Talking Taiwan I’m speaking with Diana Lee, one of the founders and organizers of Hello Taiwan about Mets Taiwan Day which is in its 17th year. It’s coming up soon on August 28th. We talked about how the event got started, some of the celebrities and notable people who have appeared at Mets Taiwan Day in the past and what sorts of activities and things people will experience at the event. Among the most exciting news for Taiwanese baseball fans is who will be throwing the first pitch of the game, and how to get a limited edition MetsTaiwan No. 1 jersey. Hello Taiwan also sponsors other sporting and cultural events throughout the year.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
- to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
- to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
- to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
- to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
- to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How and when Mets Taiwan Day started
- How the NY Mets have several celebration of different culture events in the month of August
- Activities at Mets Taiwan Day include the Formosan Black Bear mascot, Third Prince, diabolo performance
- Peng Cheng-min (aka Chia Chia) former Taiwanese baseball player and coach will be throwing the first pitch at this year’s Mets Taiwan Day
- The Mets Taiwan No. 1 jersey and how to get one
- How the Mets Taiwan No. 1 jersey will be available in kids sizes for the first time this year
- Celebrities and famous, notable Taiwanese who have made appearances or thrown the first pitch at past Mets Taiwan Day events
- Other sports events sponsored by Hello Taiwan include: Rhode Island Dragon Boat Festival, Hello Taiwan Night at Dodgers’ Stadium, Hello Taiwan Night Lunar New Year event with the Long Island Nets
- Other events that Hello Taiwan has planned throughout the year for Halloween, a Taiwanese night market, Easter, Christmas
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/the-history-of-mets-taiwan-day-with-diana-lee-of-hello-taiwan-ep-202/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Shu-Ying Chung is a filmmaker based in New York. Her short film Removable has been making the rounds at film festivals. It’s won several awards for best story, best short, best actress, and best director, to name a few. I spoke with Shu-Ying about what motivated her to write, direct and produce the film and how she can identify with the subject matter of the film due to her own past immigration status issues. She also talked about some of the highlights of her career in film and offered some advice for those interested in filmmaking.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
- to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
- to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
- to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
- to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
- to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What it was like growing up in Taiwan for Shu-Ying
- Her interest in music, television and film and her parents’ reaction
- Her short film Removable that is currently making the rounds at several film festivals, which has earned many awards for best short, best actress, and best director, to name a few
- What inspired her to write, produce and direct her short film Removable
- Shu-Ying’s own experience with being forced to leave the U.S. due to work visa issues
- What happened when Shu-Ying had to leave the U.S. to return to Taiwan due to a visa issue and ended up staying there for 1.5 years
- How she wrote the script for Removable with her husband
- The research involved in writing the script for Removable
- How Shu-Ying and her husband did everything required for pre-production of the film in four weeks and a five-day shoot to make the short film, Removable
- How Removable was self-funded by Shu-Ying and her husband
- If Shu-Ying has plans to expand Removable into a full-length film
- Shu-Ying’s career path in film so far and her work at Hearst Magazines
- How Shu-Ying’s immigrant/work status has been a barrier in her career path
- How English language proficiency can be a barrier for foreigners to overcome in the U.S.
- Shu-Ying’s dream of being able to direct full length films full-time
- What it takes to be a good film director
- Shu-Ying’s approach to filmmaking
- The most memorable film/video projects (shown on Shu-Ying’s website) that she has worked on
- Shu-Ying’s first experience shooting with 35 mm film
- The difference between shooting on film vs. digitally
- Shu-Ying’s work on the Artists’ Den documentary series
- What Shu-Ying misses about Taiwan
- Some of Shu-Ying’s favorite films
- One of the films that influenced her short film Removable
- What Shu-Ying thinks she would be doing if she wasn’t a filmmaker
- The dream film project that Shu-Ying would like to make about her grandmother
- How Shu-Ying would like to be remembered
- What advice Shu-Ying has for others interested in being a filmmaker
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/shui-ying-chung-talks-about-filmmaking-and-her-award-winning-short-ep-201/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Today Talking Taiwan hits a major milestone with episode 200! We think it’s especially meaningful that the topic of this interview is TAIWANfest, an annual Taiwanese Canadian event that dates back to 1990.
Nowadays, TAIWANfest is held annually in Toronto and Vancouver. And my guest on this episode is Charlie Wu, the Managing Director of Asian-Canadian Special Events Association , which organizes TAIWANfest and LunarFest. You may recall that we had Charlie on earlier this year (in episode 167) to talk about LunarFest.
TAIWANfest will be held in Toronto later this month from August 26-28 and in Vancouver from September 3-5. This year’s theme is: The Stories of Independence Indulge in Indonesia, Discover Malaysia.
The programming will feature the indigenous band, Kanatal, which is a sort of experiment, that breaks the mold. They are a newly formed band of 4 experienced musicians, that have performing on tour without even having an album released. Other programs at TAIWANfest include a standup comedian, film screenings discussions, and events both in-person and virtual with topics covering: literature, social activism, food and culture.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
- to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
- to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
- to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
- to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
- to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- TAIWANfest will be taking place in Toronto from August 26-28 and in Vancouver from September 3-5
- The theme of TAIWANfest 2022: The Stories of Independence Indulge in Indonesia, Discover Malaysia
- The independence of nations vs. people
- The newly formed band, Kanatal [ga-na-dal], which means “island” in the Amis language, referring to the small island of Taiwan
- How Kanatal is touring and will perform at TAIWANfest
- The opening concert for TAIWANfest Toronto will be performed by an orchestra led by Maestro Ken Hsieh
- TAIWANfest Vancouver’s closing concert will be performed by a string orchestra
- Comedian Ed Hill who will be performing at TAIWANfest Toronto and Vancouver
- TAIWANfest’s virtual programming
- The Let Taiwan Be Taiwan program
- Connections between Indonesia and Taiwan
- There are 300,000 Indonesians living in Taiwan
- Indonesian migrant workers and their cultural impact on Taiwan
- Films, performances and food presented at TAIWANfest
- The “Taiwan Bookstore” concept at TAIWANfest Vancouver
- The food known in Taiwan, Indonesia and the Philippines, as “lumpia”; “run-bing” in Mandarin Chinese; and “popiah” in Malaysia
- The discussion on “Making Taiwan Relevant in Cansda” about the book Charlie wrote with two others about his experiences running TAIWANfest
- How Indonesian culture will be represented at TAIWANfest
- How TAIWANfest Vancouveris working with the Brilliant Time Bookstore in Taiwan to collect donated books in Southeast Asian languages for migrant workers in Taiwan
- The graphic image that represents TAIWANfest 2022 was inspired by batik culture from Malaysia and Indonesia
- How Charlie and his team decides and curates the content of TAIWANfest
- Some of the films that will be part of Cinematic Taiwan, such as The Road Forward, a musical documentary by Marie Clements, which will be subtitled in Chinese
- Kanatal’s song Peace
- The documentary being made about Kanatal
- The story of how Kanatal was formed
- Suana·Emuy·Cilangasay, who assembled the musicians to form Kanatal
- Eden Liu’s social activism in Indonesia
- Due to capacity limitations at the Harbourfront Center in Toronto and the pandemic, TAIWANfest in Toronto will be scaled down while TAIWANfest in Vancouver will be at full scale
- Future plans for the Jade Music Festival
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/charlie-wu-talks-about-the-annual-event-taiwanfest-ep-200/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
In June I spoke with Gerrit van der Wees about an article that he wrote about U.S. President Biden’s remarks about Taiwan when he was in Tokyo in May.
Just last week, Gerrit wrote a very timely article about the controversy over the U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s plans to visit Taiwan. In April Pelosi had planned to visit Taiwan as part of a tour to the Indo Pacific region but had to cancel because she contracted COVID-19.
Last week Pelosi left with a delegation for Asia, but made no mention of visiting Taiwan. There had been speculation that the Chinese would attack if U.S. fighter jets escorted Pelosi's plane into Taiwan, and in a phone conversation with U.S. president Joe Biden, Chinese president Xi Jinping warned Biden against “playing with fire” over Taiwan.
In his piece for the Taipei Times, Gerrit stated that it is essential that Pelosi stands her ground and pushes through with her plan to visit Taiwan. We’ll share Gerrit’s Taipei Times article and a few others about this situation on our website for this episode.
In my interview with Gerrit I asked him to explain in detail what the Taiwan Relations Act is, and what it tells us about the relationship between the U.S. and Taiwan. We also talked about the so-called U.S. policy of strategic ambiguity, how his work on the Taiwan Communique evolved from 1980 to 2016, and his thoughts on the war in Ukraine, and how it relates to China and Taiwan.
About Gerrit van der Wees
Gerrit van der Wees is a former Dutch diplomat. From 1980 through 2016, he served as chief-editor of “Taiwan Communiqué.” Also, from 2005 through 2016 he was liaison for the Senate and the State Department at FAPA-HQ. He currently teaches the History of Taiwan at George Mason University and Current issues in East Asia at George Washington University’s Elliott School for International Affairs.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
- to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
- to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
- to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
- to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
- to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- U.S. President Joe Biden’s remarks on the U.S.’s willingness to help defend Taiwan
- The Taiwan Relations Act, the document that contains US commitments to (help) defend Taiwan, and its first two clauses
- How U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken referred to the second clause of the Taiwan Relations Act in a speech he made at the end of May
- What the second clause of the Taiwan Relations Act says and means
- The background of the Taiwan Relations Act
- How Harvey Feldman of the East Asia Pacific desk of the U.S. State Department was involved in initially drafting the Taiwan Policy Act
- How in 1979 the U.S. Congress started drafting the Taiwan Relations Act which had security clauses and a human rights clause embedded within it
- How Senator Ted Kennedy, Senator Claiborne Pell, and Congressman Jim Leach were instrumental in drafting the Taiwan Relations Act and getting it passed in April 1979
- The establishment of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) in January 1979
- Mark Chen’s (陳唐山) work with Senators and Congressmen to ensure that the Taiwan Relations Act took into consideration the native Taiwanese perspective
- The Taiwan Communique and why it was established
- How news from and about Taiwan while under martial law was obtained, communicated and printed in the Taiwan Communique
- How dangwai (outside party) magazines: Měilì dǎo aka Formosa Magazine (美麗島) and Bāshí niándài aka 1980s (8十年代) were sources of information for the Taiwan Communique
- How the George Washington University library has a complete collection of dangwai magazines from Taiwan
- The censorship of postal mail that was received in and sent out from Taiwan during the martial law era
- After the Taiwan democratized in the early 1990s the focus of the Taiwan Communique shifted to working to gain more international recognition for Taiwan
- What the “One China Policy” means from the perspective of the U.S. and China
- How the “One China Policy” which was based on the 1970s, a time in which Beijing and Taipei that claimed to be the government of China
- How things have changed since the 1970s, which requires an adjustment in policy to reflect current times
- What makes the Taiwan Relations Act so unique
- How Taiwan meets all the requirements of a nation state according to the Montevideo Convention of 1933
- How Montevideo Convention states that the existence of an independent state does not depend on the recognition of other states
- When the United States of America declared independence in 1776 there were no other countries that recognized the new government in Washington D.C. for two years
- For the first 25 years of the United States of America it was only recognized by seven countries
- The Taiwan Travel Act
- Why the U.S. policy of strategic ambiguity toward Taiwan is not a policy
- How the term “strategic ambiguity” dates back to the mid-1990s
- Robert Suettinger’s 2003 book, Beyond Tiananmen
- Gerrit’s thoughts on the war in Ukraine and what China is taking away from the situation
- Gerrit’s observations on how the war in Ukraine has impacted the people of Taiwan
- Things that Taiwan need to reconsider about its military strategy
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/gerrit-van-der-wees-the-past-and-present-state-of-u-s-taiwan-relations-ep-199/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Emily Wu Truong is a motivational speaker for mental health awareness. She is affiliated with NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness and has been involved with this organization for the last 8.5 years. I’ve invited her on to Talking Taiwan as a guest since July is BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) Mental Health Month. Emily spoke with me about her own struggles with mental health, and suicide. She has a passion for working with youths on mental health related issues. She also shared her thoughts about the oppression and trauma experienced firsthand or as generational trauma by the people of Taiwan, and how it could impact one’s mental health.
About Emily Wu Truong:
Emily Wu Truong is an award-winning mental health advocate, nationally-recognized motivational speaker, catalytic thought leader, community educator, playwright and published author. For over a decade, Emily has worked tirelessly to create more compassionate & accepting communities by bringing mental health education wherever she goes. As a speaker, Emily utilizes her story from depression to self-actualization, inspiring others to find meaning in life struggles. She has spoken to a variety of audiences, including students from elementary school to graduate school students, school administrators, teachers, families, law enforcement, faith-based communities, medical and mental health professionals and many more. Over the years, in recognition of Emily’s efforts to raise awareness on mental health and emotional resilience, she has been featured in the California Mental Health Movement “Each Mind Matters,” Good Morning America, NBC Asian America, LA 18 and World Journal (世界日報). Emily has also been honored with the “2015 Woman of Achievement Award” by former Senator Ed Hernandez. Also in 2015, Emily was honored with the Youth and Young Adult Leadership Award at the 29th Annual National Alternatives Conference in Memphis, Tennessee. In 2017, the Los Angeles County Supervisors honored Emily's request to establish May 10th as "Asian Pacific American Mental Health Day." In 2018, former Assemblyman Ed Chau honored Emily with the 2018 Make A Difference Award. Emily has become a role model for many, sharing her life lessons and delivering her message that helplessness is not hopelessness and that with help, there is hope.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
- to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
- to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
- to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
- to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
- to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Why she’s been called the lady in green
- How Emily tries to talk about mental health in a positive light
- The struggles that Emily felt growing up
- How the painting “The Potato Eaters” by Van Gogh reminds her of how she felt disconnected from her family in the past
- How she started asking existential questions about life when she was in junior high
- Competitiveness in the Asian culture
- Comparisons made by Asian parents, families and relatives
- Emily’s passion for the mental health of youth
- How important it is for kids to have supportive friends
- How Emily struggled in elementary school and was bullied in junior high
- Emily’s best friend in high school Enoch who helped her to get through high school
- How Emily used dating as a coping skill in the past
- How Emily is a suicide survivor what her to consider suicide and what stopped her from committing suicide
- Emily’s thoughts on school shootings
- Her first experience with a therapist and counseling in college
- How Emily wants to help young people to develop coping skills to deal with their parents and peers so that they don’t need to internalize things
- How Emily took an interest Taiwan in order to bond with her mother
- How Emily competed in the Miss Taiwan pageant
- How Emily discovered that her mother’s cousin is Taiwanese activist Koh Se Kai and that encouraged her to be more outspoken
- How Emily got involved in the Write in Taiwanese Census Bureau, TACL and FAPA
- Emily’s thoughts on how the people of Taiwan have been oppressed and how and trauma experienced firsthand or as generational trauma could impact one’s mental health
- Author Iris Chang who committed suicide
- Emily’s work with NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness)
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/emily-wu-truong-award-winning-mental-health-speaker-inspires-others-to-find-meaning-in-their-struggles-ep-198/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Ed Lin is a native New Yorker of Taiwanese and Chinese descent. He is the first writer to win three Asian American Literary Awards. The last time we had Ed on Talking Taiwan (in 2014) we spoke about “Ghost Month” his first book in the Taipei Night Market Series of mysteries. Since then, he’s written a YA novel and now four books in the Taipei Night Market Series. "Death Doesn't Forget," Is the latest book in the series and it will be published in July.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
- to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
- to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
- to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
- to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
- to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Ed Lin’s Taipei Mysteries books series and how he went about planning and writing them
- The main character of Ed Lin’s Taipei Mysteries book series, Jing-Nan and how he’s evolved
- The premise and what inspired Ed to write Death Doesn’t Forget
- How the indigenous tribe that Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei is named after is not officially recognized as a tribe in Taiwan
- The lack of representation of indigenous people in Taiwan’s government
- The way Ed has described Taipei in his novel
- The neighborhood of Guangzhou Street west of Longshan Temple and why he described it as seedy
- The training center located near Longshan Temple in Taipei for aborigine people and why the program was unsuccessful
- The inconsistent romanization of streets in Taipei
- How the stops on Taiwan’s MRT system are announced in four languages: Mandarin, Taiwanese (Holo), Hakka and English
- How safe Taipei and Taiwan is
- The role of organized crime, good and bad in Taiwan’s society
- How the population of Taiwan is not monoethnic as some would assume
- Taiwan’s new immigrants from Southeast Asia
- The plight of Taiwan’s migrant workers
- The “island mentality” of Taiwan that Ed describes as people’s kindness and helpfulness
- Ed’s interactions with complete strangers and gangsters in Taiwan
- How the characters in Death Doesn’t Forget represent different ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds
- How Taiwan’s White Terror era has affected the people of Taiwan and its lasting trauma
- Some of the intriguing characters of Death Doesn’t Forget
- The abuse of migrant fishermen and migrant workers in Taiwan and Ed’s interest in writing about it
- The “orphan brigade” of Death Doesn’t Forget and Taiwanese baseball teams from the Japanese occupation period (similar to what was portrayed in the film Kano)
- How Japan used baseball as a form of soft power in its colonies
- How Taiwan’s Little League baseball team is a form of its soft power
- Green Island and how one of the characters of Death Doesn’t Forget in spent time at the prison there
- Why murder is the crime featured in many of Ed’s novels
- Ed’s observations and thoughts on the intermingling of religions in Taiwan
- How Ed would immerse himself in the time period of 1976 when writing his Chinatown Mysteries series
- Ed’s thoughts on how the war in Ukraine may or may not be giving China ideas about attacking Taiwan
- Ed’s approach to his book readings
- How/why the narration of Death Doesn’t Forget was switched to third person, instead of first person for all of the other novels in the Taipei Mysteries series
- How the writing James T. Farrell, Irish-American author of the Studs Lonigan trilogy and Danny O'Neill pentology, inspired Ed to write Death Doesn’t Forget in third person
- Ed’s foray into YA (young adult) novel writing with David Tung Can’t Have A Girlfriend Until He Gets Into An Ivy League College
- How Ed came up with the title Death Doesn’t Forget
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/ed-lin-winner-of-three-asian-literary-awards-talks-about-his-new-book-death-doesnt-forget-ep-197/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
July is BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) Mental Health Month, which is also known as Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, named for the mental health advocate who brought awareness to the unique struggles that underrepresented groups face in regard to mental illness in the US.
I’ve invited Susan Chung on to Talking Taiwan to talk about her career in mental health, and BIPOC Mental Health Month. Susan is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, who provides psychotherapy specifically to BIPOC students. We also spoke about key statistics and research findings that inform us about the mental health of Asians, some of the unique challenges facing BIPOC communities and individuals, the racism that Susan has experienced as a mental health professional, and the importance of managing our own mental health.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
- to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
- to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
- to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
- to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
- to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How Susan got interested in studying mental health and social work
- How Susan realized that there’s a need to have more Asians represented in mental health
- Susan’s work with forensic social work and how it is different from social work
- Susan’s work with survivors of human trafficking
- Susan’s career path
- Susan has worked with middle school-aged kids in addition to college kids
- How Susan manages the impact that dealing with victims of human trafficking could have on her own mental health
- How Susan continues to do forensic social work since moving from New York to North Carolina by accompanying police on raids
- How Susan felt about being the only Asian-identifying therapist among Black-identifying therapists at the University of North Carolina counseling center
- Work-related trauma that Susan has experienced
- Susan’s work experience at the University of North Carolina
- Susan’s experiences living in Irvine, California, New York City and North Carolina
- In 2017, according to the Office of Minority Health, the leading cause of death in young Asian Americans in the US was suicide. Citation: Matsuoka, J. K., Breaux, C., & Ryujin, D. H. (1997). National utilization of mental health services by Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders. Journal of Community Psychology, 25(2), 141-145. doi:10.1002/(sici)1520-6629(199703)25:23.0.co;2-0
- Susan’s research at University of California, Irvine about the higher rate of depression and suicidal thoughts amongst Asian-identifying students
- The rates of reported and diagnosed mental illness are low for Asian Americans compared to Euro-Americans, averaging between 5-12% Citation: https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=4&lvlid=54
- According to the nonprofit organization Mental Health America, Asian Americans are the least likely racial group in the United States to seek mental health services
- Susan’s work in the children’s psychiatric department of a hospital and how many of the students referred to her were Asian, and none had voluntarily sought help for themselves
- Challenges that BIPOC experience that could affect their mental health
- Resources provided by Mental Health of America’s web page for BIPOC Mental Health Month
- How the 2021 BIPOC Mental Health Month tool kit acknowledged that the Western medical model is based on evidence-based approaches (which can be problematic especially for BIPOC)
- Susan talked about how her Asian-identifying clients often have psychosomatic symptoms that are indicative of a mental health-related issue
- Mental illness doesn’t have to be about an illness or having a condition like depression, being bipolar, having PTSD, etc.
- The stigmatization of mental health
- De-stigmatizing mental health by changing the language we use or referring to it as mental wellness
- How the pandemic has impacted people’s mental health and the research that Susan did related to this
- Susan’s thoughts on the Atlanta spa shooting in March of 2021
- Tips to manage and assess our own mental health
- What can we do to support friends and family who may be struggling with their mental health
- The racism that Susan has experienced as a mental health professional
- The vicarious trauma Susan felt in dealing with a student who was the target of an Asian hate crime at UNC
- How racial injustice and systemic injustice can affect BIPOC communities
- Challenges faced by indigenous communities and how they may have some nonevidence-based practices that are therapeutic
- While Susan has dealt with Black and Latinx students, she doesn’t want to make any generalizations about BIPOC communities or their mental health
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/susan-chung-talks-about-her-career-in-mental-health-and-bipoc-mental-health-month-ep-196/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
John Eastwood is a partner at the law firm Eiger. He was previously interviewed for Talking Taiwan in 2012 and we’ve invited John back on to Talking Taiwan to talk about some of the changes he’s seen in Taiwan from a legal perspective, in the 20 years that he has resided in Taiwan.
We touched upon how Taiwan’s WTO accession improved the protection of intellectual property rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, migrant worker rights, and laws that should be reformed like the Parade an Assembly law.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women’s Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
- to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
- to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
- to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
- to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
- to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What brought John to Taiwan
- John was a journalist before becoming a lawyer
- John spent time in China as a visiting scholar
- Eiger has branches in both Taipei and Shanghai
- John’s experience with COVID-19 in Taiwan
- What John has been up to since his last interview for Talking Taiwan in 2012
- John’s involvement with the Democratic National Convention and Democrats Abroad
- How John feels its important for people to understand the situation and what’s going on in Taiwan
- Taiwan’s health restrictions in things like pork imports
- The early days of COVID in Taiwan
- How mask wearing is perceived in Taiwan
- How Taiwan has changed from a legal standpoint with respect to intellectual property in the last 20 years, since John has lived in Taiwan
- How Taiwan’s WTO accession improved the protection of intellectual property rights
- Human rights issues in Taiwan that could be improved include: LGBTQIA+ adoption and reproductive rights,
- How manufacturing of counterfeit goods has moved to China
- How people in Taiwan often call on the police to resolve domestic disputes
- How public insult laws in Taiwan need to be reformed
- Misuse of the public insult law and how it can be used against foreigners
- How the police in Taiwan are often used to harass people
- How the police in Taiwan don’t necessarily stop people from pursuing frivolous cases
- The Assembly and Parade Law
- How migrant workers in Taiwan have been mistreated
- Other issues in need of legal reform like abortion
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/john-eastwood-talks-about-the-legal-changes-in-taiwan-over-the-past-20-years-ep-195/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
This lost episode of Talking Taiwan features John Eastwood, co-managing partner at Eiger Law. In the original interview with John which was recorded October 2012, John talks about attending the Democratic National Convention of 2012, his involvement with the Democratic National Committee and Democrats Abroad, and the significance of the Japanese Taihoku prison wall in Taipei.
Stay tuned for my follow up interview with John next week as we check in with him 10 years later to get an update from him.
For the month of June we’ll be slowing things down by sharing lost episodes every other week, and in July we’ll be taking a break from the lost episodes. We’ve got a lot of great new content planned and we just can’t fit it all into our weekly publication schedule.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- At the time of the interview Eiger Law had won Taiwan’s law firm of the year for two years in a row
- At the time of the interview Eiger Law had won awards for employment and compliance practices, for investment and employment practices (from Acquisition International), for corporate and MNA practices
- Eiger Law was named Employer of Choice for 2012 (which was based on responses given by Taiwanese lawyers)
- The Democratic National Convention in September of 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina
- How John is the first resident from within Taiwan to be elected to be a member of the Democratic National Convention
- How John spent the summer of 2012 trying to get American citizens living abroad registered to vote on a nonpartisan basis
- The politicians who spoke at the Democratic National Convention of 2012
- The different events that Democrats Abroad Taiwan organizes including Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day activities to remember Americans who served and sacrificed for the freedom of the U.S.A.
- The Japanese Taihoku prison wall in Taipei where 14 American airmen who held there as prisoners of war were executed in the final weeks of World War II
- Who can join Democrats Abroad Taiwan
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/ep-194-lost-episodes-john-eastwood/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
It’s been three years since Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize same sex marriage in 2019.
My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Joyce Teng, the Deputy Executive Director of Taiwan Equality Campaign, previously known as the “Marriage Equality Coalition Taiwan.” We talked what’s happened since 2019. Surveys and polls conducted over the past three years indicate growing support for LGBTQIA+ issues within Taiwan’s society.
However, there are still some additional struggles that same sex married couples experience as opposed to heterosexual married couples in Taiwan. Joyce also touched upon a few issues concerning transgender and nonbinary individuals.
She mentioned three areas in which same sex married couples face some challenges, the first being transnational couples; problems arise for couples of different nationalities when their marriage cannot be legally recognized in Taiwan; the second issue is co-adoption and dealing with Taiwan’s adoption procedures, and finally reproductive rights. It’s been eye-opening for me to learn about all of this.
These are all complex issues and many of them they could also pose challenges for heterosexual married couples in Taiwan. I only recently learned about a woman’s reproductive rights in Taiwan when it comes to freezing her eggs. We’ll include some articles on this topic in the Related Links section of this episode.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
- to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
- to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
- to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
- to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
- to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Taiwan Equality Campaign was previously the “Marriage Equality Coalition Taiwan”
- How the rights of heterosexual married couples differ from the rights of same sex married couples in Taiwan
- How heterosexual married couples and single individuals can adopt in Taiwan, but same sex married couple cannot adopt in Taiwan
- Earlier this year there was a court case that ruled that one of the spouses of a same sex couple, could adopt his spouse’s child who had been adopted when the was still single, however this is only one case, and according to the law in Taiwan a same sex spouse is unable to adopt the adopted child of their spouse
- What is involved with the adoption process in Taiwan and how it could take up to 3-5 years
- The gap when it comes to reproductive rights for heterosexual women and lesbian women who want to freeze their eggs in Taiwan
- Reproductive rights of same sex couples in Taiwan
- How Taiwan has one of the lowest birth rates in the world
- The government in Taiwan offers subsidies for heterosexual couples to do IVF but not for same sex couples
- How birth rates in Taiwan tend to be low during the year of the tiger (February 1, 2022 – January 21, 2023 is a tiger year)
- How Taiwan has changed in the time that Joyce has been working for the Taiwan Equality Campaign and since same sex marriage was legalized in Taiwan
- Surveys done by the Taiwan Equality Campaign over the past three years indicate increasing support by the general public for same sex couples to adopt, do IVF
- Surveys done by the Taiwan Equality Campaign show that over time more of the general public have indicated that they have friends identifying as LGBTQIA+; this indicates that LGBTQIA+ individuals are more willing to come out to their family, friends and peers
- Surveys have also indicated that since the legalization of same sex marriage in Taiwan, LGBTQIA+ individuals are more comfortable to talk about their personal lives and spouses
- The different types of survey questions asked to gage people’s acceptance of same sex couples in Taiwan
- Whether the general public in Taiwan supports teaching school-aged children about gender equality, sexual orientation and expression
- How attitudes and acceptance of LGBTQIA+ individuals and issues may be indicative of generational differences
- The film Small Talk, a documentary film about the filmmaker’s difficult relationship with her mother who was a lesbian
- If having a nonbinary “Digital Minister” in Taiwan, Audrey Tang has had any impact on the general public’s views or acceptance of LGBTQIA+ individuals
- How there is work to be done when it comes to awareness and understanding of transgender and nonbinary individuals in Taiwan
- The challenges faced by transgender and nonbinary individuals in Taiwan
- The question of how transgender and nonbinary individuals would like to be identified on their identification cards/documents
- How the Taiwan Equality Campaign works with local government officials
- How Taipei’s MRT bathroom signs will be gender neutral
- How Thailand may be the next country in Asia to legalize same sex marriage
- Advocacy to support LGBTQIA+ activists in other Asian countries
- How Taiwan can serve as a case study of how the legalization of same sex marriage has impacted society
- Difficulties faced by same sex transnational couples in Taiwan
- How the Taiwan Equality Campaign has worked with local levels of government to train civil servants how to deal with LGBTQIA+ identifying individuals
- How the Taiwan Equality Campaign approaches local governments about implementing LGBTQIA+ sensitivity training
Related Links:
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Edouard Roquette was at the beginning of his experience as an entrepreneur when he was previously interviewed for Talking Taiwan, as you may have heard in the previous lost episode of Talking Taiwan (episode 191) featuring Edouard. We’ve invited Edouard back on as a guest to talk about what he’s been up since then. Edouard talked to us about his clean tech startup and why it failed, and the challenges that many foreign entrepreneurs experience in Taiwan. He also had a life changing accident which we will talk about in a follow up interview, in a future episode.
Edouard is currently the founder of Rooms.Taipei a co-living business. If you’d like to check out their COVID newsletter that Edouard mentioned in his interview, the one that provides updates to help people keep up on the visa and immigration situation in Taiwan during COVID, check out the related links section below.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Edouard’s clean-tech start-up CityVolt and why it failed
- The differences between a gas vehicle and electric vehicle
- Battery sources for electric vehicles
- Exchangeable, rechargeable batteries for scooters
- How Edouard won a competition and was invited to speak at The Economist’s Carbon Economy Summit in Washington D.C. in 2009
- Eduoard’s thoughts on what makes Gogoru successful
- The accident that changed Eduoard’s life and led him to consider a co-living business that he started in 2014
- Edouard’s co-living business, Rooms.Taipei
- The problems that Edouard’s co-living business aims to solve
- How Rooms.Taipei is an accelerator for the experiences that a foreigner can have in Taiwan
- Why it’s difficult to scale a business like this or to differentiate it
- How businesses in Taiwan are not protected from extreme rent increases that negatively impact their businesses, causing them to close
- How rent increases can lead to many other “costs” aside from causing businesses to close, these costs include: environmental costs, human costs (jobs lost), economic cost (when companies are constantly closed and new ones started)
- Edouard’s thoughts about Taiwan’s plans to attract 100,000 foreign workers by 2030
- Edouard’s business strategy of reaching out to and collaborating with his competitors
- How difficult it is for foreign entrepreneurs to do business in Taiwan
- How most of Edouard’s customers are people who have just arrived in Taiwan or are new to Taiwan
- How housing and banking are two of the most difficult things for foreigners in Taiwan to deal with
- The E. Sun Bank branch that offers English service and where Edouard is encouraging foreigners to open bank accounts
- Problems that people have encountered with negligent landlords
- How Edouard has reached out to the office of the mayor of Taipei through the French Chamber of Commerce about creating a standard of accommodations and contracts
- How most housing projects in Taipei are luxury apartments targeted to investors but not to the average resident of Taipei
- Last year Taipei city lost inhabitants
- Edouard’s thoughts on what to do when the odds are against you
- Edouard’s private entrepreneur group of business owners who meet regularly and support each other’s businesses
- Katie Moves Taipei, a business that offers Zumba online classes
- Taiwan Impact Entrepreneurs Facebook group and what they are doing for foreign entrepreneurs in F&B (food and beverage)
- The kombucha beverage company, Daoori
- Elias Ek’s efforts to improve things for foreign entrepreneurs in Taiwan
- How there needs to be better representation for foreign employees, migrant workers, foreign students
- How things have changed for entrepreneurs in Taiwan in the past 10 years since Eduoard’s “lost” episode of Talking Taiwan interview
- Edouard’s advice for foreigner entrepreneurs considering doing business in Taiwan
- What Edouard loves about Taiwan which includes cycling and being a Tiger Man for the goddess Matsu’s birthday
- How Edouard founded one of the biggest sports groups for foreigners in Taiwan
- Outdoor sports groups in Taiwan to check out
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/edouard-roquette-todays-challenges-facing-foreign-entrepreneurs-in-taiwan-ep-192/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
This lost episode of Talking Taiwan features Edouard Roquette, a member of the French Chamber of Commerce talking about entrepreneurship and Taiwan’s foreign entrepreneur community. Next week we’ll be bringing Edouard back on to find out what he’s been up to since then.
For the month of June we’ll be slowing things down by sharing lost episodes every other week, and in July we’ll be taking a break from the lost episodes. We’ve got a lot of great new content planned and we just can’t fit it all into our weekly publication schedule.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Edouard was a finalist for the French Chamber of Commerce’s Innovation award in 2010 and 2011
- Edouard is a member of the French Chamber of Commerce’s SME (Small and Medium Enterprises) committee
- Edouard’s involvement with the Founder’s Club that meets monthly
- How to raise money for a business that doesn’t involve equity
- The different approaches that foreign entrepreneurs in Taiwan take to raising funds
- Why Edouard has chosen to start his business in Taiwan and not China
- The variety of ideas that come out of the Taiwan’s foreign entrepreneur community
- Advice Edouard would give to people on the beginning of their entrepreneurial paths
- What people should not do when starting a business
- Why it’s important to consider who you decide to work with and accept money from
- Local Taiwanese entrepreneurs vs. to foreign entrepreneurs
- How Edouard learned about entrepreneurship before coming to Taiwan through a program developed jointly by the MIT Sloan Business School and the University of Cambridge called the SEEDA (South East England Development Agency) Enterprisers
- The lack of support, programs or resources available for entrepreneurs in Taiwan
Related Links:
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
May 15 to June 15th is Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month. To learn more about what Tourette syndrome is, I encourage you to listen to the episode that we did last year with Peter Zhao, episode 129. Peter is a Tourette Activist and has been a guest on Talking Taiwan several times. He’s also spoken up about Asian hate crimes.
I really appreciate the openness and candor with which he speaks about his personal struggles with mental health. It’s not an easy thing to do. Peter spoke about the challenges he’s faced in dealing with Tourette and bipolar I, and his concerns with the side effects of medication, which he noted has made him lose his “edge.” Dealing with mental health is a process that requires assessment, evaluation, and self-reflection.
To learn more about Peter, you can find him on social media as @fabulouslytourette or check out his podcast Fabulously Tourette Radio.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Peter’s podcast Fabulously Tourette Radio
- Peter’s diagnosis of manic depression, bipolar I with major depressive episodes
- How Peter is considered neurodivergent
- How podcasting is a form of talk therapy for Peter
- The term neurodivergent
- What happened to lead Peter to get officially diagnosed with bipolar I
- Peter’s previous struggles in taking an anti-psychotic drug Orap (generic name Pimozide), which he shared in detail in Talking Taiwan episode 129
- Peter’s Op Ed on AsAm News about dealing with bipolar disorder
- Peter’s struggles with his mood swings and comorbidities
- How Peter’s depression affected his job performance and family life
- The difficulties and challenges of Peter’s day job
- How Peter has experienced greater anxiety after working remotely since the beginning of the pandemic
- Peter’s candid posts about mental health on social media
- What happened after Peter was diagnosed with bipolar I and started taking a new medication
- The approach Peter took to starting this new medication
- How the medication stopped many of Peter’s tics and how he feels about that
- How Peter feels after being on this new medication for four months
- The side effects of the medication that Peter is taking and how he’s dealing with them
- The support of Peter’s partner
- How Peter came to the decision to take a leave of absence from work
- How Peter handled his leave of absence and used it as a mental health reset
- Peter’s considerations when it comes to job satisfaction and his career path
- Peter’s advocacy for Tourette syndrome and bipolar disorder
- Peter’s tip, the 50-50 mindfulness technique for people dealing with anxiety
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/peter-zhao-tourette-syndrome-awareness-and-his-own-personal-struggles-with-mental-health-ep-190/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
In this episode of Talking Taiwan, my guests are Richard Pearson, the Executive Director of the Western Pacific Fellowship Project and Professor Shelley Rigger. We will be talking about the Taiwan Fellowship Act, a bill which has been decades in the making, and was inspired by the Mansfield Fellowship. This bill which has gotten bipartisan support in both the U.S. and Taiwan. It has been added to the COMPETES Act, and has also passed through both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate in slightly different versions. Now the House and Senate are in conference committee to resolve differences in order to come up with a final version of the bill.
Learn more about what the Taiwan Fellowship Act is, how it serves to strengthen U.S.-Taiwan ties, why you should care about it, and how you can support passage of this bill in to law.
About Richard Pearson:
Richard Pearson is Executive Director of the Western Pacific Fellowship Project and Managing Director, Taiwan Fellowship. He has roughly two decades of experience in U.S.-Asia economic relations and the political-economy of the Asia-Pacific largely in the public service sector.
Mr. Pearson’s professional experience includes time as a business reporter based in Taipei and in public service focusing on the Indo-Pacific. From 2010-2014 Mr. Pearson was an Associate Director at the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation during which time he originally conceived and explored the Taiwan Fellowship concept. Along with Ryan Shaffer and former AIT Director and Chairman Ambassador Raymond Burghardt, Mr. Pearson founded the Western Pacific Fellowship Project in late-2019 to operationalize the Taiwan Fellowship.
Mr. Pearson received his undergraduate degree from St. Olaf College and his graduate degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Immediately after college, he held a Fulbright scholarship to Taiwan. His essays on U.S.-Asia relations have been published in various outlets in the U.S. and East Asia including the Taipei Times and The Diplomat.
About Shelley Rigger:
Shelley Rigger is the Brown Professor of East Asian Politics at Davidson College. She has a PhD in Government from Harvard University and a BA in Public and International Affairs from Princeton University. She has been a Fulbright scholar at National Taiwan University (2019), a visiting researcher at National Chengchi University in Taiwan (2005) and a visiting professor at Fudan University (2006) and Shanghai Jiaotong University (2013 & 2015). She is a non-resident fellow of the China Policy Institute at Nottingham University and a senior fellow of the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI). She is also a director of The Taiwan Fund, a closed-end investment fund specializing in Taiwan-listed companies. Rigger is the author of two books on Taiwan’s domestic politics, Politics in Taiwan: Voting for Democracy (Routledge 1999) and From Opposition to Power: Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (Lynne Rienner Publishers 2001). She has published two books for general readers, Why Taiwan Matters: Small Island, Global Powerhouse (2011) and The Tiger Leading the Dragon: How Taiwan Propelled China’s Economic Rise (2021). She has published articles on Taiwan’s domestic politics, the national identity issue in Taiwan-China relations and related topics. In 2019-20 she was a Fulbright Senior Scholar based in Taipei, where she worked on a study of Taiwan’s contributions to the PRC’s economic take-off and a study of Taiwanese youth.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- The COMPETES Act and the Taiwan Fellowship Act, what they are and the background
- The Western Pacific Fellowship Project
- How the China Bill in the COMPETES Act aims to strengthen the U.S. response and monitoring of China’s economic activity, and political and security moves globally
- How the COMPETES Act aims to strengthen the U.S. semiconductor industry
- How the COMPETES Act contains a bill to change the name TECRO (Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office) change to Taiwan Representative Office is a part of the Competes
- How the Taiwan Fellowship Act fits into the larger question of the U.S.’s response to China
- What the Taiwan Fellowship Act is
- The Mike Mansfield Fellowship
- Why Americans should care about getting the Taiwan Fellowship Act passed
- Why Taiwan matters on its own, apart from China
- What is the procedure for an Act to get passed and what stage the Taiwan Fellowship Act is currently at
- The many Taiwanese American civic groups that support the Taiwan Fellowship Act
- For those who’d like to support the Taiwan Fellowship Act and see it get passed in to law, now is a crucial period; they should contact their members of congress to express their support for getting it passed
- You can write an email to your member of congress through an automated form on FAPA’s (Formosan Association of Public Affairs) website
- How the Mansfield Fellowship came from congress vs. the Taiwan Fellowship which has been a more grassroots effort
- U.S. sentiment toward Japan in the mid-1990s
- How Richard worked at the Mansfield Foundation and learned the value of the Mansfield Fellowship in strengthening the U.S.-Japan relationship
- How Richard spent time in Taiwan in 2000 and realized that there could be value in creating a fellowship program similar to the Mansfield Fellowship with Taiwan
- How Richard has been working on the Taiwan Fellowship Act since 2010
- How now seems to be the one chance to get the Taiwan Fellowship Act passed
- If passed the Taiwan Fellowship could endure for decades like the Mansfield Fellowship
- What will happen if the Taiwan Fellowship Act doesn’t get passed
- Reaction and support for the Taiwan Fellowship Act in Taiwan
- How the Taiwan Fellowship Act had gotten bipartisan support in both Taiwan (pan-Green and pan-Blue) and in the U.S. (Democrats and Republicans)
- How the Western Pacific Fellowship Project is a volunteer-led organization and its funding needs
- How there are a lot of the leading figures in US-Taiwan relations among the Western Pacific Fellowship Project’s directors and advisors
- Shelley’s support of the Taiwan Fellowship Act
- Why there has been such broad support for the Taiwan Fellowship Act
Related Links:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/why-you-should-care-about-the-taiwan-fellowship-act-a-discussion-with-richard-pearson-and-shelley-rigger-ep-189/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: This lost episode of Talking Taiwan features blogger Michael Turton. At the time Michael had written over 5000 blog posts for his blog The View From Taiwan. Michael began writing his blog in 2005 and I remember how popular Michael’s blog was. That’s how I learned about him when I was living in Taiwan, back in the days before social media.
Michael has been a guest twice on Talking Taiwan. in episode 119 he spoke with me about China’s ban on Taiwan’s pineapples. And in episode 138 he spoke about his love of biking in Taiwan. That episode earned Talking Taiwan a Golden Crane Podcast Award. Be sure to give those episodes a listen to learn more about Michael.
For the month of June we’ll be slowing things down by sharing lost episodes every other week, and in July we’ll be taking a break from the lost episodes. We’ve got a lot of great new content planned and we just can’t fit it all into our weekly publication schedule.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Michael’s blog the View From Taiwan
- How Michael has written over 5000 blog posts
- How long it takes him to write a blog post on average
- What keeps him going with his blog writing
- How his blog posts are fact based and he’s been quoted by journalists
- How being based in Taichung, gives him a different perspective than those living in Taipei
- Michael’s love of biking in Taiwan
- The most active English language bloggers in Taiwan
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/ep-188-lost-episodes-michael-turton-5000-blog-posts/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Karen Lin is running as the Democratic candidate for Judge of the Civil Court in Queens, New York. Presently, Karen serves as Court Attorney-Referee in Kings County Surrogate’s Court. She has also served as a Judge in the New York City Housing Court, adjudicating disputes between landlord and tenants in the Bronx and Manhattan.
We spoke about her current position as Surrogate Court Referee which involves estate settlement between family members and other matters such as guardianship, which was the central issue of the #FreeBritney movement involving Britney Spears.
Karen talked about what she loves about the legal profession and the challenges of working as a Judge in New York City’s Housing Court, which is one of the busiest courts in the nation.
Karen also volunteers as Co-Chair of the Pro Bono and Community Service Committee of the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY), she also spearheaded the Queens Pro Bono Clinic and helped to set up and manage AABANY’s Remote Legal Clinic during the pandemic, to assist seniors and low-income families by phone.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Karen’s connection to Taiwan
- What Karen wanted to be when she grew up and how she got interested in law as a career
- What Karen does in her current position as Surrogate Court Referee
- The #FreeBritney movement and guardianship
- What’s been a challenging moment in Karen’s career
- What’s have a highlight or high point in Karen’s career
- What it was like being a judge in housing court
- The confirmation hearing for Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson
- How the civil rights movement led to the Immigration and Naturalization Act (1965)
- How landlord tenant law in New York is very tenant friendly and could be reformed to protect individual homeowner landlords who are renting out a space in their homes
- The reform of landlord tenant law is an issue for lawmakers to address
- How New York City’s Housing Court is one of the busiest courts in the nation
- How Karen’s experience as a judge in New York City’s Housing Court and Surrogate’s Court has prepared her for being a civil court judge
- How in the Anglo American system (or common law system) that we have in the United States, a judge’s ruling or interpretation of the law can affect or create laws
- Karen’s pro bono work as Co-Chair of the Pro Bono and Community Service Committee of the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY)
- Karen’s involvement in setting up AABANY’s Remote Legal Clinic during pandemic
- Her decision to step down as judge of the New York City Housing Court
- What a civil court judge does and can accomplish during their 10-year term
- How Karen would like to see greater access to legal advice and support for those who most need it
- Karen’s mentors and advice on finding them
- If Karen would like to be a Supreme Court Judge
- The difference levels of the U.S. court system
- The importance of voting
- In Queens, NY Asian Americans are 25% of the population
- Karen is running in the Democratic primary, on June 28; only people registered as Democrats and who live in Queens can vote for Karen
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: It’s Thursday and we’re releasing another “lost” episode of Talking Taiwan! We’ve discovered some never before published, “lost” episodes of Talking Taiwan that were recorded 10 years ago, when Talking Taiwan was being created, and we’ve decided to re-release them on Thursdays.
This week’s lost episode of Talking Taiwan features Jerome Keating, the author of The Mapping of Taiwan, Desired Economies, Coveted Geographies, New Perspectives on Cartography, Competing Monopolies and the Destiny of Taiwan.
We’ve had Jerome on Talking Taiwan twice in the past. In fact, in episode 97 he gives a great synopsis of the history of Taiwan. That episode was also the number one episode of 2020. And in episode 98 he talks about the books he’s written. Be sure to check out those episodes to learn more about Dr. Keating.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Jerome Keating’ book, The Mapping of Taiwan, Desired Economies, Coveted Geographies, New Perspectives on Cartography, Competing Monopolies and the Destiny of Taiwan
- The meaning behind the title of Jerome’s book
- The purpose behind the Dutch and Spanish colonization of Taiwan
- How Japan was the first to control the entire island of Taiwan
- Taiwan’s trade history
- Taiwan’s fong tian jade
- How the indigenous people of Taiwan were Taiwan’s first traders
- The Austronesian empire
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/58WZvCkkxoeQ7lrK9mrsO7
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
In this episode of Talking Taiwan, I’m speaking with Brian Foden. We’re welcoming Brian back on as a guest after discovering his lost episode that was recorded 10 years ago. Originally from Canada, he’s been living in Taiwan for over 20 years now. We spoke about what Taiwan was like when he first arrived, how it’s changed and what life is like for him these days. Brian is a writer/editor and part-time newscaster at ICRT.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- When Brian arrived in Taiwan
- How life is like in Taiwan now that the government has switched away from a zero-COVID strategy
- What life was like in the early period of the pandemic when Taiwan had no local COVID cases
- How Brian manages working remotely and in-person at the office
- Brian started working at ICRT in May of 2000 and worked there full-time until 2004
- Brian’s position as morning show news producer at ICRT
- How Brian left ICRT in 2004 and returned in 2012
- Brian’s work as a news reader at ICRT
- Brian’s background in journalism
- Comparing winters in Regina, Saskatchewan and in Ottawa, Ontario
- How Brian ended up in Taiwan
- How Taiwan has changed in the time that Brian has lived there
- Chen Shui-bian was elected President around the time that Brian moved to Taiwan; it was the first time that a Democratic Progressive Party candidate had been elected President in Taiwan
- The development of Taiwan’s MRT system
- The popularity of English learning magazines in Taiwan
- How ICRT has changed over the years
- The podcast series Rick Monday made about ICRT (Radioactive Taiwan)
- The glory days of ICRT and the impact it made on Taiwan’s culture and society in the 1980s
- How Brian first got his job at ICRT in 2000
- Brian’s advice for anyone considering living and working in Taiwan
- The type of writing Brian does for work
- What Brian found difficult about journalism
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/brian-foden-newscaster-for-icrt-talks-about-how-life-has-changed-in-taiwan-ep-185/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: As some of you may know, I started hosting Talking Taiwan in 2013, but Talking Taiwan was actually created back in 2012. And we’ve discovered some never before published, “lost” episodes of Talking Taiwan that were recorded 10 years ago! Some of these guests featured in these “lost episodes” may already be familiar to our listeners and some of them will be reintroduced with a follow up interview for us find out what they’re up to these days.
Stay tuned every Thursday a new “lost” episode of Talking Taiwan.
This “lost” episode of Talking Taiwan features Brian Foden, a proud Canadian. Next week we’ll be bringing Brian back on to find out how he’s doing and what he’s up to these days.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Where in Canada Brian is from
- What brought Brian to Taiwan
- Brian’s work on the ICRT News team
- How he left ICRT
- Brian’s travels through South America
- The Brass Monkey in Taipei’s pub quiz nights and Brian’s pub quiz team The Three Stooges
- Brian shared what kinds of job opportunities there were in writing, editing, recording or for those with a journalism background
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/ep-184-lost-episodes-brian-foden/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Erin Hale is an American Journalist who has lived and worked across Asia.
She is currently a freelance journalist based in Taiwan. Her work has appeared in The Guardian, The Independent, Al Jazeera, Voice of America, The BBC News, The New Statesman, The South China Morning Post, Marie Claire, The Southeast Asia Globe, Forbes.com and other outlets.
I came across her work through a recent article she wrote about how Taiwan’s banking system is stuck in the 80’s. I happened to discover it the same week we released episode 180 with Paolo Lising. In that episode Paolo and I talked about how people in Taiwan still update their account passbooks by running them through dot matrix printers at the bank.
Erin has lived in Asia for seven years. We talked about how she's lived in Hong Kong, China and Cambodia and the reporting she's done on Hong Kong and Cambodia, in addition to Taiwan.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What brought Erin to Taiwan
- What Erin witnessed of the Hong Kong protests in 2019
- Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement of 2014
- John Lee who was elected to succeed Carrie Lam as Hong Kong’s next leader
- How the recent article that Erin wrote for BBC News about how Taiwan’s banking system is still stuck in the 80s was inspired by a tweet by Catherine Chou (@catielila)
- The reaction on Twitter to Erin’s article and how she used Twitter to crowdsource research for it
- How often Erin uses Twitter to do research for her stories
- How Erin appealed to Twitter for people’s experiences voting in the Philippines presidential election
- How Erin deals with bots on Twitter, fake news and disinformation as a journalist
- Taiwan-related visa and immigration issues that Erin has dealt with
- The bureaucracy that Erin has experienced in Taiwan
- How Erin gets ideas or sources for her stories
- Working as a freelance journalist
- What it takes to succeed as a freelance journalist
- What Erin enjoyed about writing the story about banking in Taiwan
- The article that Erin wrote about Taiwan’s indigenous people
- What it’s been like for Erin to learn Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan and what her goals in studying Chinese are
- How Erin ended up moving to Asia
- Beijing’s 'Airpocalypse' in 2013
- How journalists’ experiences in China have changed over the last five years
- How Cambodia has changed and become influenced by China
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/erin-hale-on-taiwans-antiquated-banking-system-and-being-an-american-journalist-in-asia-ep-183/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Taiwan’s Employment Gold Card program has come up in several past episodes of Talking Taiwan. I’ve been wanting to bring someone on to talk about what it is, who might be eligible for it and how to apply for it. In this episode I spoke with Michael Fahey, an American lawyer who’s lived in Taiwan for 30 years. He worked with the Taiwan National Development Council on Taiwan’s Gold Card program. Michael is co-founder of Forward Taiwan, an organization founded to improve Taiwan’s immigration laws as they pertain to foreign professionals.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How people may consider Taiwan small but with its population of 23 million people it could be compared to one of the U.S.’s largest states or a mid-sized European country
- What is the Taiwan Gold Card
- How the Taiwan Employment Gold Card is a four-in-one card: visa, work permit, resident permit, and re-entry permit, that is valid for three years
- After three years Gold Card holders who have been in Taiwan for an average of 183 days can apply for permanent residency in Taiwan
- How there was an increase in Gold Cards issued during the pandemic
- The government of Taiwan’s goal of getting to 10,000 Gold Cards issued by the end of the year and a long-term goal of having 100,000 foreign professionals in Taiwan by 2030
- How to apply for a Gold Card
- The eight fields that people can apply to in order to obtain a Gold Card
- The special category of consultation for those who don’t fit in to any of the eight fields
- What documentation needs to be provided in order to apply for a Gold Card
- The importance of providing objective evidence of your professional accomplishments (e.g. an award, a measurable accomplishment)
- 60% of Gold Card holders have qualified by meeting the salary qualification in the economy field
- The type of work that Gold Card holders can seek while in Taiwan
- Singapore’s Employment Pass program and the backlash it’s gotten from Singaporean citizens
- Recent changes to the Gold Card program including the requirement for applying for permanent residence was lowered from five years to three years and different tax incentives
- Changes to ordinary work permit requirements which previously required both a college degree and two years of related experience
- The American Chamber of Commerce Taiwan Business Topics publication
- Useful resources for people applying for a Gold Card including: the Taiwan National Development Council’s website Foreign Talent, the Taiwan Employment Gold Card Office Help Desk, Taiwan EZ Permit
- The challenges faced by some Gold Card holders in finding employment in Taiwan
- It’s not necessary to speak Chinese to live and work in Taiwan
- If there is something missing or incomplete with a Gold Card application, you will have 30 days to rectify it
- Currently Gold Card applications are taking 4-6 weeks to get approved
- What happens if someone’s application for the Gold Card is not accepted
- The most competitive sub field under arts and culture is popular music/TV/movies
- Special considerations for people wanting to live and work in Taiwan
- Considering places to live in Taiwan other than Taipei
- Michael’s work with Forward Taiwan
- How Forward Taiwan is working on access to dual nationality for people naturalizing as Taiwanese citizens
- How Michael is transitioning to working on migrant workers issues
- The most meaningful accomplishments of Forward Taiwan: an increased number of countries that Taiwan has working holiday agreements with, making it easier for graduates of Taiwanese universities to stay and live and work in Taiwan
- How the National Development Council came up with Taiwan’s Gold Card program and modeled it after Singapore’s Employment Pass program
- Taiwan’s independent artist work permit
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/michael-fahey-of-forward-taiwan-talks-about-the-gold-card-program-ep-182/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Yao Huang is funding minority owned businessess to solve the financial inequality problem.
I first met and interviewed Yao Huang, in 2013. She is founder and managing partner of The Hatchery. If you want to learn more about her and the Hatchery you can go back and listen to episode 147 of Talking Taiwan.
Last year I looked her up, wondering what she’s been up to and reached out to invite her back on to Talking Taiwan as a guest. A lot can happen in 9 years!
I learned that she had done two TED Talks and a stint of standup comedy.
Yao has been focusing on some very big things like solving the problem of financial inequality through a $100 million dollar fund for minority-owned small to medium-sized businesses. And from her social media posts it looks like she’s living the life and having a ball at these gatherings called the Wonder Women Dinner Series all across the country.
When I asked her what she’s excited about these days she mentioned crypto, blockchain and Web3. To some, these may sound like things of the future but the future is already here. Last year Facebook’s name change to Meta was a nod to the metaverse, and earlier in the year, the buzz over a thing called NFTs hit mainstream media. When it comes to understanding NFTs you’ve got to also understand crypto currency, and blockchain technology. We covered that topic in episode 157: DJ Kaku Trailblazes NFTs in Asia. All of these things together- crypto, blockchain and the metaverse make up Web3.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What the Wonder Women Dinner Series is
- How the Wonder Women Dinner Series has been going on for 16 years
- How the Wonder Women Dinner Series is a way for women to network, connect, make friendships, and have fun
- How Yao did standup comedy at Caroline’s, B.B. King’s and around New York City around 2014
- Division One Capital a $100 million fund for women and minority small businesses
- How venture capital only helps 2% of all companies
- How Division One Capital’s lending is based on a company’s sales or revenues
- How it is difficult it is for women and minorities to secure a loan from a bank
- How loans from traditional banks can be at higher rates than funding obtained from Division One Capital
- How funding from a fund like Division One Capital can stabilize and allow a business to grow
- How Division One Capital was previously called Diana Capital
- How Division One Capital is working with cities’ initiatives to help SMBs (small and medium-sized businesses)
- How Yao believes there is a lot of wealth that can be more equally distributed and easily accessed
- The businesses that Yao has helped grow e.g. a Black woman owned HVAC company and a woman-led company in the data security space that has raised $3.5 million
- How crypto, bitcoin and block chain has revolutionized the fintech sector, banking, credit, currency, stocks, and led the wave of Web3
- How important it is to learn about bitcoin and cryptocurrency and how it works
- The bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami, FL
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/yao-huang-solving-financial-inequalities-by-funding-minority-owned-businesses-ep-181/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Paolo Lising shares his knowledge on starting a business in Taiwan.
In February, I did a follow up interview with Paolo Lising, who I’ve had on as a guest previously along with Ramon Ray in episode 168, which was about solopreneurship. Paolo is the author of Startup Taiwan: Foreigners Business Guide, and the founder of MillionDC.com. Startup Taiwan is the second book written to help foreigners wanting to start a business in Taiwan after How to Start a Business in Taiwan, which was written by Elias Ek in 2013. Elias has also been a guest on Talking Taiwan.
I spoke in depth with Paolo about his early interest in entrepreneurship, what brought him to Taiwan, and how he transitioned from journalism to corporate life and the startup scene. We had an in-depth conversation about what went into his book Startup Taiwan. For those wanting the most up-to-date information they should subscribe to a digital version of Startup Taiwan, which Paolo regularly updates on his website StartupInTaiwan.com. He also has a podcast by the same name Startup Taiwan, that I’d recommend you check out.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Paolo’s background and upbringing
- Paolo’s career as a journalist covering the Philippines energy sector and banking
- When and how Paolo became an entrepreneur
- Paolo’s first business, which was an antique shop in the Philippines
- How Paolo decided to go from being a journalist to pursing an MBA
- How Paolo decided to go Taiwan to purse an MBA degree
- How the MBA program at NTU (National Taiwan University) is taught in English
- Paolo worked at ASUS and Rayliant Global Advisors in Taiwan before getting into the startup scene
- Paolo’s current startup in Taiwan, MillionDC.com, which is a learning platform for entrepreneurs from developing countries
- The special needs of entrepreneurs from developing countries
- Where the name MillionDC comes from
- How his bosses at ASUS and Rayliant Global Advisors were supportive of Paolo’s interest in starting his own company on his own time outside of his work hours
- How one of the problems for people in the Philippines is having stable internet connection and access to information
- What led Paolo to write Startup Taiwan
- How to Start a Business in Taiwanby Elias Ek
- How so much has changed since 2013 when How to Start a Business in Taiwanby Elias Ek was published and Paolo felt a need to write a book with up dated information
- How Taiwan has changed it policies towards accepting foreigners and allowing them to open up businesses
- The two ways that foreigners can enter Taiwan and start a business: entrepreneur visa and Gold Card visa
- The requirements for an entrepreneur visa include submitting a plan of what you will to do in Taiwan, and the growth potential of your business
- Incubators in Taiwan and the support they provide to entrepreneurs
- The Gold Card visa is for those with expertise in their fields, similar to an APRC (lien Permanent Resident Certificate)
- The requirements for a Gold Card
- The process of writing and doing research for Paolo’s book, Startup Taiwan
- There are six steps to starting a business in Taiwan
- How Paolo’s book includes interviews with entrepreneurs and case studies
- The KPIs (key performance indicator) for grants given by the government of Taiwan
- The difference and added value of Paolo’s book, Startup Taiwan compared to Elias’ book, How to Start a Business in Taiwan
- How the interviews in Paolo’s book, Startup Taiwan offer some real life examples of what people go through in the process of trying to start a business in Taiwan
- How Taiwan is in general very technologically advanced, but its banking system is not
- Why there aren’t many venture capitalists setting up in Taiwan
- How a chop aka seal aka stamp is still commonly used by Taiwan’s banks as form of identification
- The inspiration behind the book cover art for Startup Taiwan
- The challenges that Paolo has experienced in doing business in Taiwan
- Common misperceptions that people have about Taiwan or doing business in Taiwan
- If any of the case studies from the book Startup Taiwanhave been translated into Chinese
- How Audrey Tang, Taiwan’s digital minister has received a copy of the book and thought the recommendations were helpful informing policies to make Taiwan a startup hub in Asia
- How Paolo wanted the first version of the print version of Startup Taiwanto look like a coffee table art book with grey paper vs. white or off-white
- How there are three versions of the book, Startup Taiwan 1)the print book released in 2020, 2) the online version available at StartupInTaiwan.com which is regularly updated 3) the 2022 version which is available on Amazon Kindle and print (updated up to January 31, 2022)
- If you go to StartupInTaiwan.com you can get a digital version of the book with real time updates based on current events and news
- How it is more challenging for foreign entrepreneurs in Taiwan to get access to funding than local Taiwanese entrepreneurs
- How helpful it is for startups in Taiwan to have at Taiwanese co-founder
- How Startup Taiwan includes both failed and successful case studies
- How Taiwan is a welcoming place for foreigners
- How foreigners need to do research to make sure they are prepared with realistic expectations before coming to Taiwan
- 9 out of 10 startups in Taiwan fail
- What opportunities there are for people who want to do business with Taiwan rather than to do business in Taiwan
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/paolo-lising-startup-taiwan-author-shares-his-knowledge-on-starting-a-business-in-taiwan-ep-180/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
So much has happened since I interviewed John Fan, one of the co-founders of PicCollage back in December. PicCollage is an app that allows you to create fun things with your photos and videos. It is one of the most popular apps in the photo and video app category in the app store.
We actually spoke the day after Talking Taiwan won a Golden Crane Podcast Award. It was a fascinating conversation not only about PicCollage, but about what it was like for John being in Taiwan when it was one of the few places in the world relatively unaffected by COVID at the beginning of the pandemic, and how it attracted COVID refugees that included some of Taiwan’s most talented influential diaspora. John also talked about how the startup scene in Taiwan has changed in the ten years that he’s lived there.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How PicCollage is an app that allows you to create fun things with your photos and videos
- How PicCollage as a company that creates a variety of apps related to greetings, video editing, and wellness
- The WOWSHI app inspired by Japanese washi tapes designed to mimic the tactile experience of applying washi tape, which can be a form of relaxation
- The idea for the WOWSHI app came out of the realization that during the pandemic people were looking for ways to de-stress
- How PicCollage was started 10 years ago and was initially designed primarily for the iPad
- 10 years ago apps like Uber, Instagram and Snapchat were still relatively new
- How PicCollage was started in Silicon Valley but has much of its operations in Taiwan
- John’s experience as a Taiwanese American having moved to Taiwan and lived there for 10 years
- The challenges of running a business in multiple time zones
- The advantages of running a business in Taiwan
- The freedom and creativity in Taiwan
- The popularity of bubble tea and cat cafes of Taiwan
- How Taiwan is connected to and influenced by China, Japan and the U.S.
- Taiwan’s kawaii i.e. cute aesthetic which has been influenced by Japan
- Kawaii culture in the in the campaign for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Chen Shui-bian
- How Bitmoji was created in 2007
- PicCollage’s Silicon Valley values and Taiwanese employees
- How PicCollage has offered its team members U.S. $3,500 to spend on learning about or getting training on something of their own choice
- How PicCollage’s values are a mix from Silicon Valley and Taiwan: Always Be Learning. Be Proactive and Overcommunicate. Win As A Team.
- How PicCollage has changed and evolved over time
- John’s work experience prior to PicCollage
- What it has been like starting and running PicCollage
- How PicCollage values user feedback and has invited users to come in for user interviews on Fridays
- What they have learned from user feedback e.g. the ability to save/back up the collages on their phone in the cloud
- Artist collaborations with PicCollage have included collaborations with individual artists, Sanrio, and tokidoki
- What it’s been like being in Taiwan when it was relatively unaffected by COVID at the beginning of the pandemic, and attracted COVID refugees
- How Taiwan was one of the first countries to be aware of the threat of COVID early on in the pandemic and was prepared due to its prior experience with SARS
- How Taiwan was able to maintain zero COVID cases up until April/May 2021 and attracted COVID refugees, like the founders of Rotten Tomatoes, Twitch and YouTube
- The use of Gather and Kumospace as Taiwan has gone into partial lockdown and adopted working remotely
- How has the startup culture in Taiwan changed in the 10 years that John has been in Taiwan
- How software startups exist in the shadows of Taiwan’s two major industries: the semiconductor industry and ODM (Original Design Manufacturer) industry or contract manufacturing industries
- How Taiwan can play a role in the software industry
- How people in Taiwan vs Japan and Korea, are more willing to take a risk and work for smaller companies instead of large companies and conglomerates
- How the startup Gogoro has been able to get a lot of funding
- How Appier went public in Japan
- There’s been greater investor interest in Taiwan startups than in the past
- 500 Startups has set up a branch in Taiwan
- How there are more VCs (venture capital) in Taiwan now
- How there are more VCs investing in software
- How Taiwan can excel in creativity and design
- Pinkoi. “the Etsy of Asia” that was started in Taiwan
- GagaOOLala, an LGBTQ+, “Netflix for Asia” that was started in Taiwan
- How Taiwan needs people with senior level experience with product marketing, and engineering management, and this void could be filled by Taiwan’s diaspora or those interested in working with Taiwanese companies
- How PicCollage is hiring
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/john-fan-pic-collage-cofounder-creating-jobs-for-taiwans-most-talented-since-2011-ep-179/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has put the reality of war on display for the world, especially for Taiwan, which like Ukraine, has been under the constant threat of military aggression of an unfriendly neighbor. Because of the war that’s been happening in Ukraine there’s been talk of how Taiwan must improve its military defense capabilities and preparedness, but beyond this, there are people in Taiwan wondering what they themselves can do to be prepared, should Taiwan come under attack.
My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan, T.H. Schee, a representative of Open Knowledge Taiwan, is one of those people asking these important questions.
We’d like to dedicate this episode to the memories of David Kilgour, who passed away on April fifth at the age of 81 and Peng Ming-min who passed away on April eighth at the age of 98. Mr. Kilgour, who I interviewed recently, was a human rights activist, and a former Member of Canada’s Parliament, having served in the House of Commons for nearly 27 years, as Secretary of State for Latin America & Africa from 1997-2002, and Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific from 2002-2003.
Dr. Peng Ming-Min was a pro-Taiwan independence/pro-democracy activist. In 1964 he was arrested for sedition for drafting and printing a manifesto advocating for democracy in Taiwan, he served as president of the Formosan Association of Public Affairs from 1986 to 1988, and in 1996 he ran as a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate in Taiwan's first direct presidential election.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by the Taiwanese United Fund.
The Taiwanese United Fund is an arts and culture foundation that celebrates the cultural heritages of Taiwanese Americans. Established in 1986, the foundation's mission is to facilitate cultural exchange between the Taiwanese American community and other American cultural communities, hoping to enrich and expand our cultural experiences. To learn more about TUF visit their website http://www.tufusa.org/
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How T.H. became interested and involved with civil defense
- The 9/21 earthquake in Nantou
- His work with Open Knowledge Taiwan
- What is civil defense
- Great Britain’s Air Raid Wardens Service
- How T.H. has been dealing with disaster response for over ten years
- How Taiwan has to deal with disaster response year round due to typhoons and earthquakes
- What is digital first aid
- Taiwan’s history of civil defense programs in Kimen and Matsu
- What is covered in Open Knowledge workshops
- The last time that preparedness for war was treated as a priority in Taiwan
- The 1995-1996 missile crisis in Taiwan aka the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis
- What Taiwan can learn from what’s happening with the war in Ukraine
- The challenge of evacuating from Taiwan since it is an island
- How prepared Ukrainian civilians were for war
- How people can prepare for different levels of crisis: 1) emergency preparation (e.g. power outage/ blackout) 2) natural disaster 3) an attack/invasion/war
- The importance of establishing several reliable sources of information in case of a natural disaster
- The emerging discussion about how to handle an attack on Taiwan
- The importance of being able to identify friend from foe in case of a war in Taiwan
- The importance of first aid knowledge
- How civil defense in Taiwan is mandated by the national police agency/law enforcement in Taiwan
- An explanation of infographics from Open Knowledge that were recently shared on Twitter
- How general citizens could seek to improve their preparedness by enrolling in courses offered by hospitals
- Preparedness for military reservists
- The importance of having secure lines of communication in times of crisis
- Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense has published a handbook that outlines the roles and responsibilities of the local and central government in times of crisis; the handbook is irrelevant for civilians
- T.H.’s thoughts on how the government of Taiwan can better prepare its citizens for war
- How the past civil defense programs in Kimen and Matsu prepared and trained civilians for war and what we can learn from them
- How the defense sector is a closed circle and Open Knowledge Taiwan is trying to address civilians’ lack of access to defense related information
- Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces
- How it’s important for Taiwan to improve bi-lateral and tri-lateral exchanges of information
- Michael Turton’s piece in the Taipei Times about Taiwan’s preparedness for war
- How it’s important to be able to resist the first 72 hours of an attack
- How critical points identified at Open Knowledge Taiwan workshops could be turned into policy recommendations for Taiwan’s government
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiwans-civil-defense-preparedness-t-h-schee-on-how-to-prepare-for-the-threat-of-an-attack-ep-178/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: April fourth is Children’s Day in Taiwan, which is great timing for this interview with children’s book author Margaret Chiu Greanias. She spoke with me about her latest book Amah Faraway, which has many of its scenes set in Taipei, Taiwan. Margaret shared how she became a children’s book author, what she loves about picture books, how they get created and what she’s working on next.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by the Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 and the Taiwanese United Fund.
The Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 was established in 2000 to promote Taiwanese and Taiwanese American arts and literature, and to protect and enhance the human rights, freedom and democracy of the people in Taiwan.
The Taiwanese United Fund is an arts and culture foundation that celebrates the cultural heritages of Taiwanese Americans. Established in 1986, the foundation's mission is to facilitate cultural exchange between the Taiwanese American community and other American cultural communities, hoping to enrich and expand our cultural experiences. To learn more about TUF visit their website http://www.tufusa.org/
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How Amah Faraway is written as a reverse poem
- What is a reverse poem
- The reverse poem, “The Lost Generation” by Jonathan Reed that inspired Margaret to write Amah Faraway as a reverse poem
- What inspired Margaret to write Amah Faraway
- How much of the book was based on Margaret’s relationship with her amah and on her children’s relationship with their amah (Margaret’s mother)
- How Margaret’s children react to reading her books
- Margaret’s memories of visiting Taiwan as a child
- How Margaret got connected with the illustrator of Amah Faraway
- Tracy Subisak the illustrator of Amah Faraway who is half Taiwanese and her special contributions to the book, which included the use of Mandarin Chinese
- The Two Tigers nursery rhyme that amah sings to Kylie in Amah Faraway
- How children’s picture books can be written first without an illustrator or written with a specific illustrator, in which case the manuscript and sketches would be sent together to an editor
- How Margaret’s first book Maximillian Villainous was created with illustrator Lesley Breen Withrow, and the manuscript and sketches were sent together to an editor
- How the movie Despicable Me inspired the idea for Margaret’s first children’s book Maximillian Villainous
- When the editor chooses the illustrator for a picture book usually the author and illustrator aren’t introduced to each other, and the illustrator works independently to interpret the words of the story in their own way
- How picture books are half about the words and half about the art
- How Margaret decided to become a children’s book author
- What Margaret was doing before she became a children’s book author
- Margaret’s favorite books as a child
- How Margaret decides to write about
- Margaret’s writing process
- Margaret writes picture books for ages 3-8 but would like to also write chapter books for middle grade (8-12 years old)
- What Margaret loves about picture books and writing for the 3-8 year old age group
- World Read Aloud Day
- The Five Chinese Brothers, an American children's book written by Claire Huchet Bishop
- What’s involved in the process of getting a children’s book published
- The challenge of writing a story in 500 words or less
- Children’s books that Margaret recommends
- Margaret’s next book, Hooked on Books that will be coming out next summer
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/celebrating-childrens-day-in-taiwan-margaret-chiu-greanias-talks-about-her-latest-book-amah-faraway-ep-177/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
As she watched the humanitarian crisis unfold due to the war in Ukraine, S. Chien wanted to do something to help. She came up with the idea for the Taiwan Cares project and together with Dr. Monty Wang and Dr. Bo-Chheng Lin, mobilized the efforts of over 30 Taiwanese Americans from New Jersey to raise over $9000 in 24 hours. The funds were used to purchase and ship urgently needed medical supplies and baby formula to people in Ukraine.
- Chien is the President of New Jersey Chapter of North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
Dr. Monty Wang is a retired physician.
[INSERT photo of Dr. Bo-Chheng Lin]
Dr. Bo-Chheng Lin, is cofounder of New Jersey Living Well Club and an elder of the New Jersey Taiwanese American Fellowship Presbyterian Church (TAFPC).
I learned about their project Taiwan Cares from an email that was forwarded to me with a touching video created by Shi Chien about how over $9,000 was raised in 24 hours in order to send humanitarian relief to people in Ukraine.
With everything that’s been happening in the world today, I think that we need
to tell more stories of the good that people are doing in the world.
The Taiwanese Care project team will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukrainian refugees in cooperation with the Taiwanese American Council of Greater New York (TAC-GNY) which has set up the Ukraine-Taiwan Humanitarian Fund Drive. Donors may contact them for details and/or send checks to:
Taiwanese American Council (TAC) of Greater New York
TAC / Taiwan Center
137-44 Northern Blvd, Flushing, NY 11354
Make checks payable to TAC/GNY. Please write the following as the check’s memo: Ukraine – Taiwan Cares
TAC-GNY is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. After receiving a donation check, TAC-GNY will send the donor a tax-deductible receipt. The fundraising drive ends mid-April.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by the Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 and the Taiwanese United Fund.
The Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 was established in 2000 to promote Taiwanese and Taiwanese American arts and literature, and to protect and enhance the human rights, freedom and democracy of the people in Taiwan.
The Taiwanese United Fund is an arts and culture foundation that celebrates the cultural heritages of Taiwanese Americans. Established in 1986, the foundation's mission is to facilitate cultural exchange between the Taiwanese American community and other American cultural communities, hoping to enrich and expand our cultural experiences. To learn more about TUF visit their website http://www.tufusa.org/
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How the Taiwan Cares Project was initiated
- Dr. Monty Wang talks about how he’s visited both Ukraine and Russia and his impressions
- Why they only had 24 hours to raise funds
- How the Taiwan Cares Project team partnered with a Ukrainian Orthodox Church in New Jersey to deliver the supplies to people in need in Ukraine
- Why they decided to purchase urgently needed baby formula and medical supplies to send to Ukraine rather than sending a cash donation
- How Dr. Wang planned what items to order and the quick turnaround time in order to get them delivered to the Ukrainian church
- The Taiwan Care project will be a continued and continuous effort
- How Taiwan has made disaster relief contributions to Japan (Fukushima earthquake) and Indonesia
- How Ukraine’s situation is similar and different from Taiwan’s
- China’s incursions into Taiwan’s ADIZ
- How people from Taiwan have donated around $240 million U.S, dollars to Ukraine
- The Holodomor, Ukraine’s Great Famine
- Possible future initiatives of the Taiwan Cares project
- The YouTube video S. Chien created about the Taiwan Cares project and the music she used for it
- The Ukrainian folk instrument, the bandura that was banned by Russia
- How they purchased 900 pounds of supplies to send as humanitarian relief to Ukraine
- The design of the Taiwan Cares label and how it includes the Ukrainian words for “Help from Taiwan”
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiwan-cares-humanitarian-efforts-for-ukraine-raise-9000-in-24-hours-ep-176/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Will China attack Taiwan given the current circumstances surrounding the war in Ukraine?
My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Kuan-Ting Chen, the CEO of Taiwan NextGen Foundation, which is an NGO (a non-governmental organization) founded in Taipei that focuses on various issues such as Taiwan’s soft power, promoting democracy, educational policy research, public advocacy and issues related to domestic and foreign policy. He shared his thoughts on Russian’s invasion of Ukraine and the comparisons being made between Ukraine and Taiwan. I asked him how people in Taiwan have been reacting to the situation.
Prior to serving as CEO of Taiwan NextGen Foundation Kuan-Ting served at the Taipei City government as the chief research officer and deputy spokesperson. He was in charge of various issues related to public affairs, international affairs, and student affairs.
Before that Kuan-Ting served on Taiwan’s National Security Council. In that capacity he was responsible for Taiwan-Japan relations.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by the Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 and the Taiwanese United Fund.
The Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 was established in 2000 to promote Taiwanese and Taiwanese American arts and literature, and to protect and enhance the human rights, freedom and democracy of the people in Taiwan.
The Taiwanese United Fund is an arts and culture foundation that celebrates the cultural heritages of Taiwanese Americans. Established in 1986, the foundation’s mission is to facilitate cultural exchange between the Taiwanese American community and other American cultural communities, hoping to enrich and expand our cultural experiences. To learn more about TUF visit their website http://www.tufusa.org/
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Some of the history of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia
- The famine that Ukraine endured during the early 20thcentury due to the policies of the Soviet Union
- The Budapest Memorandum
- Why people are drawing comparisons between Ukraine and Taiwan
- How the situation in Ukraine and Taiwan are similar and different
- How the invasion and conflict in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas has been going on for 7-8 years already
- Comparing China with Russia
- Kuan-Ting’s thoughts on the relationship between China and Russia
- How the international reaction to Russia can send a message to China
- The weaknesses of Russia and China militarily and economically
- China’s reactions to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
- The role that China could play to possibly deter Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
- Why Kuan-Ting doesn’t think that China will try to attack Taiwan at this time
- What Taiwan can do as deterrence
- What has been the reaction in Taiwan to what’s been happening to Ukraine
- Taiwan’s military preparedness
- A recent survey of how many Taiwanese would be willing to fight to defend Taiwan
- The rallies in support of Ukraine in Taiwan
- How the sunflower is the national flower of Ukraine
- How thousands have showed up to rallies in support of Ukraine
- How the government of Taiwan has shown support for Ukraine
- The Taiwan Can Help campaign
- How the U.S. has responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and what we could infer, if anything about how the U.S. might respond if Taiwan was to be attacked by China
- What Taiwan can realistically expect in terms of military assistance from the U.S.
- How Taiwan needs to be better prepared in case China attacks
- What Taiwan can learn from what’s happening in Ukraine
- What Kuan-Ting learned about how Ukrainians are reacting to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine when he interviewed a Ukrainian minority
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/will-china-attack-taiwan-kuan-ting-chen-discusses-ramifications-of-the-war-in-ukraine-on-taiwan-ep-175/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Jiho Chang tells us the inside story first hand by reliving the Sunflower Movement from Ground Zero.
March 18th will mark the eighth anniversary of the beginning of the Sunflower Movement during which time activists occupied Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan in order to protest the passing of the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement, which was a treaty between Taiwan and China. The roots of the Sunflower Movement go back much further, years before 2014. My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan, Jiho Chang, shares his perspectives on the Sunflower Movement as he looks back upon it, and talks about his involvement with the movement.
Jiho has been a guest on Talking Taiwan previously, talking about his work as Keelung City Councilman (episode 149), and remembering the late revolutionary Su Beng (史明) (episode 156).
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by the Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 and the Taiwanese United Fund.
The Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 was established in 2000 to promote Taiwanese and Taiwanese American arts and literature, and to protect and enhance the human rights, freedom and democracy of the people in Taiwan.
The Taiwanese United Fund is an arts and culture foundation that celebrates the cultural heritages of Taiwanese Americans. Established in 1986, the foundation's mission is to facilitate cultural exchange between the Taiwanese American community and other American cultural communities, hoping to enrich and expand our cultural experiences. To learn more about TUF visit their website http://www.tufusa.org/
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Why the Sunflower Movement happened in Taiwan
- How the Sunflower Movement had roots in protests that started in 2008
- How former President Ma Ying-jeou tried to “re-sinicize” many things in Taiwan
- Jiho’s involvement with the Sunflower Movement
- How there had been an attempt to occupy the Ministry of the Interior a year before the Sunflower Movement in 2014
- The power struggle between former President Ma Ying-jeou and Speaker of the Legislative Yuan, Wang Jing-ping at the time of the Sunflower Movement
- Factions between the Kuomintang
- Jiho’s account of what happened the night activists broke into the Legislative Yuan
- How the length of the occupation was unexpected
- The public support for the movement, with crowds of people surrounding the Legislative Yuan for the duration of the occupation
- How Jiho has to testify in court about the attempted occupation of the Executive Yuan
- How there was a livestream of what was happening inside of the Legislative Yuan during the occupation
- How nothing was planned but people (such as doctors and other professionals) stepped up
- The documentary about the Sunflower Movement that featured Jiho and his colleagues
- How the Sunflower Movement has affected Taiwan’s political landscape and directions
- The conditions inside of the Legislative Yuan during the occupation
- There were 500-600 people occupying the Legislative Yuan
- How another headquarters of operations was set up at a NTU (National Taiwan University) social sciences building nearby
- The attempt at occupying the Executive Yuan on March 28, 2014
- The end of the occupation of the Legislative Yuan
- March 30thrally in Taipei in which hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in support of the Sunflower Movement
- Rallies organized globally on March 30thin support of the Sunflower Movement
- Hong Kong’s protests (in 2014 aka the Umbrella Movement and 2019-2020)
- In the end as a result of the Sunflower Movement the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement was not approved and many young activists went on to serve in politics
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/reliving-the-sunflower-movement-from-ground-zero-jiho-chang-tells-the-inside-story-ep-174/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
On March 9th Taiwan Post will be issuing a stamp commemorating the 150th anniversary of the arrival of Canadian missionary George Leslie Mackay in Northern Taiwan. Mackay was unlike most 19th century missionaries. He has been referred to as the “son-in-law of Taiwan,” and was a forward thinker. He was one of the first to oppose the Head Tax imposed on Chinese in Canada.
To help understand who George Leslie Mackay was and the significance of his contributions, I’ll be speaking with Reverend Michael Stainton, the founder of the Canadian Mackay Committee. Reverend Stainton has worked for the last 25 years to promote the recognition of Mackay in Canada and on several campaigns for Canada Post to issue a stamp to commemorate George Leslie Mackay.
Those interested in contacting the Canadian Mackay Committee can email Canadianmackay@gmail.com
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by the Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 and the Taiwanese United Fund.
The Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 was established in 2000 to promote Taiwanese and Taiwanese American arts and literature, and to protect and enhance the human rights, freedom and democracy of the people in Taiwan.
The Taiwanese United Fund is an arts and culture foundation that celebrates the cultural heritages of Taiwanese Americans. Established in 1986, the foundation's mission is to facilitate cultural exchange between the Taiwanese American community and other American cultural communities, hoping to enrich and expand our cultural experiences. To learn more about TUF visit their website http://www.tufusa.org/
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How and when Reverent Stainton first learned about Dr. George Leslie Mackay
- How Reverend Stainton was a student radical at York University and was involved in the anti-Vietnam War movement and interested in China
- How Reverend Stainton became disillusioned with the friendship work with China that he was doing
- How Reverend Stainton was initially reluctant to go to Taiwan to work with the Presbyterian Church in 1979
- How the Kuomintang had cancelled elections in response to U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s switch in recognition from the Republic of China to the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal government of China (in 1978)
- The Tangwai movement in 1979
- How Reverend Kao Chun-ming, who was the guarantor on Reverend Stainton’s visa to Taiwan (in 1979) had gotten arrested for helping to hide Shih Ming-teh
- How things in Taiwan were in chaos when Reverend Stainton arrived there in 1980
- Upon arriving in Taiwan Reverend Stainton was assigned to the Aboriginal Student Center
- At the time the Kuomintang believed the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan was a cat’s paw of the Chinese Communist Party
- Reverend Stainton was warned that he would be watched and under surveillance with his phone calls tapped and letters opened
- How Reverend Stainton was asked to play the part of Dr. George Leslie Mackay in a play was put on for the 100th anniversary of the Mackay Memorial Hospital in 1981
- In 1992 after Reverent Stainton had returned to Canada, he saw the importance of promoting the recognition of Dr. George Leslie Mackay in Canada
- How Dr. George Leslie Mackay breaks the stereotypes of 19th century missionaries
- How Joseph Steere a professor of Zoology at the University of Michigan who met Mackay in Taiwan in 1873 wrote that he observed that Mackay treated the Chinese as equals rather than an inferior race
- How Mackay learned Taiwanese culture and language from his students
- How Mackay accepted his students’ suggestion and arrangement for him to marry a Taiwanese woman, Tiuⁿ Chhang-miâ (aka Minnie)
- How Mackay was criticized about his marriage and why he got married at the British Consulate
- How Mackay told the Foreign Mission Board of his marriage only after he had already gotten married
- Why Mackay is so beloved in Taiwan and is called the “son-in-law of Taiwan”
- How Mackay’s upbringing influenced his values
- Mackay was the youngest son of a Scottish Evangelical Presbyterian family
- Mackay and his family had gone to Canada as refugees from the Sutherland Highland Clearances in northern Scotland because aristocratic landlords had pushed peasants off their land due to the English Industrial Revolution
- Mackay along with other refugees had been sent to Oxford county which is present-day South Central Ontario in Canada
- How highlanders (people from northern Scotland) were also looked down upon in Canada because they weren’t civilized Scots from the south
- How the early injustice Mackay and his family experienced shaped him
- How he learned frontier medicine and developed strong resilience from growing up in the frontier
- The Zorra pioneers and how Zorra refers to part of the province of Ontario
- How Mackay became known for pulling teeth and was able to gain the trust of local people in Taiwan but he was not a dentist or doctor
- Mackay was given an honorary doctorate degree in 1881
- Misconceptions about Mackay
- How Mackay discouraged foreign women missionaries from coming to teach (sewing and English) in favor of having local Taiwanese women converts teach in his school
- The great numbers of the Kavalan indigenous people who converted and joined Mackay’s mission
- The ethnic revitalization among the Kavalan
- How the Kavalan used a patronymic name system, rather than surnames, but under Chinese rule they were assigned Chinese names and surnames, so some Kavalan adopted Mackay's Taiwanese surname “Kai” (偕) as their own
- What has changed in terms of what is known about Mackay
- Up until the 1990s much of what had been written about Mackay was hagiography
- The first international academic conference on Dr. George Leslie Mackay that Reverend Stainton organized in 1997 and how it boosted the study of Mackay
- How Mackay ended up in Taiwan and settling near Tamsui
- How the Taiwanese called foreigners like Mackay and indigenous people “barbarians,” and this created camaraderie between Mackay and the Kavalan people
- Reverend Stainton’s efforts to try to get Canada Post to issue a stamp commemorating George Leslie Mackay which have included two previous campaigns in 2001 and 2022
- Comparisons between getting a stamp approved by Canada Post vs. Taiwan Post
- In 2001 a stamp commemorating Mackay was issued in Taiwan
- Why Canada Post didn’t approve a stamp commemorating the 150th anniversary of George Leslie Mackay’s arrival in Taiwan
- The issues that Reverend Stainton has with the stamp that Taiwan Post is issuing on March 9
- Why Mackay’s wife was given the English name Minnie
- Mackay’s lasting contributions in Taiwan
- Mackay’s title of doctor was due to an honorary doctor of divinity
- Mackay’s opposition of the Head Tax
- Mackay’s lasting contributions in/to Canada
- Woodstock, Ontario’s sister city relationship with Tamsui, Taiwan
- Mackay’s intellectual curiosity and love of nature, astronomy, and botany
- Mackay’s use of traditional Chinese medicine in his medical work
- The complete Kavalan people’s bridal outfit on display at the Royal Ontario Museum, which was among the 16 crates of artifacts that Mackay brought back from Taiwan to Canada in 1893
- Many of the items that Mackay collected are among the oldest collection of indigenous artifacts from Taiwan in the world
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/george-leslie-mackay-canadian-missionary-iconoclast-and-his-contributions-to-taiwan-with-rev-michael-stainton-ep-173/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Dr. Michi Fu and Dr. Tsuann Kuo are helping 228 Survivors deal with trauma. This year marks 75 years since the 228 Massacre and this week we continue our discussion on the topic. 228 refers to February 28, 1947, which could be argued is a misnomer because tensions leading up to the massacre of tens of thousands of people had been building for quite some time before February 28th, ever since the Chinese Nationalists (the Kuomintang) had fled from China to Taiwan in 1945. Some Taiwanese dissidents have used the term March Massacre instead of 228 since the massacres that happened were mostly in March of 1947. Last week we talked about the lasting impact of 228. Under the subsequent authoritarian rule of the Chiang regime, there was 38 years of martial law and the White Terror era. Anyone could be disappeared, executed or worse for just saying or doing the wrong thing, or for what was seemingly wrong in the eyes of the authorities. The people of Taiwan were horrified and terrified. Generations dared not speak of 228.
If you haven’t already listened to last week’s episode, I encourage you to listen to it first to understand the trauma that 228 has inflicted on generations of Taiwanese.
My guests on this week’s episode will talk about some of the ways they have helped 228 survivors and their relatives to start to heal their trauma.
I am welcoming back Dr. Michi Fu and Dr. Tsuann Kuo to talk about the work they did with the Transitional Justice Commission’s “caring projects” that were set up specifically to help 228 survivors and their relatives. Three sites were set up for the “caring projects” and Tsuann and Michi were at the Taichung site at the end of 2020 up until February 28, 2021. Please note that the comments and experiences they share are limited to the work that they did through the “caring project” in Taichung and their personal opinions. They are not representing the Transitional Justice Commission, which as you’ll hear in the interview, has a much broader scope with five main objectives.
The Transitional Justice Commission was set up in 2018 to investigate the actions taken by the Kuomintang between 15 August 1945 and 6 November 1992 (This includes 228, the martial law era and White Terror era).
Special thanks to Michi for her help in assembling all the guests for this episode and the previous one, both dedicated to discussing the topic of 228.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by the Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 and the Taiwanese United Fund.
The Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社was established in 2000 to promote Taiwanese and Taiwanese American arts and literature, and to protect and enhance the human rights, freedom and democracy of the people in Taiwan.
The Taiwanese United Fund is an arts and culture foundation that celebrates the cultural heritages of Taiwanese Americans. Established in 1986, the foundation's mission is to facilitate cultural exchange between the Taiwanese American community and other American cultural communities, hoping to enrich and expand our cultural experiences. To learn more about TUF visit their website http://www.tufusa.org/
About this episode’s guests
Dr. Michi Fu is a second-generation Taiwanese American and a NATWA II member. She became a Taiwanese citizen after spending a sabbatical year as a mid-life adult. As a Taiwanese returnee, identity politics was an inevitable part of the ethnic identity development process. As such, she has been educating herself on Taiwanese history, including the 228 Massacre, that her family has traditionally remained silent about.
Tsuann Kuo, Ph.D. was trained as a gerontologist and has had both clinical and managerial work experiences in the United States before returning to Taiwan. Currently, Dr. Kuo works as an Associate Professor at the School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University in Taichung City, Taiwan. She is actively involved in a number of organizations as the President of Taiwan Association of Family Caregivers, the Executive Director of Taichung Dementia Integrated Care Center and the President of Red Cross in Taichung City.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- The five objectives of the Transitional Justice Commission
- How Tsuann and Michi got involved with the Transitional Justice Commission
- The caring projects that extended help to the survivors of 228 and their descendants at three sites (Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung)
- Michi’s related work with the Museum of Tolerance and survivors of the Armenian genocide
- The challenges and difficulties in gaining the trust and cooperation of 228 survivors
- How survivors and their relatives were impacted by 228
- How the program’s activities helped survivors to reflect on their past and to make sense of it, and to build their social networks
- How 228 survivors tried to make sense of why their fathers were killed or jailed
- The workshops that Michi and Tsuann conducted to help 228 survivors deal with their trauma by discussing what PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and post traumatic growth is
- How they used art as a creative form of expression
- How difficult it was for the 228 survivors to see something good in their lives that they could appreciate in their lives
- How they were able to get the 228 survivors to be more expressive
- The changes they saw in 228 survivors at the end of the program
- Michi’s comparisons between the survivors of 228 and the Armenian genocide
- What Tsuann and Michi learned from the experience of working with 228 survivors
- How 228 survivors and their relatives struggled to be accepted in society
- What types of documents were made public and how they impacted the relatives of 228 survivors or victims
- If the Transitional Justice Commission has achieved its goals
- How the work of the Transitional Justice Commission is temporary
- The proposition by some legislators to continue the work of the Transitional Justice Committee as a Human Rights Committee
- The debate over the Chiang Kai-shek memorial
- Green Island, where political prisoners were sent
- Green Island prison museum
- The Jing-mei Human Rights Museum in Taipei
- The 228 Peace Park in Taipei
- How the work of the Transitional Justice Commission in Taiwan compares to transitional justice work done in South Africa
- The question of who should be held responsible to apologize for the atrocities that happened as a result and connected to 228
- The challenge for people in Taiwan who are not able to face or identify the perpetrators of crimes related to 228
- What can we learn from the 228 Massacre
- How Michi and Tsuann’s families have reacted to their work with 228 survivors through the Transitional Justice Commission
- Tsuann’s work with the Chinese veterans that came to Taiwan with Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang after World War II
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/helping-228-survivors-deal-with-trauma-dr-muci-fu-and-dr-sueanne-kuo-work-with-the-transitional-justice-commission-ep-172/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: The 228 Massacre has been a subject of taboo for those who have had family who lived through it and the White Terror Era that followed. The Lunar New Year holiday and celebrations in Taiwan have just ended, but another national holiday will soon be here, the 228 Peace Memorial Day. But what is 228?
It’s been, 75 years and as you’ll hear from my guests on today’s show, it’s still a touchy topic. And frankly it’s not something that can be easily boiled down to a single date, February 28, 1947.
The first thing to know is that 228 is actually a misnomer because the events thought to have ignited the conflicts and that led to the massacring of tens of thousands actually happened the night before on February 27th, 1947.
Also, tensions had already been mounting for quite some time before then. Two years earlier in 1945, at the end of World War II, the Chinese Nationalists (the Kuomintang) had fled from China to Taiwan bringing with them the Republic of China framework.
On the night of February 27th, Tobacco Monopoly Bureau agents tried to confiscate contraband cigarettes from a 40-year-old woman and brutally knocked her out. When an angry crowd gathered in protest, one of the agents fired a shot into the crowd killing a bystander. Within 24 hours, the incident had escalated into bloody violence and massacres.
Under the authoritarian Chiang regime, what followed was 38 years of martial law and the White Terror era. Anyone could be disappeared, executed or worse for just saying or doing the wrong thing or for what was seemingly wrong in the eyes of the authorities. The people of Taiwan were horrified and terrified. Generations dared not speak of 228.
228 was absent from high school textbooks until relatively recently. Denial, distrust, suppression, and the passage of time have made it hard for many to come to terms with 228.
What I’ve presented is of course not the entire story but is meant to provide you with some basic background for the discussion in this episode of Talking Taiwan. If you were previously unfamiliar with 228, I hope that this has piqued your interest, and that you do some further research for yourself on the topic History is not about an isolated date like 228 but understanding its deeper context, significance and repercussions.
Since it’s the 75th anniversary of the 228 massacre we will be dedicating two episodes to this topic. In this first episode today, my guests Wei-Wei Chang, Michi Fu, TsuAnn Kuo and Josephine Pan represent different backgrounds and generations of Taiwanese women. Each will share their personal perspectives and experiences related to 228, thoughts on the societal impact of 228. Next week Michi and TsuAnn will return to discuss their work with 228 survivors and their families through the Transitional Justice Commission. Special thanks to Michi for her help in assembling all the guests for these two episodes.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by the Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 and the Taiwanese United Fund.
The Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社was established in 2000 to promote Taiwanese and Taiwanese American arts and literature, and to protect and enhance the human rights, freedom and democracy of the people in Taiwan.
The Taiwanese United Fund is an arts and culture foundation that celebrates the cultural heritages of Taiwanese Americans. Established in 1986, the foundation's mission is to facilitate cultural exchange between the Taiwanese American community and other American cultural communities, hoping to enrich and expand our cultural experiences. To learn more about TUF visit their website http://www.tufusa.org/
About this episode’s guests
Weiwei Chang was born and raised in Taiwan during the martial law era. Her parents retreated from China to Taiwan as refugees after World War II. She has been living in the U.S. for over 40 years. Six years ago she retired from her job as registered nurse.
Michi Fu is a second-generation Taiwanese American and a NATWA II member. She became a Taiwanese citizen after spending a sabbatical year as a mid-life adult. As a Taiwanese returnee, identity politics was an inevitable part of the ethnic identity development process. As such, she has been educating herself on Taiwanese history, including the 228 Massacre, that her family has traditionally remained silent about.
Tsuann Kuo, Ph. D. was trained as a gerontologist and had both clinical and managerial work experiences in the United States before returning to Taiwan. Currently, Dr. Kuo works as an Associate Professor at the School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University in Taichung City, Taiwan. She is actively involved in a number of organizations as the President of Taiwan Association of Family Caregivers, the Executive Director of Taichung Dementia Integrated Care Center and the President of Red Cross in Taichung City.
Josephine Pan is a proud Taiwanese Hakka from Hsinchu. She immigrated to the US in 1980 after graduating from college, and worked as Immigration Consultant/Paralegal for 25+ years. Currently, she is a business owner of JT & TEA (which imports and distributes several varieties of tea). Josephine is also Founder of Taiwan Elite Alliance, a registered nonprofit corporation in California since 2000, Board Director/Cultural Night Committee Chair/Former President (2011 - 2013) of Taiwanese United Fund (TUF), Coordinator for the Annual 2-28 Commemorative Concert, Community participation for LA River Clean Up and other cultural events promoting Taiwanese American culture.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How each guest first heard of or learned about 228
- How the 228 was a forbidden topic of discussion
- How my guests and their families were personally impacted by 228
- The Formosa Incident aka Kaohsiung Incident
- The White Terror and Martial Law era of Taiwan
- The writer who was sent to prison because of his Chinese-language translation of a Popeye comic
- Why the topic of 228 has been so taboo
- TsuAnn’s grandfather who was a political prisoner during the White Terror era
- Post-traumatic stress
- What TsuAnn’s relatives experienced and witnessed about 228
- Why TsuAnn decided to try to help 228 victims and their families
- Green Island, the place where political prisoners were exiled
- The case of a 15-year-old girl who was jailed
- How political prisoners, after being released were ostracized by society
- How things banned during the Martial Law era included books, music, art or any medium related to communism or that was critical of the Kuomintang
- Personal accounts of people persecuted during the Martial Law era
- The families whose husbands and fathers disappeared due to 228
- The privileges and overrepresentation granted to the Chinese vs. local Taiwanese under KMT rule
- The injustices in Taiwan’s society under the initial rule of the Kuomintang
- Why it’s important to remember and understand 228
- The importance of healing from historic trauma
- Canada’s residential schools
- What TsuAnn discovered about 228 survivors through her work with the Transitional Justice Committee
- Why Josephine started organizing an annual concert to commemorate 228
- How 228 became a national holiday in 1998 but has almost been cancelled as a holiday
- My guests thought on whether or not 228 remains a national holiday
- Indigenous Peoples Day
- How to commemorate 228
- What young people in Taiwan know about 228
- What was previously taught to Josephine TsuAnn and Wei-Wei about Taiwan in their textbooks when they were high school students in Taiwan
- The Jing Mei Prison Museum in Taipei
- Music that was banned during the White Terror era
- Experiential ways ro learn about 228
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/the-228-massacre-taboos-scars-stigmas-and-an-essential-lesson-in-taiwan-history-ep-171/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: David Kilgour recently wrote an article that appeared in the Ottawa Citizen, Winter Olympics — here’s why we’re calling them the China Genocide Olympics. For nearly 20 years, he has been outspoken about the human rights abuses and organ trafficking in China. When he and David Matas were asked in 2006 to investigate allegations that the organs of Falun Gong practitioners were being harvested, the disturbing truth was revealed. Following the investigation, Kilgour and Matas co-wrote, Bloody Harvest-The Killing of Falun Gong for their Organs.
Mr. Kilgour is a former Member of Canada’s Parliament, having served in the House of Commons for nearly 27 years, Secretary of State for Latin America & Africa from 1997-2002, and Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific from 2002-2003. Prior to his political career he was a prosecutor.
In this interview Mr. Kilgour reflected on his career in politics and as a prosecutor, and shared his thoughts on Taiwan.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by the Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社
which was established in 2000 to promote Taiwanese and Taiwanese American arts and literature, and to protect and enhance the human rights, freedom and democracy of the people in Taiwan.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Why he’s calling the 2022 Winter Olympic Games the Genocide Games
- The protest held in Ottawa of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing
- How he became aware of persecution of the Falun Gong and the harvesting of their organs for involuntary transplants
- The International Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of the Falun Gong approached David Kilgour and David Matas about looking into the allegations of organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners
- The book that he wrote with David Matas, Bloody Harvest
- Ethan Gutmann who also wrote a book about organ harvesting in China
- The update on organ harvesting done by David Kilgour, David Matas and Ethan Gutmann
- The China Tribunal in London chaired by Sir Geoffrey Nice
- The Uyghur Tribunal
- How there are 9-10 countries that have banned organ tourism
- Mr. Kilgour’s efforts to lobby the Canadian Parliament to enact legislation against organ trafficking
- Accounts from doctors who performed surgeries for involuntary organ transplants
- How Uyghurs have been persecuted in China
- The persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China
- How Mr. Kilgour is a voluntary advisor to two Uyghur organizations
- Mr. Kilgour’s recollection of his first visit to China
- His work to get goods produced by slave labor banned internationally
- How the U.S. has strengthened laws on importing goods produced by slave labor
- Volkswagen’s plants in Xinjiang with parts being made by forced labor in China
- The diplomatic boycotts of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing
- Why the International Olympic Committee would award the Olympics to Beijing a second time
- Taiwan’s early response to COVID-19
- The last time Mr. Kilgour visited China on a trade mission under Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
- The Chinese surgeon who removed the cornea of thousands of Falun Gong
- Who is profiting from the organ harvesting and transplant business in China
- Comparing the 2022 Olympics in Beijing to the 1936 Olympics in Berlin
- What the average person can do about the human rights abuses in China
- What Mr. Kilgour enjoyed about his political career
- Where his sense of social justice and activism came from
- Mr. Kilgour’s position as State Secretary of Asia Pacific
- Taiwan has laws banning organ trafficking
- Ryszard Paszkowski, a Soviet-trained spy that Mr. Kilgour wrote a book about
- Mr. Kilgour’s past visits to Taiwan
- The trucker protests and Freedom Convoy in Ottawa
- The Taiwanese politicians that he’s met
- His work with the Ottawa Mission
- How the National People’s Congress of China has 91 billionaires
- Billionaire investor Chamath Palihapitiya’s comments about the Uyghurs
- The hate email that Mr. Kilgour has received
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/david-kilgour-author-and-human-rightd-advocate-why-2022-is-the-china-genocide-olympics-ep-170/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Michael Cannings is the Publisher at Camphor Press, a British-Taiwanese publishing house focused on East Asia, that he co-founded with John Grant Ross and Mark Swofford, in 2014. Profit was not the motive for setting up Camphor Press, but promoting books, especially those about Taiwan was. Michael spoke with me about how they weathered the challenging, early years of Camphor Press, and shared some insights about the publishing industry. Camphor Press has been responsible for rescuing notable books such as Formosa Betrayed and A Pail of Oysters- among the must-read books for those wishing to understand Taiwan.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What brought Michael to Taiwan
- Michael’s time in Taiwan
- How Michael met is Camphor Press co-founders
- What motivated him personally to start Camphor Press and why he saw the need for a publishing company that focused on books about Taiwan
- How he witnessed the re-election of Chen Shui-bian as President of Taiwan and the Sunflower Movement during the time he lived in Taiwan
- The Red Shirts Movement after the re-election of Chen Shui-bian in 2006
- The book that led to the idea to start a publishing company
- How they choose the name of the publishing company
- Michael’s co-founders John Grant Ross, Mark Swofford and how they work together
- Advice on how to work with your friends on a business
- The initial challenges after setting up Camphor Press in 2014
- How Michael has been working on Camphor Press full-time since the beginning of the pandemic
- How the pandemic has affected Camphor Press
- How Camphor went from publishing e-books to also publishing print books
- How Camphor Press acquiredEastBridge Books and the rights to several previously out-of-print books about Taiwan including Formosa Betrayed
- The oldest book in Camphor Press’ catalog
- How Michael and his co-founders were able to persist with Camphor Press during the most challenging first years
- Michael’s book recommendations for people interested in learning more about Taiwan
- Joe Henley’s book Migrante
- The new Taiwan-related books that Camphor Press will be publishing
- Discount code: talktw for Talking Taiwan listeners to get 15% off any online purchase from Camphor Press: https://camphorpress.com/
- Tin Gate, the hybrid publishing company that Michael is starting and how it is different from Camphor Press
- Michael’s advice for authors wanting to get their books published
- The changing stigma of self-published books
- The podcast Formosa Files that John Ross co-hosts with Eryk Michael Smith
- Mark Swofford’s website: http://pinyin.info/and his work with the Sino-Platonic Papers
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/michael-cannings-of-camphor-press-publisher-rescues-notable-books-about-taiwan-and-east-asia-ep-169/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: My guests on this episode of Talking Taiwan are serial solo entrepreneurs Ramon Ray and Paolo Lising. Ramon has started 5 companies and sold 2 of them. He is the author of Grow Your Solo, a book about how to grow a solo business.
Paolo Lising is founder of MillionDC.com, a learning platform for entrepreneurs from developing countries. He is the author of Startup Taiwan, a comprehensive guide for foreigners and global Taiwanese who wish to start a business in Taiwan. Ramon and Paolo talked about their experiences running a solo business, why they have chosen to be solopreneurs and what it takes to be successful as a solopreneur.
About Ramon Ray
Ramon is a US based serial entrepreneur focused on making the world a better place.
He's started 5 companies and sold 2 of them.
Ramon has authored several books, including Grow Your Solo about how to grow a solo business, and Celebrity CEO, all about personal branding.
Ramon has testified to the United States Congress, interviewed President Obama, been fired from the United Nations and graduated from the FBI Citizens Academy.
He's never been to Taiwan but hopes to travel there, one day!
About Paolo Lising
Paolo Lising is founder of MillionDC.com, a learning platform for entrepreneurs from developing countries. Lising is a digital marketing expert with a decade of experience working for listed tech companies and finance firms in Taiwan. He has won awards as a business journalist and book author in the Philippines. He recently published his book Startup Taiwan: Foreigners Business Guide as the first comprehensive and unbiased guide for foreigners and global Taiwanese who wish to start their business in Taiwan. Paolo took his Masters in Business Administration from National Taiwan University with extensive training in strategy consulting under a joint program at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Ramon’s background and current solo business
- Paolo’s background and current solo business
- Ramon’s definition of what a solo business is
- The pros and cons of running a solo business
- What Ramon and Paolo like about running a solo business
- How studies show that businesses started by a solo founder are more likely to be successful than a business started by several co-founders
- What it takes to be a successful and long-lasting solopreneur
- Advice for people wanting to start a solo business
- Paolo’s first small business
- A hundred-thousand-dollar business vs. a million-dollar business
- What types of business ideas might be better suited for a hundred-thousand-dollar business
- Taiwan as a place to start a business and do business
- The challenges of doing business in Taiwan
- Resources offered by Paolo’s website: www.startupintaiwan.com
- How Taiwan is focused on building itself as a tech hub
- Taiwanese culture and customs as they relate to gift giving
- The importance of “guanxi” when it comes to doing business in Taiwan
- How Taiwan compares as a place to do business in the world
- Tips that Paolo has for foreigners wanting to have a business in Taiwan
- Banking in Taiwan
- Ramon’s invitation for people to visit www.SmartHustle.com
- Ramon’s invitation for people to visit www.GrowYourSolo.com
- The 5 businesses that Ramon has started including the latest one, Zone of Genius
- And how Ramon sold 2 of his small businesses
- Flippa, a company that specializes in selling online companies
- How to create a business that is more saleable
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/ramon-ray-and-paolo-lising-how-to-become-a-solopreneur-in-taiwan-and-the-u-s-ep-168/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
This year, the Lunar New Year falls on February 1st and it’s the year of the tiger. For those of you familiar with Lunar New year celebrations, you may recall some of the traditions, which might include: wearing the color red, receiving or giving red envelopes, eating special foods, lion dances and firecrackers
My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is not going to talk about any of that. Charlie Wu is the Managing Director of the Asian-Canadian Special Events Association, which organizes Taiwanfest and Lunarfest. The Lunarfest is a twist on celebrating the Lunar New Year, inspired by the Lantern Festival which marks the end of the Lunar New Year celebrations. Charlie talked about how Lunarfest has evolved over the course of a decade and engages with local indigenous communities in Canada.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Charlie’s background and upbringing in Taiwan
- Charlie’s experience assimilating to life in the U.S.
- The differences between Canadians and Americans
- Why he wrote an article about being Taiwanese Canadian, not Chinese Canadian
- Why Charlie was named one of the top 100 influential Chinese Canadians in B.C.
- What happened when a group of Chinese Canadians asked Charlie to support their fight against anti-Asian and anti-Chinese racism at the beginning of the pandemic
- When Lunarfest started and its connection to the 2010 Winter Olympics hosted by Vancouver
- How Lunarfest is the only legacy event from the 2010 Winter Olympics that has continued until present day
- How Lunarfest has evolved over time and been able to sustain for a decade
- The challenges in changing the perception from Chinese New Year to Lunar New Year
- This year’s Lunarfest events in B.C.
- How the Lunarfest is different from most traditional Lunar New Year celebrations
- How Lunarfest has engaged the local community by inviting participation of indigenous people
- The artists who have created the lanterns for Lunarfest
- There will be a celebration planned on February 5thand 6th at the ---art gallery
- The Lunarfest installation in association with the Taiwanese Canadian Association of Toronto in Markham
- The endangered Formosa leopard
- The Lunarfest’s annual arts and crafts programs for 2000 school-aged kids in the Greater Vancouver Area
- Past Lunarfest programs and how Lunarfest has changed due to COVID
- How the Panjabi community is participating in Lunarfest Vancouver
- Cirque de Soleil’s participation on Lunarfest Vancouver
- Lunarfest lanterns will be on Granville Island for the first time
- Indigenous artist Susan Point’s participation in Lunarfest Vancouver
- How you can participate and see photos of Lunarfest online using the hashtags #lunarfest #lanterncity
- The Lunarfest lanterns have audio descriptions about the artists accompanied by pipa music in the composition, “Woven Melodies”
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/charlie-wu-of-lunarfest-celebrates-the-year-of-the-tiger-ep-167/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
I’m always interested in listening to other podcasts and to learn about Taiwan-related ones. Late last year I heard about the Bilingual aka Bailingguo (百靈果) News Podcast because there was an episode that generated some heated discussion on Forumosa.com, among English-speaking foreigners in Taiwan. Forumosa is an online discussion forum for English-speakers about Taiwan and in full disclosure, they have been a sponsor of Talking Taiwan.
I was wondering what all the controversy was about so I spoke to my friend Cindy about it and this led to a discussion about how foreigners are viewed in Taiwan and oddly enough the discrimination that overseas Taiwanese sometimes experience in Taiwan.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- One of the most popular podcasts in Taiwan the 百靈果(Bilingual) News Podcast
- How an episode of the 百靈果(Bailingguo) News Podcast generated a lot of discussion amongst the English-speaking expat community in an online discussion forum on Forumosa.com
- What the discussion on Forumosa.com was about
- If the slang term lao wai (老外) that refers to foreigners in Taiwan is insulting
- What makes the 百靈果(Bailingguo) News Podcast so controversial
- How people have compared the style of the hosts of the 百靈果(Bilingual) News Podcast to Joe Rogan and Howard Stern
- Why the English-speaking expat community on Forumosa.com were upset by the episode
- People’s opinions of the 百靈果(Bailingguo) News Podcast
- The discrimination that foreigners experience in Taiwan
- The discrimination that some overseas Taiwanese experience in Taiwan
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/bilingual-podcast-discrimination-that-overseas-taiwanese-experience-in-taiwan-talking-with-cindy-wu-ep-166/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Cindy Wu is an English and Mandarin Chinese bilingual performer, speaker, and music educator based in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. She loves and enjoys all aspects of life, travel, and culture. I met Cindy years ago when I lived in Kaohsiung. I’ve invited her on to Talking Taiwan to speak about her music career and how she’s dealt with the setbacks and challenges that she’s faced along the way.
When asked about how she’s been able to impact the lives of her students, she responded that it’s her students who have impacted and inspired her with their love support.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
• How Cindy and I met in Taiwan
• Cindy’s background and connection to Taiwan
• When she immigrated to the United States
• What brought Cindy back to Kaohsiung, Taiwan in 2005 from the U.S.
• ORIENTED.com and how Felicia organized ORIENTED.com Happy Hours in Kaohsiung
• Where Cindy’s love of music came from
• How Cindy first learned piano by attending Yahama classes
• How the time she spent at Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY affected her
• How Cindy uses music to educate kids
• How Cindy began teaching piano, violin and singing in Taiwan
• How the perception of the Taiwanese language has changed over time
• What Cindy’s done in her music career
• The challenges that Cindy deals with as a vocalist
• The voiceover work that she does
• How Cindy started her first livestream show
• Why she stopped doing her livestream show for a year
• Cindy’s approach to her livestream shows and how she deals with criticism, haters and trolls
• Cindy’s children’s book, Sunny Girl’s Dream World
• Cindy’s approach to teaching junior high and high school students
• The opportunities that Cindy’s livestream show has brought her
• How Cindy works with the Oxford Institute and is on the board the Global Leadership and Learning Association
• How Cindy helps students get a dual high school diploma
Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/cindy-wu-music-educator-in-taiwan-speaks-about-her-music-career-and-positivity-ep-165/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Amazin LeThi, a global LGBTQIA+ advocate and one of the first Asian ambassadors for WorldPride at Copenhagen 2021. She reached out to me not long after hearing that Taiwan would be hosing WorldPride 2025.
She spoke with me about the challenges she’s faced as an Asian and LGBTQ youth, and how her sports training and deep sense of purpose helped to pull her out of homelessness.
About Amazin LeThi:
Amazin LêThi was born in Saigon where she was left in an orphanage by her mother. Amazin was bullied constantly as a young child because of her ethnicity and sexuality and it was because of this she went into bodybuilding at the tender age of 6 going onto become a competitive natural bodybuilder in her teens then qualifying as a strength and conditioning coach.
As a young adult, she was homeless for a number of years and it was at this lowest point, contemplating suicide, Amazin realized her passion and love for sport could help her survive.
Gaining physical and mental strength and confidence, from her personal journey of homelessness and against all the odds she has overcome enormous barriers to become one of the most visible and influential leading global rainbow (LGBTQIA+) advocate in the world.
She is also a TV/Film star, entertainment executive and the first Vietnamese internationally published health and fitness author.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Why Amazin travels so much
- What it means to Amazin personally that WorldPride will be hosted in East Asia for the first time in 2025
- Her struggles growing up in a predominantly white culture after being adopted from Vietnam
- What is has been like for her to re-connect with her Asian identity and visit Vietnam
- How WorldPride 2021 was held in 2 cities, Copanhagen and Malmö
- It was the first time that WorldPride and Eurogames coincided
- How many of the WorldPride 2021 events were held virtually
- How COVID has impacted Amazin personally
- Amazin’s thought on the prevalence of Asian Hate
- What advice she has for the WorldPride 2025 Taiwan team
- How she ended up homeless and what that was like being homeless
- How she had a mental breakdown as she tried to get out of homelessness
- Amazin’s struggle with mental health
- What people can do about homelessness
- The importance of having a sense of purpose in life
- How sports have helped her to be more resilient
- The high percentage of Asian LGBTQ youth that become homeless
- How Amazin was not able to be “out” in the world of bodybuilding
- The Amazin LeThi Foundation
- How 10 states in the United States have banned transgender and nonbinary kids from playing sports
- The work that Amazin does and how she’s worked with President Obama and President Biden
- What Amazin is currently working on
- Amazin’s Olympic ambitions
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/amazin-lethi-her-journey-from-homelessness-to-world-lgbtq-ambassador-ep-164/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Now it’s time to announce our Top 5 of 2021 Talking Taiwan episodes. In doing so we'd like to recognize our wonderful guests, who make what we do possible. But first, we have some exciting news! On December 21st Talking Taiwan won a Golden Crane Podcast Award. We are so honored to have been recognized for our work and to have been nominated alongside so many other amazing podcasts. We’ve enjoyed producing new episodes for you every week and it’s been exciting to see our listenership grow. We look forward to breaking new ground in the new year!
For links to the top 5 episodes of 2021 check out the Related Links section below.
Wishing you a wonderful rest of 2021 and a Happy New Year!
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/talking-taiwan-award-winner-top-5-of-2021-end-of-year-review-ep-163/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
In November it was officially announced that Taiwan had been chosen to host WorldPride 2025. The Kaohsiung Pride Team won the bid over Washington D.C. to host World Pride Day. My guest on this episode is Darien Chen, the founder of WorldPride Taiwan 2025.
WorldPride 2025 will be first time that a WorldPride will be held in East Asia and this is exciting news indeed! In fact, Amazin LeThi, a global LGBTQIA+ advocate and one of the first Asian ambassadors for WorldPride at Copenhagen 2021 reached out to me not long after hearing the announcement. I invited her to join us in this episode. We’ll have her back on another episode to share her personal story and to talk about her LGBTQIA+ advocacy work.
I’d like to congratulate the team that worked so hard to secure the bid for Taiwan to host WorldPride 2025. I know they have a lot pf work ahead of them and we’ll definitely check in on their progress in the future.
Darien was previously on episode 82 of Talking Taiwan, talking about how he organized the Taiwan Pride Parade for the World in June of last year when Taiwan one of the safest places to be during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Taiwan Pride Parade for the World in 2020
- How Kaohsiung Pride is the only pride organization from Taiwan that is a member of InterPride
- There hasn’t been a previous bid from an Asian city or country to host WorldPride 2025
- How Asia comprises 60% of the world’s population
- How Kaohsiung Pride was able to get waivers for 2 of the 13 qualifications to host WorldPride 2025
- The application process to host WorldPride 2025 which was an 11-month process
- The naming issue that came up for Taiwan after winning the bid to host WorldPride 2025
- The parallel between Taiwan’s position in the global arena and the LGBTQIA’s within mainstream society
- InterPride’s application with the UN for consultative status
- Why Kaohsiung Pride ended up hosting WorldPride 2025 instead of Taipei or other cities in Taiwan
- How there are 15 different Pride event held all over Taiwan
- How events planned for WorldPride 2025 includes Taipei and Kaohsiung, and other parts of Taiwan
- How WorldPride 2025 will include organizations and events like Taipei Pride which is essentially a protest and Taiwan TransPride hosted by Taiwan Gay Hotline
- What other cities were bidding to host WorldPride 2025
- In the end Kaohsiung was competing with Washington D.C. to host WorldPride 2025
- How June 2025 will be the 50th Anniversary of Pride in Washington D.C.
- How Taiwan was voted by Muslim women as the safest place
- Darien’s involvement with Mr. Gay Taiwan and Mr. Gay World
- What it means to Darien personally that Taiwan is hosting WorldPride 2025
- How the Kaohsiung Taiwan WorldPride 2025 committee didn’t raise any money to help with the bid
- Now that gay marriage has been legalized in Taiwan, why is there still a need for Pride events
- What other WorldPride events Darien has attended
- What other WorldPride events Amazin has attended
- The benefit of having virtual events at WorldPride as they did at Copenhagen’s WorldPride 2021
- The importance of bringing WorldPride to the Asia region
- How the events being planned for WorldPride 2025 includes a “Taiwanese wedding-style banquet” to raise money for InterPride
- How a reenactment of the Fire Island Invasion is going to happen during WorldPride 2025 in Kaohsiung
- Darien and Amazin’s connection to Australia
- Sydney WorldPride 2023
- The challenges faced by LGBTQ Asians in Asia vs. in western countries
- The coming out experience for LGBTQ persons in eastern vs. western societies
- How the concept of coming out is a very western idea
- Coming out vs. inviting someone into your story
- The musical artists that Darien would like to invite to perform at WorldPride 2025
- How the Taiwan Pride logo was created by a Taiwanese Kaohsiung-based graphic designer Bauer Hung (飽爾)
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiwan-hosts-worldpride-2025-our-conversation-with-darien-chen-and-amazin-lethi-ep-162/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: To mark the year’s International Human Rights Day, I reached out to Yibee Huang, the CEO of Covenants Watch to talk about Lee Ming-che a Taiwanese activist who has been imprisoned in China since 2017.
December 10th is International Human Rights Day. It’s also an important day in Taiwan’s history and a turning point in Taiwan’s transition from authoritarianism to democracy. I’m referring to the Kaohsiung incident, also known as the Formosa Incident which began as a celebration of International Human Rights Day in 1979, but ended with a police crackdown and the arrest of prominent opposition leaders (The Kaohsiung Eight) who were tried in military court and sentenced to terms ranging from 12 year to life imprisonment. For more information about the Kaohsiung Incident visit the Related Links section below.
Covenants Watch is an NGO based in Taipei, Taiwan that is committed to promoting human rights and equality for all people. Despite Taiwan not being a member of the United Nations, Covenants Watch ensured that Lee Ming-che’s case was the first from Taiwan that was taken up by a UN special mechanism, namely the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (the WGEID).
Yibee talked to me about Lee Ming-che’s case and other Taiwanese who have gone missing or been imprisoned in China.
About Covenants Watch:
Covenants Watch (CW) is an NGO based in Taipei, Taiwan. It is committed to promoting human rights and equality for all people. Excluded from international society since the 1970s, the Taiwanese government has not been under the supervision of the United Nations system. Under these circumstances, CW strives to introduce a unique treaty review process that can hold the government accountable and ensures its domestic laws, policies and practices are aligned with international human rights standards. In addition to its domestic activities, CW plays an increasing role on the international level by participating in the Special Procedures and the Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- The mission of Covenants Watch and Lee Ming-che’s connection to the organization
- Lee Ming-che’s early life and background
- How Ming-che’s political views changed and developed into a sense of Taiwanese identity
- While in college Ming-che got involved in student-led social movement and pro-democracy activities organized by pro-DPP (Democratic Progressive Party) students, and met his future wife Ching-yu
- The NGOs and organizations that Ming-che has worked with
- His involvement with the DPP and Taiwan independence movement
- What is known about the circumstances of his arrest
- What Ming-che was doing in China, when he went missing on March 19, 2017
- The March 24th press conference that Lee Ching-Yu (Lee Ming-che’s wife) and human rights groups organized to call upon the Chinese government to explain what happened to Ming-che
- The timeline of when Chinese authorities first responded, admitted that Ming-che was under arrest, the date of Ming-che’s trial and sentencing
- How Lee Ching-yu’s travel documents (Tai bao zheng/台胞證) were nullified when she tried to make plans to travel to Beijing in April 2017 to confront the Chinese government about what has happened to Ming-che
- Why Ching-yu tattooed the words “Lee Ming-Che, I am proud of you” on her forearms
- Ming-che’s confession which was revealed at his trial
- Cases of human rights activists and lawyers who were tortured
- Swedish NGO worker Peter Dahlin’s forced confession
- How Ching-yu needs apply for special consent from the Chinese authorities each time she would like to travel to China
- What a Tai bao zheng (台胞證) is
- How Covenant Watch appealed to the UN’s Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) for help with Lee Ming-che’s case
- What is the UN’s Universal Periodic Review
- Why Ming-che’s was transferred from Chishan Prison in Hunan to Yancheng Prison in Hebei in late 2018 and what happened to him as a result
- How the Chinese government has imposed an additional penalty of two years of deprivation of political rights on Lee Ming-che, which may be imposed at the end of his sentence in April 2022
- How Ming-che has been treated in prison
- Ching-yu last saw Ming-che in January 2020
- The Write a Letter or Postcard to Ming-che campaign that was started on Ming-che’s first birthday after being imprisoned in China
- The different campaigns that have been organized for Ming-che
- The purpose behind letters and postcards written for Ming-che
- The UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (aka The Nelson Mandela Rules)
- Public support for Lee Ming-che in Taiwan
- How Lee Ming-che was not able to attend his father’s funeral
- What support Lee Ming-che has gotten from Taiwan’s government or President Tsai Ing-wen
- The case of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo
- The national security legislation that was passed by China’s National People’s Congress in June 2020, criminalizes sedition in Hong Kong
- The Safeguard Defenders report stating that 600 overseas Taiwanese have been extradited to China
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/lee-ming-che-taiwanese-political-prisoner-in-china-yibbie-huang-speaks-candidly-ep-161/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: When you think about things made in Taiwan what comes to mind? Barbie dolls, textiles, plastics, toys, bicycles, or maybe these days its boba, bubble tea, or semiconductor chips?
What’s made Taiwan the leader in the semiconductor industry, what is its competitive advantage, how can it maintain it going forward?
The story of how Taiwan’s semiconductor industry was developed is really quite interesting if you consider that Taiwan was previously an agriculturally-based economy and had no expertise in hi-tech.
My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Dr. Bo-Chheng Lin, who has a PhD in solid state physics, and worked on semiconductors at AT&T Bell Laboratories. He is currently retired, and is one of founders of Living Well New Jersey, a group for retired Taiwanese Americans. This organization has been around for 10 years and I’m grateful for their support of Talking Taiwan.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How Taiwan’s semiconductor industry was set up
- How Taiwan went from an agricultural-based economy to the leader of the global semiconductor industry
- Taiwan’s first industrial parks
- The establishment of TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Limited)
- The role of Philips, a Dutch multinational corporation and RCA, an American electronics company in the development of Taiwan’s semiconductor industry
- How Tsing-Hua University and the Chiat-Tung University are the leading universities in the IC (integrated circuit) industry
- The establishment of UMC (United Microelectronics Corporation) and TSMC
- Moore’s Law, the observation that the number of transistors on a microchip doubles about every two years, producing twice the processing power at half the cost
- The impact on the world’s commerce that would result if Taiwan’s semiconductor manufacturing capacity got disrupted
- The current semiconductor chip shortage
- How the semiconductor industry is a cyclical business
- The impact of COVID-19 on the semiconductor industry
- How Taiwan’s business model for the semiconductor industry compares to Korea’s
- The situation between TSMC and Huawei, that resulted due to the U.S.’s concerns over safeguarding its intellectual property from China, and the impact this has on China’s 5G
- Huawei is TSMC’s second largest customer
- TSMC’s plans to build a factory in Arizona
- The IoT industry and what is IoT (Internet of Things)
- If Apple and other companies start producing their own semiconductor chips what would that mean for the semiconductor industry and Taiwan?
- What it will take for Taiwan to maintain its competitive advantage in the semiconductor industry
- How the transistor was invented at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, NJ
- How Taiwan’s government should encourage engineers from foreign countries to work in Taiwan’s semiconductor industry
- The Gold Card program
- How the construction needs of TSMC has influenced the construction of housing in Taiwan
- What the next 10-15 years looks like for Taiwan and what other industries it might consider
- The China 2025 project
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-bo-chheng-lin-taiwans-semiconductor-industry-and-the-current-chip-shortage-ep-160/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Tim Chng is one of the founders of ITASA (Intercollegiate Taiwanese American Students Association), and we’ve known each other since those college days. He is currently documenting the overseas Taiwan Independence Movement on Wikipedia.
I thought I’d invite him onto Talking Taiwan to talk about some of the media attention that Taiwan’s been getting lately, and the project he’s started to document the contributions of WUFI (World United Formosans for Independence) and overseas Taiwanese to the fight for Taiwan’s freedom and democracy.
After a non-Taiwanese friend of mine texted me asking about who Enes Kanter was and why he was speaking up about Taiwan, I realized that it would be a good idea to do an episode about this and other celebrities who have shed light on Taiwan- for good and bad.
Enes Kanter, a basketball player for the NBA’s Boston Celtics, has called for boycotting the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and caused quite a stir by tweeting and speaking out about Taiwan being a free and democratic country, and not a part of China. Twitter was all abuzz over this.
I had seen Tim weighing in on the Twitter discussion about Enes, so I thought it would be fun to invite him on to Talking Taiwan to share his thoughts on all of this.
I knew that we’d have an interesting conversation. We talked about Enes, John Oliver, John Cena and even Peng Shui, the Chinese women’s tennis player whose safety and whereabouts have been in question ever since her post on a Chinese social media platform (Weibo) about being sexually assaulted by a retired Chinese Communist party leader was deleted.
Tim also talked about what motivated him to start documenting the Taiwan independence movement on Wikipedia, and how in a broader sense it is about recognizing the role of Taiwan’s diaspora in the fight for Taiwan’s freedom and democracy during the White Terror era.
If you’re interested in helping Tim with this project you can do so simply by creating a login on Wikipedia, which as Tim said is really quite easy to do, and you can start editing and adding to the Wikipedia pages about WUFI or the Taiwan independence movement.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- The background of Enes Kanter NBA’s Celtics team, has spoken up for Taiwan
- How Enes Kanter and his family has been blacklisted by the Turkish government
- How Enes’ father went to prison for speaking up against Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
- Taiwan’s blacklist
- Comparing the struggles and conflict that the Uyghers, and people of Hong Kong, Tibet and Taiwan’s have with China
- Badiucao, the artist who created the art and designs for Enes Kanter’s sneakers that called for a boycott of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and the Stand With Taiwan sneakers
- The perception that Taiwan’s democracy was a direct result of Chiang Ching-kuo lifting martial law in Taiwan
- How the father (Dr. Kang-lu Wang) of one of ITASA’s founders (Alvin Wang) was assassinated by the Kuomintang (KMT)
- What led Tim to start his project to document the Taiwan independence movement, especially the resistance movement amongst overseas Taiwanese
- How the resistance movement of overseas Taiwanese in the 1950s-1980s is not taught in history books and hasn’t been well documented
- Documenting WUFI (World United Formosans for Independence) on Wikipedia
- How difficult it was to get media coverage on Taiwan in the 1950s-1980s
- How New Bloom was contacted and consulted by John Oliver’s team for his segment about Taiwan
- How Taiwan needs allies and support as it stands up to China
- What is problematic about what Enes Kanter is saying about China
- Tsai Ing-wen’s public statement thanking Enes Kanter for his support
- Whether or not the U.S. really cares about Taiwan’s self-determination or freedom
- The KMT’s network of overseas student spies during the martial law era
- How organizers of the first ITASA conference at Yale University received an anonymous intimidating letter
- How no one from Yale University was able to attend the Love Boat program in the year following the Yale ITASA conference
- How Tim and his family were blacklisted and not allowed to return to Taiwan
- What inspired many WUFI members and overseas Taiwan independence activists to stand up for Taiwan and to attempt to free Taiwan from authoritarian rule
- How Peter Huang who attempted to assassinate Chiang Ching-kuo was a WUFI member
- How many overseas Taiwanese students were inspired by the Cuban revolution
- How within WUFI there were members who were KMT spies
- The founding of WUFI in 1971 and how it united organizations in Japan, Europe, the United States, and Canada
- How WUFI members were responsible much of the U.S. media coverage on Taiwan
- The Taiwanese American Association of America (TAA), the grassroots arm of WUFI
- Fundraising efforts for the Taiwanese political drama Island Nation 2
- What motivated Chiang Ching-kuo to lift martial law in Taiwan
- Tim’s criticism of John Oliver’s segment on Taiwan
- John Oliver’s criticism of John Cena, the pro wrestler and actor who apologized to China after calling Taiwan a country
- What happened to Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai and what may have motivated her to speak about how she was sexually assaulted by Zhang Gaoli, a former high-ranking government official and member of the Chinese Communist Party
- The support that Peng Shuai has gotten from other professional tennis players
- The Women’s Tennis Association’s (WTA) reaction to Peng Shuai’s statement about being sexually assaulted and her subsequent disappearance
- The pressure by the WTA and countries like Finland to cancel on the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics
- Myanmar and the Free Burma movement
- China's Belt and Road Initiative
- Lithuania’s support of Taiwan
- Tim’s call for others to help contribute his Wikipedia project documenting the contributions of overseas Taiwanese (from all over the globe) to Taiwan’s democratization and independence movement
- WUFI’s 2021 paper calendar commemorating WUFI’s 50thanniversary
- How Professor Chen Wen-chen was part of the WUFI network
- The Taiwan History Facebook group
- The importance of documenting the stories of Taiwan’s diaspora who fought for Taiwan’s freedom and democracy
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/tim-chng-documents-the-overseas-taiwan-independence-movement-on-wikipedia-ep-159/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Esther Chen is a Taiwanese American actress and comedian. We spoke about how
she got into doing standup comedy, worked with Jerry Seinfeld, and ended up back in Taiwan during the pandemic. Esther shared how she’s had to adjust her standup comedy material to suit the different tastes of audiences in Taiwan, other parts of Asia, and the U.S.
While in Taiwan Esther started doing standup comedy more regularly and got recognized by fans. She also talked about the very Taiwanese experiences of going to see a fortune teller for advice about her career in acting and comedy, and the criticism that she and her family have received from Taiwanese discussion forums in response to her comedy.
A quick note to listeners about the audio quality of this episode. There were some issues with the first 8-9 minutes of this interview. We tried our best to improve them so please bear with us and know that the issues resolve at around the 10 minute mark.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How she got interested in doing standup comedy
- What it was like for her to work with Jerry Seinfeld
- How she comes up with material for her standup comedy
- Why she moved back to Taiwan during the pandemic and what she did while she was there
- Her Chinese Mandarin language podcast 好戲開場: It's Showtime!
- How humor in English is different than humor in Mandarin Chinese
- How she had to adjust her standup comedy for audiences in Taiwan vs. New York
- How her jokes about China were received outside of Taiwan i.e. Malaysia
- How she hears Taiwan-related news from Ken and Kylie, the hosts of the 百靈果New Podcast
- How she hears Taiwan-related news from Ken and Kylie, the hosts of the 百靈果New Podcast (aka, K.K. Show)
- The segment that John Oliver did on his HBO show, Last Week Tonight about Taiwan
- Enes Kanter’s tweet boycotting the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and the Freedom Shoes with the words “No Beijing 2022” “Move the Games” “No Rights No Games” on them
- How moving back to Taiwan during the pandemic pushed Esther to try new things with her standup comedy
- How working in Taiwan compares with working in New York or the U.S.
- When she’s going to be performing standup in New York
- How she handles stress and anxiety
- The criticism Esther and her family has received from Taiwanese discussion forums in response to her comedy
- How her parents have reacted to her work as an actress and comedian
- What happened when Esther went to see a fortune teller and asked if she should continue with a career in acting and comedy
- What advice Esther has for anyone thinking of doing standup comedy
- The standup comedy bit that Esther did about the Atlanta Spa Shootings
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/esther-chen-tries-her-fortune-at-standup-comedy-in-taiwan-and-the-u-s-ep-158/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Earlier this year there was a lot of buzz about this thing called NFTs. These days you know that something’s definitely gone more mainstream when it’s talked about on The Ellen Show and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.
What are NFTs, these non-fungible tokens? I was curious about the whole thing myself which is why I’ve asked Kaku, a Taiwan-based DJ to be my guest on this podcast. He’s a trailblazer in the NFT space, the first influencer not only from Taiwan but from Asia, to get into the NFT market.
I did some research in advance, to prepare for this interview as I do when dealing with a topic that I’m less familiar with. But as you’ll hear in the interview, I was learning all about NFTs as Kaku spoke to me. After the interview I did some further research, and re-listened to this interview as part of the editing process. That’s when I noticed that each time I listened to the interview, I picked up on something new.
If you’re really interested in learning more about NFTs, I encourage you to listen to this episode more than once to really understand what’s being discussed. Also check out the links to resources and articles that I’ve included in the Talking Taiwan show notes for this episode. And Kaku gives some great advice on how to understand what NFTs are.
One last thing, NFTs present an exciting opportunity but they are still in uncharted territory. Ultimately, it is your responsibility to safeguard your own assets, to do your research, and to protect yourself.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Kaku’s upbringing and connection to Taiwan
- How he started DJing
- How he made DJing a career
- What he was doing before becoming a DJ
- How his style is different from other DJs in Asia
- His early interest in music
- His early musical interests and influences
- What it’s like being a professional DJ
- The challenges of being an Asian in the entertainment industry
- How the pandemic has affected him
- How Kaku was initially known for making the genre of music called Jersey Club
- A clip of the Jersey Club genre that Kaku is known for
- The track PASS OUT by Nitti Gritti & Gaeko (개코) & Kaku
- An exclusive preview of the new track BLINK by Kaku and Freekill featuring Elle Vee (due to be released in December)
- How Kaku is the first DJ in Asia who’s gotten into the NFT space
- Origin Protocol
- Audius
- 3lau (pronounced: boo-lao), the number one DJ in crypto and NFTs
- What is an NFT
- The different ways that NFTs can be used
- The challenges of protecting your intellectual property in the NFT space
- How Kaku got interested in NFTs
- What is blockchain technology?
- Counterfeit NFTs
- How NFT lingo is similar to sneaker culture
- Kaku’s first NFT and how it was related to the (RED) Foundation
- Kaku’s collaboration with an artist named Jonni Tsayto create his first NFTs to raise money for (RED)
- Kaku’s NFT collaboration with Jonni for the Inspiration4 NFT auction for SpaceX benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
- How the Inspiration4 NFT auction raised about 200,00 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
- How NFTs can be utilized to raise money for charity
- How Kaku created NFTs and collaborated with Jonni
- The events, promotion and education related to Kaku’s first NFT drop
- NFT projects that Kaku is promoting and working on
- Kaku’s plans for a future merch drop that’s connected to NFTs
- How NFT’s are used by musicians
- 0N1 Force the first anime-based NFT
- Ethereals art is hand-drawn by artist Jimmy Danko
- Purchasing NFTs
- How the profile picture NFT market works
- Profile picture based NFTs (aka PFP NFTs)
- When PFP NFTs are minted, it’s like a random raffle and comparable to opening a pack of Pokémon cards
- How social media has become an asset
- Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs
- The opportunity that NFTs presents for digital artists
- Protecting your access to NFTs and cryptocurrency
- Whether or not creators who intend to sell their NFTs need to already had a large following in order to be successful
- Kaku’s advice to join an NFT community on Discord to learn about NFTs
- How artists can make money with NFTs
- The environmental impact of NFTs
- Kaku’s advice for people who want to create NFTs
- What Kaku learned from his first NFT drop
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/dj-kaku-trailblazes-nfts-in-asia-ep-157/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
November 9th would be the 103rd the birthday of the late revolutionary, Taiwan independence activist, and historian Su Beng (史明), who passed away on September 20, 2019. I’ve been working on his English-language biography and I wanted to remember him on this day.
In this episode of Talking Taiwan, I spoke with Jiho Chang one of the co-authors of The Oral History of Su Beng (史明口述史), a three-volume book that he and others collaborated on while attending the National Taiwan University. In addition to talking about Su Beng’s legacy, Jiho shared some personal stories about Su Beng, and talked about Su Beng’s role in the Sunflower Movement.
At the end of the episode, I share some of my fondest memories of Su Beng.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- The public funeral/memorial that was organized for Su Beng on October
- Su Beng’s lifelong commitment to the cause of Taiwan’s independence
- The noodle shop that Su Beng opened in 1950s in Ikebukuro, Japan
- The underground and afterhours activities that happened at the noodle shop
- The third and fourth floors of the noodle shop is being converted into a museum
- How Su Beng’s residence in New Taipei has been converted into a museum
- Su Beng’s connection to Taiwan’s current president Tsai Ing-wen
- How Jiho first heard of and met Su Beng
- The 1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis
- The English language version of Su Beng’s book, Taiwan’s 400 Year History The Chinese language version of Su Beng’s book, 台彎人四百年史(The Taiwanese People’s 400 Years of History)
- China’s Anti-secession Law
- Su Beng’s sit-in to protest China’s Anti-secession Law in 2005
- How Jiho joined Su Beng’s protest of China’s Anti-secession Law and got to know Su Beng
- The parallels and comparison between Su Beng and Che Guevara
- How Jiho, Lán Shì-bó / Nâ Sū-phok (藍士博) and others National Taiwan University students started interviewing Su Beng and wrote a three-volume book, The Oral History of Su Beng(史明口述史)
- Su Beng’s hospitalization for kidney failure in Japan in 2009
- Su Beng’s life in Japan as a student at Waseda University
- Su Beng’s family background
- Su Beng’s Japanese girlfriend/partner who he met while in China
- Su Beng’s love of Kentucky Fried Chicken
- Su Beng’s special relationship with his maternal grandmother
- Su Beng’s role in the 2014 Sunflower movement
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/remembering-su-beng-taiwanese-revolutionary-with-jiho-chang-ep-156/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
We thought it would be a good time to re-share this past episode about the Ghost Month in Taiwan. It’s November first, the day after Halloween, October 31st which is actually short for all Saints’ Eve, and November first is All Saints’ Day, a Christian feast dedicated to celebrating departed saints. When you really get into it there are many festivals around the world that center around celebrating or commemorating dead spirits, souls, and ghosts.
In Taiwan the Ghost Month happens during the seventh month of the Lunar calendar, which was not that long ago. Actually, this year it was in August. This week’s episode features an interview that I did in 2014 with author Ed Lin about his novel, Ghost Month.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What the Ghost Month is and how it relates to Ed’s book by the same title
- The superstitions related to the Ghost Month
- Ed’s novel the Ghost Month
- The research that Ed did for his novel
- Ed’s source in organized crime
- Ed’s interest in the murder mystery genre
- How Ed has been inspired by mystery book author Chester Himes
- Ed’s character Robert Chow, a Chinese American detective who is featured in a number of his mystery novels
- Ed’s writing process
- How Ed immersed himself in the time period when he was writing about Chinatown in 1976
- Why Ed chose to write about Chinatown in 1976
- Ed’s advice for aspiring authors
- Ed’s book tour for Ghost Month
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/ed-lin-ghost-month-in-taiwan-ep-155/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Ming Chiang, the president of Hello Taiwan. We talked about how Hello Taiwan got started, its charitable contributions and events, its connection to the annual Passport to Taiwan event in New York, what its mission is, how it creates greater recognition of Taiwan, and the unexpected PR generated for Hello Taiwan when Bi-khim Hsiao, Taiwan’s Representative to the United States was seen wearing a Hello Taiwan mask at the airport.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Ming’s background and connection to Taiwan
- What Ming was doing before he became the president of Hello Taiwan
- How Ming was previously the president of the Taiwan New York Taiwan Chamber of Commerce
- Ming’s business ventures
- The Taiwanese American organizations that Ming has worked with
- When Hello Taiwan was established and its mission
- Hello Taiwan concerts and its connection to Passport to Taiwan
- The Hello Taiwan logo
- Events organized by Hello Taiwan
- Hello Taiwan’s partnership with the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce
- Hello Taiwan Day with the LA Dodgers
- How Hello Taiwan donated new dragon boats to the Rhode Island Taiwan Heritage Day for the dragon boat races
- Sponsorship of Taiwanese Waves
- Taiwan Mets Day
- Hello Taiwan events and ambassadors around the world
- How someone can become a Hello Taiwan ambassador
- The celebrities and influential people that Ming has met
- Hello Taiwan merchandise
- The unexpected PR generated for Hello Taiwan when Bi-khim Hsiao, Taiwan’s Representative to the United States was seen wearing a Hello Taiwan mask at the airport
- The confusion caused by the Republic of China (ROC) and labels such as the Chinese Professional Baseball League, Chinese Taipei in the Olympics, Taipei Economic Cultural Representative Office
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/ming-chiang-hello-taiwan-brings-greater-recognition-to-taiwans-name-and-identity-ep-154/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
This week’s episode of Talking Taiwan continues with the second half of my conversation with Hsinyi Lin, the Executive Director of the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty. We continued our conversation by talking about what the public opinion in Taiwan on the death penalty is, the types of surveys that are typically done to gauge public opinion, and the survey of public opinion about the death penalty that TAEDP and the Academia Sinica worked on in 2013-2014.
Other topics discussed included a deeper discussion of the alliance’s work which includes educating the public and improving understanding about the death penalty, the two covenants adopted as domestic law in Taiwan, that reflect an intent to gradually abolish the death penalty in Taiwan, and the government of Taiwan’s general handling of the death penalty.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How surveys on the public opinion about the death penalty in Taiwan are done
- The 2013-2014 survey of public opinion about the death penalty that Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty (TAEDP) worked on with the Academia Sinica
- What has changed with TAEDP since it was established in 2003
- How TAEDP works to educate society about abolishing the death penalty
- The origins of the death penalty in Taiwan
- Whether or not death penalty effectively deters crime
- Why the death penalty was not abolished after the by DPP President Chen Shui-bian’s announcement that it would be abolished in 3 years
- The policy that was introduced in writing in 2005, by the government of Taiwan that the death penalty would gradually be abolished
- The de facto 2006 moratorium that was put in place until 2009
- The execution in 2010 was carried out under President Ma Ying-jeou
- What is the ICCPR, and ICESCR
- The implementation law on the Two Covenants (ICCPR & ICESCR) that was passed in Taiwan in 2019, making the Two Covenants domestic law in Taiwan
- How article 6 of the ICCPR states that there should not be any delay to prevent the abolition of capital punishment
- How executions are done in Taiwan and the problems with the execution process
- How TAEDP is trying to change the execution process in Taiwan
- How to deal with the opinions, rights and wishes of victims’ families
- How TAEDP interacts with victims’ families
- How TAEDP works to educate or create awareness about the death penalty by organizing film festivals
- What is the public opinion and surveys in Taiwan on the death penalty
- The results of a 2013-2014 survey on death penalty conducted by the Academia Sinica
- How TAEDP works with schools to educate students about the death penalty
- TAEDP’s book for children that teaches them about punishment and the judicial system
- The most recent executions that happened in 2018 and 2020
- Why there is no moratorium currently in place
- Whether or not citizens in Taiwan take the death penalty issue into consideration when voting
- TAEDP’s work with international organizations and how this impact’s Taiwan
- What TAEDP has learned from working with international organizations
- How to handle cases like Lee Ming-Che, who was incarcerated in China
- Here’s the corrected text “Lee Ming-Che” was accidentally repeated twice
- Hsinyi’s involvement with the Free Tibet movement and how she had a chance to ask the Dali Lama for his thoughts on the death penalty
- President Tsai Ing-wen’s stance on and handling of the death penalty issue
- The case of Chiou Ho-shun (邱和順) and the TAEDP’s request of President Tsai to grant him amnesty
- How supportive has the government been of TAEDP’s work
- What’s been accomplished in the nearly 20 years of TAEDP’s existence
- TAEDP’s members and supporters
- How people can learn more and work with TAEDP
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/hsinyi-lin-fights-to-abolish-the-death-penalty-in-taiwan-part-2-ep-153/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Hsinyi Lin, the Executive Director of the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty. She spoke with me about the movement to abolish the death penalty in Taiwan.
2000 was an exciting year for Taiwan, it was the first time that there was a transition in power from the Kuomintang, and the first time that a Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate, Chen Shui-bian was elected. That same year President Chen Shui-bian announced that the death penalty would be gradually be abolished. However, in September of 2000 there was an execution.
This is part one of a two-part interview. In next week’s episode, I will get in to a deeper discussion with Hsinyi about the public opinion on the death penalty in Taiwan, why the death penalty has not yet been abolished and the problems with the current death penalty procedure in Taiwan.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How Hsinyi got involved in the movement to abolish the death penalty in Taiwan
- The announcement in 2000 by President Chen Shui-bian (the first Democratic Progressive Party president of Taiwan) that the death penalty would be abolished
- How Lu Cheng (盧正) a case that was believed to be innocent was executed in September of 2000 after the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty asked Control Yuan was to review the case
- This first case proved innocent by the judicial system in Taiwan was the Hsichih Trio (蘇案)
- Exonerated cases in Taiwan with the year the case started and the year the case was exonerated: Hsichih Trio (蘇案): Su Chieh-ho (蘇建和), Liu Bing-lang (劉秉郎), Chuang Lin-hsun (莊林勳, 1991-2012)
Hsu Tzu-chiang (徐自強, 1995-2016), Cheng Hsing-tse (鄭性澤, 2002-2017), Hsieh Chih-hung (謝志宏, 2000,-2020)
- Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty’s (TAEDP) work on cases believed to be innocent
- How Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty was formed on December 9, 2003
- The urgency of the case of Tzu Hsu-chiang (徐自強) who was exonerated in 2016
- How Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty advocates and deals with all death row inmate cases
- The NGOs that Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty works with
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/hsinyi-lin-fights-to-abolish-the-death-penalty-in-taiwan-part-1-ep-152/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
I recently interviewed Christina Hu, the Director of the Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign about the Pew Research report on Asian communities which misrepresented the Taiwanese. For months Christina and the Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign team worked with Pew Research to get an official response issued. After several months of communications, Pew reissued the report in question on September 8 with the categories of “Chinese, with Taiwanese,” “Taiwanese,” and “Chinese, except Taiwanese.” When I spoke with Christina in episode 148, she briefly mentioned her documentary filmmaking, so I thought now would be a good time to share an interview that I did with her back in 2018.
In 2018, I spoke with Christina about her documentary filmmaking. Her films have focused on presenting history through personal perspectives. She talked about her first film and her love of history. Christina’s films about Taiwan have covered topics like the blacklist and the historic ruling by Taiwan’s High Court that has paved the way for the legalization of same sex marriage.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in the podcast:
- How she got started making documentary films
- Where the term “blacklist” came from
- The Blacklist Workshop (aka Blacklist Studio)
- Her Blacklist Film Series
- What is the blacklist?
- Her first documentary film, Her Journey
- The gap year (in 1999) she spent in Germany in between high school and college
- When she was in third grade in Taiwan and was disciplined at school for saying that her family was from the province of Taiwan instead of Fujian
- How she observed the Tiananmen Square massacre in Taiwan
- The films that she has made about Taiwan
- How her interest in the history of Taiwan has motivated her filmmaking
- The challenge of telling the story of Taiwan through film
- Her documentary film about Taiwanese Canadian Columbus Leo
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/christina-hu-talks-about-documentary-filmmaking-and-her-blacklist-short-film-series-ep-151/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Jane W. Wang is a self-actualization coach based in Taipei, Taiwan. She spoke candidly with me about the challenges she faced in her journey to become a coach, which involved dealing with imposter syndrome and bouts of depression. She’s channeled these personal experiences into creating her Multicultural Hero’s Journey program. We also talked about the field of coaching, what coaching is, and how it differs from counseling and psychotherapy. I interviewed Jane back in July of this year. We’ve spoken since then and Jane is ever evolving. It’ll be interesting to see what future developments we hear from her.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Jane’s connection to Taiwan
- How being a third culture kid (TCK) has shaped her identity and life purpose
- Her career path before becoming a coach
- Why she wanted to become a coach
- Her personal journey, the struggles and depression that she dealt with along the way before she became a coach
- Why she decided not to get a degree in counseling from Columbia University and instead got certified in coaching
- What is coaching and how it differs from counseling or psychotherapy
- Jane’s own experiences with coaching, being the person being coached by someone else
- Jane’s advice on how to pick a coach to work with
- The challenges Jane faced in becoming a coach
- The depression and imposter syndrome she experienced in the process of becoming a coach
- How Jane dealt with her self-judgment and learned to love herself
- How Jane dealt with three bouts of depression
- What she learned from going through depression
- How someone can identify whether or not they themselves or someone they know is experiencing depression
- How Jane created her Multicultural Hero’s Journey coaching program
- Who would benefit the most by going through the Multicultural Hero’s Journey coaching program
- Jane’s advice for people who are interested in becoming a coach
- What it takes to be a good coach
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/jane-wang-battles-depression-and-navigates-a-multicultural-heros-journey-ep-150/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Keelung City Councilor, Jiho Chang. Jiho spoke with me about his work as a city councilman, and how his interest and involvement in Taiwan’s politics dates back to his time as a university student, and the 1995-1996 Taiwan Strait missile crisis that happened after KMT presidential candidate Lee Teng-hui visited his alma mater Cornell University and before Taiwan’s first direct presidential election in 1996.
Jiho was among the activists who occupied the Legislative Yuan during the Sunflower movement. He's also one of the co-authors of The Oral History of Su Beng(史明口述史), a biography of the late revolutionary and lifelong Taiwan independence activist Su Beng. We’ll have him back on another episode to talk about all that.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Jiho’s background and upbringing
- How/why he decided to return to Taiwan after spending 10 years in Canada
- His study of political science at university in Canada and Taiwan National University
- The 1995-1996 missile crisis in Taiwan
- How he was involved with the 2014 Sunflower movement
- How his first attempt to get elected as a neighborhood warden aka borough warden aka village warden (里長) failed
- How he previously worked as a speechwriter for presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen
- How he got elected as Keelung City Councilor in 2018
- How he got in trouble for posting about his work on as a speechwriter for President Tsai on Facebook
- What his work as a city councilor involves
- How Keelung is one of the smallest cities
- What it took to campaign for the position of city councilor
- Why he ran as a DPP candidate
- The Taiwan People Party and New Power Party
- How long each city councilor position term lasts
- The Ghost Month in Taiwan
- What Jiho finds most rewarding about his work as city councilor
- How Jiho advocated for and helped the widow and family of a man in his constituency to obtain NT$1,000,000 in compensation for his death from his employer of 20 years
- Jiho’s future political aspirations
Related Links:
Jiho Chang’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/JihoTiun/
Taiwan’s first direct presidential election (1996): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Taiwanese_presidential_election
Taiwan’s cross strait missile crisis of 1995-1996: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Taiwan_Strait_Crisis#:~:text=The%20Third%20Taiwan%20Strait%20Crisis,1995%20to%2023%20March%201996.
Lee Teng-hui: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Teng-hui
Sunflower Movement: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunflower_Student_Movement
President Tsai Ing-wen on Twitter: https://twitter.com/iingwen
Tsai Ing-wen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsai_Ing-wen
DPP (Democratic Progressive Party): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Progressive_Party
https://www.dpp.org.tw/en/about
Taiwan People Party: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan_People%27s_Party
New Power Party: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Power_Party
KMT (Kuomintang): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuomintang
Ghost Month: https://oftaiwan.org/culture/ghost-festival/
Taiwan News article, “12 Ghost Month taboos to watch out for in Taiwan”: https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3990308
Su Beng: http://aboutsubeng.com/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: In April of this year, reports published by the Pew Research Center analyzing Asian American communities included footnotes stating that data for “ ‘Chinese’ includes those identifying as ‘Taiwanese.’ ” Soon after, in May, the Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign published an open letter and petition on TaiwaneseAmerican.org asking Pew Research to issue an apology to the Taiwanese American community, and to re-publish its findings with Taiwanese as a separate category.
Upon hearing this, I reached out to Christina Hu, Director of the Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign asking to interview her about this. She was working on getting an apology and correction from Pew, so I agreed to wait until she got an official response from Pew to do the interview.
For months, the Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign team worked on getting a response from Pew Research and by July Christina told me that she was hoping to get an official response.
On Wednesday, September 8, 2021 Pew Research reissued their report on Asian American communities which had previously misrepresented the Taiwanese. To be clear it was a correction, not an apology. Data for 2000, 2010 and 2019 included the categories of “Chinese, with Taiwanese,” “Taiwanese,” “Chinese, except Taiwanese” and “Okinawan.”
I spoke with Christina Hu, the Director of the Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign and Chieh-ting Yeh, the Media Director of the Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign about what transpired after the Taiwanese American community’s response to Pew Research’s initial report on Asian communities, and what led to Pew to re-issue their report.
We also spoke about the 2020 Write in Taiwanese Campaign and the decades long advocacy work of the Taiwanese American Citizens League (TACL), that started in 1990 to educate the Taiwanese American community to complete the US Census by not only checking the “Other Asian” box, but also writing in “Taiwanese.”
The Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign Team:
Christina Hu
Director, Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign
Director of Civic Engagement, Taiwanese American Citizens League
Chieh-Ting Yeh
Media Director, Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign
Editor-in-Chief, Ketagalan Media
Leona Chen
Creative Director, Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign
Editor-in-Chief, TaiwaneseAmerican.org
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How Christina got involved in the Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign
- How Ting (Chieh-ting) got involved in the Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign
- The background and history of the Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign
- The evolution of the Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign since it started in1990
- Why it’s important to be counted on the U.S. census
- It wasn’t until 1960 that people could select their own race on the U.S. census
- Why it is important for Taiwanese Americans to be counted on the U.S. census
- How the Pew Research Reports which used U.S. census data misrepresented the Taiwanese
- The Pew Research Report on Asian American communities that included a footnote stating that data for “ ‘Chinese’ includes those identifying as ‘Taiwanese.’ ”
- The communications that the Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign and Christina had with Pew Research and Neil Ruiz, the Associate Director of Race and Ethnicity
- The open letter and online petition (posted on TaiwaneseAmerican.org) asking Pew Research to issue an apology to the Taiwanese American community, and to re-publish its findings with Taiwanese as a separate category
- The various groups that signed the online petition and supported the Taiwanese American community’s campaign to ask Pew Research for an apology and correction of their reports that did not include Taiwanese as a separate category
- How Christina discovered that the Pew Research report had disappeared Okinawans as a separate category
- What happened in the four months that the Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign tried to get an official response from Pew Research
- The conversations that Christina had with Neil Ruiz about why it was important for her personally, to identify as Taiwanese, and why Pew could say they were confused by self-reported data from the Taiwanese American community that unequivocally indicated that people wanted to be identified as Taiwanese
- The slogan of the Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign
Related Links:
Key facts about Asian origin groups in the U.S. (from Pew Research): https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/04/29/key-facts-about-asian-origin-groups-in-the-u-s/
Response to Pew Research Reports Hiding Taiwanese Identity: “We made it count. Now tell our stories.” (The open letter and online petition that appeared on TaiwaneseAmerican.org): https://www.taiwaneseamerican.org/2021/05/pew-research-center-taiwanese-american-statement/
Some of the responses on Twitter to Pew Research Reports Hiding Taiwanese Identity: https://twitter.com/search?q=taiwanese%20census%202020%20pew&src=typed_query&f=top
Pew Research reissues report on Asian Americans after misrepresenting Taiwanese Americans: https://www.taiwaneseamerican.org/2021/09/pew-research-reissues-report-on-asian-americans-after-misrepresenting-taiwanese-americans/
Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/write.in.taiwanese.census
Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/write.in.taiwanese.census/
Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign videos on TACL’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/tacitizensleague/videos
Taiwanese American Citizens League (TACL): https://tacl.org/
TACL Census 2020 “Write in Taiwanese” Campaign: https://tacl.org/census-2020/
How many Taiwanese live in the U.S.? It’s not an easy question to answer: https://medium.com/pew-research-center-decoded/how-many-taiwanese-live-in-the-u-s-its-not-an-easy-question-to-answer-315c042839dc
Write in "Taiwanese" - US Census 2010 You Tube video: https://youtu.be/mcFLfw73O30
The changing categories the U.S. census has used to measure race (from the Pew Research Center): https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/02/25/the-changing-categories-the-u-s-has-used-to-measure-race/
Christina Hu’s You Tube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdfvPGT3zqZPP3rfAFAGLdw
Ketagalan Media: https://ketagalanmedia.com/
Taking Taiwan interview with Ho Chie Tsai the Founder of TaiwaneseAmerican.org: https://talkingtaiwan.com/tt025-ho-chie-tsai/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Happy Labor Day! We’ve decided to take a break ourselves, so we are sharing one of our past episodes that I think really stands the test of time. In 2013 I interviewed entrepreneur Yao Huang. That year, she was involved with the Entrepreneur Challenge and Competition, which was organized by the Taiwanese American Professionals, New York Chapter and the Taiwan Merchants Association. Yao talked about how she went from a career in pharmacy to venture capital, and how she founded The Hatchery to grow Silicon Alley, New York City’s tech community. I think you’ll find that the perspective and advice that she offers in this interview sound and still relevant today.
Yao is the founder of The Hatchery and she’s been named by Forbes one of 11 women at the center of New York’s digital scene. Her entrepreneurship has been written about in Fortune magazine, and various publications.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Yao’s connection to Taiwan
- Yao’s involvement with the TAP-NY’s (Taiwanese American Professionals, New York chapter) and Taiwan Merchants Association’s Entrepreneur Challenge and Competition (ECC)
- Yao’s career prior to becoming an entrepreneur
- How she advised one of the companies competing in the ECC
- The first company she started
- How she made the transition from pharmacy in to entrepreneurship and venture capital
- What is venture capitalism
- What The Hatchery does
- How The Hatchery has been integral in growing New York’s tech community
- The Hatchery’s incubator program
- Why Yao founded The Hatchery
- Silicon Valley vs. Silicon Alley
- What it was like leaving her job in pharmacy to start a company
- What advice she has for people who want to start a business
- What she loves the most about what she does
- Her passion project, Win4Causes
- What she finds so rewarding about what she does
Related Links:
Yao Huang on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaohui/
The Hatchery website: https://hatchery.vc/
The Hatchery’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehatchery/
The Hatchery on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thehatchery
2013 Entrepreneur Challenge and Competition (ECC) organized by the Taiwanese American Professionals, New York Chapter and the Taiwan Merchants Association: https://bit.ly/3DMaVpd
Nomz, the company that Yao advised during the ECC: https://www.eatnomz.com/
Talking Taiwan Episode 30, TAP-NY’s Entrepreneur Challenge and Competition: https://talkingtaiwan.com/tt026-tapny/
Yao Huang’s TED Talk, Talent incubator: Yao Huang at TEDxBroadway: https://youtu.be/qjFR0F_5K4g
Yao Huang’s TED Talk, I for Innovation: https://youtu.be/jbjQYQ3IXj8
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Tiffany Yu is a disability activist, CEO and founder of Diversability, and host of Tiffany & Yu, a social impact podcast. She’s also on the San Francisco Mayor’s Disability Council, a three-time TED Talk speaker and has a list of many more impressive accomplishments that appear on her Wikipedia page.
She spoke with tremendous vulnerability about her disability origin story, the trauma she’s experienced, dealing with shame, and her continued healing.
Tiffany also shared about the many exciting projects she’s working on for Diversability and in the disability space.
CORRECTION: At x:xx when Tiffany mentioned a TED Tallk “The Danger of a Single Narrative” she was referring to the TED Talk “The Danger of a Single Story.”
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How Tiffany spearheaded the Taiwan Necklace Project to raise money for ITASA (Intercollegiate Taiwanese American Students Association)
- Tiffany’s disability origin story
- How she came up with the idea for her company Diversability in 2009 while a student at Georgetown University
- The work that Diversability does
- How Diversability went from a side hustle to something fulltime years later in 2017
- How Diversability is about improving the lives and well-being of disabled people
- How can Diversability make disability a reason to belong and not a reason to exclude
- What happened in 2019 that made Tiffany realize that she was experiencing PTSD and how she dealt with it
- Tiffany’s thoughts on her first TED Talk
- What has changed since Tiffany started Diversability
- How Tiffany was able to get the mayor of San Francisco to declare July Disability Pride Month in 2020
- How Tiffany has evolved since she first founded Diversability
- News about Diversability
- The “Disability is not a bad word” T-shirt campaign
- The Diversabillity Leadership Collective
- The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) goal of economic self-sufficiency
- How Tiffany has launched an endowment fund at Georgetown University for disability-related initiatives
- The comments that Tiffany’s mom made about Diversability in 2018
- How Tiffany deals with her mother’s opinion of the work she does with Diversability
- Tiffany’s podcast Tiffany & Yu, which she started in 2020 during the Coronavirus pandemic
- Tiffany’s favorite episode of her podcast Tiffany & Yu
- Laverne Cox’s term “possibility model”
- The term ableism
- How Tiffany enjoys making Tik Tok dance videos
- The accomplishment that Tiffany is most proud of
- How the Paralympics may be used as a reason not to care about disability
- The term inspiration porn
- How paralympican Rebecca Meyers’ request to have a personal care assistant accompany her was denied
Related Links:
Tiffany Yu’s website: https://www.tiffanyyu.com/
Tiffany and Yu podcast: https://www.tiffanyyu.com/podcast
Tiffany Yu on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imtiffanyyu/
Tiffany Yu on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/imtiffanyyu
Tiffany Yu on Twitter: https://twitter.com/imtiffanyyuv
Tiffany Yu on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffanyayu/
Tiffany Yu on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/tiffanyayu
Tiffany Yu on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiffany_Yu
Diversability: https://mydiversability.com/
Diversability Facebook Group: http://bit.ly/diversabilitycommunity
Diversability Leadership Collective: http://diversability.mn.co
Diversability Facebook page: http://facebook.com/diversability
Diversability on Twitter: http://twitter.com/diversability
Diversability on Instagram: http://instagram.com/diversability
Disability Empowerment Endowment Fund to support disability initiatives in perpetuity at Georgetown University: https://securelb.imodules.com/s/1686/18/giving.aspx?sid=1686&gid=4&pgid=3975&cid=5816&dids=534.144&bledit=1&sort=1&unit=34&appealcode=21HW001312
The Georgetown Voice article, “Alumna Tiffany Yu looks to cement legacy of disability justice as students push for Disability Cultural Center” about the endowment fund for disability related initiatives at Georgetown University that Tiffany is raising money for:
https://georgetownvoice.com/2021/08/09/alumna-cements-legacy-of-disability-justice-students-push-for-cultural-center/
Tiffany’s first TED Talk, The Power of Exclusion: https://www.ted.com/talks/tiffany_yu_the_power_of_exclusion?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare
Tiffany’s second TED Talk, The Truths About Being A Pioneer: https://www.ted.com/talks/tiffany_yu_the_truths_about_being_a_pioneer?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare
Tiffany’s third TED Talk, The Problem with Positivity: https://www.ted.com/talks/tiffany_yu_the_problem_with_positivity?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare
The Danger of a Single Story (TED Talk): https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare
PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder): https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/ptsd/what-is-ptsd
Post-traumatic growth (PTG): https://www.apa.org/monitor/2016/11/growth-trauma
Dr. Robert Bullard: https://drrobertbullard.com/
https://www.unep.org/championsofearth/laureates/2020/robert-bullard
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): https://adata.org/learn-about-ada
Tiffany &Yu Episode 18, Disability Pride, ADA30 & Diversability’s D-30 Disability Impact List ft. Alex Locust (Glamputee): https://www.tiffanyyu.com/podcast/018
Laverne Cox Calls Herself a 'Possibility Model' on Katie Couric: https://taggmagazine.com/laverne-cox-on-katie-couric/
Laverne Cox On Why She Still Has Something To Prove: https://www.forbes.com/sites/moiraforbes/2016/06/30/laverne-cox-on-why-she-still-has-something-to-prove/?sh=433c972b5638
Talila Lewis’ Working Definition of Ableism: https://www.talilalewis.com/blog/january-2021-working-definition-of-ableism
Tiffany &Yu Episode 17, Leadership Lessons from Yoga Journal Racism & Controversy ft. Nicole Cardoza (Anti-Racism Daily): https://www.tiffanyyu.com/podcast/017
Stella Young’s TED Talk, I’m not your inspiration, thank you very much: https://youtu.be/8K9Gg164Bsw
Paralympian Rebecca Meyers’ Op Ed in USA Today, “Paralympic swimmer: I don't want to pull out of Tokyo Games, but I've been given no choice”: https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2021/07/20/paralympic-swimmer-becca-meyers-covid-19-tokyo-olympic-games/8006062002/
Paralympian Rebecca Meyers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Meyers
Tiffany and the Taiwan necklace project featured on Outreach for Taiwan (2014): https://oftaiwan.org/2014/11/13/talk4tw-tiffany-yu/
Tiffany talks about being Taiwanese, ITASA and the Taiwan necklace project: https://youtu.be/uaZC9fgdRwo
Taiwanese American.org: https://www.taiwaneseamerican.org/
ITASA (Intercollegiate Taiwanese American Students Association): https://itasa.org/
TACL (Taiwanese American Citizens League): https://tacl.org/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
This week I’m welcoming back Dr. Dafydd Fell to talk about the SOAS Center of Taiwan Studies at the University of London. They just had their summer school program in July, which is free and open to the public. It’s a tremendous resource for people interested in learning more about Taiwan. The program included speakers on the topics of Taiwan’s anti-nuclear movement, environmental activism and movements, Taiwan’s Post New Wave Cinema, how to write about Taiwan for a general audience, the campaign to end the death penalty in Taiwan, just to name a few. You can check out their YouTube channel which has videos from the summer school program and other SOAS Center of Taiwan Studies events. Dr. Fell and I talked about how Taiwan studies has changed over the past 20 years and some of the challenges faced by Taiwan studies programs in general.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- The establishment of the SOAS Taiwan Studies Program at the University of London
- How there weren’t any other Taiwan Studies programs in Europe when the SOAS Taiwan Studies Program at the University of London was established in 1999
- SOAS Taiwan Studies program was founded by Professor Robert Ash
- Establishment of European Association of Taiwan Studies in 2004
- Taiwan Studies programs in Europe
- How we are currently in a Golden Age of Taiwan Studies
- Taiwan studies programs in Europe vs. the U.S.
- The collaboration between SOAS Taiwan Studies program and the University of Texas at Austin Taiwan Studies program
- The challenges faced by Taiwan Studies programs
- How the SOAS Taiwan Studies program’s focuses on Taiwan Studies teaching programs and publication (of books that come out of conferences)
- The types of classes and programs offered at the SOAS Taiwan Studies Program
- Prominent political figures from Taiwan that have been invited to speak at SOAS
- The second world congress of Taiwan Studies at SOAS (with 80 speakers and 500 in person attendees)
- How the SOAS Taiwan Studies Program organizes 50-70 events per year
- How the events present interesting opportunities for students to actually meet some of the figures on their reading lists
- What graduates of the SOAS Taiwan Studies Program have gone on to do
- The major research contributions that have some out of SOAS Taiwan Studies Program
- The challenges of funding Taiwan Studies programs
- Whether more Taiwan Studies degree programs will be developed worldwide
- The relationship between Chinese and Taiwanese studies programs
- The SOAS Taiwan Studies Program Summer School which has been running since 2007
Related Links:
SOAS Centre of Taiwan Studies’ website: http://www.soas.ac.uk/taiwanstudies/
SOAS Centre of Taiwan Studies’ Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/
SOAS Centre of Taiwan Studies’ Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlZZGmE1e_6PI2e-HOPOQw
Professor Robert Ash: https://www.soas.ac.uk/staff/staff30582.php
European Association of Taiwan Studies: https://www.eats-taiwan.eu/
North American Taiwan Studies Association (NATSA): https://www.na-tsa.org/
International Journal of Taiwan Studies: https://brill.com/view/journals/ijts/ijts-overview.xml
Taiwan Studies program at the University of Texas at Austin: https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/eastasia/asian-studies-at-ut/Taiwan-program.php
Brill Series in Taiwan Studies: https://brill.com/view/serial/BSTS
Routledge Research on Taiwan Series: https://www.routledge.com/Routledge-Research-on-Taiwan-Series/book-series/RRTAIWAN
Camphor Press: https://camphorpress.com/
Taiwan Studies Revisited, Edited By Dafydd Fell, Hsin-Huang Michael Hsiao: https://www.routledge.com/Taiwan-Studies-Revisited/Fell-Hsiao/p/book/9780367201722
Taiwan’s Contemporary Indigenous Peoples, Edited By Chia-yuan Huang, Daniel Davies, Dafydd Fell: https://www.routledge.com/Taiwans-Contemporary-Indigenous-Peoples/Huang-Davies-Fell/p/book/9780367553579
Tsai Ing-wen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsai_Ing-wen
Peng Min-Ming: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peng_Ming-min
Frank Hsieh: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Hsieh
Su Tseng-chang: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Su_Tseng-chang
Second World Congress of Taiwan Studies held at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) June 18-20, 2015: https://www.soas.ac.uk/news/newsitem94890.html
Reflections on the Second World Congress of Taiwan Studies (held in 2015): https://www.soas.ac.uk/news/newsitem104787.htxml
Academia Sinica: https://www.sinica.edu.tw/en
Hakka singer Lin Sheng-hsiang: https://www.soas.ac.uk/taiwanstudies/events/07jul2016-music-of-lin-sheng-hsiang.html
SOAS Centre of Taiwan Studies 2021 Summer School program: https://www.soas.ac.uk/taiwanstudies/summerschool/
The Fourth World Congress of Taiwan Studies (2022) in Seattle, Washington, USA: https://wcts.sinica.edu.tw/wctsIV/zWelcome.html
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Dr. Dafydd Fell is the author of Taiwan’s Green Parties Alternative Politics in Taiwan. He spoke with me about his book, which he started working on in 2012. Topics covered in this episode include the Green Party concept, and the impact that Taiwan's Green Parties have had on Taiwan's other political parties and social movements. Dr. Fell's not only talks about some of the most his most interesting research findings, but how he was personally impacted by the subject matter of his book.
He’s also the Director of the SOAS Centre of Taiwan Studies at the University of London and we’ll have him back on another episode to talk about the SOAS Centre of Taiwan Studies.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How Dr. Fell got interested in Taiwan’s politics
- The Green Party concept and origin
- Global Greens Network
- When Taiwan’s Green Party was established
- Dr. Fell’s bookParty Politics in Taiwan
- The focus groups with Green Party activists that led Dr. Fell to write Taiwan’s Green Parties
- How Dr. Fell is working on a Chinese language version of his book, Taiwan’s Green Parties
- The main accomplishments and impact of Taiwan’s Green Party
- How Taiwan’s Green Party compares to other Green Parties around the world
- The role of Taiwan’s Green Party in the anti-nuclear movement in Taiwan
- How Taiwan’s Green Party was the first party to advocate same sex marriage and nominate openly LGBT candidates
- How Taiwan’s Green Party raises alternative issues (death penalty, euthanasia for terminally ill)
- The Taiwan Green Party’s influence on mainstream political parties
- How the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has poached figures from the Green party
- The Taiwan Green Party’s electoral performance
- Taiwan’s alternative parties
- The splinter Green Parties, the Trees Party and GPT-Social Democratic Alliance
- The most surprising or interesting finding that Dr. Fell discovered in his research for his book, Taiwan’s Green Parties
- How Taiwan could participate in the Green Party’s global network and gain some international visibility
- The Asia Pacific Greens network
- Keli Yen, Global Greens Convenor (2017-2020)
- How England and Wales Green Party Leader Penny Kemp went to Taiwan in 1996 to show support
- The current status of Taiwan’s Green Party
- How Dr. Fell’s book offers a different perspective on Taiwan’s history through the lens of small political parties and social movements
- How Dr. Fell is now working on the Chinese language version of his book, Taiwan’s Green Parties with three Taiwanese scholars who were formerly leaders of Taiwan’s Green Party
- How Dr. Fell started working on the book, Taiwan’s Green Partiesin 2012
Related Links:
Taiwan’s Green Parties by Dr. Dafydd Fell: https://www.routledge.com/Taiwans-Green-Parties-Alternative-Politics-in-Taiwan/Fell/p/book/9780367650315
Dr. Dafydd Fell on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dafyddfell
Facebook Page for Taiwan’s Green Parties: https://www.facebook.com/Taiwans-Green-Parties-Alternative-Politics-in-Taiwan-101639718636953
Wild Lily Student Movement: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Lily_student_movement
https://oftaiwan.org/social-movements/wild-lily-student-movement/
1989 Elections in Taiwan: https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/03/world/nationalists-lead-taiwan-elections.html
Global Greens Network: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Greens
Taiwan’s Green Party: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Party_Taiwan
Taiwan’s first direct presidential election (1996): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Taiwanese_presidential_election
Taiwan’s cross strait missile crisis of 1995-1996: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Taiwan_Strait_Crisis#:~:text=The%20Third%20Taiwan%20Strait%20Crisis,1995%20to%2023%20March%201996.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/2626754
Party Politics in Taiwan by Dr. Dafydd Fell: https://www.routledge.com/Party-Politics-in-Taiwan-Partay-Change-and-the-Democratic-Evolution-of-Taiwan/Fell/p/book/9780415650700
Blocking of Taiwan’s fourth nuclear power plant: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_Taiwan
Reuters article, “Taiwan to halt construction of fourth nuclear power plant”: https://www.reuters.com/article/taiwan-nuclear/taiwan-to-halt-construction-of-fourth-nuclear-power-plant-idUKL3N0NJ08C20140427
Keli Yen, Global Greens Convenor (2017-2020): https://www.asiapacificgreens.org/profile/keli-yen
England and Wales Green Party Leader Penny Kemp: https://greenworld.org.uk/article/obituary-penny-kemp-1949-2021
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Progressive_Party
https://www.dpp.org.tw/en/about
Ko Wen-je: https://en.xn--wikipeadia-65a.org/wiki/Ko_Wen-je
Taiwan’s People Party: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan_People%27s_Party
Kuomintang (KMT): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuomintang
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
In May of 2020 I interviewed Valerie Soe and Kristina Wong about the Auntie Sewing Squad, a sewing circle that was formed on March 24th during the global Coronavirus pandemic. Initially the group sewed masks for frontline medical and essential workers, and then for vulnerable marginalized communities. From the outset, Kristina described the Auntie Sewing Squad as a stop gap measure, and said that she had no intention of turning it into a nonprofit. In fact, she stated that the nature of what the Auntie Sewing Squad does is not sustainable in the long run and that the goal would be for the group to eventually retire.
The work of the Auntie Sewing Squad, has gone beyond mask making. So, when I learned that the Auntie Sewing Squad had set a date to retire, I had to invite Valerie and Kristina back on to talk about the Auntie Sewing Squad’s retirement.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Why and when the Auntie Sewing Squad is going into retirement
- The work that the Auntie Sewing Squad has done aside from sewing masks
- How the Auntie Sewing Squad is spending $10,000 on N-95 masks for farmworkers who have to work during the wildfires
- How Kristina and the Auntie Sewing Squad allocates food and supplies from the L.A. food bank to communities in need
- The Super Aunties of the Auntie Sewing Squad
- How the Auntie Sewing Squad is not the alternative to FEMA
- The other ways that Aunties are trying to support communities in need
- Dealing with the recent passing of Auntie Sally
- Super Auntie Constance Parng’s breakout case of COVID
- How Kristina has been able to do more to affect change as an Auntie than an elected official
- The statement that the Auntie Sewing Squad put out after the Atlanta Spa Shootings
- The book about the Auntie Sewing Squad that will be coming out this fall (The Auntie Sewing Squad Guide to Mask Making, Radical Care and Racial Justice)
- The full-length documentary being made about the Auntie Sewing Squad (We Go Down Sewing)
- How COVID hospitalizations have affected people in need of other medical treatments/procedures
- The Auntie Sewing Squad retirement party
- How the Auntie Sewing Squad is nonhierarchical
- The term mutual aid
- The unique community and bonds that have formed amongst the Aunties and members of Auntie Sewing Squad
- What will happen to the group after it retires, and will the community still exist online
- Kristina’s show about the Auntie Sewing Squad which is set to be performed in New York in November
Related Links:
The Auntie Sewing Squad’s website: http://auntiesewingsquad.com/
The Auntie Sewing Squad on Instagram: www.Instagram.com/AuntieSewing
Auntie Sewing Squad Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2764362993676831/
Auntie Sewing Squad Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/auntiesewing
The Auntie Sewing Squad’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQrlwkZu_l6F1d9D_M5ZnGQ
The Auntie Sewing Squad’s book, The Auntie Sewing Squad Guide to Mask Making, Radical Care and Racial Justice, 30% off code 17M6662, valid for UC Press website only: https://bit.ly/3iwyEBb
The Auntie Sewing Squad’s HQ (list of notable Aunties): http://auntiesewingsquad.com/about/what-is-hq/
FEMA: https://www.fema.gov/
World Harvest Food Bank: https://www.worldharvestla.org/
Mutual Aid: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutual_aid_(organization_theory)
Super Auntie Constance Parng’s Talking Taiwan interview: https://talkingtaiwan.com/constance-parng-super-auntie-to-native-nations-of-the-auntie-sewing-squad-ep-108/
Atlanta Spa Shootings: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Atlanta_spa_shootings
The Auntie Sewing Squad’s Statement on Rising Anti-Asian Hate and Violence: http://auntiesewingsquad.com/blog-posts/anti-aapi-hate-statement/
Kristina Wong’s website: http://kristinawong.com/
Kristina Wong’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ilovekristinawong/
Kristina Wong’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYVB9L
Valerie Soe’s blog: https://beyondasiaphilia.com/
Valerie Soe’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Valerie-Soe-1397194727164610
Valerie’s previous Talking Taiwan interview about her documentary film, Love Boat Taiwan: https://talkingtaiwan.com/love-boat-taiwan-interview-asian-american-studies-professor-film-maker-valerie-soe-ep-66/
Talking Taiwan Episode 75: Auntie Sewing Squad Combats Covid-19 One Mask at a Time: https://talkingtaiwan.com/auntie-sewing-squad-combats-covid-19-one-mask-at-a-time-ep-75/
Talking Taiwan Episode 107: Auntie Sewing Squad 2: Supporting Communities On the Fringe Through Caring: https://talkingtaiwan.com/auntie-sewing-squad-2-supporting-communities-on-the-fringe-through-caring-ep-107/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
This is part two of my interview with Sergeant Steven Lee, a 16-year veteran of the NYPD, and whistleblower fighting to reform police corruption. Previously, in part one, we talked about Sergeant Lee’s undercover work and the police corruption that he’s witnessed.
If you haven’t had a chance to hear part one, you might want to go back and listen to it first. In part two Steve talks about what happened after his undercover work and the related court case, his thoughts on how to combat corruption within the NYPD, and why he plans to run for State Assembly next year.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What happened to Steve after his undercover work and the related court case
- The corruption that Steve has seen in Internal Affairs Bureau of the NYPD
- Steve’s suggestions for how to independently monitor the NYPD and Internal Affairs Bureau
- How Steve believes that the police should identity with culture and customs of the communities they work in, and that there are enough police able to speak the languages spoken in their precincts
- How Steve deals with the pressure of being a whistleblower
- Steve’s 2020 run for State Assembly in District 40 and how he’s running again next year
- What changes Steve has seen with the NYPD since the murder of George Floyd
- Hoops over Hate
- Ron Kim, Steve’s opponent for State Assembly in District 40
Related Links:
Ostracized NYPD whistleblower runs for state office in Queens: https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-steven-lee-ron-kim-assembly-20200211-mp26mhghpnen5altiqxahree3m-story.html
Queens Daily Eagle article, " ‘You can't have cops watching cops' — NYPD officer, ex-cop lawyer sue NYC": https://queenseagle.com/all/cops-corruption-harassment-nypd-lawsuit-lee-murray
NYPD 109th Precinct: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/nypd/bureaus/patrol/precincts/109th-precinct.page
https://twitter.com/nypd109pct?lang=en
https://www.facebook.com/NYPD109PCT/
Queens Daily Eagle article, "Flushing assembly race gets ugly with claims of ‘cyberbullying’ burner accounts": https://queenseagle.com/all/flushing-assembly-race-gets-ugly-amid-claims-of-cyberbullying-burner-accounts
Steven Lee on Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Steven_Lee_(New_York)
Edwin Raymond: https://www.edwinraymond.com/
https://nypost.com/2020/06/28/cop-suing-nypd-for-racial-profiling-running-for-city-council/
NY Post article, "Teen assaulted in anti-Asian attack on Queens basketball court": https://nypost.com/2021/03/17/teen-assaulted-in-anti-asian-attack-on-queens-basketball-court/
Hoops over Hate: https://www.facebook.com/events/1811972852291087?ref=newsfeed
https://www.facebook.com/asiansinamericainc/posts/111180254400558
NY Assemblyman Ron Kim: https://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Ron-Kim
Crime + Punishment (the award-winning Hulu original documentary): https://youtu.be/C6lB9HQnSac
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Sergeant Steven Lee is a 16-year veteran of the NYPD. He’s a whistleblower fighting to reform police corruption and he shared his story with me.
This is part one of my interview with Steve. In part two, next week, you’ll hear what happened to him after his undercover work and the related court case, how he’s dealt with the pressure, his thoughts on how to combat corruption within the NYPD, why he ran for State Assembly in 2020 and his plans to run again next year.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What Steve was doing before becoming a police officer
- How Steve became a police officer
- Scandals involving police officers writing fake summons
- What led Steve to go undercover
- The police corruption that Steve saw when he was undercover
- What happened during the two years that Steve was undercover
Related Links:
Ostracized NYPD whistleblower runs for state office in Queens: https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-steven-lee-ron-kim-assembly-20200211-mp26mhghpnen5altiqxahree3m-story.html
Crime+Punishment (the award-winning Hulu original documentary): https://youtu.be/C6lB9HQnSac
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Liz Williams is one of the co-founders of The Afara Collective and Jennifer Ho, heads Afara’s film club team. Seeing how the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and others last year sparked Black Lives Matter protests globally, and led to greater dialogue about systemic oppression and anti-racism, Liz and her co-founder Jules Sanders were inspired to create Afara.
Afara invites everyone, regardless of ethnic background to work on their personal biases
Liz and Jen talked about why the work of Afara matters to them, the types of training and programs that Afara will offer, and how Afara is about creating safe, brave spaces to have difficult conversations about systemic oppression, racism and bias.
Liz has been a guest on Talking Taiwan. In episode 88 she and Elissa Russell talked about Being Black in Taiwan and Racism in the United States.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What inspired Liz and her co-founder Jules Sanders to create The Afara Collective?
- What is the mission of The Afara Collective?
- How Afara is about including everyone (regardless of ethnicity, not just Blacks and Whites) in the work of being an anti-racism
- What does the word afara mean?
- What is anti-racism?
- How Afara is about creating safe spaces to discuss racism and bias
- What have been the challenges in running The Afara Collective?
- Their approach to working with and managing their team of volunteers
- Afrara’s film club and book club
- Afara’s See and Unseen Film Club
- How Afara creates safe brave spaces for people to discover personal biases
- The types of training, courses and programming that Afara offers
- Afara’s Go Fund Me crowdfunding campaign
- Afara’s vision of empathy in action
Related Links:
The Afara Collective’s Go Fund Me campaign: https://www.gofundme.com/f/The-Afara-Collective-antiracism?qid=68c382c4dac86653f790901ee54ada06&fbclid=IwAR1DTLBW2pLMC5Brdt2KwsNwdqgpYm34KqIL9r4ZLh9epnXzI-RoIFH-A-U
The Afara Collective: http://www.weareafara.org/
The Afara Collective on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weareafara/
The Afara Collective on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/weareafara
George Floyd: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Floyd
Breonna Taylor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Breonna_Taylor
https://www.nytimes.com/article/breonna-taylor-police.html
BBC News article, “Ahmaud Arbery: What do we know about the case?” https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52623151
March 16, 2021 Atlanta Spa Shootings: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Atlanta_spa_shootings
Liz Williams and Elissa Russell’s Talking Taiwan interview about Being Black in Taiwan and Racism in the United States: https://talkingtaiwan.com/being-black-in-taiwan-and-racism-in-the-united-states-ep-88/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
When Taiwan went in to soft lockdown in May, a group of diaspora who had moved there decided a Covid 19 Taiwan fundraiser for organizations assisting society’s most vulnerable was needed. They created the Taiwan Covid Relief Fundraiser and before they launched it, I spoke with three of the seven organizers- Catherine, Kevin and Jane.
We talked about how the charities benefitting from the fundraiser provide direct assistance to the homeless, disabled, migrant workers and survivors of domestic violence, and how all donations will go directly to the participating organizations. The fundraiser’s organizing team has pledged to match the first $10,000 donated. The team’s novel approach to organizing the Taiwan Covid Relief Fundraiser has given the charity organizations greater exposure to English language speakers and international donors.
The #TaiwanCovidRelief Fundraiser Organizing Team:
Catherine Chou is a second-generation Taiwanese-American who writes on Taiwanese history and identity, and tweets at @catielila.
Kevin Lin is the Co-Founder and former Chief Operating Officer of Twitch. He was born and raised in New Orleans. Through co-founding groups like Gold House, Kevin is giving back to communities that he cares about through sustainable investing, hoping to support creators of all shapes and sizes. @kevinlin
Jane W. Wang is founder of Build Great Bridges Around Taiwan (BGBAT) and a self-actualization coach who helps multiculturalites navigate their Multicultural Hero's Journey, so they can find home within and live their joy & purpose.
Remaining Members of the #TaiwanCovidRelief Fundraiser Organizing Team (not shown):
Jonathan Liao
Kathy Cheng @trickytaipei
Laura Huang @laurahuangla
Tait Sye
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How Catherine, Kevin and Jane, three of the organizers of the Taiwan Covid Relief Fundraiser met and their connection to Taiwan
- How they came up with the idea for the fundraiser
- Who’s on the organizing team
- What it’s been like being under soft lockdown in Taiwan
- How the fundraiser is meant to benefit vulnerable communities affected by COVID in Taiwan
- The five charity organizations that that will benefit from the fundraiser: Homeless Taiwan, Hsichulun Hpme, 1919 Foodbank, Serve the People, and Garden of Hope
- Donations will go directly to the organizations
- How the Taiwan COVID Relief Fundraiser committee will be matching the first $10,000 of donations made
- How Catherine approached 15 organizations initially about being a part of the fundraiser
- How the five charity organizations had to build English landing pages to receive foreign donations
- NetiCRM, the company that worked with the charities to create new landing pages and donation websites
- How the Taiwan COVID Relief Fundraiser will help the five charities to internationalize their donor market
- The fundraiser was initially targeted at diaspora, but it is also for one who may not be able to read Chinese language websites, are primarily English speakers, and friends of Taiwan around the world
Related Links:
The Taiwan Covid Relief Fundraiser: www.taiwancovidrelief.com
ITASA (Intercollegiate Taiwanese American Students Association): https://itasa.org/
TaiwaneseAmerican.org feature about ITASA - Inspire, Empower, and Activate: ITASA’s “Coming of Age”: https://www.taiawaneseamerican.org/2011/01/inspire-empower-and-activate-itasas-coming-of-age/
BGBAT (Build Great Bridges Around Taiwan): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1798268263828078/
Articles related to the April 2, 2021 Hualien train crash:
NPR article, "More Than 50 Dead, Dozens Injured As Taiwan Train Derails Inside Tunnel": https://www.npr.org/2021/04/02/983763089/nearly-50-dead-as-taiwan-train-derails-inside-tunnel
The News Lens article, "Taiwanese American Investors Hold Fundraiser To Support Taroko Train Crash Victims" (about the fundraiser Kevin organized for the April 2, 2021 Hualien train crash): https://international.thenewslens.com/article/149825
GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/
Tiltify: https://tiltify.com/
NetiCRM, a Taiwanese constituent relationship management system for non-profits: https://netivism.com.tw operated by NETivism: https://neticrm.tw
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: A few months ago, before Taiwan went on COVID alert level 3, I spoke with Michael Turton, about biking around Taiwan. I remember when there was a push to make Taiwan more bike-friendly and it became popular for people to bike around the island or along the coast. Michael shared why he loves biking around Taiwan and how it is one of the best places to bike in the world. Surprisingly he advised avoiding cycling route number 1, which is the bicycle route around the island of Taiwan developed by the Taiwan Ministry of Transportation and Communications. He also talked about what he’s learned about Taiwan’s history and aborigines by biking around Taiwan.
Michael is a political commentator, Taipei Times columnist and blogger. We’ve had Michael on Talking Taiwan previously in episode 119 when he spoke with me about China’s ban of Taiwan’s pineapples.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What brought Michael to Taiwan
- How/why he started biking
- Michael’s website about Taiwan in the 1990s which led to his blog
- Blogs that have inspired him
- How he’s learned things about Taiwan’s local history and aborigines while biking around Taiwan
- How interacting with the land is a way to get to know the land
- How biking is a way to discover and learn about Taiwan
- Why Taiwan is one of the best places to bike
- Tips on how to get around the island easier with a bike
- How long it takes to bike around the entire island
- The lighthouse to lighthouse bike ride
- How he’s able to track changes in Taiwan by regularly biking certain routes
- The difference between driving around in a car vs. riding around on a bike
- How Taiwan and Madagascar are the only tropical places in the world that have Badlands
- Where he recommends you should bike or not
- Taiwan’s steep bike routes
Related Links:
Michael Turton’s blog: http://michaelturton.blogspot.com/
U.S. Peace Corps: https://www.peacecorps.gov/
Michael Fahey: http://www.winklerpartners.com/?page_id=622
Scott Sommers/Summers: https://www.intellectbooks.com/scott-sommers
TC Lin’s blog: http://poagao.org/pjournal/
Roland Soong’s blog East West North South: http://www.zonaeuropa.com/weblog.htm
Andrew Kerslake’s blog: https://taiwanincycles.blogspot.com/
The award winning Wikipedia page on Taiwan aborigines that Andrew Kerslake wrote: https://bit.ly/3qSTFbS
Bunun tribe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunun_people
The film, Island Etude: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_Etude
Yushan aka Jade Mountain (Taiwan’s highest peak): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Shan
Sun Moon Lake Swim: https://www.sunmoonlake.gov.tw/en/event/calendardetail/673
Sun Moon Lake: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Moon_Lake
Taroko: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taroko_National_Park
https://wikitravel.org/en/Taroko_Gorge
Badlands: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badlands
Moonscape area of Tainan aka Taiwan’s Badlands: https://spectralcodex.com/exploring-the-badlands-of-southern-taiwan/
Taiwan Cycling Route 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan_Cycling_Route_No.1
Taipei Times article, “Ride to the clouds” by Mark Roche: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2021/03/11/2003753620
Mark Roche’s Blue Sky Adventures: http://www.blueskiestaiwan.com/
Alishan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alishan_National_Scenic_Area
Alishan tea farms: https://www.teafromtaiwan.com/blog/alishan-tea-districts/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Lee Wong, is an elected official and Chairman of the board of trustees in West Chester Township, Ohio. During a meeting of the West Chester Township Board of Trustees on March 23rd he stood up and literally bared his chest to make a point about the discrimination and hate that Asian Americans have experienced. That moment was caught on video and went viral. Mr. Lee spoke with me about what compelled him to speak up that day and what’s happened since.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Lee’s upbringing in Malaysia (previously British Borneo)
- What brought him to the U.S.
- The Asian hate incident that happened to Lee in 1972 and how that changed the trajectory of his life
- Lee’s 20 years of service in the U.S. army and the chest injuries he sustained during that time
- How Lee first got elected to the West Chester Township Board of Trustees
- What prompted him to speak up at the March 23rdmeeting
- The feedback and reaction that Lee has gotten since the video clip of him went viral
- The problem with Asians being perceived as a model minority
- How Lee works with the Midwest USA Chinese Chamber of Commerce to promote Asian culture and to build more bridges between Asian Americans and the community at large
- Lee’s message of hope to Asian Americans in these times of increased Asian hate incidents
- How Lee is now working on writing his memoir
- The website for Lee Wong that is in the works: wwe.LeeWong.us
- The voicemail that Lee received from another military service man that recognized Lee after his March 23rdvideo went viral
Related Links:
The video of Lee Wong speaking at the March 23rd meeting of the West Chester Township Board of Trustees that went viral: https://abc7ny.com/lee-wong-scars-asian-american-hate-west-chester-ohio-military-service/10454881/?fbclid=IwAR0tx9rs7QdKwaANPO0wwohb3UJA3_n0CLchV4sEu_qekuAsJSbK6WE68rA
Atlanta Spa Shootings: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Atlanta_spa_shootings
The voicemail Lee received from another military service man who recognized Lee after his March 23rd video went viral: https://www.facebook.com/759509573/posts/10159651061469574/?d=n
Midwest USA Chinese Chamber of Commerce on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/midwestchamber
The Sun Poem by Sara Ting: http://worldunityinc.org/thesunpoem.html
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Minnie Sun is one of the co-founders of Taiwan Mixed, a platform that aggregates English content on Taiwan. She was in Taipei when I spoke with her recently about Taiwan Mixed and her perspectives on how Taiwan or the Taiwanese Can Help when it comes to the stigmatization of COVID-19 which has been attributed to the recent rise in anti-Asian sentiment. How #CanTaiwanHelp #StopAsianHate?
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Where the idea for Taiwan Mixed came from
- Project Taiwan
- How Taiwan Mixed provides TLDR (too long didn’t read) articles in English about Taiwan
- How Taiwan Mixed got started
- The 228, Decolonization and Transitional Justice event that Taiwan Mixed hosted on Clubhouse in March
- The challenges they’ve experienced with Taiwan Mixed
- How Taiwan Mixed chooses its partners and news sources to feature
- What feedback Taiwan Mixed has gotten so far
- What she hopes to accomplish with Taiwan Mixed
- The future of Taiwan Mixed
- The origin of the hashtag #TaiwanCanHelp
- The CommonWealth article, #TaiwanCanHelp curb anti-Asian sentiment: stop saying "Wuhan pneumonia" written by Minnie Sun
- The #StopAsianHate community forum hosted by Taiwan Mixed
- What the Taiwanese can do to combat anti-Asian sentiment
- The criticisms of and reactions to Minnie’s CommonWeath article
- How to apply to be a partner of Taiwan Mixed
Related Links:
Taiwan Mixed: https://www.taiwanmixed.org/
Taiwan Mixed on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/taiwanmixed
Taiwan Mixed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tw.mixed/
Taiwan Mixed on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tw_mixed
Project Taiwan: https://www.projecttaiwan.org/
Taiwan Can Help: https://taiwancanhelp.us/
The article, #TaiwanCanHelp curb anti-Asian sentiment: stop saying "Wuhan pneumonia" written by Minnie Sun: https://english.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=2962
Video of a DPP Representative, at a forum in Dubai on COVID-19, explicitly using the term “Wuhan Virus” in English: https://twitter.com/tw_mixed/status/1385142073188229122
Taiwan Mixed’s Twitter Conversation Thread about the article, #TaiwanCanHelp curb anti-Asian sentiment: stop saying "Wuhan pneumonia" written by Minnie Sun: https://twitter.com/tw_mixed/status/1385140250922557440
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan, Lisa Cheng Smith, has channeled her love of Taiwanese food, cooking and premium ingredients into creating Yun Hai Taiwanese Pantry. Yun Hai sources premium ingredients for Taiwanese cooking, directly from artisans, farms, and soy sauce breweries in Taiwan.
In this interview Lisa not only talks about how and why she started Yun Hai, and her vision for the business, but she shares her favorite Taiwanese restaurants, cookbooks, and some great resources for tips on Taiwanese cooking.
Taiwanese food lovers, this episode is definitely for you!
I initially spoke with Lisa earlier this year but so much has happened with Yun Hai since then, so a week or so ago we spoke again to get some updates. Be sure to listen to the end of the interview to hear about all of the exciting developments.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in the podcast:
- What inspired Lisa to start Yun Hai Taiwanese Pantry
- Where Lisa’s love of Taiwanese food comes from
- The chili sauce that inspired her to start Yun Hai
- The slow food movement
- What Lisa loves about the food in Taiwan
- How long it took Lisa to set up Yun Hai
- The story behind the name Yun Hai
- The challenges of running a small online business
- How Lisa met her business partner
- Yun Hai’s collaboration with Rose Bakery for the Lunar New Year
- Lisa’s favorite Taiwanese holidays and festivals
- Lisa’s Taiwanese cookbook recommendations
- Other sources recommended by Lisa for Taiwanese recipes (blogs, YouTube)
- Products offered by Yun Hai
- New products
- How Lisa choses products for Yun Hai
- Yun Hai’s connection to Win Son
- Lisa’s Taiwanese restaurant recommendations
- Future plans for Yun Hai
- The short documentary that Yun Hai produced about soy sauce makers in Taiwan
- The newest developments with Yun Hai since the initial interview with Lisa earlier this year
- Yun Hai’s Kickstarter campaign for Yun Hai Selection Dried Fruit Line (pineapple, mango, guava)
- New products that Yun Hai is introducing
- How Yun Hai has been growing
- Yun Hai’s plans to open a store in East Williamsburg Brooklyn, NY
- The Yun Hai Stories newsletter
Related Links:
Yun Hai Taiwanese Pantry website: https://yunhai.shop/
Yun Hai Taiwanese Pantry on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yunhaishop/
Sign up for the Yun Hai newsletter: https://yunhai.substack.com/
Yun Hai’s mini-documentary, Time, Terroir, Taiwan: Soy Sauce Brewing in XiLuo:
https://youtu.be/UhJ5wU1jY0E
Yun Hai Taiwanese Pantry on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yunhaishop
“9 Recipes for a Vibrant Lunar New Year Celebration” by Lisa Cheng Smith for Bon Appétit Magazine: https://www.bonappetit.com/gallery/lunar-new-year-menu-lisa-cheng-smith
Taipei Times article about Yun Hai Pantry: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2019/07/13/2003718573
Yun Hai + Rose Bakery Year of the Ox Collaboration: https://yunhai.shop/blogs/articles/year-of-the-ox-yun-hai-rose-bakery
Dover Street Market: https://www.doverstreetmarket.com/
Alice Waters: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Waters
Food of Taiwan by Cathy Erway: https://www.amazon.com/Food-Taiwan-Recipes-Beautiful-Island/dp/0544303016/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Food+of+Taiwan&qid=1623571715&s=books&sr=1-1
All Under Heaven cookbook by Carolyn Phillips: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=All+Under+Heaven&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss_2
Carolyn Phillips’ blog, Madame Huang’s kitchen: https://www.madamehuang.com/blog
Choochoo-ca-Cchew (Taiwanese recipes with locally sourced ingredients): https://www.choochoocachew.com/
Taiwan Duck (Taiwan Cooking) on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/TaiwanCooking
Win Son Restaurant and Bakery: https://winsonbrooklyn.com/
Trigg Brown and Josh Ku of Win Son: Taiwanese Restaurant in NYC: https://talkingtaiwan.com/trigg-brown-josh-ku-win-son-taiwanese-restaurant-nyc/
Ho Foods restaurant: https://www.hofoodsnyc.com/
886 restaurant: https://www.eighteightsix.com/
Happy Stony Noodles (restaurant in Elmhurst Queens): https://www.happystonynoodle.com/
Q Town restaurant: https://www.qtownasiancuisine.com/
Pulau Pinang restaurant: https://menupages.com/pulau-pinang-malaysian-and-taiwanese-cuisine/82-84-broadway-elmhurst
Taipei Times Columnist Michael Turton Talks About the Taiwan Pineapple Ban by China: https://talkingtaiwan.com/taipei-times-columnist-michael-turton-talks-about-the-taiwan-pineapple-ban-by-china-ep-119/
Taipei Times article about China’s ban of Taiwan’s pinapples, “PRC bans import of Taiwan pineapples”:
https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2021/02/27/2003752913
Yun Hai’s Kickstarter campaign for Yun Hai Selection: Dried Pineapple, Mango, Guava from Taiwan: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yunhaishop/dried-fruits-made-in-taiwan
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
There has been a surge in Taiwan's coronavirus cases since about mid-May, and Taiwan is now on COVID alert level 3, one level before full lockdown. I’ve invited Courtney Donovan Smith on to Talking Taiwan to talk about what led to the increase in COVID cases, the current situation and what’s happening with Taiwan’s efforts to acquire COVID vaccines. Courtney Donovan Smith is the central Taiwan correspondent for ICRT News, and one of the co-founders of the Taiwan Report, which I highly recommend as a really great news resource for what’s happening in Taiwan.
Since Courtney and I spoke on June 3rd, Taiwan remains at COVID alert level 3, on Friday, Japan sent over one million doses of AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to Taiwan, and the U.S. has promised to donate 750,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses to Taiwan.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- The current situation and atmosphere in Taiwan since COVID cases started to spike
- How the increase in COVID cases were linked to commercial airline pilots who stayed at the Novotel airport hotel
- Taiwan is currently at COVID alert level 3
- What does COVID alert level 3 entail
- What’s happened since Taiwan has been at COVID alert level 3
- How the increase in COVID cases in Taiwan are due to the more virulent UK variant of COVID
- How one of the factors to determine whether Taiwan will go to level 4 (full lockdown), is the number of cases with unknown origin and what constitutes a case of known or unknown origin
- Taiwan is tentatively going to remain at level 3 until June 14
- Reasons for the low COVID vaccination rate in Taiwan
- Why Taiwan has not been able to procure Pfizer vaccines from German firm BioNTech and what happened to the deal
- What China's Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group (which claims to handle the Greater China market which includes Taiwan) has to do with Taiwan’s efforts to access COVID vaccines
- The Chinese made COVID vaccine
- China’s interference in Taiwan’s efforts to secure COVID vaccines
- China’s reaction to the Japan’s offer to donate vaccines to Taiwan
- How China interfered with relief efforts during the 921 Earthquake in Taiwan
- The most well-known cases of COVID outbreaks in Taiwan involving the Taipei Wanhua district teahouses and “Grape Mother”
Related Links:
Taiwan Report: https://report.tw/
Taiwan Report News Brief – Covid conundrums: https://youtu.be/YCFkROxHjcM
Taiwan Centers for Disease Control press releases: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En
Taiwan tightens 5 rules under Level 3 alert: https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4210925
Taiwan announces 1st local coronavirus case in 254 days (Latest domestic COVID-19 infection is woman who came in close contact with New Zealand pilot): https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4084077
2 women in Taipei tea houses test positive for COVID: https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4201655
Taiwan, feuding with China, gets vaccines from Japan: https://apnews.com/article/europe-china-taiwan-business-japan-0c31ddf65eaa81ac101f592ec5697c37
‘Urgent need’: US to donate 750,000 Covid vaccine doses to Taiwan: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/06/us-taiwan-covid-vaccine-doses-senators-visit-tsai-ing-wen
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
In celebration of Asian heritage month (which takes place in May), Talking Taiwan participated in United We Stand, the 42nd Annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival, and on May 17th, organized a Panel Discussion and Q&A on the topic: What To Do If You Are The Target Of Asian Hate.
The event was recorded and this is Part 2, which features the Q&A portion with panelists- Chris Kwok, Steve Lee, Suelain Moy, and Peter Yang Zhao. If you don’t want miss out on any of the useful information shared be sure to go back and listen to Part 1, which was the opening discussion with our panelists and shared in the previous episode, Episode 132.
Panelist bios:
Christopher M. Kwok, is a mediator and arbitrator with JAMS, Board Director and Issues Committee Chair for the Asian American Bar Association of New York, and an Adjunct Professor at Hunter College/CUNY and New York City College of Technology/CUNY.
Sergeant Steven Lee, is a 16-year veteran of the NYPD, a whistleblower fighting to reform police corruption, and Anti-Asian Hate Crime Activist.
Suelain Moy, is a New York City mother, writer, journalist, author, and editor who wrote “The 16 Safety Guidelines for the Parents of Asian Children.”
Peter Yang Zhao, is an Anti-Asian Hate Crime and Tourette Activist.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How we have to fight the legacy of law that perceived nonwhites as legal nonpersons
- What should/can bystanders or upstanders do if they witness a hate crime
- Hollaback organization
- Why panelist Steve Lee does not recommend carrying mace or pepper spray
- Why panelist Steve Lee recommends carrying around a tactical flashlight
- What constitutes self-defense
- The Flushing Bakery case
- Suggestions of what items are acceptable or not to carry for self-defense
- What constitutes a hate crime
- What was done to get Patrick Mateo of the Flushing Bakery case charged with a hate crime and what you can do get an Asian hate crime prosecuted
- Adopt a case that you want to rally behind or support
- No matter what your immigration status is you are protected under the law if you are the target of Asian hate
- Police officers are not allowed to ask about your immigration status
- It should take 24-48 hours for a police report to be in the system
- The difference between harassment, assault, and reckless endangerment
- The stabbing of an Asian man in the Seattle area
- The importance of connecting with non-Asian communities
- Suggested action items for event participants from the panelists
- The importance of self-care and mental health
Related Links:
United We Stand- 42nd Annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival: Https://beacons.ai/aapifest
An example of now nonwhites were not considered human or to have the same rights: The 1854 Supreme Court of California case of People v. Hall, which reversed the murder conviction of George W. Hall, “a free white citizen of this State,” because three prosecution witnesses were Chinese: https://www.aabany.org/events/event_details.asp?legacy=1&id=1513147
Hollaback: https://www.ihollaback.org/
Flushing Bakery incident: [INSERT the 2 jpgs]
The stabbing in Seattle that Jolene referred to: Asian American groups push for Bothell murder to be investigated as hate crime: https://www.king5.com/article/news/crime/john-huynh-asian-american-advocates-hate-crime-investigation/281-fd824596-7856-4dc4-ab96-dfc3956764ff
Reaction to the murder of an Asian Man being stabbed in Bothell. WA:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=794MprgRsRA
CeFaan Kim: https://abc7ny.com/about/newsteam/cefaan-kim/
https://twitter.com/CeFaanKim
Dion Lim: https://abc7news.acom/about/newsteam/dion-lim/
https://twitter.com/DionLimTV
Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans (CAPA): http://capaonline.org/
Korean American Story: https://koreanamericanstory.org/
Project by Project: https://www.projectbyproject.org/
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA): https://www.apalanet.org/
OCA-NY Asian Pacific American Advocates: http://www.oca-ny.org/contact.html
Asian Women Giving Circle: http://asianwomengivingcircle.org/
Free yoga class that panelist Suelain Moy mentioned that she took with Joyce Wu, "Gentle Yoga for Terrible Times": https://www.eventbrite.com/e/gentle-yoga-for-terrible-times-tickets-107646048228
More about the class: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/wellness/gentle-yoga-for-terrible-times-offers-hour-long-wellness-session/ar-BB17kInE
Joyce's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oneandonlyjoyce/
Asian Mental Health Collective: https://www.asianmhc.org/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
May is Asian heritage month and Talking Taiwan was one of over 100 organizations and groups that participated in United We Stand, the 42nd Annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival, organized by CAPA the Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans. Usually festival is a one-day outdoor event held in New York City, but this year it was run virtually online for the entire month of May.
As I thought about how Talking Taiwan could go beyond just being another virtual booth in the festival, and give back to the community, I realized that we could put together an online event simply by inviting some of our past guests, namely Suelain Moy, Steven Lee and Peter Yang Zhao for discussion and Q&A on the topic of: What to do if you are the target of Asian hate. And with the help of my friend Chris Chen, who’s a part of CAPA, the festival’s organizing committee, we added another panelist Chris Kwok, an attorney doing a lot of great work related to anti-Asian hate.
The event was held on May 17th and recorded. We are sharing it here in two parts. This is part one featuring a discussion with our panelists. Part two will be the Q&A discussion that followed.
Panelist bios:
Christopher M. Kwok, is a mediator and arbitrator with JAMS, Board Director and Issues Committee Chair for the Asian American Bar Association of New York, and an Adjunct Professor at Hunter College/CUNY and New York City College of Technology/CUNY.
Sergeant Steven Lee, is a 16-year veteran of the NYPD, a whistleblower fighting to reform police corruption, and Anti-Asian Hate Crime Activist.
Suelain Moy, is a New York City mother, writer, journalist, author, and editor who wrote “The 16 Safety Guidelines for the Parents of Asian Children.”
Peter Yang Zhao, is an Anti-Asian Hate Crime and Tourette Activist.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- United We Stand, the 42ndAnnual Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival, organized by CAPA the Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans
- Panelist Suelain Moy talks about an anti-Asian hate incident that happened to her and her son
- Suelain’s practical tips for dealing with harassment on the street
- How parents should talk to their kids about how to protect themselves
- Where to report Asian hate incidents
- When reporting a hate crime, what constitutes a hate crime
- When reporting a crime it is important to mention all the details and speak up about what exactly happened
- Why Asian hate crimes have been underreported
- You don’t have to file a police report in the precinct where it happened
- The anti-Asian hate incident that happened to panelist Peter Yang Zhao’s wife
- Peter’s Tourette activism and mention that May 15-June 15 is Tourette’s Syndrome month
- Why what happened to Peter’s wife was considered a criminal case
- The difference between a criminal and civil case
- How AALDEF does not offer personal direct legal services but does impact litigation
- What is impact litigation
- The MinKwon Center does offer personal direct legal services, but only in very specific areas
- How the timing and prevalence of Asian hate crimes impacted how Peter’s wife’s case was handled
- When filing a police report the perpetrator is given your information by the district attorney’s office within 48 hours, so it’s not necessary to give all of your personal information (e.g. address or date of birth), you can just give your first name and an email address
- How Asians need to be more politically active and speak up
Related Links:
United We Stand- 42nd Annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival: Https://beacons.ai/aapifest
Panelist Suelain Moy’s 16 Safety Guidelines for the Parents of Asian Children: https://suelain.com/2021/03/25/16-safety-guidelines-for-the-parents-of-asian-children/?fbclid=IwAR2tbE5J3vbKAASQwZBdxEiZRsnyQ34phgyyqxCyX-4NX2ztxRPY-FCYZJk
Panelist Peter Zhao’s Op Ed about the Anti-Asian Hate crime that happened to his wife: https://asamnews.com/2021/03/23/oped-finding-real-solutions-to-ending-anti-asian-hate-crimes/
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF): https://www.aaldef.org/
MinKwon Center for Community Action: http://minkwon.org/
Flushing Bakery Incident:
Queens County's District Attorney, Melinda Katz: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melinda_Katz
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
My guest on this episode is Eva Lou a writer and publisher and the founder of Madeleine Editions, a multi-lingual children’s book publishing company, that offers books in English, French and Mandarin Chinese. Madeleine Editions published Monster Dance, a children’s book created to help children deal with and understand the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. For every copy of Monster Dance sold, a donation will be made to Donate PPE.
Eva spoke with me about the uniqueness of what Madeleine Editions is doing with their digital books, which are a multisensory experience, that combines animation, and the beauty of the spoken word and music. She shared a particularly memorable story that involved the recording of music for the book, The Little Baby Airplane.
We also spoke about her personal writing projects and her perspectives on what It takes to be a writer.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How Madeleine Editions got involved in publishing the children’s book, Monster Dance
- What it took to get Monster Dancepublished so quickly and in a timely fashion
- What inspired Eva to start Madeleine Editions
- How Madeleine Editions publishes multi-lingual books in three languages: Chinese, English and French
- The Taste of a Strawberry, the first book that led to the creation of Madeleine Editions’
- How Madeleine Editions’ books combine animation, the spoken word and music
- How Madeleine Editions collaborated with Deutsche Grammophon:
- How 3-7 years of age is a critical time for children to be exposed languages
- How Taiwanese supermodel Chiling Lin (林志玲) got involved as the Chinese narrator for Monster Dance
- How Eva’s personal background set her on the path to run a multi-lingual publishing house
- How Eva relates differently she when speaks English, Mandarin Chinese and French
- Eva’s connection to Taiwan
- The many different languages spoken in Eva’s household
- The joys and challenges of running Madeleine Editions
- What it was like working with illustrator Guy Gilchrist
- One of the highlights of her work with Madeleine Editions involved the recording of music for the book, The Little Baby Airplane
- The uniqueness of what Madeline Editions does as a multilingual children’s book publisher
- How Madeleine Editions’ books can expose children to other nonnative languages
- The musicality of language
- Eva’s career as a writer
- The novel that Eva has been working on that is related to Taiwan
- Madeleine Editions’ plans to adapt The Little Princefor children 3-7 years of age
- The series of essays that Eva is working on about homes vs. houses
- Eva’s writing routine
- The difference between a career in publishing vs. being a writer
- Eva’s perspective on being a writer and what it takes to be a writer
Related Links:
Madeleine Editions: https://madeleineeditions.com/
Madeleine Editions on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MadeleineEditions
Madeleine Editions on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madeleine_editions/
Monster Dance (On the Apple App Store): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/monster-dance/id1533424890
Monster Dance on Apple iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/monster-dance/id1533431014
Monster Dance on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Monster-Dance-Eva-Lou/dp/0578747707
Monster Dance on Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.madeleineeditions.ebook.monsterdance&hl=en_US≷=US
Monster Dance’s Kickstarter campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/madeleineeditions/monster-dance
The Taste of a Strawberry: https://madeleineeditions.com/stories/the-taste-of-a-strawberry/
Deutsche Grammophon: https://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/
The Little Baby Airplane: https://madeleineeditions.com/stories/little-baby-airplane/
Guy Gilchrist's website: https://www.aguygilchristproduction.com/
d'extases rapture by Eva Lou: https://www.amazon.com/dextases-rapture/dp/2851573047
228 (February 28, 1947 incident): https://www.taiwandc.org/228-intr.htm
Donate PPE: https://donateppe.org/
Talking Taiwan Episode 120: Dr. Karen Tsai Brings Monster Dance Children’s Book to Life: https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-karen-tsai-brings-monster-dance-childrens-book-to-life-ep-120/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
The wave of Anti-Asian hate crimes over the past year have largely been attributed to blaming the Chinese for the spread of the Coronavirus. However, Asian Americans have experienced hate, social injustice and discrimination since they started immigrating to the U.S. I’ve invited Richard Chen on to the podcast to talk about the history of discrimination toward asian americans, and some of the major events that have galvanized Asian Americans in the past. Richard is Creator of StopAAPIHate.us, Board member of Asian American Action Fund.
Founding moderator of the FB group Asians Now a FB group of Asian diaspora for social awareness.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What motivated Richard to create StopAAPIHate.us
- Why the model minority myth is problematic
- Asiatic exclusion league
- Yellow Peril
- Page Act
- Chinese Exclusion Act
- Geary Act
- Tydings–McDuffie Act
- Asiatic Barred Zone Act
- Immigration Act of 1924
- Burning of Santa Ana Chinatown
- Japanese internment camps
- The Murder of Vincent Chin
- Rodney King Incident and the 1992 LA Riots
Related Links:
Richard Chen on Twitter: https://twitter.com/richardc020
Asian American Action Fund: https://aaafund.org
AsiansNOW, a 14,000 member Facebook group to raise the Asian diaspora's social awareness: http://facebook.com/groups/asiansnow
StopAAPIHate.us: https://stopaapihate.us
Xenophobia and racism related to the COVID-19 pandemic: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenophobia_and_racism_related_to_the_COVID-19_pandemic#New_York
Anti-Chinese sentiment in the United States:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Chinese_sentiment_in_the_United_States
Atlanta Spa Shootings: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Atlanta_spa_shootings
Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA): https://www.aaja.org/
Asiatic Exclusion League: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asiatic_Exclusion_League
1875 Page Act: https://www.history.com/news/chinese-immigration-page-act-women#:~:text=On%20paper%2C%20the%20Page%20Act,for%20the%20purposes%20of%20prostitution.%E2%80%9D
Why Santa Ana, CA Deliberated Burned Down Its Chinatown in 1906: https://www.ocweekly.com/santa-ana-deliberately-burned-down-its-chinatown-in-1906-and-let-a-man-die-to-do-it-6446664/
'Model Minority' Myth Again Used As A Racial Wedge Between Asians And Blacks: https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/04/19/524571669/model-minority-myth-again-used-as-a-racial-wedge-between-asians-and-blacks
The model minority myth says all Asians are successful. Why that's dangerous: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/model-minority-myth-says-asians-are-successful-dangerous-rcna420
Geary Act: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geary_Act#:~:text=An%20Act%20to%20prohibit%20the,persons%20into%20the%20United%20States.&text=The%20Geary%20Act%20was%20a,Congress%20on%20May%205%2C%201892.
https://immigrationhistory.org/item/geary-act/
Tydings–McDuffie Act: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tydings%E2%80%93McDuffie_Act
Asiatic Barred Zone Act aka the Immigration Act of 1917 and the Literacy Act: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_Act_of_1917
Immigration Act of 1924: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_Act_of_1924
Angel Island: https://bit.ly/3wjiW0m
Japanese Internment Camps: https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/japanese-american-relocation
Murder of Vincent Chin: https://www.history.com/news/vincent-chin-murder-asian-american-rights
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP): https://naacp.org/
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): https://www.aclu.org/
Asian Americans (PBS documentary): https://www.pbs.org/show/asian-americans/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkIjSx2Ax0U
We Need To Talk About Anti-Asian Hate: https://youtu.be/14WUuya94QE
Anti-Asian violence has surged in the US since COVID-19. But it didn't start there: https://www.today.com/news/anti-asian-violence-history-anti-asian-racism-us-t210645https://www.today.com/news/anti-asian-violence-history-anti-asian-racism-us-t210645
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
May 15 to June 15th is Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month. Tourette Syndrome is usually diagnosed in childhood or adolescence. According to the Tourette Association of America 1 out of every 160 children between the ages of 5-17 in the United States has Tourette Syndrome and 1 out of every 100 children has Tourette Syndrome or another Tic Disorder.
In doing research for this interview, I visited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Tourette Association of America websites. On these websites, I noticed that resources for children with Tourette Syndrome and their parents to deal with bullying were prominently displayed. It’s an important reminder that there needs to be more awareness, tolerance and understanding of Tourette Syndrome, but not just in childhood but in society in general, amongst people of all ages.
My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Tourette Activist, Peter Yang Zhao who we’ve had on previous episodes with Sergeant Steven Lee to talk about the topic of Asian hate. In this in depth interview, Peter explains what living with Tourette Syndrome is, how he got diagnosed, and speaks frankly about the challenges he’s had to overcome as a Touretter, and how he advocates for more awareness of Tourette Syndrome.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Peter’s connection to Taiwan
- Georges Gilles de la Tourette
- What is Tourette Syndrome
- Coprolalia
- The Tourette Syndrome iceberg
- People with Tourette Syndrome are often affected by another co-occurring condition like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Depression
- The connection between OCD and Tourette Syndrome
- How Peter’s mother dealt with his Tourette Syndrome
- Peter’s evolution of vocal tics and how he changed his vocal tics over years
- How Peter was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome
- How tics can change over time
- Cognitive behavior training
- Peter’s first tic which appeared at 8 years old
- The stress Peter experienced while being bullied at school
- The reflexology treatment that Peter initially received to treat his Tourette Syndrome
- How Peter had to fight other students at school to defend himself and stop the bullying
- What happened when Peter started taking an antipsychotic drug (pimozide) to control his tics
- Coprographia
- How Peter’s mother and doctors reacted to his complaints of increased intrusive thoughts
- The physical and mental addiction that Peter developed to the drug
- How tics are triggered
- How Peter’s only escape from his intrusive thoughts was to sleep
- How Peter started having suicidal thoughts
- How Peter decided to stop taking the antipsychotic drug
- What happened when Peter quit taking the drug
- How Peter’s tics are seasonal
- Tourette Association of America which is located in Bayside, NY
- How Peter didn’t want to have kids because he was afraid of passing along the genes for Tourette Syndrome
- Tourette’s Facebook support groups
- How Peter was interviewed for the Tourette Syndrome podcast
-
7DaysOfTourettes movement
- The article Peter wrote about Ted Cruz’s tweet about Tourette Syndrome
Related Links:
Georges Gilles de la Tourette: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Gilles_de_la_Tourette
Coprolalia: https://bit.ly/2RhyGl9
John Hopkins Medicine: What causes Tourette Syndrome and How Tourette Syndrome can occur differently in boys and girls: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/tourettes-disorder#:~:text=It%20is%20an%20autosomal%20dominant,gene%20on%20to%20each%20child.
Tourette Association of America: https://tourette.org/
CDC data and statistics on Tourette Syndrome: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/tourette/data.html
Dr. Arthur K. Shapiro: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_K._Shapiro
Twitch and Shout: A Touretter’s Tale by Lowell Handler: https://www.amazon.com/Twitch-Shout-Touretters-Lowell-Handler/dp/0816644519
Coprographia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coprographia
Pimozide: https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a686018.html
Jumaane Williams: https://bit.ly/3ebDRvW
Jumaane Williams talks about Tourette Syndrome: https://council.nyc.gov/jumaane-williams/2017/07/12/jumaane-williams-talks-about-tourette-syndrome/
Tourette's Podcast group on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/664680327265761/?ref=share
Tic and Tourette's support page
https://www.facebook.com/groups/477065749007938/?ref=share
Tourette's Syndrome support group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/tourettessyndromesupport/?ref=share
Tourette's Podcast page
www.Tourettespodcast.com
https://asamnews.com/2021/01/30/oped-asian-am-with-tourette-tired-of-being-punch-line/
Asian In New York: http://www.asianinny.com/
ORIENTED.com: http://oriented.com/
The Sunflower Movement: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunflower_Student_MovementA note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
In this episode I’m welcoming back Peter Yang Zhao and Steve Lee to continue talking about the topic of Asian hate picking up after part 1, episode 125. Both have been active in the fight to stop Asian hate crimes, and have lots to share on the topic. Peter Yang Zhao, is an anti-Asian hate crime activist, and Tourette’s syndrome activist. Sergeant Steven Lee is a 16-year veteran of the NYPD, a whistleblower fighting to reform police corruption and anti-Asian hate crime activist. In 2020 he ran for State Assembly in District 40.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What happened to Peter’s wife after she was punched in the face and the police came
- Why Peter’s wife was handcuffed by police and remained handcuffed when taken to the hospital to get stitches
- Bail reform
- What happened when Peter reached out the Flushing Chamber of Commerce, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), Ron Kim and the MinKwon Center for help
- How Peter’s wife’s case was classified as a criminal case instead of a civil case
- How the case was delayed and dropped due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- How Peter wrote an article for AsAmNews about what happened with his wife
- What a COP program is
- The Guardian Angels
- Flushing block watch groups Main Street Patrol and PSP
- 5 D’s of self-defense: deter, detect, delay, deny defend
- What is considered self-defense
- Why Asian hate crimes are underreported
- What can people do to help stop Asian hate crime
- Why Steve is fighting police corruption
Related Links:
Peter Yang Zhao on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fabulously_tourette/
Peter’s account of the anti-Asian crime involving his wife: https://asamnews.com/2021/03/23/oped-finding-real-solutions-to-ending-anti-asian-hate-crimes/
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALEDF): https://www.aaldef.org/
MinKwon Center for Community Action: http://minkwon.org/
Shomrim (Jewish COP): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shomrim_(neighborhood_watch_group)
Guardian Angels: http://guardianangels.org/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Eric Chang, a writer for Taiwan News. On April 18th we spoke about China’s April 12th incursion into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, the largest one to date at the time. We also spoke about the longstanding military threat that China poses for Taiwan and the Asia Pacific region, what this means for Taiwan, how Taiwan has responded, the U.S.’s response and why it matters, and how the support and cooperation from neighboring countries is essential to keeping peace in the region.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- The difference between a country’s airspace and ADIZ (air defense identification zone)
- When Taiwan’s ADIZ was set up
- When China’s ADIZ was set up
- How China’s air intrusions increased during the last year of Trump’s presidency
- What prompted China’s April 12th incursion into Taiwan’s ADIZ
- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s recent comments about Taiwan
- The Taiwan Relations Act
- What the median line is
- When Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense started to publicly report China’s incursions into Taiwan’s ADIZ
- How many incursions there have been this year by China to Taiwan’s ADIZ
- The significance of Alex Azar (24th U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary) and Keith Krach’s (Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment) visits to Taiwan
- Taiwan’s response to China’s incursions
- What damage China can do to Taiwan with their fighter planes
- The strategy/motivation behind China’s incursions
- The war of attrition
- Gray zone tactics
- China’s history of military aggression aimed at Taiwan
- China’s reaction to Taiwan’s first direct presidential election in 1996
- How willing China is to attack Taiwan
- How concerned people in Taiwan are about the China’s military threat
- China’s increasing military aggression in the Asia region
- Taiwan’s defense abilities
- The new multimission amphibious ships that Taiwan recently launched
- Asymmetric warfare capabilities and how Taiwan can defend itself
- U.S. arms sales to Taiwan
- How the Biden administration has reacted to China’s April 12th incursion
- How Taiwan can benefit from cooperation and intelligence sharing with neighboring countries in the Asia Pacific region
- Good sources to learn about Taiwan’s military situation
Related Links:
Eric Chang on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ahbying
Taiwan reports largest incursion yet by Chinese air force:
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/taiwan-reports-largest-incursion-yet-by-chinese-air-force-2021-04-12/
25 Chinese military aircraft intrude into Taiwan’s ADIZ:
https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4175573?fbclid=IwAR3m993hnw9io6q-IOayFBd2ljslUV4HgENika9nj2hshgFrPlAerfXlw_w
The Taiwan Relations Act: https://www.ait.org.tw/our-relationship/policy-history/key-u-s-foreign-policy-documents-region/taiwan-relations-act/
Biden sends unofficial delegation to Taiwan in ‘personal signal’: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-taiwan-delegation-idUSKBN2C02MS
U.S. President Biden and Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s April 16th meeting in Washington D.C.: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/17/biden-and-japans-suga-project-unity-against-chinas-assertiveness.html
Taiwan’s first direct presidential election in 1996 and China’s missile tests aimed at Taiwan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Taiwanese_presidential_election
Ian Easton – Project 2049 Institute: https://project2049.net/author/ianeaston/
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken calls Taiwan ‘country’: https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4148761
Taiwan launches new amphibious vessel with anti-ship missiles: https://bit.ly/3no5Xa9
Taiwan’s National Ministry of Defense on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mondefense
Taiwan’s National Ministry of Defense’s real-time updates of military activity around its borders:
https://bit.ly/3nnkK4U
Focus Taiwan: https://focustaiwan.tw/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Dr. Jeng Yen is a NASA scientist and the “driver” of the Perseverance Mars rover. I initially interviewed Dr. Yen on April 9th. We spoke about how he was first inspired to join NASA by the first Mars rover Sojourner, what’s been discovered about Mars since then, the age of space exploration, the work of Mars rover Perseverance and the Mars helicopter Ingenuity which is poised to be the first aircraft to fly on Mars.
I spoke with Dr. Yen again this past Friday, April 16th and he gave me an important update on the Mars helicopter Ingenuity which has had to delay the date of its first flight on Mars.
We are excited to learn that on Monday April 19th Ingenuity has indeed made history as the first aircraft humans have flown on another planet- Mars! You can watch the first flight of the Ingenuity Mars helicopter live from mission control here on YouTube: https://youtu.be/p1KolyCqICI
I’m so pleased to be sharing my full interview with Dr. Yen on this momentous day.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How Dr. Yen’s interest in working for NASA was inspired by the first rover on Mars the Sojourner in 1997
- How Dr. Yen’s previous work in Minnesota on army high performance computing involved vehicle design
- What it’s like to live and work in Mars time
- The Mars helicopter Ingenuity
- The four Mars exploration missions that Dr. Yen has been on and what each accomplished
- Mars exploration rovers Spirit and Opportunity’s discovery that there was past surface water on Mars
- Mars rover Curiosity and where it is in relation to the Perseverance rover
- What the interface used to drive the rover is like
- The Phoenix lander mission
- The InSight mission which is still running and learning about the core of Mars
- What happens if a part of the Perseverance rover breaks
- What happened when the Curiosity rover dropped its drill
- How long Perseverance will be on Mars
- The power that Perseverance runs on that allows it to last for years
- What is involved in landing a rover
- How video footage of Perseverance’s landing was captured
- How the Mars helicopter Ingenuity communicates with the Perseverance rover
- China’s plans to land a rover on Mars
- How Perseverance will be taking samples from Mars to see if there is any evidence of life on Mars and how these samples will be found and retrieved by a future rover
- If Elon Musk’s SpaceX could be the first to land humans on Mars
- Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin
- Will it be possible to colonize Mars in the next 30 years
- Which planet surface will NASA explore next
- The Europa clipper
- Why NASA uses the discovery of water as a standard to explore for life
- The Phoenix lander mission
- Where the name “Perseverance” for the current Mars rover came from
- Who names the Mars rovers
- The quest to answer the question are we alone in this universe
- STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) education
- How Dr. Yen founded the San Marino High School FRC (First Robotics Competition)
- Dr. Yen’s advice for people interested in working in the field of space exploration or aeronautics
Related Links:
About Dr Jeng Yen: https://www-robotics.jpl.nasa.gov/people/Jeng_Yen/personFull.cfm
NASA Website: https://www.nasa.gov/
NASA YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLA_DiR1FfKNvjuUpBHmylQ
NASA on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NASA
NASA on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NASA
NASA on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/nasa
Watch NASA’s Perseverance Rover Land on Mars! (Full video and reporting on NASA’s Perseverance Rover): https://youtu.be/gm0b_ijaYMQ
Nasa Mars rover: Key questions about Perseverance:
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-53129281
First Flight of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter: Live from Mission Control: https://youtu.be/p1KolyCqICI
Sojourner NASA’s first rover on Mars:
https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/july-4-1997-sojourner-arrives-on-the-red-planet
https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/nasas-first-rover-on-the-red-planet
Info about the Mars rovers: https://go.nasa.gov/2QG5Uuo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_rover
Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity: https://mars.nasa.gov/mars-exploration/missions/mars-exploration-rovers/
Mars rover Curiosity: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/index.html
Europa Clipper: https://europa.nasa.gov/
Phoenix Mars lander: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/main/index.html
InSight mission: https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/InSight
Who names NASA’s Mars Rovers? https://share.america.gov/who-names-nasas-mars-rovers/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
My guests on this episode of Talking Taiwan about the topic of Asian hate are Peter Yang Zhao and Steve Lee. Both have been active in the fight to stop Asian hate crimes, and have lots to share on the topic of Asian hate. Peter Yang Zhao, is an anti-Asian hate crime activist, and Tourette’s syndrome activist.
A quick glance at his Instagram handle @fabulously_tourette reveals how outspoken he is on these topics. We will have him back on as a guest on a future episode to talk about his Tourette’s syndrome and advocacy work. Sergeant Steven Lee is a 16-year veteran of the NYPD, a whistleblower fighting to reform police corruption and anti-Asian hate crime activist. In 2020 he ran for State Assembly in District 40.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- The 89-year-old woman who was set on fire in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York on July 14, 2020
- They Can’t Burn Us All rallies and movement
- Guardian Angels
- How early on in the COVID-19 pandemic Steve donated N-95 masks to seniors
- Early reactions within the Asian community when the Chinese started being blamed for spreading the Coronavirus
- How Steve posted about crimes against Asians on Facebook saying that we need to start neighborhood block watches
- How Steve created Asians in America which donated cooked food to first responders
- The two block watch programs in Flushing: Main Street Patrol and PSP
- How the Asian Hate Crime Task Force is volunteer-based and not an actual official unit
- The pushback that the Asian Hate Crime Task Force is getting from cops
- How cops need to understand the culture of neighborhoods that they work in
- Peter’s various encounters with Taiwanese after moving to the U.S from China where he was born and raised
- The Asian hate crime that happened to Peter’s wife
Related Links:
Peter Yang Zhao on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fabulously_tourette/
Elderly woman set on fire in Brooklyn: https://abc7ny.com/woman-set-on-fire-elderly-attack-89-year-old-attacked-bensonhurst-crime/6333749/
BREAKING: Teen Suspects Arrested, Charged After 89-Year-Old Woman Set on Fire in Brooklyn: https://nextshark.com/bensonhurst-brooklyn-suspects-arrested-89-year-old-grandma/
#TheyCantBurnUsAll: https://www.theycantburnusall.org/
Guardian Angels: http://guardianangels.org/
The first They Can’t Burn Us All/Asian Unity Rally that started in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York: https://asamnews.com/2020/08/02/asian-americans-rally-to-protest-hate-crimes-in-bensonhurst-neighborhood/
The second They Can’t Burn Us All Rally that started in New York’s Washington Square Park: https://nextshark.com/china-mac-second-protest-nyc-chinatown/
Asian In New York: http://www.asianinny.com/
Su Beng, the Taiwan Independence Revolutionary: http://aboutsubeng.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Su_Beng
Talking Taiwan on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/talkingtaiwan
A Note From Talking Taiwan Host Felicia Lin:
I just interviewed Dr Yen the driver of Mars Rover Perseverance for Talking Taiwan and he shared some exciting news with me.
My full interview with Dr. Yen will be published Monday April 19th.
Talking Taiwan is pleased to be the first podcast to interview the NASA scientist.
Don’t miss this important and historic interview!
Related Links:
6 Things to know about NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/6-things-to-know-about-nasas-ingenuity-mars-helicopter
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
It’s been nearly a year since we started publishing episodes of Talking Taiwan on a weekly basis at the beginning of this pandemic, and I’ve really enjoyed seeing the listenership grow.
I’d like to acknowledge our listeners here, especially those who have reached out to me directly. One listener who reached out, said that episode 99 with Professor Scott Simon was particularly eye opening.
That led me to think about how to cover the topic of Taiwan’s indigenous people and to interview Tony Coolidge (in episodes 112 and 113) about discovering his indigenous roots and his work with the indigenous people of Taiwan. The two episodes I did with Tony are now among the most listened to.
Recently we’ve also gotten some wonderful anonymous reviews from listeners: “Amazing podcast. Really enjoy listening to it, love the variety of people that come on!” and just a few days ago, another listener wrote: “Love all the topics that has been discussed in Talking Taiwan!”
We are so grateful for all of this feedback. Your reviews help Talking Taiwan to get discovered. It’s great to know that we have a regular listener base, and that our content is resonating with you. Thank you for reaching out and letting us know how we’re doing!
This week’s episode features part two of my interview with Dr. Karen Tsai about her work with Donate PPE, a nonprofit that she has co-founded and that has raised over $150,000 to date. This is part two of my interview with her after speaking with her previously in episode 120 about how she spearheaded the creation of Monster Dance, a children’s book created to address the needs of children dealing with a world changed by COVID-19.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How and why Dr. Tsai started the nonprofit organization Donate PPE with Deyu Kong
- How the Donate PPE team is entirely Asian American
- The work of Donate PPE and how it has delivered PPE to different low income, communities in need
- The various companies and organizations that Donate PPE has worked with to get donations distributed
- How Donate PPE has made donations internationally
- How Donate PPE has adjusted as the situation with the pandemic has changed over time
- How Donate PPE’s initially targeted hospitals and health care workers but later expanded to nursing homes, free clinics, schools, underprivileged communities, Navajo Nations, rural areas in the Midwest, vaccination sites
- Asian hate crime advocacy organizations
- The different distribution challenges that Donate PPE has had to deal with
- How Donate PPE dealt with the distribution challenges presented by the partnership with Norwex to Distribute a Million Masks to Healthcare Workers and how Citizens of Humanity assisted
- How Donate PPE got its nonprofit 501(c)(3) status during the pandemic by May 2020
- How Dr. Tsai has worked full-time as a physician while running Donate PPE
- How the Donate PPE website has changed over time
- What’s in the future for Donate PPE once COVID-19 gets more under control
Related Links:
Donate PPE: https://donateppe.org/
Donate PPE on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/donateppeorg/
Donate PPE on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/donateppe/
Donate PPE on Twitter: https://twitter.com/donateppe
Guy Gilchrist’s Doodles, the FREE coloring pages he created to educate kids about COVID: https://donateppe.org/doodles/
DonatePPE.org has Partnered with Norwex to Distribute a Million Masks to Healthcare Workers: https://donateppe.org/2020/04/18/donateppe-org-has-partnered-with-norwex-to-distribute-a-million-masks-to-healthcare-workers/
For anyone in need of PPE email Donate PPE at: info@donateppe.org
Hate Is A Virus: https://hateisavirus.org/
Stop AAPI Hate: https://stopaapihate.org/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Since the beginning of the pandemic I’d been hearing about more and more cases of Asian hate attacks that seemed to be related to blaming the Chinese for spreading COVID. It’s been a year so you could say that I’m kind of late to the game in addressing it here.
Perhaps it’s because there wasn’t a single galvanizing event like the murder of George Floyd that mobilized the Black Lives Matter movement.
So why now? It wasn’t because of the Atlanta spa shootings that left 8 dead, 6 of whom were Asian women. It was due to a text conversation between friends.
In early March, my friend Ariane reached out to me on a group text conversation expressing how troubled she was about all the attacks on Asians and wondering what she could do stop it.
Last summer I’d found myself asking similar questions after the murder of George Floyd which is why I specifically sought guests who could talk about Black Lives Matter and what had led up to this latest iteration of the movement and the deeply rooted historical background. I realized that we all need to speak up when we see things like this happening and to let others know that it will not be tolerated. We need to create more awareness with whatever resources and platforms we have.
Now it’s time for me to walk the talk on the issue of Anti-Asian hate attacks by addressing it here on Talking Taiwan.
I don’t think what’s been happening is strictly a COVID-related issue that is going to go away. Actually, anti-Asian sentiments have been around and have surfaced and resurfaced in many different forms in the past. This will be the first of a few episodes about Asian hate.
For this episode I’ve invited Suelain Moy and her son Otter on to the podcast to talk about how they recently dealt with being the target of Asian hate.
About Suelain Moy
Suelain Moy is a New York City mother, writer, journalist, author, and editor. Her writing has appeared in many outlets, including Parenting, American Baby, Entertainment Weekly, aMagazine, Good Housekeeping, The Fiscal Times, and the New York Daily News. She is the author of Names to Grow On: Choosing A Name Your Baby Will Love. She graduated from Yale, where she earned a BA in English and studied with bell hooks. Suelain was the first Asian face in the Children's Division of Ford Models. She comes from a long line of merchants, small business owners, teachers, and law enforcement officers in the Chinatown community, where her family has lived for generations since 1922. She wrote "The 16 Safety Guidelines for the Parents of Asian Children" in 2021, during a wave of anti-Asian violence and hate crimes in the U.S. They are based on her experiences with racism and misogyny on the streets of New York. You can read her personal essays, including the safety guidelines, at suelain.com.
About Otter Lee
Otter Lee is a queer actor, comedian, writer, and voiceover artist born and raised in New York City. He currently plays Otter Lin on Stephen Colbert Presents: Tooning Out the News, a political cartoon on Paramount+ that airs as part of The Late Show. His standup, sketch, and improv have appeared at such venues as Buzzfeed, UCB, Face-Off Unlimited, Caveat, Union Hall, The Magnet, and The Asian American Writer’s Workshop. Otter co-produced, hosted, and took the stage for NYC’s First Asian Comedy Festival at the PIT in January 2020, selling out multiple blocks and empowering numerous comedians and groups. He followed this with Crazy Talented Asians and Friends, a virtual showcase at Flushing Town Hall. A graduate of NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study with a degree in acting, playwriting, and history, Otter also trained extensively in the disciplines of classical and musical theatre, improv, and voice acting. Otter’s performances and projects have been written up and featured in The New York Times, Time Out New York, AsianCrush, and World Journal.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Suelain and Otter’s account of an Asian hate crime incident that happened to them while in New York City’s SoHo district in February of this year
- How and why Suelain and Otter reacted to their harasser the way that they did
- How Suelain and Otter’s past experiences with hate crimes has prepared them to react
- The bystanders who stopped check on Suelain and Otter and offered to help
- How the incident was the second Asian hate speech incident in a week that happened to Otter
- The strategies that Suelain’s father suggested to protect her when she had to ride the New York City subway alone after commuting to school in Manhattan from Long Island
- How Suelain learned to protect herself on the New York City subway
- What Suelain wants to share with parents and others about how they can handle incidents Asian hate speech or crimes
- What defines something as a hate crime
- What defines something as Asian hate speech vs. an Asian hate crime
- How a lot of incidents seem to happen when people are standing on the corner
- How parents need to talk to their kids about a safety plan
- What bystanders can to if they witness someone being attacked
- How Asian hate speech and crimes are sometimes not taken seriously due to the model minority myth
- How Suelain once turned the tables on a man who sexually harassed her
- How summoning your middle-aged indignation or “Mommy shaming” can be strategies to deal with harassers
- What reactions and press Suelain and Otter have gotten since sharing what happened to them on social media
- The segment on Stephen Colbert Presents “Tooning Out The News” in which Otter talks about the incident that happened to him and his mother
- The media coverage that Suelain and Otter have gotten
- How Asian hate incidents transcend race, social class
- How Suelain’s list of safety guidelines has grown from 12 to 16 items, and has been translated into Chinese and distributed in schools
- How the New York City website for Asian hate crimes does not clearly indicate where you can report a crime
- The under reporting of Asian hate crimes
- How Asians are easy targets because they are visible minorities
- How the majority of Chinatown’s residents have been wearing masks since the beginning of the pandemic but they are being blamed for the spread of COVID
Related Links:
Suelain Moy’s blog: https://suelain.com/
Suelain’s safety guidelines: https://suelain.com/2021/03/25/16-safety-guidelines-for-the-parents-of-asian-children/?fbclid=IwAR2tbE5J3vbKAASQwZBdxEiZRsnyQ34phgyyqxCyX-4NX2ztxRPY-FCYZJk
Suelain on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/suelain
Suelain on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suelain_moy/
Suelain on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SuelainMoy
Otter on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/otterleemoy/
Otter on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Otter.Lee
Otter on Twitter: https://twitter.com/OtterLeeMoy
Lee Statsberg sense memory acting technique: https://strasberg.edu/blog/breaking-down-lees-work-with-david-lee-strasberg/
Woman Who Fought Back During Attack to Donate Nearly $1M Raised for Her to Combat Anti-Asian Racism: https://people.com/crime/xiao-zhen-xie-fought-back-alleged-attacker-donate-1-million-raised-combat-anti-asian-racism/?fbclid=IwAR3IgKr6JpP_Myw001DuoIILDSdVEJeHFSLWXnXrSB80DGzgmbuNy_FV-4w
Author Min Jin Lee: https://www.minjinlee.com/
Otter’s segment on Stephen Colbert Presents “Tooning Out The News”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaHM699cT20&t=260s
Crazy Talented Asians and Friends: Triumphing Over Quarantine: https://flushingtownhall.org/crazy-talented-asians-friends-live-comedy
Asian Comedy Festival 2021: https://asiancomedyfest.com/
New York City's Toolkit for Addressing Anti-Asian Bias, Discrimination, and Hate: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/cchr/community/stop-asian-hate.page
The Analysis of Anti‐Asian Hate Crime Reported to Police in America’s Largest Cities: 2020 (done by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino): https://www.csusb.edu/sites/default/files/FACT%20SHEET-%20Anti-Asian%20Hate%202020%203.2.21.pdf
Cefaan Kim’s reporting and articles: https://muckrack.com/cefaan-kim/articles
Chinese Exclusion Act: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Exclusion_Act#:~:text=The%20Chinese%20Exclusion%20Act%20was,all%20immigration%20of%20Chinese%20laborers
https://www.history.com/topics/immigration/chinese-exclusion-act-1882
Japanese American Internment Camps: https://www.britannica.com/event/Japanese-American-internment
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/japanese-american-relocation
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
March 23rd will mark the seventh anniversary of the short-lived occupation of the Executive Yuan by students involved in the Sunflower Movement of 2014. The Sunflower Movement began when students and activists occupied the Legislative Yuan on March 18, 2014 in an effort to block the passage of a trade pact between Taiwan and China. At a press conference on March 23, then President Ma Ying-jeou stated his resolve in passing the trade pact. This led to the students attempt to occupy the Executive Yuan. Five days afterward, on March 28, 2014, I spoke to Eric Chang also known as Ahbying, who was there that night about what he saw firsthand and experienced that night.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- His candid conversation with a cop at the Executive Yuan before the scene turned violent
- His firsthand account of what he saw and experienced the night that students tried to occupy the Executive Yuan
- How he reacted when the police hit him
- The media’s coverage of what happened on March 23rdat the Executive Yuan
- His thoughts of the occupation of the Legislative Yuan and Sunflower Movement
Related Links:
Eric’s Ahbying YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/ahbying
Sunflower Movement: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunflower_Student_Movement
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Learn about the Taiwan connection (namely a physician, publisher and supermodel) that made Monster Dance children’s book story come to life. Monster Dance was created to help children deal with and understand the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Karen Tsai is a physician based in Los Angeles who has spearheaded the creation of the children’s book, and she spoke with me about how she got some heavy hitters involved in the project like cartoonist and illustrator Guy Gilchrist (best known for his work with the Muppets), Eva Lou (founder of the multi-lingual children's book publishing company Madeleine Editions, which published Monster Dance), actor Denis O’Hare (who did the English narration for the book) and Taiwanese supermodel Chiling Lin (林志玲) who did the Mandarin Chinese narration. For every copy of Monster Dance sold, a donation will be made to Donate PPE.
Dr. Tsai is a co-founder of Donate PPE a nonprofit that has already raised over $150,000. In part two of my interview with her we will talk about her work with Donate PPE.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Dr. Tsai’s connection to Taiwan
- What motivated Dr. Tsai to initiate the creation of children’s book, Monster Danceto help children to deal with COVID
- How Dr. Tsai got Guy Gilchrist (cartoonist and illustrator), Eva Lou (founder of the multi-lingual children's book publishing company Madeleine Editions), actor Denis O’Hare and Taiwanese supermodel Chiling Lin (林志玲) involved in Monster Dance
- How things started with Guy Gilchrist’s drawings as coloring pages that educated children about social distancing, handwashing, mask wearing and other thing related to COVID
- Free coloring pages drawn by Guy Gilchrist to educate kids about COVID are available on https://donateppe.org/doodles/
- How Dr. Tsai was able to get Monster Dancepublished in short time to be relevant for the pandemic
- How Monster Danceis available in English and Mandarin Chinese
- How they came up with the title and concept for Monster Dance
- How Dr. Tsai, Guy Gilchrist and Eva Lou worked on Monster Dancevirtually and have never met in person
- How Monster Dancestarted as a Kickstarter campaign
- How Monster Dancehas helped children to deal with COVID
- For every copy of Monster Dancesold a donation will be made to Donate PPE
- How copies of Monster Dancehave been donated to children’s hospitals
- How Monster Dancehas a presence in Taiwan with the Mandarin Chinese version through the involvement of Taiwanese supermodel Chiling Lin (林志玲)
Related Links:
Monster Dance: https://madeleineeditions.com/stories/monster-dance/
Monster Dance Kickstarter campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/madeleineeditions/monster-dance
Monster Dance on the Donate PPE website: https://donateppe.org/monster-dance/
Access FREE coloring pages created by Guy Gilchrist to educate kids about COVID: https://donateppe.org/doodles/
Madeleine Editions (International children’s publisher): https://www.facebook.com/MadeleineEditions
Madeleine Editions (International children’s publisher): https://www.instagram.com/madeleine_editions/
Donate PPE: https://donateppe.org/
Guy Gilchrist, cartoonist and illustrator (best known for his work with the Muppets) at the Whitehouse 1984. Guy Gilchrist's website: https://www.aguygilchristproduction.com/ Taiwanese supermodel Chiling did the Mandarin Chinese narration for Monster Dance. Taiwanese supermodel Chiling's Charity Foundation: https://www.chilicngjj.org/ Eva Lou founder of the multi-lingual children's book publishing company Madeleine Editions, which published Monster Dance:https://madeleineeditions.com/ Actor Dennis O'Hare did the English narration for Monster Dance.
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Michael Turton is a political commentator, writer and Taipei Times columnist based in Taichung, Taiwan. I first learned about him through his long running blog, The View From Taiwan when I lived in Taiwan myself and started blogging about living there. I’ve invited him on to the podcast to talk about China’s recent Taiwan pineapple ban. We talked about what’s really behind the ban and how trade issues between China and Taiwan led to the 2014 Sunflower Movement and occupation of Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan building.
CORRECTION: At 1:28 when Michael says “over in Xiamen” he meant to refer to Fujian. There several towns in Fujian- Yongfu and Qingliu but not Xiamen, that are now using agricultural techniques learned from Taiwan. See link to the CommonWealth Magazine article, “Is Taiwan’s Farm Sector Selling Out to China” for reference.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Why China banned pineapples imported from Taiwan
- What has happened since the ban
- How the ban will impact Taiwan
- What are the larger issues behind what happened and why China banned Taiwan’s pineapples
- What can people overseas can do to support Taiwan, aside from buying Taiwan pineapples
- How consumption is related to Taiwanese identity
- What trade issues with China have to do with the Sunflower Movement
- What precipitated the occupation of the Legislative Yuan building by the Sunflower Movement activists in March 2014
- How the caucus system in Taiwan is set up to slow down the legislature
- The problems with Taiwan’s constitution
- How the spat between then President Ma Ying-jeou and Speaker Wang Jin-pyng contributed to the occupation of the Legislative Yuan by the Sunflower Movement activists in March of 2014
- How the Sunflower Movement strengthened the Taiwanese identity of a generation that grew up in a democratic Taiwan vs. those who previously grew up under Kuomintang rule in the 1970s and 80s
Related Links:
Taipei Times article, “PRC bans import of Taiwan pineapples”: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2021/02/27/2003752913
Taipei Times article, “China pineapple ban offset in four days”: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2021/03/03/2003753138
Guardian article, “Taiwanese urged to eat ‘freedom pineapples’ after China import ban”: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/02/taiwanese-urged-to-eat-freedom-pineapples-after-china-import-ban?fbclid=IwAR226v7PM6yXUM7UqWsPOyD_jwwpkQNKWpyFnXakMYUgDbtTNJd_OKsWxgc
Taiwan News article, "Japanese with 'Taiwan pineapple fever' empty store shelves": https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4145007?fbclid=IwAR0TLArguULOz7Y3iiZ0VIBHRjFrChPosZu8-fTbqxSJGxAnw6AKe7ANE1g
CommonWealth Magazine article, “Is Taiwan’s Farm Sector Selling Out to China”:
https://english.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=965
Michael Turton’s podcast, Taiwan Context: https://anchor.fm/taiwancontext/episodes/Taiwan-Context--Human-Rights-Defender-epmtsm
Michael Turton’s blog, The View From Taiwan: https://michaelturton.blogspot.com/
Ian Rowen’s research on Chinese tour groups in Taiwan: https://cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/blogs.ntu.edu.sg/dist/f/1564/files/2017/12/Rowen-2014-Tourism-as-territorial-strategy-x64350.pdf
Sunflower Movement: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunflower_Student_Movement
An article about Taiwan’s pineapple industry in 1960: https://taiwantoday.tw/news.php?unit=8%2C8%2C29%2C32%2C32%2C45&post=14054&fbclid=IwAR1bP4UHEg3rbTacOf9g9N4lPd7rQaSPFOWrcc1lR6a4GMIWV3KuOH6JV8I
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Dr. Michi Fu is a professor, psychologist, writer, public speaker and experience creator. She spoke with me about how her mother’s decision to retire in Taiwan led her to decide to take a one-year sabbatical in Taiwan and to apply for Taiwan citizenship- which proved to be an arduous process but well worth it in the end. It has allowed her to more easily travel and straddle between living in the U.S. and Taiwan. As she’s spent more time residing in Taiwan, she’s faced challenges adulting in Taiwan due to limited language and cultural proficiency. We spoke in depth about how she’s dealt with all this by learning to let go of cultural norms and expectations, and found ways to build a community for herself in Taiwan.
While in Taiwan she’s connected with expat communities like the Black lives Matter and Burning Man Taiwan communities, participated in a bilingual version of the Vagina Monologues, and she’s also been invited to participate in the 228 Transitional Justice Project. I found that to be a timely topic of conversation indeed, with the 74th anniversary of the 228 Incident having just passed.
Also referred to as The 228 Massacre, or The 228 Uprising, 228 is February 28, 1947, the date that the arrest of a cigarette seller in Taipei sparked protests over the corruption and repression of the ruling Kuomintang party at the time. What followed were the disappearance and execution of thousands by the Kuomintang. Some say up to 20 thousand were murdered. It led to the declaration of martial law and it was the beginning of the reign of White Terror in Taiwan that lasted for decades.
CORRECTION: At the 45-minute mark of Michi’s interview when she stated that she had arrived on holiday for her dissertation, she had arrived during the Dragon Boat Holiday for her sabbatical not her dissertation.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Michi’s upbringing and where she grew up
- Michi’s connection to Taiwan
- The study tour that Michi has co-organized with Dr. Tsuann Kuo (Founder of NATWA II)
- How Michi’s perception of Taiwan has changed over time
- How she’s met expats who have made Taiwan their home and out be interested in applying for citizenship in Taiwan
- The reason why Michi decided to apply for citizenship and residency in Taiwan, and to split her time between the U.S. and Taiwan
- What’s involved in the process to apply for citizenship and residency in Taiwan if you have a Taiwan birthright (i.e. parents born in Taiwan, and have residency and citizenship in Taiwan)
- What the Yo yo card is and how to use it
- Residency status that children of Taiwanese nationals can apply for to stay longer than a passport visa
- The number of days required to stay in Taiwan in order to able to apply for citizenship
- Michi’s sense of Taiwanese and Taiwanese American identity
- Michi’s participation in the 228 Transitional Justice Project
- The challenges of learning a language later in life
- How Michi sometimes feels like a Third Culture Kid
- How Michi has learned from cultural misunderstandings
- How Michi has connected with and made friends through the expat community in Taiwan
- What Michi misses about the U.S. when she’s in Taiwan
- What Michi misses about Taiwan when she’s in the U.S.
- What advice Michi has for those considering applying for Taiwan residency and citizenship
- What advice Michi has for those considering spending more of the calendar year living in Taiwan
- The different cultural expectations of Taiwan and the U.S.
- The challenges of adulting in Taiwan with limited language and cultural proficiency
- The wage gap for certain professions in Taiwan vs. the U.S.
- The things Michi considers in deciding to live in Taiwan full-time
- How Michi built her own sense of community by connecting with the expat community and Facebook groups
Related Links and Terms:
Michi’s Psychology Today Profile: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/los-angeles-county-monterey-park-ca/73177
The local love boat program that Michi attended: The 2006 Overseas Young Health Professionals Program OCAC Taipei, Taiwan
Love Boat Study Tour Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Boat_(study_tour)
OCAC (Overseas Community Affairs Council): https://www.ocac.gov.tw/OCAC/Eng/
NATMA (North American Taiwanese Medical Association): https://www.natma.org/
NATWA (North American Taiwanese Women’s Association): http://www.natwa.com/
NATWA II: http://natwa.com/natwa2/about.html
TECO (Taipei Economic and Cultural Office)
TECRO (Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States): https://www.taiwanembassy.org/us_en/index.html
Yo yo card 悠遊卡 (Pinyin: Yōu-yóu Kǎ) aka EasyCard: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EasyCard
https://www.easycard.com.tw/en/about
Hong Kong’s Octopus card: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopus_card
www.octopus.com.hk
Shēnfènzhèng (民身分證) the national identification card of Taiwan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_identification_card_(Taiwan)
What is 228?: http://www.taiwandc.org/228-intr.htm
https://228massacre.org/
Third culture kid: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_culture_kid
Thrive Tour (private) Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/491147317734655/
A video from the first class of a tour that Michi organized for the Masters of Global Health program for NTU (National Taiwan University): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K70K9OKd80&feature=youtu.be
A list of the Facebook groups that Michi joined and that connected her with the expat community in Taiwan:
Taiwan Foodie Girls Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/302771153463762/about
Formosa Improv Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/FormosaImprovGroup
Women Anonymous Reconnecting Mentally Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/323198761492476
Subtle Taiwanese Traits Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/583249345764112/
COVID-19 group for returnees Facebook group (in Mandarin Chinese): https://www.facebook.com/groups/889736338130271
The play White Rabbit Red Rabbit: https://www.nassimsoleimanpour.com/whiterabbitredrabbit
Burning Man community in Taiwan: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BurningManTaiwan
Black Lives Matter community in Taiwan: https://www.facebook.com/BLMTaiwan
Our Talking Taiwan listeners may be interested in these other related episodes:
Love Boat Taiwan: Interview with Asian American Studies Professor and Filmmaker Valerie Soe Ep 66: https://www.talkingtaiwan.com/love-boat-taiwan-interview-asian-american-studies-professor-film-maker-valerie-soe-ep-66/
An Interview With Author Jennifer J. Chow About The 228 Legacy and Her Other Books Ep 65: https://www.talkingtaiwan.com/interview-author-jennifer-j-chow-228-legacy-books-ep-65/
Black Lives Solidarity Global Initiative: Founders Stefanie Davis and Patrick Springer Ep 84: https://www.talkingtaiwan.com/black-lives-solidarity-global-initiative-founders-stefanie-davis-and-patrick-springer/
Jaleea Price Talks About Living in Taiwan Ep 90: https://www.talkingtaiwan.com/jaleea-price-talks-about-living-in-taiwan-ep-90/
Boba: https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/what-is-boba-bubble-tea-tapioca-balls
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_tea White Terror Era: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Terror_(Taiwan) https://www.fpri.org/article/2017/02/taiwans-white-terror-remembering-228-incident/ Vagina Monologues: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Vagina_Monologues
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
This week we welcome back Anthony Kao, the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Cinema Escapist to Talking Taiwan. I’ve asked him to recommend films that help familiarize people with Taiwan. He’ll be recommending films about Taiwan that best represent certain decades, eras or significant historical events.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Anthony’s recommendations are of films made after the lifting of martial law in Taiwan 1987
- In selecting films to recommend Anthony tried to select a variety of film genres to suit the different tastes of Talking Taiwan listeners
- The films Anthony recommends represent a diverse array of Taiwan’s culture and historical phenomena
- The five films that Anthony recommends: A City of Sadness (1989), Yi Yi (1999), Cape No. 7 (2008)
- The historical and political relevance of Anthony’s film recommendations
- The Taiwan history film trilogy by film director Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢): A City of Sadness (1989), Good Men, Good Women (好男好女1995), The Puppetmaster (1993)
- New Taiwanese Cinema
- Second New Wave of Taiwan Cinema
Related Links:
Cinema Escapist: https://www.cinemaescapist.com/
Cinema Escapist on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cinemaescapist
Cinema Escapist on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cinemaescapist
A City of Sadness (1989): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_City_of_Sadness
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096908/
Good Men, Good Women (好男好女 1995): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Men,_Good_Women
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113256/
The Puppetmaster (1993): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Puppetmaster_(film)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107157/
Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢), Film Director: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hou_Hsiao-hsien
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0396284/
Yi Yi (1999): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yi_Yi
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0244316/
Edward Yang (楊德昌), Film Director: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0945981/
Three Times (2005): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Times
Cape No. 7 (2008): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_No._7
Seediq Bale (2011): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warriors_of_the_Rainbow:_Seediq_Bale
https://www.imdb.com/title/att2007993/
We Te-sheng, Film Director: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wei_Te-sheng
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0917669/
On Happiness Road (2017): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Happiness_Road
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7543904/
Hsin Yin Sung, Film Director: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3403663/?ref_=tt_ov_dr
New Taiwanese Cinema: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_Taiwan#New_Taiwanese_Cinema,_1982%E2%80%931990
Second New Wave of Taiwan Cinema: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_Taiwan#New_Taiwanese_Cinema,_1982%E2%80%931990
The 10 Best Taiwanese Movies of 2019: https://www.cinemaescapist.com/2019/12/best-taiwanese-movies-2019/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Anthony Kao is Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Cinema Escapist, which is often the first or only publication that covers Taiwanese film or television shows. I’ve found it has some really great reviews and recommendations of films from and about Taiwan. Cinema Escapist also covers films from all around the world and takes a look at their social and political context. Anthony spoke with me about how he started Cinema Escapist and their unique approach to discussing film. Next week we’ll have Anthony back to recommend films about Taiwan that represent different decades or historical events significant to Taiwan.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Where Anthony’s interest in film comes from
- Film as a way to explore the world
- Cinema Escapist’s focus on international films and the social and political context of films
- Anthony’s interest in Taiwanese film and television
- How Cinema Escapist is often the first or only publication that covers Taiwanese film or television shows
- Publications about Taiwan recommended by Anthony
- Anthony’s approach to writing about film
- When and why Anthony started Cinema Escapist
- How Cinema Escapist has changed over time
- What’s behind the name “Cinema Escapist”
- The challenges of running Cinema Escapist which has a completely volunteer staff
- The interesting experiences and people that Anthony has met through Cinema Escapist
- Cinema Escapist’s plans to go into podcasting
Related Links:
Cinema Escapist: https://www.cinemaescapist.com/
Cinema Escapist on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cinemaescapist
Cinema Escapist on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cinemaescapist
Goodbye Lenin (film): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0301357/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Bye,_Lenin!
Yi Yi (film): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yi_Yi
New Bloom Magazine: https://newbloommag.net/
CommonWealth Magazine: https://english.cw.com.tw/
The News Lens: https://international.thenewslens.com/
Talking Taiwan Episode 91 about the Austin Asian American Film Festival: Prismatic Taiwan: https://www.talkingtaiwan.com/austin-film-festival-prismatic-taiwan-a-series-celebrating-queer-taiwanese-cinema-ep-91/
Film Director Jean Luc Godard: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Luc_Godard
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000419/
Cinema Escapist articles on The News Lens: https://international.thenewslens.com/author/Cinema%2520Escapist
The Great Buddha+ (film): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Buddha%2B
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7010412/
The 10 Best Taiwanese Movies of 2019: https://www.cinemaescapist.com/2019/12/best-taiwanese-movies-2019/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
This week’s guest is Jason Wang who we’ve had on Talking Taiwan previously. In Episode 102 Jason spoke with me about how his advisory firm Cypress Rivers started producing PPE to support health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, through an effort called Face Shields for the First Line. At the time he mentioned that Face Shields for the First Line would be transitioning into the making of face masks. So we’re welcoming Jason back to tell us what’s happened since we last spoke.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- The continuing spread of COVID-19 and new variants which necessitates continuing to practice safe hygiene measures such as social distancing, hand washing and wearing masks
- The double mask that STC Next Health is producing which consists of an outer shell and inner filter
- The masks are antimicrobial due to the use of nano-coated silver
- Other products that STC Next Health produces like antimicrobial zinc oxide tape for use on common high touch/high traffic areas such as door handles or hand railings
- Talking Taiwan listeners can use the code: talkingtaiwan at checkout to get a 10% discount off their purchase of items from STC Next Health
Related Links:
STC Next Health: https://stcnext.health/
STC Next Health’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/stcnexthealth/
STC Next Health’s Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/stcnext_health/
Talking Taiwan Episode 102 featuring Jason Wang: https://www.talkingtaiwan.com/jason-wang-how-his-advisory-firm-makes-coronavirus-face-shields-for-the-front-line/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Charles Yu is a Taiwanese American writer, author of the novel Interior Chinatown, and winner of the 2020 National Book Award for fiction. He spoke candidly with me about how he and his family are dealing with the pandemic, his writing process, what it was like appearing on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah and how he transitioned from a career as a lawyer to television writing.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· How Charles and his family are doing during the pandemic
· The piece that Charles wrote for The Atlantic about life during the pandemic
· How Charles first started writing poetry as a child
· How Charles’ Taiwanese parents’ reactions to his interest in writing have changed over time
· How Charles recently found some of the poetry that he wrote when at Berkeley
· Charles’ connection to Taiwan
· How Charles started writing Interior Chinatown in 2013 and the concept changed over time
· How/why Interior Chinatown is written in a screenplay-type format
· Charles’ approach to writing
· His appearance on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
· Charles’ writing for TV
· How Charles was previously a lawyer and quit to work in TV in 2014
· The difference between writing books and for TV
· Charles’ interest in writing his own TV series
· How Charles feels about being compared to Franz Kafka, Kurt Vonnegut and Douglas Adams
· Why/What motivates Charles to write
· What themes inspire Charles to write
· Advice Charles has for some struggling to write their first book
· Why it took Charles seven years to write Interior Chinatown
Related Links:
Charles Yu’s website: https://www.charlesyuauthor.com/
Charles Yu’s Atlantic article “ The Pre-pandemic Universe Was the Fiction”: https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2020/04/charles-yu-science-fiction-reality-life-pandemic/609985/
Order a copy of Interior Chinatown here: https://www.amazon.com/Interior-Chinatown-Novel-Charles-Yu/dp/0307907198/
TAF (Taiwanese American Foundation): https://www.tafworld.org/
TACL (Taiwanese American Citizens League): https://tacl.org/
Charles’ interview on TaiwaneseAmerican.org: http://www.taiwaneseamerican.org/?s=charles+yu
How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe | Charles Yu | Talks at Google: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckmJt3AsU4c
Charles’ appearance on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0afVYOb4kA
Charles on Twitter: https://twitter.com/charles_yu
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
This is part two of my interview with Tony Coolidge. Tony is the Founder of the Atayal organization, which is named after his mother’s indigenous tribe. In this interview Tony talks about his work with Indigenous Bridges through his nonprofit, the Atayal organization, and shares his perspectives on some of indigenous people he’s interacted with from around the world.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- The work of Indigenous Bridges
- Why Tony moved back to Taiwan in 2009
- How Indigenous Bridges serves to connect indigenous people from all over the world
- How the mission of the Atayal organization shifted from sharing the culture of indigenous people to connecting indigenous people with each other
- How Indigenous Bridges is about building trusted relationships based on shared cultures and cultural exchange
- The sister city relationship between Orlando, Florida and Tainan, Taiwan
- Sister tribe programs that are being developed
- The indigenous youth ambassador program of Indigenous Bridges
- Virtual cultural exchanges and conferences that are now being developed due to the onset of COVID-19
- The common experiences and challenges of indigenous people
- Possible solutions to the economic hardship that is often experienced by indigenous people around the world
- How the rights of indigenous people in the U.S. compares to Taiwan and other parts of the world
- The connection between the Maori indigenous people of New Zealand and the indigenous people of Taiwan
- The migration of Austronesian people and how they originated from Taiwan
- What Tony learned from the Maori indigenous people of New Zealand
- How the Maori are a source of pride for New Zealand
- The government’s role in preserving indigenous culture
- How indigenous rights are protected by the United Nations and indigenous people can create treaties with each other
- The struggles in trying to return property to the indigenous people of Taiwan
- How the recognition of tribes gives them access to resources
- The fight over resources between the different indigenous people of Taiwan
- How Tony hopes that his work reveals that Taiwan is a far more diverse and interesting place than people have originally thought
- How former President Lee Teng-hui’s role in changing the perception of indigenous people in Taiwan
- Tony’s experience representing indigenous people at the UN headquarters in New York
Related Links:
Indigenous Bridges programs of the Atayal organization: https://www.indigenousbridges.org/
Voices in the Clouds, the documentary based on Tony’s 2004 trip to Taiwan: https://www.cultureunplugged.com/documentary/watch-online/play/5485/Voices-in-the-Clouds?fbclid=IwAR1qjJPdz9cglu_NIK3X399mbSiZiAsTT4hztaHXbRDbYX1nZBo_vbqbk2A
A link to the “Village in the Clouds” article about Tony’s trip to Taiwan in 1996 that led him to discover his indigenous roots: https://indigenousbridges.blogspot.com/2021/01/village-in-the-clouds.html
Video footage from indigenous language competitions: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpdlwzeeA3YU19JZsJMbYqA/videos
General information about Taiwan’s indigenous people: https://oftaiwan.org/taiwan-101/taiwan-indigenous-people/
A video produced about Tony's work creating the Taproot Cultural Exchange program with New Zealand Maori: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV64quV53m0 A blog page about the Taproot Cultural Exchange program with New Zealand Maori: http://aceca-taiwan.blogspot.com/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Did you know that there are 16 indigenous tribes officially recognized in Taiwan and up to 29 self-identified tribes? Also, Taiwan’s current President Tsai Ing-wen’s paternal grandmother was from the Paiwan tribe.
My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Tony Coolidge. Tony is the Founder of the Atayal organization, which is named after his mother’s indigenous tribe. In this interview Tony talks about finding his indigenous roots and the indigenous people of Taiwan. This is part one of a two part interview.
In part two of our interview, Tony will talk about his work with Indigenous Bridges through his nonprofit, the Atayal organization.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How Tony discovered his indigenous roots
- Tony memories of his mother and the lessons she taught him
- Tony’s mother’s connection to Taiwan and her indigenous roots
- The first time that Tony visited Taiwan and met his mother’s family
- Tony’s mother’s village Wulai
- The documentary film that was made about Tony’s month-long trip to Taiwan with his brother during which time he met with several indigenous peoples and learned more about the culture
- Tony’s mother’s struggles as an indigenous person and why she may have hidden her indigenous background from him
- The pressure that Tony’s grandfather (his mother’s father, who was the chief/mayor of Wulai) had to show allegiance to the Chinese under the Kuomintang regime
- How the indigenous peoples’ identity was suppressed under the Kuomintang regime and led to discrimination and abuse of indigenous people
- The discrimination that indigenous people faced under the rule of the Kuomintang and Japanese
- How the discrimination and abuse of indigenous people has changed over time
- Tony’s desire to preserve indigenous culture
- How policies of former President of Taiwan, Chen Shui-bian and the changing attitudes of the media contributed to changing people views of the indigenous peoples of Taiwan
- Some key facts about the Atayal tribe (that Tony’s mother belonged to)
- The mountainous and lowland indigenous tribes of Taiwan
- How many indigenous tribes are presently recognized in Taiwan
- The story of how the Atayal tribe’s custom of headhunting was ended
- How Tony’s sons are learning the Atayal language
- Tony started his nonprofit organization in 2001
- In 2004 Tony’s nonprofit had its first indigenous cultural festival in Orlando, Florida
- Alice the teacher of indigenous cultures that Tony met in 2004 and how she was instrumental in arranging the trip during which much of the documentary about Tony’s life was filmed
- Tony’s trip to Taiwan in December 2004- January 2005 with his brother and the documentary film crew
- How the trip to Taiwan affected Tony’s brother
- How the death of Tony’s father-in-law happened in the middle of the trip and film
- The challenges that Tony and his brother faced during the trip
- The similarities and differences amongst Taiwan’s indigenous tribes
- How the lives of indigenous peoples changed overnight when the Japanese removed them from their villages in the mountains
- How have the indigenous peoples of Taiwan have adjusted over time
- Social issues facing young indigenous peoples
- The story of an indigenous policeman, Sakino who created a hunting, survival club through with he passed down indigenous knowledge
- The most memorable moments of Tony’s 2004 trip to Taiwan
- The abandoned village in the mountains (in Pintung) that Tony visited in the documentary film
- How the 16 tribes now recognized in Taiwan were mostly originally mountainous tribes because the lowland tribes have been assimilated so long ago
- Research has shown that more than 70% of Taiwanese have some indigenous DNA
Related Links:
A link to the “Village in the Clouds” article about Tony’s trip to Taiwan in 1996 that led him to discover his indigenous roots: https://indigenousbridges.blogspot.com/2021/01/village-in-the-clouds.html
Film Director Wei Te-sheng:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wei_Te-sheng Voices in the Clouds, the documentary based on Tony’s 2004 trip to Taiwan: https://www.cultureunplugged.com/documentary/watch-online/play/5485/Voices-in-the-Clouds?fbclid=IwAR1qjJPdz9cglu_NIK3X399mbSiZiAsTT4hztaHXbRDbYX1nZBo_vbqbk2A
Indigenous Bridges programs of the Atayal organization: https://www.indigenousbridges.org/
Video footage from indigenous language competitions: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpdlwzeeA3YU19JZsJMbYqA/videos
General information about Taiwan’s indigenous people: https://oftaiwan.org/taiwan-101/taiwan-indigenous-people/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
When I first interviewed Elena in 2013, she had just won the Entrepreneur Challenge and Competition. She was launching her Taiwanese tea business Té online. Since then, I’ve wondered how she was doing and a couple of years later, I learned that Elena had opened a tearoom in the West Village.
I’ve visited the tearoom and it is a place of pure zen where tea drinking becomes a ritual. A true ambassador of tea, Elena sees the tearoom as a way to connect with others, to experience tea, and to demonstrate how it is brewed. Many of her customers are dedicated tea drinkers who first cultivate their tea drinking habits there. In this space, tea drinking is an activity of tranquil introspection.
In October of 2017 I invited Elena back on to Talking Taiwan for an update.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in the podcast:
- What’s happened since the last time Elena was interviewed on Talking Taiwan in 2013
- What it was like opening and running the tea shop
- The tea education and tea tastings that Té offers
- How Elena was able to get press for Té
- Advice for people who want to open a brick and mortar store like Té
- What’s next, her future plans for Té
Related Links:
Té Company: https://www.te-nyc.com/
Té Company on Instagram: www.instagram.com/tecompany/
Té Company on Facebook page: www.facebook.com/tecompany
Té Company on Twitter: www.twitter.com/tecompany
Elena’s 2013 interview on Talking Taiwan: https://www.talkingtaiwan.com/tt027-elena-liao/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
The last time I had my guest Supei Liu on was six years ago to talk about her work with Nomi Network. Supei is the VP of Global Initiatives and Co-founder of Nomi Network. Nomi Network combats human trafficking by creating pathways to safe employment, empowering women and girls to break cycles of slavery in their families and communities.
After spending seven years based in Cambodia and India, she’s relocated to the U.S. Last week we got caught up and talked about what’s she’s learned from her experience working with Nomi Network, and how she’s come to see herself as an entrepreneur. She also shared some thoughts on how to navigate parent-child relationships.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How Nomi Network has grew and developed up to 2014
- What learnings there have been for Nomi Network since 2014
- How Nomi Network focused on providing job skills training
- How Nomi Network faced a bottle neck after 2016 and switched from trying to create employment opportunities to partnering with businesses or organizations that have employment opportunities
- How world view and the definition of success varies depending on cultural context
- What Supei has learned about happiness, fulfilment and success (from working and living in Asia for seven years)
- Supei’s return and relocation from Asia to the U.S.
- Personal stories of how women have grown and been helped by Nomi Network’s training
- How Nomi Network started doing virtual training through Zoom
- How the Coronavirus pandemic affected Nomi Network
- How Nomi Network selected 240 graduates of their training programs to become community outreach workers; these community outreach workers were trained to become contact tracers, and they would educate and inform the community about the best health and safety practices related to COVID-19
- Since May of 2019 Nomi Network has been able to reach 160,000 people through its 240 community outreach workers and staff
- Supei’s upbringing and background
- How Supei was able to work through parent-child issues with her mother when she lived with Supei in Cambodia for three years
- Supei’s transition from the corporate to nonprofit world in 2008
- When Supei realized that she’s an entrepreneur
- Entrepreneurship as the pursuit of solving problems
- How Supei worked with a distillery to create liquor from a cashew apple fruit
- Supei’s proudest accomplishments
- How Supei’s work is going to change now that she’s relocated to the U.S.
- Why Supei has decided to return to the U.S.
- What Supei is working on beyond and outside of Nomi Network
- How courage is not the absence of fear
Related Links:
Nomi Network: https://nominetwork.org/
Nomi Network products: https://www.buyherbagnotherbody.com/
Nomi Network on Facebook: www.facebook.com/nominetwork
Nomi Network on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nominetwork/
Nomi Network on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nominetwork
Nomi Network on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7UaUlyqMy2B1KL1S2_l5HQ
Supei’s previous interview on Talking Taiwan: https://www.talkingtaiwan.com/nomi-network-cofounder-supei-liu-discusses-human-trafficking-ep-104/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Since March of this year, we’ve been publishing new episodes of Talking Taiwan on a weekly basis, so for our last episode of 2020, we thought it would be fun to look back and see which were the top five episodes of the year. It comes as no surprise that 2 of the episodes are related to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Through it all, it’s been amazing to see our listenership grow. In fact, I’ve really enjoyed hearing from listeners who’ve reached out to tell me how much they’ve enjoyed listening to Talking Taiwan. Thanks for all of the positive feedback. We look forward to continuing to deliver new episodes about interesting people and stories connected to Taiwan.
Which episode was your favorite of 2020? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Don’t forget to check out our new feature starting in the new year called “Talking Taiwan Shorts.” We will be creating 100 short one-minute videos for our YouTube channel highlighting a GREAT segment from one of our podcast episodes. Be sure to check out Talking Taiwan’s YouTube channel, or go to our website here for “Talking Taiwan Shorts.”
Below are links to the top five Talking Taiwan episodes of 2020. Wishing you a wonderful rest of 2020, and a Happy New Year!
CORRECTION: At the 15:32-minute in the interview, Dr. Keating remarks, “We are 75 years at the end of World War I.” What he meant to say is that, "We are 75 years at the end of World War II."
Related Links:
Number 5 Talking Taiwan Episode of 2020
Number 4 Talking Taiwan Episode of 2020
Number 3 Talking Taiwan Episode of 2020
Number 2 Talking Taiwan Episode of 2020
Number 1 Talking Taiwan Episode of 2020
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Constance Parng, an actress, writer and healer who’s earned the title of Super Auntie to Native Nations of the Auntie Sewing Squad. Constance spoke with me about her work to support the highly vulnerable Native American communities and her connection to Taiwan. Through this conversation she reveals that the lack of access to basic things like running water and proper health care on reservations have deeply rooted origins. COVID-19 has exposed this reality that existed pre-pandemic. She hopes that bringing awareness to systemic injustices like this can lead to more people taking action to rectify the situation.
As Constance put it “by doing acts of compassion we are not only helping and saving others but also helping and saving ourselves."
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Constance’s connection to Taiwan
- How Constance got involved with the Auntie Sewing Squad
- Why Constance prefers to use the term Native Nations instead of First Nations, Native American, Tribal Nations, Indigenous Nations, Native Communities
- The living conditions of the Navajo Nation reservation
- How 35-40% of the Navajo Nation reservation does not have running water
- Families need to travel a distance to get water which they must then ration for cooking, drinking or washing their hands
- How violations of treat rights and Systemic racism have contributed to the current living conditions on reservations
- Why the Lakota Well Being Project is fundraising for an additional ambulance
- How reservations are like third world nations within the United States
- How people can donate to the Lakota Well Being Project
- Medshare providing medical supplies to Standing Rock
- Constance estimates that she’s been responsible for getting 60,000 masks too indigenous communities
- Winter coat drive for Standing Rock
- The conditions at Standing Rock
- The discrimination that exists in the border towns outside of reservations
- Constance’s call out to people who have supported the Dakota Access Pipeline Protests to support Standing Rock now in their time of need during COVID
- South Dakota has one of the lowest life expectancy rates in the U.S.
- The Dakota Access Pipeline Protests
- The lack of adequate health care and the long term effects on the native peoples who live on the on a reservation
- The April 20th conversation Constance had a with Bettina who was connected to a group of seamstresses who sew for Navajo Nations
- The uranium mining that has happened on native reservations and its hazardous health effects
- How people can help by donating to the ambulance fund, the Auntie Sewing Squad, art supplies for kids, winter coats
- How Constance has been connected to many amazing people from all walks of life through this work she’s been doing for the Native Nations
- The difference between the Navajo Nation and Hopi Nation
- How deliveries of supplies and essentials are coordinated
- The “fortress of gratitude” where donations can be dropped off
- How acts of compassion not only help others but actually can serve to help ourselves
- How the mother of one of Constance’s contacts at Navajo Nation has COVID-19
- The impact of curfews that have been imposed on reservations
- The CARES Act
- Mutual aid and nonprofit groups that Constance has worked with have told her that the Auntie Sewing Squad and Lakota Well Being Project have done more for them than their own tribal government or the federal government
Related Links:
Ways to donate to Lakota Well Being Project and Standing Rock:
Lakota Well-Being Project (Thanks to a generous matching gift, every dollar you give will be matched up to $10,000): https://bit.ly/3mBMYHn
Donate to Standing Rock via Donorbox: https://donorbox.org/standingrockrelief
The Lakota Well Being Project on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lakotawellbeing
Dakota Access Pipeline Protests: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakota_Access_Pipeline_protests
The Fortress of Gratitude where items to be donated to the Navajo and Hopi Nations via the Auntie Sewing Squad are dropped off
Portable handwashing stations being delivered to Navajo Nations by the Auntie Sewing Squad
Ways to donate to the Auntie Sewing Squad:
Tax-deductible donation link thanks to Art2Action who has waived the fiscal sponsor fees: https://donorbox.org/auntie-sewing-squad
Kristina Wong PayPal General Donations using (Friends & Family): k@kristinasherylwong.com
Kristina Wong Venmo General Donations HERE: “GiveKristinaWongMoney”
The Auntie Sewing Squad’s website: http://auntiesewingsquad.com/
The Auntie Sewing Squad’s Core Values: http://auntiesewingsquad.com/about/#ourcorevalues
The Auntie Sewing Squad on Instagram: www.Instagram.com/AuntieSewing
Auntie Sewing Squad Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2764362993676831/
Auntie Sewing Squad Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/auntiesewing
The Auntie Sewing Squad’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQrlwkZu_l6F1d9D_M5ZnGQ
The Tom’s model: https://bit.ly/3oPzNUJ
World Harvest Food Bank (LA)
Siwa Murti Healing Institute: www.siwamurtihealing.com
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Kristina Wong and Valerie Soe are back to talk about the Auntie Sewing Squad. When they were last here (on episode 75) the Auntie Sewing Squad was about two months old with over 600 members. A lot has happened with the Auntie Sewing Squad since then.
As you listen to the episode, you might be wondering why is there a dog crying in the background as Kristina talks to us? And what major announcement is Valerie going to make about yet another off-shoot project? You might want to go back and listen to episode 75 first or at least read this description of the Auntie Sewing Squad from their website:
The Auntie Sewing Squad was founded on March 24, 2020 by performance artist and comedian Kristina Wong as a casual effort to connect with other friends sewing homemade masks for essential workers due to the Federal Government’s failure to prepare them with proper personal protective equipment.
Auntie Sewing Squad has been featured on CNN, NBC, KCRW, Washington Post, Good Morning America and many more. We Go Down Sewing, a cross between an anthology, memoir, and a visual record of the work of the Auntie Sewing Squad will be published in Fall 2021 by University of California Press. The Aunties also collaborated with the Kronos Quartet on the film “Radical Care: The Auntie Sewing Squad” which uses music by Kronos and testimony and footage provided by the Aunties. We are a college course at San Francisco State University. We also have hosted two rounds of an online summer mask sewing camp for kids. Our relationship with various First Nations has extended to include fundraising and sending them sewing and relief supplies. We have sent several vans filled with sewing and hygiene supplies to the Seamstresses United Navajo & Hopi Nation for distribution throughout both reservations.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How the Auntie Sewing Squad has developed and changed since we last spoke
- How Kristina’s role has changed
- How masks, mask wearing and mask making have become a political statement
- How the Auntie Sewing Squad’s work is about supporting communities forgotten by the federal government such as first nations, incarcerated communities, poor communities of color, migrants at the border
- How sewing masks is a political statement for many of the aunties
- The Auntie Sewing Squad’s Core Values
- The Auntie Sewing Squad’s fiscal sponsor Art2Action which allows donations received by the Auntie Sewing Squad to be tax deductible
- Historian Shakedown Auntie Rebecca Solnit
- The Karl Marx quote that applies to the Auntie Sewing Squad
- How Auntie Care started with an offering of hand salve
- The Auntie Sewing Squad’s collaboration with the Kronos Quartet on the eight-minute short film, “Radical Care: The Auntie Sewing Squad”
- The press that the Auntie Sewing Squad has received
- Kristina’s Good Morning America appearance
- The coat and clothing drives that the Auntie Sewing Squad has organized for Lakota Nation and the Navajo Nation
- The book about the Auntie Sewing Squad, We Go Down Sewing
- The full-length documentary film about the Auntie Sewing Squad that’s in the works
- The crazy requests for masks that the Auntie Sewing Squad still receives
- Monk robe fabric that was donated to make masks
- How the Auntie Sewing Squad has become a sort of national network that supports various communities in need- from people affected by California wildfires to migrants in need of masks in Tijuana
- How Kristina’s show and live tour “Kristina Wong for Public Office” became a Zoom and an online experience
- The Auntie Sewing Squad’s Kid Sewing Summer Camp
Related Links:
The Auntie Sewing Squad’s website: http://auntiesewingsquad.com/
The Auntie Sewing Squad’s Core Values: http://auntiesewingsquad.com/about/#ourcorevalues
The Auntie Sewing Squad on Instagram: www.Instagram.com/AuntieSewing
Auntie Sewing Squad Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2764362993676831/
Auntie Sewing Squad Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/auntiesewing
The Auntie Sewing Squad’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQrlwkZu_l6F1d9D_M5ZnGQ
Ways to donate to the Auntie Sewing Squad:
Tax-deductible donation link thanks to Art2Action who has waived the fiscal sponsor fees: https://donorbox.org/auntie-sewing-squad
Kristina Wong PayPal General Donations using (Friends & Family): k@kristinasherylwong.com
Kristina Wong Venmo General Donations HERE: “GiveKristinaWongMoney”
Kristina Wong with set pieces from her show “Kristina Wong for Public Office”
Kristina Wong’s website: http://kristinawong.com/
Kristina Wong’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ilovekristinawong/
Kristina Wong’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYVB9LCGQewhp4LxlachKPQ
Kristina and Valerie’s previous Talking Taiwan interview about the Auntie Sewing Squad: https://www.talkingtaiwan.com/auntie-sewing-squad-combats-covid-19-one-mask-at-a-time-ep-75/
Valerie with a screen shot of “Radical Care: The Auntie Sewing Squad”
Valerie Soe’s blog: https://beyondasiaphilia.com/
Valerie’s previous Talking Taiwan interview about her documentary film, Love Boat Taiwan: https://www.talkingtaiwan.com/love-boat-taiwan-interview-asian-american-studies-professor-film-maker-valerie-soe-ep-66/
We Go Down Sewing, a cross between an anthology, memoir, and a visual record of the work of the Auntie Sewing Squad will be published in Fall 2021 by University of California Press
The Tom’s model: https://bit.ly/3oPzNUJ
Art2Action’s website: http://www.art2action.org/
Art2Action’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/art2action/
Kronos Quartet musician wearing a mask made by the Auntie Sewing Squad
Kronos Quartet musicians wearing masks made by the Auntie Sewing Squad
The Kronos Quartet: https://kronosquartet.org/
Historian Shakedown Auntie Rebecca Solnit’s article for The Guardian, “The way we get through this is together: the rise of mutual aid under coronavirus,” which features a mention of the Auntie Sewing Squad: https://bit.ly/2LDuK8d
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
My guests on this episode of Talking Taiwan are Gary Reloj and Bonnie Chan, co-founders of the PPE Relief Initiative (PRI). I had Gary on as a guest previously in episode 79, only a couple of months into the COVID-19 pandemic. He talked about his own personal battle with COVID and the PPE Relief Initiative’s crowdfunding campaign. Since then, the PPE Relief Initiative has surpassed its goal of raising $30,000, and has also been selected by GoFundMe to be a featured campaign on their COVID page.
When asked about the mistakes they’ve made and lessons they learned, Gary responded that he’s not afraid of failure and embraces it as long as there’s something that can be learned from it. Gary and Bonnie talked how they’ve tweaked things since phase one of the crowdfunding campaign and shared some of the work productivity tools that PRI uses. Bonnie offered some general advice for people interested in doing crowdfunding for a cause. The two also shared a lot of exciting updates.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What’s happened with the PPE Relief Initiative (PRI) since we first interviewed Gary about it
- Bonnie’s role in creating a strong brand identity for the PPE Relief Initiative
- How the PPE Relief Initiative got selected by GoFundMe to be a featured campaign and what it means for the campaign
- The PPE Relief Initiative’s next fundraising goal is $15,000 to support an additional 1,000 healthcare workers
- How the PPE Relief Initiative has grown and recruited new volunteers
- How the support that the PPE Relief Initiative is not only supplying healthcare workers with PPE but giving them emotional and moral support
- Some of the biggest challenges they faced in trying to reach their initial fundraising goal of $30,000
- The failures and lessons learned during phase one of the PPE Relief Initiative’s crowdfunding campaign
- How some of the healthcare workers that PPE Relief Initiative has worked with who have had to resort to wearing garbage bags, bed covers, and men’s old clothing as PPE
- How important it is to have the right team of people working together to achieve goals together
- What they did when contributions to the GoFundMe Campaign plateaued and stalled
- How they tell and capture the stories of healthcare workers through their “Stories from the Frontlines” videos
- The note that went viral - written by KP Mendoza, a healthcare worker featured in one of PRI's "Stories from the Frontlines" videos
- The shift from first focusing more on individual donors, to phase two in which they are planning to focus more on partnerships with e.g. community organizations, businesses, and student groups
- Why Gary embraces failure
- How PPE Relief Initiative learned from the mistakes it made during its first phase and has improved its processes
- The work productivity tools that PPE Relief Initiative uses
- The importance of organization and setting up an infrastructure
- The goals of the second phase of PPE Relief Initiative’s Go Fund Me campaign
- The difference between GoFundMe and GoFundMe Charity
- The Promise Society, fiscal sponsor of the PPE Relief Initiative
- General advice for anyone interested in running a crowdfunding campaign
- The importance of email campaigns and data to PRI’s fundraising campaign
- PPE Relief Initiative’s plans to partner with a local politician to hold a virtual roundtable with healthcare workers giving testimony on their experiences
- PRI’s plans to make an impact on policy regarding healthcare worker protection
Related Links:
PPE Relief Initiative’s (PRI) website: https://pperelief.org/
PRI’s social media accounts:
PRI on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ppe.relief/
PRI’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ppe.relief.initiative/
PRI’s LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ppe-relief-initiative/
PPE Relief Initiative’s Go Fund Me crowdfunding campaign: https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/every-superhero-needs-armor-ppe-relief-for-healthcare-workers-fighting-covid-19
PPE Relief Initiative’s volunteer page: https://pperelief.org/join-our-team/
Healthcare workers (in New York and New Jersey) who’d like to apply for PPE can STILL do so here: https://pperelief.org/apply
Belinda and Mary (Mother & Daughter share their stories) with PRI: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNlmUL6iAMo
The note from healthcare worker KP Mendoza that went viral: https://helphopehonor.org/thank-you-to-our-heroes/kp-mendoza---do-not-call-me-a-hero-listen-to-an-icu-nurses-plea-for-fighting-the-coronavirus.html
PPE Relief Initiative’s YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/channel/UC_ncFI3RKutGY1D6QQL8cow
Recommended websites to recruit volunteers from:
Idealist: https://www.idealist.org/en/
Volunteer Match: https://www.volunteermatch.org/
Productivity tools that PPE Relief Initiative uses:
Workplace: https://www.workplace.com/
Asana: https://asana.com/
Google Drive: https://www.google.com/intl/en_in/drive/
The Promise Society: http://www.thepromisesociety.org/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
On this episode of Talking Taiwan I speak with Jason Chew about being a filmmaker. We talked about how he veered away from his traditional Taiwanese upbringing and parents’ expectations that he become a lawyer.
As a filmmaker, he’s worked with several different clients in both Taiwan (a funeral home and cosmetics company) and the U.S. He shared how one project with the NYPD required him to wear a bulletproof vest while cruising around with the NYPD to the scene of a crime.
When asked I him what inspires his creativity, Jason responded by asking “where don’t you find inspiration… everything could be inspiration.”
Check out the show notes on the Talking Taiwan website for some of the great film directors that have inspired Jason and a few of the classic films about Taiwan that he recommends.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Jason’s connection to musician Treya, who we interviewed in episode 55
- Jason’s “traditional Taiwanese upbringing” and what a “traditional Taiwanese upbringing” means to him
- How he went from being on the path to attend law school to applying for film school
- What it was like attending NYU Film School in Singapore
- What Jason’s film career has been like so far
- The difference between film editing, shooting, and directing
- What sets someone apart as a director
- What is cinematography
- Jason’s short films
- The music video he worked on for Treya’s song Magic
- The work that Jason did on the NYPD’s Domain Awareness System (DAS) which is a sort of monitoring service
- How Jason and his colleagues rode around in an NYPD police car to crime scenes in response to alerts from the Shot Spotter, which is a series of microphones that listen for shots fired
- Jason’s thoughts on Black Lives Matter
- Jason’s work with Taiwanese companies
- Jason’s parents’ reaction to his choice to pursue a career as a filmmaker instead of law
- What inspires him as a cinematographer
- The crowdfunding campaigns on student films that he’s worked on
- Jason’s favorite films about Taiwan
- Films that he recommends for people who would like to know more about Taiwan
- Jason’s work on the short film A Father’s Son – A 90s Chinatown Noir Thriller, which is based on the characters from Henry Chang’s NYPD Detective Jack Yu crime series novels
- What Jason enjoys the most about filmmaking
- How the pandemic has affected Jason
- What Jason is currently working on
- Jason’s advice for people interested in pursuing filmmaking
- Jason’s advice on how to push through tough challenging times
Related Links:
Jason Chew’s website: https://www.jasonchew.com
Jason Chew on Instagram: @chewchomp
Roaming Dogs of Taiwan (short film): https://www.jasonchew.com/#/roaming-dogs/
The music video for Treya’s song Magic: https://www.jasonchew.com/#/treya-lam-magic/
Treya’s Talking Taiwan interview (episode 55): https://www.talkingtaiwan.com/treya-lam-talking-taiwan-ep-55/
Apartment Therapy: https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/
Film Director Tsai Ming-liang https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsai_Ming-liang
Film Shop: https://www.thefilmshop.org/
Ava Duvernay (Film Director): http://www.avaduvernay.com/
The short film project: A Father’s Son - A 90s Chinatown Noir Thriller, which is based on the characters from Henry Chang’s NYPD Detective Jack Yu crime series novels: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/chenxihao/a-fathers-son-a-90s-chinatown-noir-thriller
Stanley Kubrick (Film Director): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Kubrick
Akira Kurosawa (Film Director): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akira_Kurosawa
Cohen Brothers (Film Directors): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coen_brothers
Bong Joon-ho (Film Director): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bong_Joon-ho
Classic Films about Taiwan that Jason recommends:
Eat Drink Man Woman (Ang Lee film): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111797/
Yi Yi (Edward Yang film): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0244316/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
In the spirit of giving, with Thanksgiving approaching and the holiday season soon upon us, I thought I’d share this interview from 2014 with Supei Liu one of the co-founders of Nomi Network. Hear Supei tell the story of how the desire to create more awareness about human trafficking led to the creation of Nomi Network, an organization which gives economic opportunities to empower women and to protect them from human trafficking. Last year, the organization celebrated its tenth year.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- The work that Nomi Network does
- The story of the Cambodian girl who inspired Diana Mao, Supei Liu and Alissa Moore-Williams to found Nomi Network
- How their desire to raise awareness of human trafficking grew into creating an organization
- How Diana, Supei and Alissa all had full-time jobs when they started Nomi Network
- How Supei became the first full-time employee of Nomi Network
- Supei’s background in corporate America
- What Supei does for Nomi Network
- How Nomi Network is about creating economic opportunities for women and children at risk of being trafficked
- Prevention as one of the keys to dealing with human trafficking
- How Supei works directly with the women that Nomi helps
- How Nomi Network started a program in India in 2012
- The social issues that the women Nomi Network helps have to deal with
- The challenges that the Nomi Network has faced
- Nomi’s “Buy Her Bag Not Her Body” campaign
- Products made by survivors and women at risk
- Nomi’s key accomplishments
- How Nomi was awarded one of the top nonprofits in 2014
- Supei’s connection to Taiwan
- Sex trafficking in other parts of the world including Taiwan
- How her early experiences have shaped her
- Supei’s advice for those wanting to create an organization or to work for a specific cause
Related Links:
Nomi Network: https://nominetwork.org/
Nomi Network products: https://www.buyherbagnotherbody.com/
Nomi Network on Facebook: www.facebook.com/nominetwork
Nomi Network on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nominetwork/
Nomi Network on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nominetwork
Nomi Network on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7UaUlyqMy2B1KL1S2_l5HQ
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
In 2013 I spoke with Andrew Yang who was the CEO of Venture for America at the time. He was at his office and multi-tasking during our interview, so when you listen to the interview, you’ll hear some background noise and typing. At the time he talked about being invited to the White House amongst several things.
Who would have predicted that a few years later that he would be running as a Democrat for the 2020 U.S. President election?
Many now know him as the Presidential candidate who proposed something called the “Freedom Dividend.” With the 2020 U.S. Presidential election results unfolding, and Joe Biden recently declared President-elect, some say that there may place for Andrew in the Biden administration. I thought it would be a good time to share this interview that I did with Andrew.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Andrew’s involvement with the Entrepreneur Challenge and Competition and connection with the Taiwanese American Professionals
- What is Venture for America?
- What it was like for Andrew to be invited to the White House and speak to President Barack Obama about Venture for America?
- How Venture for America was modeled after Teach for America
- What cities Venture for America was in (at the time of the interview) and where they were planning to expand to
- What types of startups Venture for America works with
- How long is the bootcamp that Venture for America fellows are required to go through and what are they taught
- How many fellows there were in Venture for America (at the time of the interview)
- What are some of the things that the fellows have done/accomplished
- How Jeff Weiner the CEO of LinkedIn has agreed to join Venture for America’s investment council
- The highlights of being involved with Venture for America for Andrew
- What’s the most challenging thing about running an organization like Venture for America
- What motivates Andrew with Venture for America
- Who are some of Andrew’s role models in the nonprofit space
- What’s the difference between a struggling and successful entrepreneur
- What advice Andrew has for someone wanting to start a community-based organization
- What Andrew’s future plans are for Venture for America
- Andrew’s book Smart People Should Build Things
- Andrew’s thoughts on Taiwan and the entrepreneurship of the Taiwanese people
Related Links:
Venture for America: www.ventureforamerica.org
Teach for America: https://www.teachforamerica.org/
Charity Water: https://www.charitywater.org/
Donors Choose: https://www.donorschoose.org/
Angela Lee Duckworkth’s TED talk about Grit: https://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_grit_the_power_of_passion_and_perseverance?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare
Smart People Should Build Things by Andrew Yang: https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B00DB3D7EY&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_BVrSFb10ZBV39
Andrew Yang’s campaign website for the 2020 U.S. Presidential election: https://www.yang2020.com/
Taiwanese American Professionals- New York (TAP-NY): https://tap-ny.org/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Jason Wang, the Founder of Cypress River Advisors spoke with me about how his advisory firm which is normally not in the business of producing PPE, was able to start the production of face shields at scale in four weeks in Taiwan during the COVID-19 pandemic. The effort which is called Face Shields for the First Line, donates face shields to health care and essential workers.
We also talked about how they cut down on the shipping costs and minimized waste by using polypropylene a material lighter in weight than acrylic and flat packaging due to the origami design of the face shield.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What’s it been like being in Taiwan during the Coronavirus pandemic
- Jason’s, upbringing and career path before he relocated to Taiwan and founded Cypress River Advisors
- What brought Jason back to Taiwan
- What Cypress River Advisors does
- How Cypress River Advisors has been impacted by COVID-19
- How this advisory firm had no prior experience producing PPE but its Face Shield for the First Line effort was able to produce and ship their first face shields in four weeks
- Why Jason decided to start Face Shields for the First Line
- How Face Shields for the First Line began with producing intubation shields and then face shields
- The origami design of the face shields and light-weight materials used to cut down on shipping costs
- What bra elastic has to do with Face Shields for the First Line
- What’s been most challenging with Face Shields for the First Line
- What’s been most rewarding about Face Shields for the First Line
- How Jason manages the business of Cypress River Advisors and Face Shields for the First Line
- How fatherhood has changed his outlook on life
- The future direction of Face Shields for the First Line
Related Links:
Face Shields for the First Line Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/faceshieldsforthefirst
Face Shields for the First Line donated to Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, NY
Face Shields for the First Line on Spotfund:
https://spot.fund/faceshieldsforthefirst
Cypress River Advisors:
https://www.cypressriveradvisors.com/
A conversation between Taiwan’s Vice President Chen Chien-jen and Ellen J. MacKenzie (Dean, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health) on Friday, April 24, about Taiwan’s early and effective response to the coronavirus. Chen Chien-jen received a Doctor of Science degree in epidemiology and human genetics from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 1982. Chen and MacKenzie discussed the specific measures Taiwan took to control the spread of the virus and how Vice President Chen’s public health training played a role.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReI6ROZNbkk&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR27S_KP92dg_hotNY0SD89V76gbPQKw-_9U76MfuXzUVo-HizO6dpslOMs
TECRO: www.taiwanembassy.org/us_en/index.html
The open source intubation shield box (aka "Aerosol Box") designed by Taiwanese doctor, Lai Hsien-yung: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vWPikcRHVE8YUmZlvgHyb2Nj6hvtxof8
Cypress River Associates COVID-19 Tracker Dashboard: https://cypressriveradvisors.shinyapps.io/covid-19/
Quick video of how to put together the Face Shields for the Front Lines origami face shield: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=207286267217061
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
In part two of my interview part two with Dr. Peter Tsai, he talks about how he was called out of retirement to help address the shortage and demand for N95 masks with the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Tsai is the Taiwanese American inventor of the N95 mask technology who has come out of retirement to figure out how to sterilize N95s for reuse, and to help scale up production of the masks.
Special Thanks to HoChie Tsai of TaiwneseAmercan.org for making this interview possible.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How Dr. Tsai was contacted and came out of retirement because of the demand and shortage of N95 masks
- How he tested whether or not N95 masks could be sterilized
- The shelf life of N95 masks
- The experiments that Dr. Tsai conducted to determine how to sterilize N95 masks so that they could be reused
- COVID-19 can survive for 28 days on smooth surfaces
- If N95 masks get wet, submerged in water, or come into high humidity it won’t have charge decay, however if washed with soap and water N-95 masks will lose their effectiveness
- The stories of how people found Dr. Tsai
- How Dr. Tsai has worked harder than he did before retiring
- Dr. Tsai’s relationship with Oak Ridge Labs, and how he was able to help them scale up their production of N95 masks
- Why there’s been a shortage of N95 masks
- How he’s been nicknamed the “screwdriver professor”
- Research-oriented vs. industry-oriented science
- Why Dr. Tsai decided to come out of retirement to work on N95 technology and what’s next
Related Links:
TaiwaneseAmerican.org article about Dr. Peter Tsai, “Our Dad Invented the N95 Mask: Our Taiwanese American Story”:
http://www.taiwaneseamerican.org/2020/09/peter-tsai-n95-inventor/
Washington Post article about Dr. Peter Tsai, “The retired inventor of N95 masks is back at work, mostly for free, to fight covid-19”: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2020/07/07/peter-tsai-n95-mask-covid/
NBC News article about Dr. Peter Tsai, “Taiwanese immigrant who invented N95 mask on working amid COVID-19 racism”: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/taiwanese-immigrant-who-invented-n95-mask-working-amid-covid-19-n1233777
CNN News Article: https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/15/health/n95-mask-inventor-coronavirus-sanjay-wellness-trnd/index.html
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Dr. Peter Tsai is the Taiwanese American inventor of the technology behind the N95 mask, the piece of personal protective equipment that has become such a part of our everyday vernacular since the onset of the global Coronavirus pandemic. With the shortage of N95 respirators at the beginning of the pandemic, Dr. Tsai was called out of retirement to figure out how to sterilize N95s for reuse, and to help scale up production of the masks. In part one of my interview with him he talks about his roots and early career. Dr. Tsai also explains how the technology behind the material of N95s works, offers some suggestions on how to make more protective D.I.Y. masks, and why everyone should wear masks.
Next week we’ll be sharing part two of my interview with Dr. Tsai next week, in which he talks about how he was called out of retirement and what has happened since.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What it was like growing up as one of 10 children
- One of his early childhood inventions
- Why he decided to pursue further studies in the United States
- What it was like when he first arrived in the U.S. and what his expectations were
- The biggest challenge Dr. Tsai faced when first arriving in the U.S.
- The tough decision that Dr. Tsai had to make about his two daughters while he was still working on obtaining his PhD degree
- When and how Dr. Tsai started working on the material that is now used for the N95 mask
- How adding an electrostatic charge to fibers improves their filtration efficiency
- How the “corona charge” (yes, the same word “corona” but different in meaning from the Coronavirus “corona”) when added to microfibers improves filtration efficiency by 10 times
- The first use of this charged fabric technology was for air filtration in 1992
- In 1995 the U.S. was set to issue new standards for respirators, which is now called the N95
- The 95 of “N95” mask refers to the fact that it needs to filter out 95% of submicron particles
- How the science behind charging fibers works
- The misconception that the size of a fabric’s pores need to be smaller than particles to block them
- Electrostatic charged media is good material for respirators
- The comparison between cloth masks (which are made of woven material) and N95 masks (which are made of nonwoven material)
- Cloth masks with higher filtration efficiency must be compactly woven, thicker or higher weight
- How cloth masks are good shields to contain the virus inside a mask avoid infecting others
- Cloth masks are not ideal but they can contain the spread of the virus to others
- Dr. Tsai’s recommendations regarding wearing cloth masks
- The most commonly found types of nonwoven materials that can be used as a filter for a D.I.Y. mask
- How to test if a fabric is hydrophobic
- How a MERV 14 home use filter (typically used for air filters) is electrostatically charged and hydrophobic and good to use as a filter for a D.I.Y. mask
- Dr. Tsai explains why he thinks everyone needs to wear a mask (whether its cloth or N95)
- How Dr. Tsai is working on making high filtration efficiency materials more breathable
- Research on the material used for the N95 mask began in 1987, then in 1992 the technology used for the N95 mask was first developed
- The material has been improved from 1992-2018
- How Dr. Tsai is motivated to innovate by the changing needs of the industry
Related Links:
TaiwaneseAmerican.org article about Dr. Peter Tsai, “Our Dad Invented the N95 Mask: Our Taiwanese American Story”:
http://www.taiwaneseamerican.org/2020/09/peter-tsai-n95-inventor/
Washington Post article about Dr. Peter Tsai, “The retired inventor of N95 masks is back at work, mostly for free, to fight covid-19”: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2020/07/07/peter-tsai-n95-mask-covid/
NBC News article about Dr. Peter Tsai, “Taiwanese immigrant who invented N95 mask on working amid COVID-19 racism”: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/taiwanese-immigrant-who-invented-n95-mask-working-amid-covid-19-n1233777
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Earlier this year, I spoke with Professor Scott Simon about his research on Taiwan’s indigenous peoples. He is a Professor in the School of Sociological and Anthropological Studies and Co-holder of the Research Chair in Taiwan Studies at the University of Ottawa. He’s done research in Taiwan since 1996, spent an accumulated 10 years of residence in the country, and published 3 books about Taiwan. We talked about Taiwan as the cradle of Austronesian peoples and culture, and what the designation of a group of people as “indigenous” means from an international law perspective. What’s interesting to me is how Professor Simon’s work invites us to think of Taiwan as a Pacific island nation rather than a renegade province of China.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How Professor Simon got interested in the indigenous peoples of Taiwan
- How there were a lot of changes pertaining to the indigenous peoples of Taiwan around 1996
- The indigenous people that Professor Simon met while in Taiwan
- What brought Professor Simon to Taiwan initially in 1996
- How Professor Simon had initially planned to obtain his PhD in China but ended up doing it in Taiwan
- How Professor Simon's research on Taiwan’s indigenous peoples and economic development led him to study the ecology and environment, and the study of Austronesian peoples
- The connection between the Bhatani Islands of the Philippines and Taiwan
- The similarity between the CHamoru language (of the people of Guam) with the Truku language of the Taiwanese indigenous people and Tao language spoken in Taiwan’s Orchid Island
- Looking at Taiwan as a Pacific island nation and not just as connected to China
- Taiwan’s connection to Guam, Marieta Islands, Carolina Islands, Maori of New Zealand and Easter Island
- Book recommendations for people wanting to learn more about Taiwan’s indigenous peoples
- The difference between categorizing a group of people as indigenous vs. an ethnic minority
- The three nations in Asia that recognize indigenous peoples
- The political implications that come with a group of people being declared indigenous
Related Links:
Professor Scott Simon’s author page on The Center for International Policy Studies of the University of Ottawa website: https://www.cips-cepi.ca/author/scott-simon/
Undoing Fieldwork in a Time of Epidemic by Scott Simon: https://cascacultureblog.wordpress.com/2020/04/20/undoing-fieldwork-in-a-time-of-epidemic/
Professor Scott Simon’s books:
Tanners of Taiwan: Life Strategies and National Culture: https://books.google.com/books/about/Tanners_of_Taiwan.html?id=ostwAAAAMAAJ
Sweet and Sour: Life-Worlds of Taipei Women Entrepreneurs: https://books.google.com/books/about/Sweet_and_Sour.html?id=gFyqAuPTAgkC
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
In part two of my conversation with Dr. Keating, we spoke about his other books on mapping and paradigm shifts. Dr. Keating also shared some of his favorite quotes including the one that encapsulates why he writes about Taiwan. And he talked about meeting with Trigg Brown and Josh Ku the owners of the popular Taiwanese American restaurant Win Son, who I interviewed in episode 60.
Since his book, Taiwan The Struggle Gains Focus features some great photos of him with several influential Taiwanese celebrities, politicians and individuals, I asked him to reflect on some of the most memorable individuals he’s met.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Keating’s books about Taiwan, that were written before Taiwan The Struggle Gains Focus
- How Taiwan The Struggle Gains Focus will probably be the last book Dr. Keating will write about Taiwan
- Keating’s book about the mapping of Taiwan
- What maps can tell us about the mapmaker, trade, and economies
- The role that the Spice Islands played in bringing the West to Asia
- Dutch settlement of Anping, Taiwan
- Spanish occupation of Taiwan
- How the Portuguese named Taiwan “Ilha Formosa”
- Keating’s book about paradigms, The Paradigmsthat Guide Our Lives and Drive Our Souls
- The three realms of paradigms: science, metaphysics/teleology, phenomenology
- Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
- Examples of paradigm shifts that have happened in the world of physics (science)
- What Dr. Keating plans to write about next
- Coronavirus and the paradigm shift that it has caused
- Keating’s writing process and why he writes
- Keating’s favorite quotes
- How the owners of the Taiwanese American restaurant Win Son (featured in episode 60), Trigg Brown and Josh Ku sought out Dr. Keating for his perspective on Taiwan’s history
- Keating’s thoughts on the late president Lee Teng-hui and on some of well-known politicians and personalities from Taiwan that he’s met
- An African quote that sums up why Jerome writes about Taiwan
- Where you can buy Dr. Keating’s books and learn more about him
Dr. Jerome Keating’s website: http://www.jeromekeating.com/
Related Links:
Dr. Keating’s book, The Mapping of Taiwan, Desired Economies, Coveted Geographies
Anping, Taiwan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anping_District
Dr. Keating’s book, The Paradigms that Guide Our Lives and Drive Our Souls:
Thomas Kuhn (The American physicist and philosopher who introduced the term paradigm shift): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Kuhn
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-S-Kuhn
Jonathan Edwards (Puritan Theologian): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Edwards_(theologian)
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jonathan-Edwards
Ralph Waldo Emerson (Transcendentalist Essayist, Philosopher and Poet): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Waldo_Emerson
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/emerson/
https://www.biography.com/writer/ralph-waldo-emerson
Alfred North Whitehead (Mathematician Philosopher, and notable figure in process philosophy):https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/whitehead/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_North_Whitehead
The True Believer by Eric Hoffer: https://www.amazon.com/True-Believer-Thoughts-Movements-Perennial/dp/0060505915
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs
Henry David Thoreau (Essayist, Philosopher and Poet):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henry-David-Thoreau
Episode 60 of Talking Taiwan featuring Trigg Brown and Josh Ku of the Taiwanese American restaurant Win Son: https://www.talkingtaiwan.com/trigg-brown-josh-ku-win-son-taiwanese-restaurant-nyc/
Dr. Keating’s piece written in memoriam, Lee Teng-Hui: https://taiwaninsight.org/2020/08/08/in-memoriam-lee-teng-hui/?fbclid=IwAR03XDnv4-SMpaWQMuLDlDGUCsmcQohq6aK8R0DWS1Cll8OvSnr1ZuX8gYc
Lee Teng-hui: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Teng-hui
Su Beng: http://aboutsubeng.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Su_Beng
Peng Ming-min: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peng_Ming-min
Taiwan Foreign Correspondents Club: https://taiwanfcc.org/
Taiwan The Struggle Gains Focus: http://www.smcbook.com.tw/smc/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=61651&search=Taiwan+The+Struggle+Gains+Focus
Taiwan, the Search for Identity
Taiwan, the Struggles of a Democracy
Island in the Stream http://www.smcbook.com.tw/smc/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=55&search=island+in+the+stream
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Few contemporaries are more qualified than Dr. Jerome Keating on understanding the history of Taiwan. He has been living in Taiwan for over 30 years. Initially he came over to Taiwan to work on the MRT. He has written several books about Taiwan. We invited him on to the podcast to talk about this latest book, Taiwan The Struggle Gains Focus.
Dr. Keating also reflected on how Taiwan has changed in the past 30 years, and we discussed things past and present including Taiwan’s complicated international status, amendment of the constitution, changing the official name of Taiwan (which is the Republic of China) and redesigning the passport and flag of Taiwan.
In part two of our interview, Dr. Keating will talk about his other writings, what he plans to write next, and how the owners of a popular New York-based Taiwanese American restaurant sought his advice before opening their restaurant.
CORRECTION: At the 14:40-minute in the interview, Dr. Keating remarks, “We are 75 years at the end of World War I.” What he meant to say is that, "We are 75 years at the end of World War II."
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What motivated Dr. Keating to write his latest book, Taiwan The Struggle Gains Focus
- Who the book was intended for and who Dr. Keating writes for
- How Taiwan has changed in the last 30 years
- The semi-martial-like atmosphere of Taiwan when Dr. Keating arrived in 1988
- Keating’s first book Island in the Stream and what motivated him to write it
- What intrigues Dr. Keating about Taiwan as a subject matter
- How the San Francisco Peace Treaty (signed in 1951) left Taiwan in a limbo status
- How the US position on Taiwan 75 years after World War II is still undecided
- The circumstances surrounding “Taiwan” aka the Republic of China losing its seat in the United Nations in 1971, which included a proposal to have 2 Chinas in the United Nations
- The Republic of China and People’s Republic of China’s claims on China
- How Taiwan has never had a seat in the United Nations
- The Republic of China framework and constitution that Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang brought to Taiwan
- Keating’s thoughts on amending Taiwan’s constitution
- Changing the official name and flag that represent Taiwan
- Submissions for the new Taiwan passport cover design
- The Taiwan Civil Government wanting to make Taiwan the 51st state of the United States
- How Dr. Keating sees Taiwan’s future
Related Links:
Dr. Jerome Keating’s website: http://jeromekeating.com
Dr. Jerome Keating’s books:
Taiwan The Struggle Gains Focus: http://www.smcbook.com.tw/smc/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=61651&search=Taiwan+The+Struggle+Gains+Focus
Island in the Stream: http://www.smcbook.com.tw/smc/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=55&search=island+in+the+stream
Taiwan, the Struggles of a Democracy
Taiwan, the Search for Identity
The Mapping of Taiwan, Desired Economies, Coveted Geographies
The Paradigms that Guide Our Lives and Drive Our Souls
Ma Ying-jeou (former President of Taiwan): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_Ying-jeou
The Sunflower Movement: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunflower_Student_Movement
Submissions for the new Taiwan passport cover design: https://taiwanpassport.tw/publish_page/international_standard/page=1
The winning design for Taiwan’s new passport cover: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/03/taiwan-demotes-republic-of-china-reference-on-new-passports?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other&fbclid=IwAR1Kr3MQb9g2-xXto_udk7Sbez0v5gSTFvxqeT0eZOscdvfxywHhukTmAxE
San Francisco Peace Treaty: http://www.taiwandocuments.org/sanfrancisco01.htm
About the Taiwan Civil Government: https://international.thenewslens.com/article/85225
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
With major league baseball playoffs soon upon us, we thought that this episode might appeal to our baseball fans. It seems like a distant memory now, when about a month into the Coronavirus pandemic, Taiwan was the only place on the planet where live professional baseball was being played. My guest on this episode is Professor Andrew Morris whose research on baseball in Taiwan presents a fascinating new angle and way of seeing Taiwan’s history. I came across his writings and research when I when I was doing some research for my interview (episode 77) with Richard Wang the English-speaking broadcaster of CPBL games in Taiwan.
How important is baseball to Taiwan? Did you know that there’s a baseball related image featured on Taiwan’s currency or that Taiwan’s little league baseball team won 17 times from 1979 to1996?
Interestingly, Professor Morris began our interview by sharing his own mistaken assumption of baseball as a symbol of American culture in Taiwan. He went on to explain that baseball was introduced to Taiwan by Japan, while it was a colony of Japan from 1895-1945. We covered a broad range of topics including how baseball survived the arrival of the Kuomintang in Taiwan, the rise of Taiwan’s little league team, the establishment of a professional baseball league in Taiwan (CPBL) which has had its ups and downs, and the short-lived Taiwan Major League.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How Professor Morris got interested in the topic of baseball and the history of Taiwan
- How baseball in Taiwan is not as it seems on the surface, a symbol of American culture in Taiwan
- What were some of the most surprising and interesting things that Professor Morris has learned about baseball in Taiwan over the course of his research
- The role of Taiwan’s Indigenous people in the game of baseball in Taiwan
- What baseball tells us about Taiwan’s Japanese colonial era
- How Chiayi (嘉義) is known as the spiritual home of baseball and how that was captured in the film Kano
- How “Kano,” is the nickname of the old Chiayi Agricultural and Forestry Vocational High School, which comes from the two Japanese words “Ka-gi No-rin”
- The Kano baseball team became the best team in Taiwan and is remembered by the Japanese
- How Kano is remembered as an example of the success of Japan’s colonialism in Taiwan
- Baseball as a pathway for Indigenous peoples during Taiwan’s Japanese colonial period
- Professor Morris’ thoughts about the film Kano and its historical accuracy
- The Japanese influence that we still see in Taiwanese baseball today
- How after the Kuomintang arrived in Taiwan, around 1946, they tried to remove and erase Japanese culture, but baseball was allowed to remain
- What happened to baseball after the Kuomintang arrived in Taiwan
- How baseball games were played in the aftermath of the 228 massacre and a famous baseball coach was killed in the 228 massacre
- Taiwan’s little league baseball team and how it served to bolster Republic of China (ROC) nationalism
- The 1968 legend of what led Taiwan creating a little league team and participating in the little league world series
- How in 1969, the Taiwanese little league team played in the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, PA for the first time and won
- Between 1969-1996 the Taiwanese little league team won the Little League World Series 17 times and became a source of pride for the Taiwanese who watched the games late at night
- The story (from the 70s) of how a coach of a little league team comprised mostly of Black players sensed the anti-Chinese and anti-Taiwanese sentiment against the Taiwanese little league team
- How the Taiwanese little league team became a source of Taiwanese pride (different from ROC pride)
- How the KMT hired Chinatown thugs to beat up the pro-Taiwanese little league fans and fights would break out between them after little league games
- What happened to Taiwan’s little league team
- The legacy of Taiwan’s little league team
- How the American little league teams that were able to beat Taiwan’s little league team were celebrated an ESPN made a 30 for 30 film about this
- The story behind the image of the youth baseball team that appears on Taiwan’s 500 dollar bill
- The establishment of the CPBL and its game throwing and gambling scandals
- The short-lived Taiwan Major League (TML) and how it differed from the CPBL
- How baseball has been tied to Taiwan’s national identity in the past but that has changed as Taiwan has become more democratic
- The research that Professor Morris is working on now
- Professor Morris’ recommendations of other books on the subject of baseball in Taiwan
Related Links:
Professor Andrew Morris’ Cal Poly webpage:
https://history.calpoly.edu/faculty/andrew-morris
Professor Andrew Morris’ Digital Commons page (which has full text of some of his articles):
http://bit.ly/ADMorrisDC
Colonial Project, National Game: A History of Baseball in Taiwan (Asia Pacific Modern Book 6) by Andrew D. Morris: https://amzn.to/3cALcmf
Kano vocational school of forestry and agriculture: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Chiayi_University
Kano (film): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2247566/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kano_(film)
ESPN Films 30 for 30: Little Big Men
(A film about the Kirkland National Little League of Kirkland, Washington, which defeated the Puzih little league of Chiayi County, Taiwan. The Kirkland, Washington team, was the first American little league team to win the Little League World Series in over a decade): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1717745/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_Little_League_World_Series
Book recommendations about baseball in Taiwan:
Playing in Isolation: A History of Baseball in Taiwan by Junwei Yu: https://www.amazon.com/Playing-Isolation-History-Baseball-Taiwan/dp/0803211406
Empire of Infields: Baseball in Taiwan and Cultural Identity, 1895-1968 by John J. Harney: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=John+J.+Harney%2C+Empire+of+Infields%3A+Baseball+in+Taiwan+and+Cultural+Identity&ref=nb_sb_noss
Taking in a Game: A History of Baseball in Asia by Joseph Reaves: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Joseph+Reaves%2C+Taking+in+a+Game%3A+A+History+of+Baseball+in+Asia&ref=nb_sb_noss_2
Taiwan’s professional baseball league the CPBL’s English website: http://www.cpbl.com.tw/eng/history/
Watch Taiwan’s professional baseball league CPBL teams Rakuten Monkeys and Uni Lions on the Eleven Sports Taiwan Twitter account:
https://twitter.com/ElevenSportsTW
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: This week’s episode of Talking Taiwan features part two of my conversation with Eileen Lin-Goutier and Rolla Chng about raising Blasian kids. This was definitely the longest interview that I’ve done for Talking Taiwan to date, which is why we split it up into two parts. In this episode, Eileen talks about the Facebook group for Taiwanese Moms with Blasian kids, and Rolla talks about her son and daughter’s cross-country road trip and the different concerns that she, their father Frantz and their uncle Tim had.
While much of conversation focused on parenting, we also got into a discussion about racism, the understanding of the Black experience amongst Taiwanese and Taiwanese Americans, and human rights.
About Eileen Lin-Goutier:
Eileen was born and raised in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and moved to U.S. when she was in high school. While at the University of Virginia she founded the Taiwanese Language Club and served as the president of Taiwanese Student Association. She later kicked off her nonprofit career by working at the Formosan Association of Public Affairs (FAPA) for three years (2010-2013) managing FAPA’s Young Professionals Group (FAPA-YPG). Eileen has also served on the board of Taiwanese American Association of America’s (TAA) Greater Washington Chapter for several years by helping to plan local cultural events and Taiwanese American Heritage Week. Her nonprofit career was been guided by her belief in fighting for social justice, equity and human rights. Eileen met her Haitian American husband, Edwin through a love for food, family and passion for social and environmental causes. She currently lives in Washington D.C. with her family.
About Rolla Chng:
Rolla Chng was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. While at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, she established the Taiwanese American Students Club (TASC) and helped to found the Intercollegiate Taiwanese American Students Association (ITASA). Rolla has been involved with the Taiwanese American Conference- East Coast (TAC/EC) in the 90s and early 2000s. She organized the second generation program for TAC/EC in 1998 and 2003, and has been a strong supporter of TAC/EC’s new iteration, Taiwanese American Next Generation (TANG). She raised her Haitian-Taiwanese American daughter and son in Baltimore City with their father, Master Frantz Cadet, owner of Cadet Martial Arts and Fitness. She began teaching math in Baltimore City Public Schools and community college when her children reached school age. After her children graduated from high school, she returned to her pre-family career of civil engineering.
About Rolla's children:
Her daughter, Uiseng Francois, is on pandemic hiatus from her New York City gig playing a Jet in the Broadway revival of West Side Story. She is a second year BFA student in dance at Peabody Institute, and is currently continuing her studies, virtually, as she travels cross country. Rolla's son Evains traveled with Uiseng during the first week of her cross-country trip, before entering his second year of a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- The Facebook group for Taiwanese Moms with Blasian kids that Eileen is a member of and what she’s learned from it
- Topics commonly discussed in the Facebook group for Taiwanese Moms with Blasian kids
- Skin colorism
- How Eileen and Rolla balance educating their kids about both of their cultural backgrounds
- How Rolla wanted to make sure that her kids were exposed to the Taiwanese language at an early age and that they visited Taiwan
- How Eileen plans to teach her kids Taiwanese with the help of her parents and by planning to take them to Taiwanese school
- The importance of language in understanding and connecting to one’s culture
- Thoughts on the term “color blind” and raising kids to be “color blind”
- People’s different reactions to using the term “Black”
- Incidents that Rolla’s kids have had with the police or authorities
- How Rolla’s kids feel about the police
- The advice that Frantz would give his and Rolla’s kids and how it is different from Rolla
- The concerns that Tim, Rolla’s brother and Frantz her partner have about Uiseng and Evains’ cross-country trip
- How Rolla and Frantz co-parent
- The importance of teaching your kids negotiation skills
- Asian Black relations
- The racism that Asians have toward Blacks
- The understanding of the Black experience amongst Taiwanese and Taiwanese Americans
- Minority relations
- How doing the right things and having an education does not exempt you from experiencing racism
- Advice for parents of Blasian kids
- Rolla’s advice for parents and her parenting philosophy
- What the job of a parent is in raising their kids
Related Links:
Intercollegiate Taiwanese American Students Association (ITASA): https://itasa.org/
Taiwanese American summer camps and conferences:
Taiwanese American Next Generation (TANG): http://tangeneration.org/
Taiwanese American Foundation (TAF): https://www.tafworld.org/
Formosan Association of Public Affairs (FAPA): https://fapa.org/
Formosan Association of Public Affairs- Young Professionals Group (FAPA- YPG) on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/fapaypg
FAPA- YPG LA/OC Chapter Facebook Group: https://facebook.com/groups/54085939954
FAPA- YPG NY/NJ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nynjypg
FAPA- YPG San Francisco/Bay Area Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/fapaypgsf
Taiwanese Association of America (TAA): https://www.taa-usa.org/
Taiwanese American Conference- East Coast (TAC/EC): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwanese_American_Conference
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: My guests on this episode of Talking Taiwan are Eileen Lin-Goutier and Rolla Chng. Both are Taiwanese American women with Black partners and are parents of Blasian kids. Eileen is a relatively new parent with a two-year-old daughter and Rolla has two grown children who are 19 and 20 years old. I thought it would be a good idea to bring together these two women at very different stages of the parenting journey to have a conversation about their perspectives on raising Blasian children.
There was so much to discuss that we’ve decided to split up the conversation into two parts. Join us next week for the second part of the conversation when Eileen will talk about the Facebook group for Taiwanese Moms with Blasian kids that she’s a part of, and what she’s learned from being a part of that group. Rolla will talk about her son and daughter’s cross-country road trip and the discussions that she, their father Frantz had their uncle Tim had with them about it, beforehand.
About Eileen Lin-Goutier:
Eileen was born and raised in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and moved to U.S. when she was in high school. While at the University of Virginia she founded the Taiwanese Language Club and served as the president of Taiwanese Student Association. She later kicked off her nonprofit career by working at the Formosan Association of Public Affairs (FAPA) for three years (2010-2013) managing FAPA’s Young Professionals Group (FAPA-YPG). Eileen has also served on the board of Taiwanese American Association of America’s (TAA) Greater Washington Chapter for several years by helping to plan local cultural events and Taiwanese American Heritage Week. Her nonprofit career was been guided by her belief in fighting for social justice, equity and human rights. Eileen met her Haitian American husband, Edwin through a love for food, family and passion for social and environmental causes. She currently lives in Washington D.C. with her family.
About Rolla Chng:
Rolla Chng was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. While at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, she established the Taiwanese American Students Club (TASC) and helped to found the Intercollegiate Taiwanese American Students Association (ITASA). Rolla has been involved with the Taiwanese American Conference- East Coast (TAC/EC) in the 90s and early 2000s. She organized the second generation program for TAC/EC in 1998 and 2003, and has been a strong supporter of TAC/EC’s new iteration, Taiwanese American Next Generation (TANG). She raised her Haitian-Taiwanese American daughter and son in Baltimore City with their father, Master Frantz Cadet, owner of Cadet Martial Arts and Fitness. She began teaching math in Baltimore City Public Schools and community college when her children reached school age. After her children graduated from high school, she returned to her pre-family career of civil engineering.
About Rolla's children:
Her daughter, Uiseng Francois, is on pandemic hiatus from her New York City gig playing a Jet in the Broadway revival of West Side Story. She is a second year BFA student in dance at Peabody Institute, and is currently continuing her studies, virtually, as she travels cross country. Rolla's son Evains traveled with Uiseng during the first week of her cross-country trip, before entering his second year of a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How their parents/families first react to learning that their partner was Black
- When their parents’ perceptions changed
- How to deal with people’s reactions to them and their Blasian kids
- Dealing with people’s perceptions of their kids as primarily Black
- Acknowledging that as a parent you may unintentionally do things that hurt your kids
- How they co-parent with their partners
- Learning about the Black experience through their partner’s personal experiences
- The Taiwanese experience and the role social justice in Eileen and Rolla’s lives
- The importance of acknowledging the privilege that you have compared to other groups of people
- Preparing their kids for encounters with the police or authority figures
- The importance of instilling confidence in your kids to be comfortable with who they are
- How to prepare your kids for any racism or bias they may encounter and make sure that they are safe
- “The talk” that Black parents have with their kids
- How Asian identity is perceived in the U.S.
- The acceptance of Blasian people’s Asian identity
- The participation of Rolla’s kids in Taiwanese American conferences and summer camps
- Dealing with microaggressions that they have experienced
- Eileen’s parenting questions for Rolla and Rolla’s advice
Related Links:
The Watts Riots (aka Watts Riots): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watts_riots
http://history.com/topics/1960s/watts-riots
Intercollegiate Taiwanese American Students Association (ITASA): https://itasa.org/
Taiwanese American summer camps and conferences:
Taiwanese American Next Generation (TANG): http://tangeneration.org/
Taiwanese American Foundation (TAF): https://www.tafworld.org/
Formosan Association of Public Affairs (FAPA): https://fapa.org/
Formosan Association of Public Affairs- Young Professionals Group (FAPA- YPG) on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/fapaypg
FAPA- YPG LA/OC Chapter Facebook Group: https://facebook.com/groups/54085939954
FAPA- YPG NY/NJ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nynjypg
FAPA- YPG San Francisco/Bay Area Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/fapaypgsf
Taiwanese Association of America (TAA): https://www.taa-usa.org/
Taiwanese American Conference- East Coast (TAC/EC): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwanese_American_Conference
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
September is National Suicide Prevention Month. Unfortunately, suicide is a very real issue for the Asian American community. According to the Office of Minority Health, in 2017 the leading cause of death in young Asian Americans in the US was suicide. My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is passionate about promoting emotional wellness and a prevention model for mental health.
Dr. Eunice Yuen is, a child and adult psychiatrist who specializes in Asian American mental health. She sat down to speak to me about the stigma of mental health and the reluctance of Asian Americans to seek help. Dr. Yuen noted that prevention through mindfulness of emotional wellness are especially important for teenagers and young adults, which is the age at which mental illness often first manifests.
Dr. Yuen is working on an innovative tool called CHATogether that helps to resolve conflicts between Asian American parents and children. More than ever, tools like CHATogether are useful to address heightened child-parent conflicts during COVID-19, and discussions about racism. Please note that any of the advice or content shared in the episode is not meant to be taken as medical advice or psychiatric treatment.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Why Dr. Yuen decided to enter the field of child and adult psychiatry and where her special interest in promoting emotional wellness in the Asian American community comes from
- The difference between emotional wellbeing and a mental health issue
- How building emotional resilience is important to help deal with everyday stress
- How daily routines and structure is important for emotional wellbeing especially during the Coronavirus pandemic
- How to identify when someone is dealing with a mental health issue and needs to seek help
- Some individuals may display physical symptoms e.g. a stomachache, diarrhea, headache, while being able to function
- What should you do if you think that someone you know (e.g. a friend or family member) is in need of help with a mental health issue
- What the project Dr. Yuen CHATogether is about
- How CHATogether is based on a paper published by Brazilian theater director, Augusto Boal in the 1980s called “Theater of the Oppressed”
- What ages CHAT has been developed for
- The concept of mentalization
- The CHATogether community
- What type of feedback CHATogether has gotten from its’ participants
- How Chatogether has addressed child-parent conflict during COVID-19, talking about Black Lives Matter and racism
- The concept of regulating emotions
- The 3 R’s: Recognize your emotions, Realize where the emotions are coming from, Regulate your emotions
- The importance of labeling your emotions and talking about your feelings
- How to overcome the stigma of mental health within the Asian American community
Related Links:
Dr. Eunice Yuan’s bio: https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/eunice_yuen/
CHATogether website: https://yale.edu/chatogether/
CHATogether Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CHATogetherWithUs/
CHATogether Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRX2Nzv65ekzHikAaiyG6YQ
QR Code to connect to Cchatogether on social media:
A bio of Augusto Boal, the Brazilian dramatist who created the Theatre of the Oppressed:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Augusto-Boal
An article about Theater of Oppressed in medical education:
http://www.ijme.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/1909-5.pdf
Yale School of Medicine Magazine article about CHATogether: https://medicine.yale.edu/news/yale-medicine-magazine/chating-about-problems-before-they-turn-toxic/
Woodblock press article about CHATogether: https://www.woodblock-press.com/asianvoices/chatting-through-vignettes-with-dr-eunice-yuen
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
A relationship between mother and daughter that was so stonewalled that it took 20 years and a camcorder to make a breakthrough- this was the subject of Huang Hui-chen’s first feature documentary film, Small Talk. Small Talk is one of two documentary films being screened at the Austin Asian American Film Festival’s Prismatic Taiwan (September 4-13), a virtual, six-film series celebrating the past and present of queer Taiwanese cinema. Hui-chen spoke candidly about this deeply personal film that she described as a letter to her mother. She also revealed what’s happened in the aftermath of the film. Her film and personal story give hope to others dealing difficult parent-child relationships. Special thanks to the Austin Asian American Film Festival and Stacey Pai for providing translation.
To purchase tickets to watch Small Talk and learn about the other films featured in Prismatic Taiwan visit: www.aaafilmfest.org/ Talking Taiwan listeners will get $2 off when they use the code TALKING. The Prismatic Taiwan Queer Film Series, features six LGBTQ Taiwan films spanning from 1970 to 2016. You can watch all six films for under $15. To learn more Prismatic Taiwan check out last week’s episode, episode t.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Hui-chen’s work as an activist
- When she got interested in documentary filmmaking
- How it took her so long (20 years) to make Small Talk into a movie that her mother and relatives didn’t think she’d actually be able to do it
- The footage of her nieces discussing whether their grandma (Hu-Chen’s mother) is a boy or a girl
- How she got her mother to finally talk
- How she got other family members and her mother’s girlfriends to talk in the film
- The one person who she would have like to interview for the movie, but did not
- How the film, Small Talk is like a letter to her mother
- Why Hui-chen’s husband doesn’t appear in the film
- While Hui-chen’s now ex-husband doesn’t appear in Small Talk he will be in her next film which will be about the relationship between love and social activism
- Hui-chen’s mother’s reaction to the film after watching it
- How Hui-chen’s mother’s reacted when Small Talk was screen at Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards
- How the film Small Talk has affected her and mother’s relationship with their relatives
- What was Hui-chen’s sister’s reaction to Small Talk
- How the film Small Talk has affected Hui-chen’s relationship with her mother
- How Hui-chen’s relatives reacted to and dealt with to her mother’s lesbianism
- How Hou Hsiao-hsien took a leap of faith when he got involved and became the executive producer of Small Talk
- What filmmaking advice Hou Hsiao-hsien gave her
- How Hui-chen feels about Small Talk having been selected as the Taiwanese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards
- Hui-chen’s book about her mother that reveals more that the film did not
Related Links:
PURCHASE tickets to watch Small Talk
LEARN More About Prismatic Taiwan and the September 5th live, virtual roundtable discussion event with Asian Cinevision and director Zero Chou, entitled “Creating Transnational Queer Asian Spaces”: https://www.aaafilmfest.org/prismatic-taiwan
Huang Hui-chen’s book, about her mother, 我和我的T媽媽 (available in Chinese):
https://readmoo.com/book/210085132000101
https://www.books.com.tw/products/E050053049
Austin Asian American Film Festival: https://www.aaafilmfest.org/
Austin Asian American Film Festival Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AAAFF/
Austin Asian American Film Festival on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aaafilmfest/
Austin Asian American Film Festival on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AAAFF
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Prismatic Taiwan, is a virtual, six-film series celebrating the past and present of queer Taiwanese cinema, co-presented by the Austin Asian American Film Festival (AAAFF). I recently spoke with Hanna Huang, the Executive Director of the Austin Asian American Film Festival and Josh Martin of the special programs team about the lineup of films that span 1970-2016. As you’ll hear in the interview, a lot of research and thought went into the film selections. The films offer a different perspective on Taiwan’s history and insight into Taiwan’s LGBTQ history. You can watch all six films for under $15 and Talking Taiwan listeners can also get an additional $2 off when they use the code: TALKING.
Next week’s episode will feature my interview with one of the film directors, Huang Hui-chen about her film, Small Talk, a deeply personal documentary that was 20 years in the making.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How the Austin Asian American Film Festival has screened many Taiwanese films throughout the years
- The retrospective of six Hou Hsiao-hsien films at the Austin Asian American Film Festival in September 2018
- How a Taiwan Queer Film Retrospective has actually been in the works since 2018
- The Austin Asian American film festival started in 2004, but was known as the Austin Asian film festival until 2007 when an Asian American organizer, Masashi Niwano stepped in
- The mission of the Austin Asian American Film Festival, which is to bring to light Asian and Asian American stories through cinema
- Their programming is year round
- The main film festival is usually held in June, but this year they had a short film online festival featuring 36 short films
- Prismatic Taiwan, a six film retrospective of queer films spanning 1970-2016
- A retrospective of Asian American films is being planned for the late fall (November)
- The meaning behind the name Prismatic Taiwan
- How they translated the word prismatic with the Chinese word for kaleidoscope, therefore Prismatic Taiwan A Queer Film Series has been translated into Chinese as: 萬花同志電
- How the first film of Prismatic Taiwan, The End of the Track from 1970 was thought lost but has been recovered and is being reintroduced to audiences
- How they narrowed down the film selection from over 20 films to 6
- The one film that they couldn’t include in Prismatic Taiwan when the Austin Asian American Film Festival went online, Ang Lee’s The Wedding Banquet
- The second film in the series, Outcasts (aka The Outsiders) as made in 1986 right before martial law in Taiwan was lifted
- How they selected films that were not that easy to find
- The River, was set in 1997 around the emergence of the gay club scene in Taipei
- Not Simply a Wedding Banquet, set in 1997 is a documentary
- Spider Lilies (2007) and Small Talk(2016) feature female gay characters whereas The River and Not Simply a Wedding Banquet feature male gay characters
- September 5th live event, a Transnational Queer Activism Panel featuring Film Director Zero Chou in collaboration with Asian Cinevision along with others from the U.K. and Taiwan
- Small Talk (2016) is a documentary film that was 20 years in the making and was executive produced by Hou Hsiao-hsien and Taiwan’s submission to the Academy Awards
- These films tell the story of Taiwan’s history and queer history
- How Director Tsai Ming-Liang, made the film I Don’t Want To Sleep Alone in Malaysia but it was banned there
- Previously Tsai Ming-Liang had said that he wasn’t comfortable having his films in a queer film festival but that has changed since the legalization of gay marriage in Taiwan
- How there were film distributors or filmmakers who didn’t want their film to be a part of the queer series
- The background of Mou Tun-Fei the director of The End of The Track
- How the design of the poster for Prismatic Taiwan was inspired by Kaohsiung’s Love River
- Prismatic Taiwan is offering a SPECIAL DISCOUNT to listeners of Talking Taiwan, just use the code: TALKING to get $2 off when you purchase your tickets from August 38-September 13
Related Links:
Austin Asian American Film Festival: https://www.aaafilmfest.org/
Purchase tickets to Prismatic Taiwan and for more info on the September 5th live event, virtual roundtable discussion event with Asian Cinevision and director
Zero Chou, entitled “Creating Transnational Queer Asian Spaces”: https://www.aaafilmfest.org/prismatic-taiwan
Austin Asian American Film Festival Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AAAFF/
Austin Asian American Film Festival on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aaafilmfest/
Austin Asian American Film Festival on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AAAFF
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Jaleea Price, spoke with me about a broad range of topics beginning with her arrival and time in Taiwan. While in Taiwan she worked on the ICRT morning news show, co-founded D.A.P. (Descendants of African Peoples) with Elissa Russell (who was a guest on episode 88), and had two daughters. Now an arts educator based in Thailand, Jaleea she had recently gone through quarantine in Thailand and the U.K. when we spoke. She also spoke to me about TCKs, the racism that she’s experienced in the U.S. and Taiwan as a biracial woman and her thoughts on the Black Lives Matter movement.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Jaleea talks briefly about quarantining in Thailand and the U.K.
- What brought her to Taiwan
- Her connection to the Cloud Gate Dance Theater of Taiwan
- Arriving in Taiwan alone without a cell phone and going to Internet cafes to communicate with her friends and family
- What it was like working on the ICRT morning show
- What it was like having young children in Taiwan
- People’s reactions when they asked where she was from and she said that she was American
- Her involvement with D.A.P. The Descendants of African Peoples group
- The different ways that Black people from other parts of the world (e.g. Canada, France) identify themselves vs. American
- The racism and discrimination that she’s experienced in the U.S. and Taiwan
- Her thoughts on the murder of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter
- Her experience of the Black Lives Matter movement in the U.K. and Thailand
- Her privilege as a light-skinned woman of color
- K-pop group BTS’s support of Black Lives Matter and takeover of #whitelivesmatter
- What a TCK is
- The Eastern and Western cultural differences in the birthing process
- What she misses most about Taiwan
Related Links:
Jaleea on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jaleea-price
Jaleea on Instagram: instagram.com/jaluthegreat
Jaleea on Facebook: www.facebook.com/jaleeajoie
Taipei Times article about D.A.P. (Descendants of African Peoples): https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2004/07/12/2003178672
BBC New article about the K-pop group BTS that donated $1m to the Black Lives Matter movement and took over the hashtag #whitelivesmatter: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-52960617
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
In this episode of Talking Taiwan, we’ll be sharing two different perspectives on the Taiwan quarantine experience in this time of the Coronavirus pandemic. I spoke with Diana Lee, the co-founder and president of Asian in New York and one of the founders and organizers of Hello Taiwan. She recently traveled back to Taiwan with her two young children and was quarantined with them in Kaohsiung at her parents’ home. We’ll also hear from JD Chang who went back to Taiwan earlier this year. JD was a guest on Episode 80 of Talking Taiwan. He had a very different experience since he traveled and quarantined alone. He spoke with us about his quarantine experience back in May.
Special thanks to Jane Wang for providing the recording of JD.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Hello Taiwan and what it does
- How Diana prepared for her trip back to Taiwan with 2 young kids (the travel and quarantine preparations)
- Permits required for entry into Taiwan at the time
- The Facebook group Diana consulted for advice on how to prepare for her trip back to Taiwan
- The PPE Diana prepared for her and her kids to wear during their travel back to Taiwan
- JD’s travel preparations and quarantine experience as a solo traveler
- The different types of quarantine accommodations that people can opt for
- The most important tip for anyone traveling back to Taiwan and undergoing quarantine, which Diana mentioned and that ended up delaying JD for an extra hour at the airport
- The procedure upon arrival at the airport and before getting transported in a quarantine taxi or bus to your final destination
- What happens once you’re in quarantine
- How Diana kept her kids occupied during quarantine
- How JD kept himself occupied during quarantine
- The US $33,000 fine for breaking quarantine
Related Links:
Asian In New York: http://www.asianinny.com/
Asian In New York Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AsianInNYFans
Hello Taiwan: http://www.hellotaiwan.us/
Hello Taiwan Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/HelloTaiwanWorld/
Taiwanese COVID-19 Traveling Back to Taiwan Facebook Group (台灣海外Covid-19自救會): https://www.facebook.com/groups/889736338130271/?ref=share
Episode 80 with JD Chang Founder of Crushing The Myth: https://www.talkingtaiwan.com/jd-chang-founder-of-crushing-the-myth-ep-80/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Elissa Russell and Elizabeth Williams are my guests on this episode of Talking Taiwan. We spoke about their experiences of living in Taiwan, the racism that they’ve experienced in Taiwan vs. the U.S. and Black Lives Matter. One thing that’s abundantly clear is that Taiwan has a very special place in their hearts. Liz and Elissa spoke candidly on the topic of Black Lives Matter and the state of race relations in the United States. Thank you Liz and Elissa for your open-heartedness and for inviting my audience to continue the conversation with you. Contact info for Elissa and Liz is listed below in the Related Links section.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What brought Elissa and Liz to Taiwan
- Elissa and Liz talk about their experiences living in Taiwan
- The racism that Liz and Elissa have experienced in Taiwan vs. the United States, and how they have handled it
- Elissa and Liz share their perspectives on the segregation in Atlanta, Chicago and Los Angeles
- Liz and Elissa offer their perspectives on Black Lives Matter
- Elissa and Liz discuss how the killing of Ahmaud Arbery felt especially personal
- The anti-racism initiative that Liz is working on
- Being an ally vs. an accomplice
- What actions people can take to support the Black Lives Matter and too educate themselves
- How to have conversations with others about the Black Lives Matter movement
Related Links:
Elissa Russell's contact info:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/janquilrussell/
https://www.instagram.com/im_readi/
https://www.facebook.com/elissa.j.russell
Elissa Russell's business info:
www.consultreadi.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/consultreadi/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/readi-consulting-llc
Elizabeth Williams' contact info:
Personal website: https://www.theycallmeliz.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-williams-370510/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizzyworld/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/liz.williams.52090 An article about the arrest and jailing of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.: https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/21/us/21gates.html
An Open Letter for Black Lives Matter (which has been translated into over 30 different languages): https://lettersforblacklives.com/
An article about the arrest and jailing of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.: https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/21/us/21gates.html
Liz’s appearance on the Taiwan TV show Super Idol: https://youtu.be/vzQpANhYAeI
Liz singing a bit of Peking Opera during her appearance on the Taiwan TV show Super Idol [Start watching at 4:09]: https://youtu.be/cFEz19varyo
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
July is Black, Indigenous, People of Color Mental Health Awareness Month, so I thought this would be good time to invite Dr. Ilene Wong, who writes as I.W. Gregorio on to Talking Taiwan to talk about her latest novel, This is My Brain in Love. Dr. Wong has described the novel as a happy book about mental illness across cultures. We spoke about how she balances her medical and writing careers and her first book, None of the Above.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Why she writes under the pen name “I.W. Gregorio”
- How she went from being a doctor to a YA author and which came first
- How she balances her career in medicine with her writing
- How her medical career informs her writing
- How much of her novel draws from her personal life
- Her thoughts on the model minority myth and stereotypes
- What she thinks of the media’s focus on suicide as the endpoint of depression
- YA books and movies that romanticized death by suicide
- The difference between being down in the dumps and clinically depressed
- How difficult was it for Ilene to come out about her mental health issues
- Why she felt compelled to write this book now
- How her family dealt with her depression
- The paradoxical views that some doctors have about medicating for mental health issues
- How we might de-stigmatize mental health
- The difference between passive and active suicide ideation
- Her writing process and the importance of having critique partners
- The feedback that she’s received on the book
- Her first book None of the Above
- What the term “intersex” means
- Why she writes for YA audiences
- Her advice for aspiring authors
- Ilene’s connection to Taiwan
Related Links:
Ilene’s website: www.iwgregorio.com
I.W. Gregorio on social media:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/IWGregorio
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iwgregorio/
Tumblr: https://iwgregorio.tumblr.com/
Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) Mental Health Awareness Month: https://www.mhanational.org/BIPOC-mental-health-month
Suicide hotlines:
Crisis Text Line (Text HOME to741741 from anywhere in the USA, at any time)
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255)
The Trevor Project (1-866-488-7386)
For suicide hotlines by country: International Association for Suicide Prevention https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/
Mental Health Resources:
Mental Health America https://screening.mhanational.org/screening-tools
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (1-800-662-4358 https://findtreatment.samhsa.gov/)
The Anxiety and Depression Association of America https://adaa.org/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
In 2015, I spoke with Gordon Chang, author and political commentator about his views on China and his books, The Coming Collapse of China, and Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes On the World. I recently invited him back on Talking Taiwan, to listen to that episode, check out episode 85.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How Gordon went from practicing law to writing The Coming Collapse of Chinaand becoming a political commentator who focuses on news about China
- How Gordon’s views of China changed after he worked and lived there from 1996-2001
- How the Chinese Communist Party is going in the wrong direction
- What kind of reactions Gordon’s book, The Coming Collapse of Chinareceived
- What’s going to happen if China does collapse?
- China’s predatory trade policies
- How China’s ban of certain websites and social media platforms delegitimizes the Chinese Communist Party
- Gordon’s impressions of Taiwan
- How Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement was inspired by Taiwan’s Sunflower Movement
- Dissent in Hong Kong, Tibet and the Uighurs in Xinjiang
- Gordon’s book Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes On the World
- How Gordon believes that the U.S. should be calling out China on North Korea
- Gordon’s thoughts on the premise of the film The Interviewand the cyber hacks on Sony
- If Gordon has another book in the works
Related Links:
Gordon Chang on Twitter: https://twitter.com/gordongchang
Gordon Chang’s website: www.gordonchang.com
Gordon’s book Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes On the World: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400062942/qid=1134270260/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-9747648-7111228?s=books&v=glance&n=283155
Gordon’s book, The Coming Collapse of China: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/037550477X/qid=1134270217/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i2_xgl14/002-9747648-7111228?n=507846&s=books&v=glance
Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement: https://qz.com/1714897/what-was-hong-kongs-umbrella-movement-about/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbrella_Movement
Taiwan’s Sunflower Movement: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-asian-studies/article/inside-taiwans-sunflower-movement-twentyfour-days-in-a-studentoccupied-parliament-and-the-future-of-the-region/DB4A7B57538A6F06DC6C8CF0058C8040
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunflower_Student_Movement
The Interview: https://www.netflix.com/title/70305895
https://www.cnn.com/2014/12/27/world/asia/north-korea-the-interview-reaction/index.html
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/08/-sp-north-koreans-review-the-interview
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Gordon Chang is an author and political commentator. I first learned of him when I heard about his book The Coming Collapse of China. Then in 2015, I met and interviewed him for the Talking Taiwan podcast. We will re-share that episode at a later time. Recently, I invited Gordon back on to share his thoughts on the Hong Kong Security Law, India’s ban of TikTok, Zoom’s ties with China and the confirmed case of bubonic plague in China’s Inner Mongolia. Will the U.S. ban Tiktok? At the time this interview was recorded that question was unanswered.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What is the Hong Kong Security Law?
- What does the Hong Kong Security Law mean for Hong Kong and its democracy movement?
- What has happened since the law was enacted?
- What has been the reaction to the law by people in Hong Kong and around the world?
- China’s violation of the Sino-British Joint Declaration signed on December 19, 1984
- How can the international community hold China accountable for what’s happening to Hong Kong?
- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s offer to give British citizenship to up 3 million people from Hong Kong
- Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen’s offer to provide refuge to the people of Hong Kong
- What the Hong Kong Security Law means for Taiwan
- How willing and able is China to take Taiwan by force?
- India’s ban of 59 different Chinese apps including Tiktok and WeChat
- Why the concern over Chinese apps?
- The Chinese Communist Party’s 2017 National Intelligence Law
- How Tiktok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company which is subject to the National Intelligence Law
- How Zoom has sent information back to China, and canceled the accounts of activists who used Zoom to commemorate the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square
- The confirmed case of bubonic plague in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and the G4 Swine Flu
- China’s handling of COVID-19
Related Links:
Gordon Chang on Twitter: https://twitter.com/gordongchang
Gordon Chang’s website: www.gordonchang.com
The Hong Kong Security Law: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/30/world/asia/hong-kong-security-law-explain.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-52765838
Articles about concerns that the Chinese Communist Party could be mining the data of Tiktok users: https://qz.com/1613020/tiktok-might-be-a-chinese-cambridge-analytica-scale-privacy-threat/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2020/06/26/warning-apple-suddenly-catches-tiktok-secretly-spying-on-millions-of-iphone-users/#69134f8934ef
https://theprint.in/tech/tiktok-caught-spying-on-iphone-users-in-india-and-around-the-world/450339/
Zoom’s data has gotten routed through China: https://www.businessinsider.com/china-zoom-data-2020-4
https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2020/04/03/warning-zoom-sends-encryption-keys-to-china-sometimes/#4a901a0d3fd9
Why Zoom closed an account of a group that held a Zoom event commemorating the 31st anniversary of the June 4 Tiananmen Square Massacre: https://www.axios.com/zoom-closes-chinese-user-account-tiananmen-square-f218fed1-69af-4bdd-aac4-7eaf67f34084.html?fbclid=IwAR2-8R2Jz9bb_iskXAJcO4mmBXrAeltYKs7CfZNna4h0Ko7TakrLB1sgH7k
U.S. Secretary of State Mike’s appearance on Laura Ingram’s Fox News Show stating that the US is considering banning Tiktok: https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2020/07/07/tiktok-app-china-us-pompeo.cnnbusiness/video/playlists/business-news/
https://www.foxnews.com/media/mike-pompeo-tik-tok-china-communist-social-media-spying-fox-ingraham
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Stefanie Davis and Patrick Springer are the founders of the Black Lives Solidarity Global Initiative, which organized a rally in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement on June 13th in Taipei’s 228 Peace Park. I spoke to Stefanie and Patrick about their experiences living as people of color in Taiwan and the U.S., the activities planned for the rally and their personal views of Black Lives Matter.
Here’s a description of the Black Lives Solidarity Global Initiative rally from their Facebook event page:
We cannot sit around as the stories of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Iyanna Dior, Sandra Bland, Philando Castile, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown Jr., Pamela Turner, Atatiana Jefferson, and countless others become common occurrences- background noise to the daily news, their lives summarized as sound bites between the weather and sports updates.
We cannot sit idly by and watch as police brutality against innocent black and brown bodies continues to go unchecked around the world.
It is time for us to take a stand and make our voices known that we demand action against racism both abroad and at home. That injustice against one of us, is an injustice to all.
Join us in a legal and peaceful rally Saturday, June 13th, at 228 Peace Memorial Park in Taipei as we come together to lend our support and our voices to those around the world fighting for equality and for others right to simply breathe.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What brought Stefanie and Patrick to Taiwan and how long they have been here
- The racism that they have experienced in Taiwan and how it compares to what they’ve experienced in the U.S.
- How they talk to their students about race and nationality
- Patrick’s bar Arts & Crafts (in Taichung)
- How the Black Lives Solidarity Global Initiative (BLSGI) came about
- The events and activities planned at the June 13 BLSGI rally
- The Taipei Is Listening Forum
- How the BLSGI rally has put Taiwan on the map as one of the countries that has had a rally about the injustices happening to Black people in the U.S.
- The feedback they’ve received about the rally
- What Stefanie and Patrick hope that people take away from the experience of being at the rally or what they learned at the rally
- Common stereotypes that people have about Black people
- Facts and statistics that demonstrate some of the discrimination that Blacks in the U.S. experience
- The shooting of Atatiana Jefferson and arrest of Sandra Bland
- Where the funds raised at the rally went
- Patrick and Stefanie’s personal experiences with Black Lives Matter
- What advice Stefanie or Patrick have for non-Black people who want to understand the Black experience or who want to be allies
- What Black Lives Matter means to Stefanie and Patrick
-
Facts and statistics based on US data and research that were shared at the BLSGI rally:
-
More than 1/2 of young Black Americans know someone, including themselves, who has been harassed by the police.
- Black students are 3 times more likely to be suspended than white students for similar infractions.
- Black drivers are 30% more likely than white drivers to be pulled over by the police.
- For every $100 earned by white
- families -> Black families earn $57.30.
- Blacks Americans make up 13% of the nation's population.
- Blacks Americans make 40% of prison populations.
Related Links:
Black Lives Solidarity Global Initiative Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/BLSGlobal/
Brothas & Sistas of Taiwan Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1728788584038273/
Taipei Is Listening Forum: https://www.facebook.com/events/2570056726428424/
An article about the Taipei Is Listening Forum: https://ketagalanmedia.com/2020/06/11/is-taipei-listening-black-lives-matter-taiwan-gears-up-for-weekend-rally/
Patrick’s bar Arts & Crafts’ Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ArtsAndCraftsBar/
To follow Patrick's bartending recipes, videos, photos and his Virtual Happy Hour booking information visit: https://www.inhousebartender.com/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
In 2017 I interviewed Professor Wen Liu about the historic news of May 24, 2017, that Taiwan’s Constitutional Court had ruled that marriage is not strictly defined as being between a man and a woman. This paved the way for same sex marriage to be legalized in Taiwan in 2019. Since the Stonewall uprising, which began on June 28, 1969, led to the international gay rights movement, June has become recognized as worldwide Pride month. In recognition of Pride month, I’d like to re-share my interview with gender studies Professor Wen Liu.
Here's a link to the original post of this interview: https://www.talkingtaiwan.com/gender-studies-professor-wen-liu-talking-taiwan-ep-58/
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- The May 24th ruling by the Constitutional Court in Taiwan that same-sex marriage could be legalized
- Mr. Chi Chia-wei who’s lawsuit led to the May 24th ruling
- The history of the same-sex marriage battle and family law in Taiwan
- Major turning points in Taiwan’s LGBTQ movement
- The history behind Taiwan’s gay pride parade
- How Taiwan compares to other Asian countries on LGBTQ issues
- The next steps after the May 24th ruling
- The marriage equality bill, civil partnership bill, multiple family bill
- Other work that needs to be done in Taiwan for the LGBTQ community
Related Links:
Wen Liu’s writings on New Bloom Magazine: http://newbloommag.net/author/wen-liu/
An article about the LGBTQ movement in Taiwan: https://outreachfortaiwan.org/taiwan-101/social-movements/lgbtq-movement-in-taiwan/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
On June 28, 2020, Taiwan Pride Parade for the World will be held in Taipei at 3pm to celebrate Pride Month and the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots. While in-person Pride events have been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it will likely be one of the few if only in-person Pride events to be held in the world during Pride Month. I spoke with the organizer of Taiwan Pride Parade for the World, Darien Chen about what motivated him to organize the event.
Darien also told me about how he participated in Mr. Gay World as Mr. Gay Taiwan and how he hopes that the parade will give people around the world hope and keep the torch and spirit of Pride alive.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How Darien competed as the first Mr. Gay Taiwan at Mr. Gay World
- His involvement in the first Gay Pride Parade in Taiwan
- His involvement with the NTU (National Taiwan University) gay student club GayChat
- What motivated Darien to organize Taiwan Pride Parade for the World
- The challenges and obstacles he faced in trying to organize the event
- How Taiwan will be the only place in the world that will be able to host a live in-person Gay Pride Parade in June (worldwide Pride Month), on the anniversary of the June 28, 1969 Stonewall riots
- That there are several Pride parades/events organized at the local level in Taiwan’s various counties
- Activities planned on the day of the event
- If there will be a live stream of the event
- Darien’s co-organizer Mamasan drag queen Magnolia La Manga
- How this rally will compare to the annual Gay Pride Parade that takes place in Taiwan in October
- What the annual Gay Pride Parade that takes place in Taiwan in October is like and how it compares to the Gay Pride March in New York and other major cities
Related Links:
Taiwan Pride Parade for the World Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/277051990005355/
A Live stream of the event (Taiwan Pride Parade for the World) will be available on the Taiwan Pride Parade for the World Facebook event page or on Cookie the Drag Queen’s YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2Vr2VW6
Here’s where you can watch Global Pride 2020: https://www.globalpride2020.org/watch/
GLOBAL PRIDE 2020: COVID-19 relief PERFORMANCES WITH TODRICK HALL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HhzcnTFfjE
Mr. Gay World: https://mrgayworld.com/
Anastasia Lin, Miss World Canada 2016: http://www.anastasialin.com/bio
A Taipei Times article about NTU’s (National Taiwan University) student club GayChat: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2015/09/27/2003628678
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
After the murder of George Floyd sparked protests in Minneapolis, here in New York, across the country, and around the world, I wanted to have a conversation on Talking Taiwan about what precipitated all of this social unrest, the Black Lives Matter movement and what we, especially non-Black people can do at this time.
This led me to invite Jalesa Tucker to be a guest on Talking Taiwan. I met Jalesa when I did some work for a nonprofit that educates young people about healthy relationships.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Who was George Floyd and why his death has led to massive protests across the U.S. and globally
- Recent incidents in the U.S. that led up to the protests over the murder of George Floyd (May 25 in Minneapolis, Minnesota): the killing of Ahmaud Arbery (February 23 in Brunswick, Georgia), Breonna Taylor (March 13 in Louisville, Kentucky), a dispute between Chris Cooper and Amy Cooper in New York City’s Central Park (May 25)
- The death of Trayvon Martin (February 26, 2012 in Sanford, Florida) that led to the Black Lives Matter movement
- The start of the hashtag Black Lives Matter
- What is taught about Black history or the lack thereof in U.S. high schools
- The Black Lives Matter movement’s call to defund the police and what that means
- Resources to learn more about racial inequality in the U.S.
- Why Black Lives Matter is about humanity and how we treat each other
Related and Recommended Links:
Netflix documentary film, directed by Ava DuVernay 13th: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krfcq5pF8u8&t=210s
Malcom X: https://www.malcolmx.com/biography/
James Baldwin: https://www.biography.com/writer/james-baldwin
My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem: https://www.resmaa.com/books
Emmanuel Acho’s YouTube channel video series, Uncomfortable Conversations With A Black Man: https://www.youtube.com/user/Eacho18/videos
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Crushing The Myth (CTM) is an Asian American speaker series that shares Asian American stories and perspectives with a global audience. Established in January of 2019, CTM aims to connect Asian Americans and allies to each other.
I spoke with the Founder of Crushing The Myth, JD Chang about why he created CTM, and its mission.
Crushing The Myth is about showing that Asian America today is more than just the “Model Minority” label and telling Asian American stories that make people LISTEN, LEARN, and INSPIRED.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- JD’s experience of the model minority myth
- What Crushing The Myth is about and what it represents
- What is the mission of Crushing The Myth (CTM)
- How JD started his career as a film line producer
- What JD thinks about TED Talks
- South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference
- What Crushing the Myth offers to its participants (prospective speakers)
- What’s the biggest challenge JD has experienced with Crushing The Myth
- The highlights of working on Crushing The Myth
- How people can sign up to do a Crushing The Myth talk
- The training that Crushing The Myth provides to its speakers
- JD’s tips for public speaking
- JD’s tips for looking good on video
- Where you can watch the CTM talks
Related Links:
Crushing The Myth’s website: https://www.crushingthemyth.com/
Crushing The Myth on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crushingthemyth/
Crushing The Myth YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKLyCJ6sOp72YB2iXJhd9DA
JD Chang on social media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jdchang360/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jdchang360
APEX for Youth: https://www.apexforyouth.org/
Asia Society: https://asiasociety.org/new-york
South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference: https://www.sxsw.com/
TED Talks: https://www.ted.com/talks
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Gary Reloj is Co-founder of the PPE Relief Initiative, an entrepreneur in the tech startup and restaurant industry, a founding board member of The Promise Society, and a COVID-19 survivor.
In late March, Gary shared a public Facebook post, that was a very well-documented account of COVID-19 symptoms he’d experienced, the toll it took on his body, and specific things that he did to cope with the physical discomfort, and anxiety that it brought on. He had come down with symptoms early on, even before New York City went on lockdown and when testing was still not widely available. It was clear that he had written his post as a way to help others who had also contracted COVID-19 or were worried about possibly contracting it. In the early days of the Coronavirus pandemic, every little cough, sniffle or bit of malaise sent a lot of us into a panic.
Around that time, I also learned that Gary was spearheading an effort to get PPE (personal protective equipment) to health care workers. That effort became the PPE Relief Initiative (PRI) with a crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe to raise $30,000 to give PPE kits to 400 healthcare workers.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How Gary dealt with and recovered from having COVID-19
- The Facebook post that Gary wrote and publicly shared detailing his COVID-19 symptoms and the regime he followed in dealing with his symptoms
- What motivated Gary to start looking for a way to deliver PPE to healthcare workers
- Gary’s PPE Relief Initiative Co-founder Dr. Joanne Kwan
- How they determined what to include in the PPE Relief Initiative supply kit that they were going to give health care workers
- The challenges they encountered in obtaining high quality PPE
- The PRI team
- Why the PRI supply kits are delivered directly to health care workers rather than to hospitals
- The GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign for PRI to raise $30,000 to support 400 healthcare workers
- There is still room for around 200 for healthcare workers that live or work in the New Jersey/New York metropolitan area and are dealing with COVID-19 patients to apply for the PRI supply kits
- How they prioritize which healthcare workers will receive the PRI supply kits first
- The partnership with The Promise Society on the PRI’s GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign
- PRI’s support for Black Lives Matter protesters and tips for how protestors should protect themselves and be safe while protesting during this pandemic
- Being prepared for a possible second wave of COVID-19 cases
- What’s next for PRI after the GoFundMe campaign
- How having COVID-19 has affected Gary’s outlook on life
Related Links:
PPE Relief Initiative’s GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign: http://pperelief.org/donate or https://bit.ly/2Y7JguX
Eligible healthcare workers can apply for the PRI supply kits here: www.pperelief.org/apply
PPE Relief Initiative’s website: https://pperelief.org/
PRI’s social media accounts:
PRI on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ppe.relief/
PRI’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ppe.relief.initiative/
Cuomo's words really resonated with me and I used the phrase “New York Tough” to help get my mind right and out of the negative mental trench I was in. If you have Covid-19 or someone you know has it, and you’re looking for someone to talk to about the experience, please don’t hesitate to reach out. When I was at my worst, I was partly in a bad place mentally because I felt so helpless and clueless as to how long my symptoms were going to last. I seriously wish I had someone I could talk to at a human level that could relate to what I was experiencing so if I could do that for you, please let me know.
That said, here is the full list of symptoms I experienced...
-Fever (ranged between 100 and 102). My fever lasted for four days.
-Chronic dry coughing. It came from deep within my chest and at times, would have bad coughing fits. One coughing session was so bad, my core stomach muscles cramped up and I started to gag because I just couldn’t breathe…. That really sucked!
-Difficulty breathing. This was the big one. Any form of simple physical activity would make it hard to breathe; you almost feel like you’re drowning it’s like an asthma attack. If I got out of bed to go to the bathroom, or if I would try to eat food, I would be gasping for air with short, shallow, quick breaths. It was extremely difficult to take deep breaths (still is to an extent). The only way I’d be able to breath normally would be to lay down in bed on my side.
-Dehydration. This was especially bad when I was on my 2nd day of my fever and was coughing up a storm.
-Chills. This also occurred on the 2nd and 3rd day of my fever.
-Loss of appetite. Not only was I not hungry, but when I did eat, it was actually hard to breathe while eating, so that contributed to my loss of appetite.
-Confusion. This again was on the 2nd day, early in the morning. I just woke up and I felt like I was still in dream mode, and I kept trying to tell my body move, but it felt like I was stuck and was confused to where I was.
-Diarrhea.
-Fatigue
-Loss of smell. My taste was also a bit dulled, especially with sweets.
-Body aches. This was actually my first symptom. It first started with body aches like sciatica. I then had back pains, lower and upper back.
-Anxiety. There were moments where my mind was in a very bad place, especially when it was very hard to breathe. I started to get anxiety thinking about every breathe and as a result, it would disrupt my breathing cycle. When I would have major anxiety, I would try to calm myself by playing meditation music and do my best to have my mind escape reality for a minute to help regulate my breathing again. Eventually, as a way to combat future anxiety, I would create structure around me to keep me busy and help me cope. For example, I documented all my symptoms under a certain timeline, I documented my medication and tried to create a set schedule, and I made sure to reach out to friends for support.
Here’s the lineup of meds I took and how often:
-Tylenol Extra Strength, 3000mg daily, or 2 pills 3x a day. This was probably the most important thing I was taking.
-Mucinex DM, 1 tablet every 12 hours. This helped act as a cough suppressant.
-Cepacol Extra Strength. Take as needed. This helped numb my throat. While I know my coughing originated more from my chest and not my throat, it gave me peace of mind to take Cepacol before I slept.
-Pedialyte. Unfortunately I didn’t have any, but my friend who also had Covid-19 was using it to help with dehydration and if I could do it all over again, I would have included it in my rotation.
-Ton of water. I can’t stress how important it is to have available water by your side. I would have a big pitcher of water by my bed at all times and when I could manage to get out of bed, I always made sure to re-fill my pitcher even if it’s 70% full.
Here’s the timeline of everything (this was the diary I kept).
03/11: Suspected date of exposure
03/14: Noticed body aches, like sciatica.
03/15: Back aches, lower and upper back. Mild diarrhea.
03/16: Experience slight fatigue. Back pain and sciatica pain increases. Start to have mild cough.
03/18: Lose sense of smell. Fatigue increases big time. Cough starts to become more frequent. Start to feel warm under eyelids at night. Mild diarrhea continues. Appetite still normal.
03/19: Cough and fatigue becomes worse. Headaches occur.
03/20: Chronic coughing begins. Fever occurs 101 degrees. Loss of appetite begins.
03/21: Very bad coughing fits, difficulty breathing. Fever still at 101 degrees. Extremely fatigued. Experienced cold chills as well. Further loss of appetite. Difficulty sleeping.
03/22: Coughing is still terrible, at times difficult to breathe. Energy and appetite was okay in the morning, decreased as day progressed. Difficulty sleeping. Breathing is still bad.
03/23: Becoming more thirsty. Woke up and fever wasn’t so bad. Early evening suffered worst coughing fit. Night fever is back, 101. Worst night of sleep. Breathing is still bad.
03/24: Lower back really hurts, but could be due to uncomfortable bed. Felt better for most of the day, around 3:30pm start to feel worse. Managed to get myself under control after taking Tylenol and shower around 3:40pm. Improved appetite and energy. No fever. Breathing ability hasn’t improved.
03/25: Breathing is still effected. The simplest form of physical activity creates shallow breathing, elevated breathing rates.
03/26: Energy and appetite continues to improve. Coughing slightly improved; starting to produce some phlegm. Breathing is still the same. 3rd day of no fever. Spoke with Doctor, said plateau of symptoms is a good sign, as Covid-19 is progressive in nature. Still have diarrhea.
03/27: Feel exponentially better. Breathing is much improved, although still can’t take deep breaths without coughing. Coughing overall is down. Again, no fever. Energy is up, able to sit up without trouble, was able to walk and spend time outside.
03/28: Diarrhea seems improved. Still coughing a little. Breathing still improved. Still no fever.
Anyway, I hope this helps! AND STAY HOME!!
Gary Reloj’s social media accounts:
Gary on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/garyreloj
Gary on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garyreloj/
Gary on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GaryReloj
The Promise Society’s website: http://www.thepromisesociety.org/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
As protests and civil unrest arise across the U.S., and tension has mounted, Talking Taiwan's host Felicia Lin was reminded of a time in which she found herself in the midst of intense protests in 2014, in Taipei, Taiwan, after the occupation of the Legislative Yuan in what has become known as the Sunflower Movement.
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
The exceptional way in which Taiwan has handled and contained the Coronavirus has thrust it into the international spotlight once again, but for a different reason. On April 11th, Taiwan’s professional baseball league (CPBL) became the world’s first professional sports league to open in 2020. And then it became the first to have spectators at their games on May 8th.
When I realized that Taiwan had became the only place on the planet where professional baseball was being played, and I knew there was a story there. I learned that Richard Wang had become the English broadcaster for CPBL games, so I reached out to him hoping that he’d agree to an interview for Talking Taiwan.
Richard kindly agreed to do the interview, and you’ll see how just how kind, gracious and patient he was when our interview got off to a bit of a rocky start. Just watch the blooper video of our Zoom call, which shows that strange things happen when using a virtual background. Look for that video below in the related links section.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What happened when Taiwan’s baseball league (CPBL) realized that they were going to be the first sports league in the world to open in 2020
- The Eleven Sports Network’s role in bringing English commentary to Taiwan’s baseball league
- Richard’s baseball broadcasting partner Wayne McNeil
- What it was like having live baseball games with no spectators
- What it was like when fans were allowed to attend baseball games
- The comparison between baseball games played in the U.S. and Taiwan
- How Richard became a Red Sox fan
- How Richard got the nickname Boston
- How Richard got interested in baseball
- How Richard became a baseball announcer in Taiwan
- How aspects of Taiwanese culture and traditions are introduced during the broadcasting of games
- A viral video of a home run call from 2013, when Manny Ramirez hit another home run for the EDA Rhinos in Taiwan
- How baseball was introduced to Taiwan
- The history of baseball in Taiwan
- Taiwan’s Little League and its participation in the Little League World Series
- How baseball has boosted Taiwan’s international image
- Why Taiwan’s baseball league is called the Chinese Professional Baseball League
- The Taiwan Major League (TML)
- Parallels between the Spanish Flu of 1918 and the Coronavirus in 2020
- The precautions taken at the baseball stadiums in Taiwan
- Will there be a major league baseball season in the U.S.
- Where you can watch the CPBL games
- What baseball has to do with the New Taiwan Dollar 500 dollar bill
Richard Wang and Wayne McNeil (Photo courtesy of Richard Wang)
Richard Wang and Wayne McNeil (Photo courtesy of Richard Wang)
Related Links:
Blooper video of Richard Wang’s interview with Felicia Lin:
CPBL English Website: http://www.cpbl.com.tw/eng/history/
For CPBL stats and stories visit: http://cpblstats.com/
[Can you embed this link to a video clip on Twitter]
Here’s a video clip from a CPBL game that shows the robot drummers:
https://twitter.com/ElevenSportsTW/status/1251201807981768709
Watch CPBL games by going to Twitter.com and searching for one of the following four teams: Rakuten Monkeys, Uni Lions, Chinatrust Brothers and Fubon Guardians
Watch Rakuten Monkeys, Uni Lions on the Eleven Sports Taiwan Twitter account:
https://twitter.com/ElevenSportsTW
Richard Wang on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RWang_WBSC
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
A-Doc, the Asian American Documentary Network was established in 2016 by one of the Co-founders, Grace Lee (known for the award-winning The Grace Lee Project and other documentary films) and is a resource and network for nonfiction filmmakers at all different stages of their career.
I spoke with Grace about the organization, and its “Stories of the Coronavirus” microdoc series, with microdocs being released throughout the month of May and beyond.
Grace also told me about two of her most recent documentary film projects, the PBS five-part documentary “Asian Americans,” which will air May 11 and May 12, and the
“And She Could Be Next” docuseries for POV on PBS that will be released in June.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How Grace got involved with the Auntie Sewing Squad
- A-Doc (Asian American Documentary Network) and its mission
- The A-Doc “Stories of the Coronavirus” microdoc series
- How Valerie’s microdoc “Sewing in the Time of Coronavirus” became A-Doc’s proof of concept for the “Stories of the Coronavirus” microdoc series
- The events, work and initiatives of A-Doc
- Resources that Grace recommends for documentary filmmakers to deal with the COVI-19 pandemic
- A-Doc’s partnership with the Center for Asian American Media (in San Francisco) on a mentorship/fellowship program
- A-Doc’s work on creating a database of documentary films made by Asian American filmmakers
- The networking opportunities for filmmakers facilitated by A-Doc
- What’s in the future for A-Doc
- How has the landscape of Asian American documentary films and filmmakers changed since Grace started her career
- The PBS five-part documentary “Asian Americans,” that Grace worked on
- “And She Could Be Next” series for POV (television’s longest-running showcase for independent non-fiction films on PBS) that Grace has worked on
- Grace’s advice for aspiring documentary filmmakers
Related Links:
To view all related links for this article, click link below:
https://talkingtaiwan.com/grace-lee-documentary-filmmaker-on-a-doc/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
What a fun, spirited conversation I had with my guests Valerie Soe and Kristina Wong! We could certainly use more conversations like this in this post-COVID-19 world. We talked about the Auntie Sewing Squad, a sewing circle formed during the global Coronavirus pandemic, that has taken on making masks first for frontline medical and essential workers, and now for vulnerable marginalized communities, who have no financial means to purchase masks.
My guests are Valerie Soe, an Asian American Studies Professor and Film maker, and Kristina Wong, a performance artist. comedian, writer and elected representative.
Valerie has been on Talking Taiwan previously to talk about her documentary film Love Boat: Taiwan and she recently made a microdocumentary, “Sewing in the Time of Coronavirus,” which incidentally, is how I learned about the Auntie Sewing Squad.
Kristina, is the force behind the Auntie Sewing Squad. She recently streamed a live performance, “Kristina Wong Sweatshop Overlord” over Zoom and YouTube. It’s her latest work born out of the current COVID-19 lockdown, about how she went from volunteer sewist to a “swearshop” overlord in ten days.
Listen in and enjoy our conversation!
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- The mission/purpose of the Auntie Sewing Squad
- Why Kristina was initially reluctant to wear a mask herself when the pandemic first hit Los Angeles
- How the Auntie Sewing Squad grew from a dozen members to over 600
- Writing Auntie Rebecca Solnit’s piece for The Guardian which mentions the Auntie Sewing Squad
- “Aunties” located in states other than California
- What funds donated to the Auntie Sewing Squad (via Kristina) used for
- The unfortunate acronym that represents to the Auntie Sewing Squad
- What “Auntie Care” is
- Does Kristina plan on making the Auntie Sewing Squad into a non-profit organization
- The microdocumentary film that Valerie made for A-Doc (Asian American Documentary Network)
- How Kristina helped an LA hospital fix broken N95 masks that were given to them by the Federal government
- Stories about the amazing dedication of the sewing aunties
- How you can support the Auntie Sewing Squad even if you don’t sew
- How much longer the Auntie Sewing Squad will continue sewing masks
- Kristina’s connection to the “Love Boat program”
- Kristina and Valerie’s advice for how to deal with lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic
Related Links:
The Auntie Sewing Squad on Instagram: www.Instagram.com/AuntieSewing
The Auntie Sewing Squad Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2764362993676831/
Ways to donate to the Auntie Sewing Squad:
Tax-deductible donation link thanks to Art2Action who has waived the fiscal sponsor fees: https://donorbox.org/auntie-sewing-squad
Kristina Wong PayPal General Donations using (Friends & Family): k@kristinasherylwong.com
Kristina Wong Venmo General Donations HERE: “GiveKristinaWongMoney”
"Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord" (May 6, 2020 performance). This performance is a preview of Kristina’s new work born out of the current lockdown and about how she went from volunteer sewist to overlord of a volunteer sewing factory in ten days: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmSWdH1BnjE
Kristina Wong’s website: http://kristinawong.com/
Kristina Wong’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ilovekristinawong/
Kristina Wong’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYVB9LCGQewhp4LxlachKPQ
Valerie Soe’s blog post about the Auntie Sewing Squad and microdocumentary “Sewing in the Time of Coronavirus”: https://beyondasiaphilia.com/2020/05/07/fire-in-the-rain-sewing-in-the-time-of-coronavirus/
Valerie Soe’s microdocumentary, “Sewing in the Time of Coronavirus”: https://youtu.be/1H7jrmD3JC4
Writing Auntie Rebecca Solnit’s article for The Guardian, “The way we get through this is together: the rise of mutual aid under coronavirus,” which features a mention of the Auntie Sewing Squad: https://bit.ly/2LDuK8d
Valerie’s previous Talking Taiwan interview about her documentary film, Love Boat Taiwan: https://www.talkingtaiwan.com/love-boat-taiwan-interview-asian-american-studies-professor-film-maker-valerie-soe-ep-66/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Since I’ve stepped into the role of Producer of this podcast, in addition to being the host, we’ve been working on consistently delivering quality content, and on releasing previously unreleased episodes. In doing so, it’s allowed me to revisit some of our previous guests like Peter Lin who is a jazz musician and trombone player who I interviewed in 2018.
Recently I caught up with Peter, two years after our first interview. Artists and musicians have been amongst the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and I wanted to know how Peter was dealing with it.
I learned that Peter released a second album in 2019 and has started a new company, Yardbird Entertainment. He had lots of great advice and tips for musicians who are trying to get through these tough times.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- The difference between performing live vs. doing remote, online performances
- How the Internet can offer new opportunities for musicians to reach the larger global community
- How some musicians have earned money by performing on a live stream with a link to Venmo or PayPal to donate
- What relief funds and government assistance there is for musicians
- The different ways that musicians have been trying to earn money
- The Facebook group, the COVID-19 musicians support group- a resource to apply for unemployment, and find out about grants
- Resources where musicians can apply for relief
- The importance of staying at home and protecting those who are most vulnerable and realizing who has been hardest hit
- What Peter has been working on since the last time he was on Talking Taiwan on 2018
- The release of Peter’s second album New Age Old Ways in 2019 and the comic book that accompanies it
- Peter’s YouTube series Jazz Biz 101 by Yardbird Entertainment
- Peter’s remote video production company, Yardbird Entertainment
- Creating mobile live stream
- How clubs can widen their reach by broadcasting on the Internet
- How people can support artists and musicians in this time of the COVID-19 pandemic
Related Links:
The Lintet’s website and social media
Peter Lin's Website : www.lintet.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelintet
Instagram: www.instagram.com/the_lintet
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR9oIrd0KQlvLqov1ivTkSA
Yardbird Entertainment’s website and social media
Yardbird Entertainment Website : www.yardbirdent.com
Y.E.'s Facebook: www.facebook.com/yardbirdentertainment
Y.E.'s Instagram: www.instagram.com/yardbirdentertainment
Y.E.'s YouTube (Jazz Biz 101 + Y.E. Remote Music Video Productions): www.youtube.com/c/yardbirdentertainment
Jazz Exchange Relief Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/dz5cng-the-jazz-exchange-relief-fund
Louis Armstrong Foundation Musicians Emergency Fund: https://louisarmstrongfoundation.org/emergency-fund-for-jazz-musicians-form/
Peter Lin's Digital Album + Comic Book "New Age Old Ways" + First Album "With Respect": https://peterlin.bandcamp.com/
Places to stream Peter Lin's Music:
Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/artist/2zQlHyPGf6ydi4CBrLXP4r
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/peter-lin/1402841452
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Respect-Peter-Lin/dp/B07F1TPSQC
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/music/album/Peter_Lin_New_Age_Old_Ways?id=Bhdnqosid74unyfczxi5grktxoq&PCamRefID=LFV_857c0eb8a48e4637a911c4fb39769d32
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/thelintet
Kelly Lin's Etsy:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/SketchBites
Peter Lin's Remote Rendition of Taiwanese Classic "Wife":
https://youtu.be/Brja_6rq1T4
https://www.facebook.com/peterlinmusic/videos/10157450798753335/
NYC's Covid-19 Musician Resource Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/nycmusicianscovid19/
Chris Do's "The Futur" YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/TheSkoolRocks
Pat Flynn’s website Smart Passive Income: https://www.smartpassiveincome.com/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Peter Lin, is a trombone player, leader of the jazz band, The Lintet, and music teacher. He is a man who wears a lot of different hats! In March of 2018, Peter spoke with me about his career as a professional musician, the difference between being a bandleader versus a sideman, and how he met jazz legend Slide Hampton. We also talked about the Lintet’s first upcoming album, and the connection between Jeremy Lin, Linsanity, and The Lintet- all of which incidentally are not related to me.
Peter shared why he describes jazz as democratic, and a barometer of the United States’ social climate. In his first album, The Lintet introduces Taiwanese music to jazz listeners and jazz music to the Taiwanese.
Two years later, we’ve invited Peter back on to Talking Taiwan to let us know what he’s been up to, how he’s been dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, and to share some advice for how musicians can get through these tough times. Our follow up interview is coming up on the next episode of Talking Taiwan.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How Peter got started playing the trombone
- How he decided to become a professional musician
- Where the band’s name The Lintet came from
- What Peter does as a bandleader
- How jazz has historically reflected the social climate and race relations in the U.S.
- How The Lintet incorporates Taiwanese and Chinese songs done in jazz style at his performances and on their first album
- The twofold purpose The Lintet’s album to introduce Taiwanese to jazz music and to introduce jazz listeners to Taiwanese and Chinese music
- Peter’s observation that more Taiwanese people are becoming interested in jazz
Here’s the sound clip from one of the Lintet’s 2018 Lunar New Year performances. It’s a rendition of a classic Teresa Teng song:
Related Links:
Peter Lin’s Facebook profile: https://www.facebook.com/peterlinmusic
The Lintet’s first album, With Respect: https://peterlin.bandcamp.com/album/with-respect
The Lintet’s website: www.lintet.com
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Scott Simon, Professor in the School of Sociological and Anthropological Studies and Co-holder of the Research Chair in Taiwan Studies at the University of Ottawa spoke with us about an article he wrote for the Macdonald-Laurier Institute which served to sound a warning to the global community about China’s lack of transparency. In the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, several media sources have reported that Chinese authorities alerted the WHO on December 31, 2019, about several cases of pneumonia of unknown cause. China then announced its first death from the Coronavirus on January 11, 2020.
In our conversation, Scott also offered an anthropological perspective on the Coronavirus pandemic by discussing the term anthropocene, which is defined as the period of time during which human activities have had an environmental impact on the Earth regarded as constituting a distinct geological age. He also offered thoughts on what should be taken into consideration as the world begins to look at when to end lockdowns.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- The March 16thincident in which China flew one of their military jets very close to Taiwan’s airspace at night
- Chinese aggressive behavior since the COVID-19 outbreak towards Taiwan’s outer islands, Taiwan’s main island, Japan and Guam
- Chinese military’s operations during the global COVID-19 pandemic
- How do we really know about what’s going on in China and the PLA
- Does China have its COVID-19 outbreak currently under control
- China’s lack of transparency
- How China has tried to rewrite history and dispute that COVID-19 originated from China
- How China has blocked Taiwan’s WHO membership
- How Taiwan and the WHO have differed in their early responses to COVID-19
- The Free and Open Indo-Pacific foreign policy spearheaded by Japan
- Coronavirus cases on the USS Theodore Roosevelt
- Scott’s perspective as an anthropologist on the COVID-19 pandemic and what considerations should be made as lockdowns are lifted
- How the Western world failed to see the possible impact of the Coronavirus
Related Links:
Professor Scott Simon’s author page on The Center for International Policy Studies of the University of Ottawa website: https://www.cips-cepi.ca/author/scott-simon/
We Must Be on Guard as China Seeks Strategic Advantage: Scott Simon for Inside Policy: https://www.macdonaldlaurier.ca/china-seeks-strategic-advantage-covid-19/?fbclid=IwAR0eRpwScoHNeHSIbMp-r3YjRK9cQpBT_C5LXuI4YJMh4Isw8bZGfg_t9W8
Macdonald-Laurier Institute (Canada's only truly national public policy think tank based in Ottawa): https://www.macdonaldlaurier.ca/
The Free and Open Indo-Pacific foreign policy: https://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/page25e_000278.html
The Pandemic Is Turning the Natural World Upside Down: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/04/coronavirus-pandemic-earth-pollution-noise/609316/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
I invited Emily Chen on to Talking Taiwan as a guest to talk about how she manages to homeschool during the coronavirus when having her kids home full-time during this pandemic. The idea for this episode came from a Google doc that was created and shared by Emily on Facebook. The link to it is listed below in the related links section of this post. You’ll see that it has over 100 weblinks to resources for parents and kids to try out during the Coronavirus pandemic. What a treasure trove of information it is!
*SPOILER ALERT* Be sure to listen to the end of my interview with Emily for a special offering that she has for parents and kids to get through the quarantine of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With so many parents and families struggling with managing their kids at home due to the COVID-19 outbreak, I realized that many people could benefit from this amazing list of resources that Emily has compiled. I also knew that because Emily has been homeschooling her kids, she could definitely provide some perspective with parents suddenly faced with this unfamiliar situation.
Our conversation touched upon what homeschooling is and the different approaches that people take to homeschooling. Imagine a teaching approach completely centered on a particular child’s interests and a more holistic approach to teaching. In essence every moment of teaching could be turned into a well-rounded lesson by looking at a particular subject matter from different angles by discussing the math, geography, history, or writing etc. involved.
It is a creative approach to teaching what a child is already interested and it makes what the child has learned seem much more meaningful and tangible. This conversation gave me a fuller understanding of how homeschooling works and how Emily is applying it to her kids. In full disclosure, Emily is not only my Facebook friend, but also my cousin. Strange that we never got into such an in-depth conversation about this before.
Emily also shared her thoughts on how to manage working at home while having kids at home and how to parents your kids when you are at home full-time with your kids.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How long Emily has been homeschooling her kids
- Why Emily decided to homeschool her kids
- What is homeschooling, and what approaches to people take to homeschooling their kids
- What is unschooling and different unschooling approaches
- Homeschooling vs. public schooling
- How she and her kids are dealing with social distancing and how that has impacted their homeschooling
- The challenges for parents having to be home full-time with their kids due to lockdown recommendations
- What’s on the Google doc list of resources that Emily put together for parents with kids at home
- How parents can deal with having kids of different ages and personalities at home at the same time
- How to manage working at home with having kids at home
- Talking to your kids about the Coronavirus
- How to parent your kids when you are at home full-time with your kids
Related Links:
The Google doc that Emily has compiled with resources for homeschoolers and parents looking for things to do with their kids at home: https://bit.ly/2VuOOOR
Emily’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mchendraws/
Other resources for parents dealing with talking to kids about COVID-19:
Coronavirus: Keeping Our Children And Ourselves Safe, With Pamela Cantor, M.D. (180 Podcast): https://www.turnaroundusa.org/the-180-podcast-coronavirus/
Turnaround For Children, an organization created by Dr. Pamela Cantor in the wake of 9/11, after co-authoring a study on the impact of the 9/11 attacks on NYC schoolchildren: https://www.turnaroundusa.org/
The Daily podcast episode, in which Carl Zimmer, science reporter and author of the “Matter” column for The New York Times answers kids questions about COVID-19: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-kids-guide-to-coronavirus/id1200361736?i=1000469699785
TED Talk 10 Tips for Cultivating Creativity in Your Kids: http://ideas.ted.com/10-tips-for-cultivating-creativity-in-your-kids/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Since Taiwan has received a great deal of recognition globally for its successful containment of COVID-19, I've been looking to interview a medical professional about Taiwan's response and handling of the Coronavirus. Special thanks to Dr. Han Mingrong (韓明榮) for his help in connecting me with Dr. Brian Chang who is located in Taipei, Taiwan.
I spoke with Dr. Chang about the early steps that Taiwan took to contain the Coronavirus outbreak, and how having dealt with SARS in 2003, the government and the general public in particular was prepared to deal with COVID-19.
Note to listeners: my interview with Dr. Chang was pre-recorded. I spoke to him on April 2nd, 2020, which was around the time of the ching ming jie or tomb sweeping weekend in Taiwan. I really appreciate the fact that Dr. Chang took the time out of his busy schedule to speak with me. Right after we spoke, he had planned to travel down to southern Taiwan to observe the tomb sweeping weekend.
Dr. Chang is the acting Secretary General of the Taiwan Medical Association and the Honorary Secretary of the World Organization of Family Doctors of the Asia Pacific Region. He is a specialist in family medicine and community medicine. Dr. Chang has been a Director in a public health center for 11 years.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this episode:
- How Taiwan is currently dealing with the Coronavirus
- How Taiwan’s experience with SARS prepared it and its people to deal with COVID-19
- What were the earliest steps that Taiwan took to contain the spread of COVID-19
- How the government of Taiwan clearly communicated and educated its public about that precautions they needed to take regarding COVID-19
- How the public in Taiwan initially reacted when the Coronavirus hit
- How Taiwan’s government instilled confidence in the people of Taiwan
- How Taiwan’s government handled the spread of false news and rumors
- Dr. Chang’s recommendations of when to wear masks
- How the government created educational videos (public service announcements) to inform the public
- The biggest challenges for Taiwan currently in containing the spread of COVID-19
- Fines enacted by the government of Taiwan for the violation of self-isolation rules
- What the U.S. can learn from Taiwan’s handling of COVID-19
- What kind of aid Taiwan is currently offering to help other nations dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic
- What is our best hope to develop a vaccine or to find a cure?
- What medical advice Dr. Chang has for people who are currently under lockdown and trying to stay healthy
Related Links:
Dr. Brian Chang’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/brianclinic/
An article on how Taiwan has been so successful in managing the Coronavirus written by Brian Bih-Jeng Chang and Tai-Yuan Chiu, Ready for a long fight against the COVID-19 outbreak: an innovative model of tiered primary health care in Taiwan: https://bjgpopen.org/content/early/2020/04/07/bjgpopen20X101068
Taiwan’s CDC website (in Chinese characters): https://www.cdc.gov.tw
An example educational video (aka public service announcements) that the government created to inform the public about COVID-19:
https://youtu.be/gHc9WcEKWX4
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
I’m pleased to welcome Dr. Wilson Wang back on to Talking Taiwan after five years for what turned out to be a very in-depth conversation, about the Coronavirus crisis in New York. Dr. Wang spoke with me about the COVID-19 pandemic from both a science-based and human perspective. This interview with Dr. Wang was recorded last week on March 30th, 2020.
Dr. Wilson Wang is the Founder and CEO of a health software company called Walking Doctors, a pediatric emergency room physician and hospitalist at NYU and NYC Public Hospital system, and adjunct faculty of Global Public Health at NYU.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this episode:
- How Dr. Wang and his family are dealing with COVID-19
- How Dr. Wang’s experience with Ebola led to establishing Walking Doctors
- The importance of standardizing diagnosis and treatment of disease
- Comparing the Ebola outbreak with COVID-19
- Epidemics vs. pandemics
- The SARS 2003 epidemic
- The strategies that Taiwan used to contain the spread of COVID-19
- Development of a test for COVID-19
- Is the Coronavirus airborne and how long does it survive in the air?
- How long does the Coronavirus survive on surfaces?
- Comparing measles with the Coronavirus
- Dr. Wang’s recommendations on whether or not to wear a mask
- Why it’s important to adhere to social distancing and self-isolation
- Possible treatments for COVID-19
- The ventilator shortage
- Which is our best hope a vaccine or cure?
- General advice to people trying to stay healthy and deal with social distancing and self-isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic
Related Links:
Dr. Wang’s blog: http://wilson-wang.squarespace.com/
JAMA Article:
Response to COVID-19 in Taiwan
Big Data Analytics, New Technology, and Proactive Testing: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2762689
Dr. Wang on social media:
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/wilson-wang-9289554
Twitter: @walkingdoctors
Walking Doctors: https://walkingdocs.com/
Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Map: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
What does a robot, Jedi and Wi-Fi have to do with the Ebola crisis? In 2015 I spoke with Wilson Wang a medical doctor by training, who was a Senior Clinical director at the International Rescue Committee (IRC) at the time. We spoke about his work with IRC on the 2014 Ebola outbreak and his career in medicine and public health.
As we deal with the coronavirus here in New York City, I thought with this would be a good time to share this episode. Stay tuned for the next episode of Talking Taiwan. I’ll be bringing back Dr. Wang to speak about how his Ebola work led him to establish Waking Doctors and his current work on COVID-19, the coronavirus in New York City.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- The origin, mission and work of International Rescue Committee
- Wilson’s career in medicine and public health leading up to his work with the International Rescue Committee (IRC)
- How Wilson balances the practice of medicine with health management
- How IRC was asked to create an Ebola treatment unit (i.e. a hospital) for Ebola patients
- How more people died in the 2014 Ebola epidemic than in all of the Ebola epidemics of the past 35 years
- How for nearly 40 years there hadn’t been reliable medical record keeping about the treatment of Ebola patients
- What the JEDI app acronym stands for
- The robot created by Vecna to be used in Liberia
- U.S. reaction to the Ebola outbreak
- What’s guided Dr. Wang in his particular career path
Related Links:
Dr. Wilson Wang’s website where he writes about his work: http://wilson-wang.squarespace.com/
Articles about Dr. Wang’s work with IRC on the Ebola epidemic:
http://time.com/3615990/ebola-electronic-health-records/
ihttp://www.fastcolabs.com/3039512/fighting-ebola-with-a-robot-and-an-app-called-jedi
Partners in Health: https://www.pih.org/
Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder: https://www.amazon.com/Mountains-Beyond-Tracy-Kidder/dp/0812973011
An article about the controversy over Dr. Craig Spencer, a volunteer Doctors Without Borders physician who returned to New York with Ebola: https://time.com/3535902/craig-spencer-ebowla-jokes-lack-empathy/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Earlier this year I went to Books of Wonder (in New York City’s Upper Westside) to attend a book launch event for Loveboat, Taipei. There I heard the book’s author, Abigail Hing Wen speak frankly and openly about her 12-year writing career and journey leading up to getting her first book Loveboat, Taipei published. All too often when we hear of success stories like hers, what gets lost is what it took to get there. I was really impressed by her story of persistence and tenacity.
After getting her first book rejected, writing five novels along the way, she wrote four versions and 26 drafts of Loveboat, Taipei, before deciding to make Ever Wong the main character. In her interview with me she was just as candid- talking about all of the hard work behind honing her craft of writing and how Loveboat, Taipei, a story about the rebellion of youth in a safe environment actually brought her closer to her parents.
The latest exciting news is that ACE Entertainment (the producers of Jenny Han’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series) has optioned the film rights to Loveboat, Taipei.
If you’d like to learn more about the Love Boat language study program, be sure to listen to our previous episode, episode 66 [hyper link “episode 66” to: http://www.talkingtaiwan.com/love-boat-taiwan-interview-asian-american-studies-professor-film-maker-valerie-soe-ep-66/], which is about Love Boat: Taiwan, a documentary film made about the Love Boat program.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How Loveboat, Taipeihas benefitted from the growing interest in diverse characters and storylines
- The Love Boat study program experience
- When Loveboat, Taipei hit the New York Times bestseller’s list
- Abigail ‘s decision to step off the path to becoming a law professor and to try writing
- The first book Abigail tried to get published, but was ultimately rejected
- Abigail ‘s decision to enter an MFA in writing program
- How Abigail persisted for over ten years after her first novel was rejected and wrote five novels before Loveboat, Taipeigot published
- How she wrote Loveboat, Taipei from four different perspectives before deciding to write it from the perspective of Ever Wong
- The process of shopping around a book to get it published
- How Loveboat, Taipeihas been optioned for a film by ACE entertainment
- What Abigail hopes that people will learn from the story of Loveboat, Taipei
- The announcement that Loveboat, Taipeihas been optioned for a movie by ACE Entertainment, the producers of Jenny Han’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series
- How important it is for writers to have critique partners
- Her role as a Senior Director of Emerging Technologies and Artificial Intelligence
- Abigail’s future book projects
- What advice Abigail has for people who want to write a book
- The feedback that Loveboat, Taipeihas received
- How Loveboat, Taipeihas brought Abigail closer to her parents
Related Links:
Abigail’s website: https://www.abigailhingwen.com/
Abigail Hing Wen on social media:
https://www.facebook.com/abigail.hing.wen
https://www.instagram.com/abigailhingwen/
https://twitter.com/abigailhingwen
Confessions of an Undercover Novelist: https://lithub.com/confessions-of-an-undercover-novelist/
ACE Entertainment Acquires Rights To Abigail Hing Wen’s Novel ‘Loveboat, Taipei’: https://deadline.com/2020/02/ace-entertainment-abigail-hing-wen-loveboat-taipei-1202866995/
Getting Unstuck by Robert Butler: https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Unstuck-Discovering-Career-Timothy/dp/B00CAYMXU4
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
For many overseas born Chinese and Taiwanese, the Love Boat Taiwan language culture study program was quite the cultural phenomenon and rite of passage. We are dedicating two episodes of Talking Taiwan to the topic. The first will feature Asian American Studies professor and filmmaker Valerie Soe who’s made a documentary film called Love Boat: Taiwan. Learn more about the Love Boat program, the lasting impact on its participants- college and high school-aged individuals away from home for 6 weeks in Taiwan. It was the quintessential summer camp experience.
What’s interesting to me is that the Love Boat program, which was started and run by the Chinese Nationalist government (aka the Kuomintang) set out to aggrandize the Republic of China (which at one time claimed to rule all of China), but instead, what it seems to have done is to solidify the difference between Taiwan and China in the minds of Love Boat participants.
In the next episode of Talking Taiwan, I’ll be speaking with New York Times Bestselling author, Abigail Hing Wen, a Love Boat alum herself about her debut young adult novel, Loveboat, Taipei.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What the Love Boat program is
- How the Love Boat got its nickname
- How the program evolved over time
- The lasting relationships and Love Boat alumni connections
- Selection of the Love Boat program counselors
- Escape routes that Love Boat program attendees used to sneak out at night
- The Baby Boat or Tugboat program
- Typical rites of passage for the Love Boat participants
- Why Valerie had to stop working on the documentary for a year
- How to raise money for an independent documentary film
- What advice Valerie has for documentary filmmakers
- What Valerie would like people to take away from her film
- The influential alumni of the Love Boat program
Related Links:
Love Boat: Taiwan website: https://www.loveboat-taiwan.com/
Love Boat: Taiwan Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/LoveBoatTaiwan/
Love Boat Study Tour Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Boat_(study_tour)
Love Boat: Taiwan trailer: https://vimeo.com/350256328
Valerie’s blog: https://beyondasiaphilia.com/
Love Boat television show theme song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_wFEB4Oxlo
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
February 28th is a national holiday in Taiwan and it’s just around the corner. But how many know the somber significance behind the date and what it commemorates?
Author Jennifer J. Chow has written a novel inspired by the 228 Incident (which refers to February 28, 1947).
I spoke with her about the 228 Incident and how it relates to her novel, The 228 Legacy. Jennifer has a new book coming out in March, it’s a cozy mystery novel called, Mimi Lee Gets A Clue. We also spoke about that, her other book projects and her writing process.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What is the 228 Incident?
- How the 228 Incident is related to Jennifer's book The 228 Legacy
- How Jennifer learned about 228
- Why she wrote the 228 Legacy
- Jennifer's upcoming book, Mimi Lee Gets A Clue
- The cozy mystery genre
- How her Winston Wong cozy mystery series is a tribute to her late mother
- Her writing process for the cozy mystery genre
- How she approaches writing young adult fiction, adult fiction and cozy mysteries
- Her writing routine and habits
- Her advice for people who want to write a book
Related Links:
Jennifer’s website: http://jenniferjchow.com/
The 228 Incident: https://www.taiwandc.org/228-intr.htm
The 228 Hand-In Hand Rally: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2004/02/29/2003100533
Formosa Betrayed: https://www.amazon.com/Formosa-Betrayed-George-H-Kerr/dp/1910736538
Jennifer J. Chow on social media:
https://www.facebook.com/JenJChow/
https://twitter.com/jenjchow
https://www.instagram.com/jenjchow/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
I conducted an interview with author, musician, and journalist Joe Henley, about his latest book, Bu San Bu Si, and his first book, Sons of the Republic. In writing Bu San Bu Si, Joe clearly drew upon his multi-disciplinary background.
The book after all is about a Taiwanese punk band and the struggles that the musicians face in reconciling their punk personas with Taiwan’s societal expectations. Joe, incidentally, has sung in punk rock and metal bands, and much of what he’s written in Bu San Bu Si was inspired by what he experienced in the Taipei punk and metal band scene.
We also talked about what motivates people with creative pursuits and how important money and fame might be in that pursuit. I asked him about his writing process and to offer advice to aspiring writers. Joe was unabashedly frank about what motivated him to write his first book, Sons of the Republic and talked about the subject of his next book.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Joe’s latest novel, Bu San Bu Si
- What the phrase “bu san bu si” means
- Joe’s writing process
- How Joe ended up in Taiwan
- How Saskatchewan (where Joe is from) compares to Taiwan
- How Joe adjusted from moving from Saskatoon to Taipei
- What motivated Joe to write his first novel, Sons of the Republic
- Joe’s career as a musician and freelance writer
- The topics of Joe’s future books
- Joe’s advice for aspiring authors
- Being a journalist vs. a novelist/author
- Joe’s two bands: Stench of Lust, and Revilement
Related Links:
www.jwhenley.com
www.facebook.com/jwhenley
www.Twitter.com/JoeReviled
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
In this episode of the Talking Taiwan podcast, I continue my conversation with Gerrit van der Wees about the Taiwan Communique, and how it revealed the truth of Taiwan's White Terror Era. Taiwan Communique is a publication that was started in 1980, during Taiwan’s martial law era, a dark period in Taiwan’s history in which there was extreme censorship and the people of Taiwan were denied their civil liberties. For these reasons Gerrit and his wife Mei-chin felt it was necessary to do something to shed light on the human rights violations that were happening in Taiwan.
It is really remarkable to hear how they gathered all of this sensitive information for the Taiwan Communique under these circumstances and in the pre-Internet era. For over 3 decades the Taiwan Communique was one of the most in-depth English-language resources on Taiwan. So I was really excited about doing this interview with Gerrit because I really wanted to acknowledge the lasting contribution of the Taiwan Communique and to let people know that it still remains available online to this day. It is a tremendous resource for anyone wanting to learn about the challenges Taiwan has faced in going from dictatorship to democracy.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What precipitated the creation of the Taiwan Communique
- The Human Rights Day rally on the 10th of December, 1979, which became known as the Kaohsiung incident
- The origins and formation of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
- The election of the first DPP president, Chen Shui-bian
- How the Sunflower movement (2014) was a reaction to President Ma Ying-jeou’s policies on trade with China and its impact on local elections in 2016
- The “Green Wave” of 2014 and 2016
- The Regan administration’s position on Taiwan in 1980
- The “Gang of Four” (senators in U.S. Congress) who were supportive of Taiwan
- How the Taiwan Communique reported on the lack of freedom of press treatment in Taiwan, the prison treatment of opposition leaders and other major developments in Taiwan
- The Taipei Spring of 1991-1992
- How they collected and gathered information for the Taiwan Communique in the pre-Internet era when phone calls costed $10/minute
- How the Taiwan Communique went from a circulation of 40 to thousands and was targeted to key policy makers and news media
- Gerrit’s proudest moment being acknowledged as the editor of the Taiwan Communique
- The strict censorship of publications and postal mail in Taiwan the 1980s
- How Gerrit and his wife Mei-chin got blacklisted by the government in Taiwan
- Gerrit’s current role teaching the history of Taiwan at George Mason University
Related Links:
Taiwan Communique: https://www.taiwandc.org/twcom/
The Kaohsiung incident (1979): https://www.taiwandc.org/hst-1979.htm
The Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA): http://fapa.org/wp/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
I recently invited Gerrit van der Wees, to share his perspectives on the outcome of the recent 2020 Taiwan presidential election.
Gerrit is the former editor of the Taiwan Communique magazine, a publication that was dedicated to the human rights and democracy of Taiwan. He has also worked for FAPA as a senior policy advisor and currently teaches the history of Taiwan at George Mason University. He’s also a former Dutch diplomat.
Gerrit has provided a very concise analysis of how the DPP and Tsai Ing-wen have come back after the disastrous results of the 2018 local elections. He also offered some insight into the reforms that the Tsai administration will now be able to carry out upon re-election and with a DPP majority parliament.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How the protests in Hong Kong played a role in the outcome of Taiwan’s 2020 presidential election
- What led to the poor results for the DPP in the 2018 local election results and how Tsai Ing-wen was able to turn that around and make a comeback
- The unprecedented news coverage of the 2020 presidential election
- The high voter turnout for the 2020 presidential election
- The reforms that Tsai Ing-wen initiated in her first term and will now be able to move forward with, including the transitional justice reform urging investigation into many of the political murders that happened during the martial law period and White Terror era of Taiwan
- Tsai Ing-wen’s economic initiatives and reforms
- China’s carrot and stick approach in dealing with Taiwan
- How Tsai Ing-wen was able to attract businesses in China back to Taiwan
Related Links:
The Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA): http://fapa.org/wp/
Taiwan Communique: https://www.taiwandc.org/twcom/
1992 Consensus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Consensus
Washington Post Editorial by George Will: Time is on Taiwan’s side, as long as the U.S. is, too: https://wapo.st/2uxVK3B
228 Incident (1947): https://www.taiwandc.org/228-intr.htm
The Kaohsiung incident (1979): https://www.taiwandc.org/hst-1979.htm
Lin Yi-hsiung murder case (1980): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lin_Yi-hsiung
https://tw.forumosa.com/t/1979-lin-family-murders-a-first-hand-account/50007
Death of Professor Chen Wen-chen at the National Taiwan University (1981): https://www.taiwandc.org/twcom/tc05-int.pdf
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
With the Taiwan Presidential Election of 2020 coming up in Taiwan on January 11th,I thought it would be a good idea to do a podcast about this particular topic. Recently I spoke with Chieh-Ting Yeh, the Editor-in-Cheif of Ketagalan Media, Vice-chairman of the Global Taiwan Institute and longtime watcher of Taiwan politics.
This episode should give you some interesting perspectives if you aren't up on what's going on with the upcoming presidential election in Taiwan.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How the presidential elections in Taiwan work
- The three presidential candidates: Tsai Ing-wen, Han Kuo-yu, James Soong
- What’s been the theme of Taiwan’s presidential election?
- China’s influence on Taiwan’s presidential election
- Domestic issues being overshadowed by the China issue during the presidential election
- The influence of Hong Kong’s protests on Taiwan’s presidential election
- The province of Taiwan under the Republic of China
- Taiwan’s first peaceful transition of power from the Kuomintang to the Democratic Progressive Party
- Why the presidential election in Taiwan was moved from March to January
- How Taiwan’s presidential elections have changed or not over the years
- What it’s like on presidential election day in Taiwan
Related Links:
How Does Taiwan's Parliamentary Election Work: http://www.ketagalanmedia.com/2015/12/26/how-does-taiwans-parliamentary-election-work/
It's the Constitution, Stupid:
http://www.ketagalanmedia.com/2015/11/14/its-the-constitution-stupid/
Taiwan’s Household Registration System Disenfranchises Its Young Voters
http://www.ketagalanmedia.com/2020/01/06/taiwans-household-registration-system-is-disenfranchising-young-voters/
Ketagalan Media
http://www.ketagalanmedia.com/
Global Taiwan Institute
http://globaltaiwan.org/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
This is an interview with Trigg Brown and Josh Ku of Win Son, a Taiwanese restaurant in NYC. Here are comments from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
When I sat down to interview Trigg Brown and Josh Ku about their Taiwanese American restaurant, Win Son, they talked about their shared a love of food, and how they used to trek all the way out to Flushing just to get good Taiwanese food. They used to get into discussions about what makes food uniquely Taiwanese vs. Chinese or Chinese American, and somewhere along the way they started tossing around the idea of opening up a restaurant together.
At first it seemed like just talk, but then Trigg inherited a commercial stove which they decided to keep- initially in the lobby of Josh’s building. The funny thing is that once this stove showed up, talk of Josh and Trigg’s restaurant idea seemed more and more real. Later the stove was moved into a former restaurant space that Josh was dealing with as a property manager. As fate and a Kickstarter campaign would have it, that former restaurant space ended up being where they opened Win Son.
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Learn all about Taiwan’s growing startup community and all of the resources available for budding entrepreneurs in this episode of the Talking Taiwan podcast. If you want to know how to start a business in Taiwan, there’s a book written about it, and not surprisingly, it’s called How to Start a Business in Taiwan. The author of that book, Elias Ek, the CEO and co-founder of Enspyre spoke with me about all of these topics, and more, including the annual Dragons’ Chamber pitch contest, which will be taking place on November 18th of this year. This episode is a must-listen, specifically for non-Taiwanese nationals or anyone who’s ever thought about, is about to embark on, or currently in the midst of starting a business in Taiwan.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode
- What the Dragons’ Chamber is
- How the Dragons’ Chamber pitch event works
- What the Dragons’ Chamber does and who is it for
- Recommended resources for budding entrepreneurs or people with startup ideas in Taiwan
- How having more foreign business and business owners in Taiwan could be beneficial
- Startup Weekend in Taiwan
- Why Startup Weekend is a good testing ground for people with business ideas
- Common problems faced by foreigners who try to start businesses in Taiwan
- Where to find Elias’ book, How To Start A Business in Taiwan
Related Links:
Dragons’ Chamber: https://dragonschambertaiwan.com/
Enspyre: http://www.enspyre.com
Dragon’s Den https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragons'_Den
Startup Digest: https://www.startupdigest.com/digests
Startup Digest Taipei https://www.startupdigest.com/digests/taipei
Startup Digest Southern Taiwan https://www.startupdigest.com/digests/southern-taiwan
French Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan: http://www.ccift.org.tw/
Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan: https://www.canchamtw.com/
Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/canadianchamberofcommerceintaiwan/
Meet Taipei: http://eng.meettaipei.tw/
Where to find Elias’ book, How to Start a Business in Taiwan: http://startabusinessintaiwan.tw/
How to Start a Business in Taiwan on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zhsNq0
How to Start a Business in Taiwan in ebook format on Leanpub: https://leanpub.com/startabusinessintaiwan
How to Start a Business in Taiwan: An Interview with Elias Ek: learnchinesebusiness.com/2014/10/16/how-to-start-a-business-in-taiwan-an-interview-with-elias-ek
Elias Ek's Linked-in link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eliasek
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
When I heard the historic news of May 24th, that Taiwan’s Constitutional Court had ruled that marriage is not strictly defined as being between a man and a woman, it was exciting to know that Taiwan was poised to be the first country in Asia to legalize gay marriage. Even though I’ve been involved with the Taiwan float in the New York Gay Pride Parade twice before this year’s event, I realize that I still have a lot more to learn about the LGBTQ movement and community in New York and Taiwan.
In fact, just last year I attended an orientation session for floats participating in the New York Gay Pride Parade. There I learned that the official name of the event is actually the New York Pride March. Why a march and not a parade? The organizers of New York Pride explained that the term march is a reminder of the origins of the first Gay Pride March in New York, which rose out of the riots that erupted in reaction to the unjust police raids of the Stonewall bar.
As for Taiwan’s Gay Pride Parade, it’s the largest one in Asia. But beyond that, and up until the May 24th Constitutional Court ruling, what’s happened in the gay rights movement in Taiwan?
I thought this would be the perfect time to cover this topic on the Talking Taiwan podcast.I wanted to interview someone about the gay rights movement in Taiwan. That led me to Wen Liu, gender studies professor at SUNY Albany and my interview with her.
I am so pleased to have Wen on as a guest to talk about the LGBTQ movement and the recent ruling in Taiwan on same-sex marriage. What listeners don’t know is that Wen did the interview with me from Taiwan, even though she is usually based in New York. I really appreciate her taking the time out of her schedule to do this interview with me.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode
- The May 24th ruling by the Constitutional Court in Taiwan that same-sex marriage could be legalized
- Mr. Chi Chia-wei who’s lawsuit led to the May 24th ruling
- The history of the same-sex marriage battle and family law in Taiwan
- Major turning points in Taiwan’s LGBTQ movement
- The history behind Taiwan’s gay pride parade
- How Taiwan compares to other Asian countries on LGBTQ issues
- The next steps after the May 24th ruling
- The marriage equality bill, civil partnership bill, multiple family bill
- Other work that needs to be done in Taiwan for the LGBTQ community
Related Links:
Wen Liu’s writings on New Bloom Magazine: http://newbloommag.net/author/wen-liu/
An article about the LGBTQ movement in Taiwan: https://outreachfortaiwan.org/taiwan-101/social-movements/lgbtq-movement-in-taiwan/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Did you know that there’s an annual flower show in New York featuring Taiwanese culture and orchids from Taiwan? Actually, I didn’t know this until one of my listeners reached out to me and told me about the upcoming Taiwan: A World of Orchids exhibit at the Queens Botanical Garden. Since I’m based in New York, I feel it’s my obligation to promote and inform people about all of the Taiwan-related events going on in New York. So I spoke with Pauline Huang, Chairwoman of the Queens Botanical Garden’s Board of Directors, who personally spearheaded the Taiwan orchid exhibit, which is now in it’s fourth year. I was really impressed by Pauline’s personal commitment to the Queens Botanical Garden and her follow through to make the first Taiwan: A World of Orchids exhibit happen back in 2014. Talk about “putting your money where your mouth is.” The Taiwan: A World of Orchids exhibit is coming up August 18-20th at the Queens Botanical Garden (43-50 Main Street, Flushing, NY 11355). Listen to this episode to learn more about the music, art and culture of Taiwan that you’ll experience at Taiwan: A World of Orchids.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How Pauline not only spearheaded, but gave her personal assurance to make the first Taiwan: A World of Orchids exhibit happen in only 2 months time
- The music and art you’ll experience at the Taiwan: A World of Orchids exhibit
- Why Pauline believes it’s so important to give back to your community
- How Taiwan is one of the top three countries that exports orchids
- What sets Taiwan apart from other orchid producing countries
- How you can buy a Taiwan orchid to take home for yourself
Related Links:
Qeens Botanical Garden Website: https://queensbotanical.org/orchids/
Queens Botanical Garden Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/queensbotanical/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Last year was the first year that there was a Taiwanese Waves concert at the Central Park Summerstage and it was smashing success! Thousands of people were introduced to Taiwanese musicians Anpu (also known as Deserts Xuan), Wonfu, and Sunset Rollercoaster.
This year Taiwanese Waves has been invited back to Summerstage. Recently, I sat down to talk with Mia Min Yen, the founder and organizer of Taiwanese Waves. Mia spoke with me about the origins of her love of live music, how she was finally able to bring Taiwanese Waves to Summerstage, how the musicians featured this year (Fire Ex, Dadao Huang & Berry j, and Sangpuy) are representative of the cultural diversity of Taiwan, and her vision for the future of Taiwanese Waves.
Taiwanese Waves is not only a great showcase for Taiwanese musicians, but also the only Summerstage concert series lineup to feature Asian musicians. Taiwanese Waves will be at the Summerstage on July 29th from 6:00-10:00 pm at the Rumsey Playfield in New York’s Central Park. To learn more about Taiwanese Waves, visit: www.TaiwaneseWaves.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Where the name Taiwanese Waves comes from
- How Mia was finally able to bring Taiwanese Waves to Central Park’s Summerstage
- Where Mia’s interest in live music and bands came from
- How she curates the Taiwanese Waves concert series
- A preview of some of the musicians who will be performing at this year’s Taiwanese Waves
- What’s Mia’s future vision for Taiwanese Waves
- Mia’s other love of photography and where you can find on her Instagram
Related Links:
Taiwanese Waves website: www.TaiwaneseWaves.com
Taiwanese Waves Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/taiwanesewaves/ Support Taiwanese Waves by purchasing a commemorative, limited edition Taiwanese Waves key ring here: https://goo.gl/8R2vPm
YouTube clips of each of the musical artists that will be performing at Taiwanese Waves:
Summerstage website: http://www.cityparksfoundation.org/summerstage/
Mia Min Yen on Instagram: www.instagram.com/miaminyenphotos
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
I first learned about Treya, an up-and-coming musician with an amazing voice about two years ago, when she was profiled on TaiwaneseAmerican.org. From then on she was definitely on my radar to have as a guest on the Talking Taiwan, but somehow the timing was just not right for it. As I waited for the stars to align, I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing her perform live several times. Now it’s time for me to have her on Talking Taiwan as a guest, and the timing couldn’t be better as Treya is in the midst of a Pledge Music campaign to raise funds for her first album. She’s running a sort of crowdfunding campaign, which I happen to know a thing or two about. So I am really thrilled to be able support her at this time, and to let others know about her huge talent. On top of all this I have the distinct honor of being the first on record to have done an audio interview with her!
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
Treya’s thoughts on Taiwan and being Taiwanese and American
Her musical inspirations and influences
Treya’s music writing process and her sources of inspiration
How she deals with writer’s block
Working on her first album and her Pledge Music Campaign and what she has planned for it
How you can support Treya’s Pledge Music Campaign and what she is offering at different contribution levels
Her thoughts on musicians independently producing their own music
Related Links:
To learn more about Treya, visit her website:
http://www.treyamakesmusic.com/
To support Treya’s Pledge Music campaign visit:
http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/treya
Treya on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/treyamakesmusic/
Hello Taiwan:
http://www.hellotaiwan.us/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
It’s that time of year again here in New York City. Spring is upon us, and as the weather warms up you’ll find street fairs popping up all around the city. I’ve already run into a couple of them. If you have ever been in the city at this time of year, you’ll know what I’m talking about. It’s hard to miss it when you come across blocks and blocks of a wide New York City avenue that are closed off to traffic, and bustling with pedestrians instead. You’ll smell the aroma of mouthwatering foods wafting in the air, and see a variety of vendors hawking their wares. Imagine a massive flea market and a block party all rolled into one.
In the summer New York City is known for its free, open air, outdoor, public events with all sorts of cultural offerings ranging from classical music performances in Central Park to screenings of blockbuster movies at one of the Hudson River Park piers.
Most notable for the Talking Taiwan podcast and our listeners, is the Passport to Taiwan, an outdoor festival dedicated to celebrating everything related to Taiwan. The festival takes place every May in Union Square Park and is a chance for the public to experience Taiwanese culture. There are arts and crafts demonstrations, community organizations represented, the ever-popular Taiwanese food stalls, and live music performances. Passport to Taiwan has been going on for 14 years and last year an estimated 10, 000 people were in attendance.
The Hello Taiwan concert series was born out of the Passport to Taiwan and brings musical artists from Taiwan to New York to perform at the festival. This year’s Hello Taiwan musical artists are truly representative the ethnic diversity of Taiwan.
Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with Ysanne Spevack, the producer of this year’s Hello Taiwan Tour. Ysanne herself is an accomplished musician who works with up-and-coming musical artists. I was really impressed with how she has embraced Taiwan and the Taiwanese music industry, which she compared to the U.K.’s. That’s high praise indeed! This year’s Hello Taiwan Tour runs May 24-29. Learn more about Hello Taiwan in this episode of the Talking Taiwan podcast.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
What is the Passport to Taiwan
The origins of Hello Taiwan and the Hello Taiwan tour
The musical artists who will be performing at Hello Taiwan: Gina Can, Sean Huang, and Biung
Taiwan’s music industry and how it compares to the U.K.’s
Hello Taiwan tour dates
Taiwan’s Golden Melody Awards, Taiwan’s equivalent of the Grammys
Ysanne’s advice for aspiring musicians
Related Links:
Hello Taiwan Website
Link: www.hellotaiwan.us/
Hello Taiwan Facebook Page
Link: www.facebook.com/HelloTaiwanRocks//
Music videos featuring musicians performing in the 2017 Hello Taiwan Tour: Sean Huang (singing to a woman dressed in a cockroach costume), Gina Can and Biung:
Link: http://www.hellotaiwan.us/2017.html
Treya's Pledge Music Campaign is now LIVE
http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/treya
To purchase tickets
Link to purchase tickets to the May 27th Hello Taiwan concert at Joe’s Pub featuring Sean Huang, Gina Can, Biung and Treya
https://www.joespub.com/Tickets/Calendar/PlayDetailsCollection/Joes-Pub/2017/H/Hello-Taiwan/
Talking Taiwan Episode 45 About the 13th Annual Passport to Taiwan
Passport to Taiwan website
Learn about Taiwan in New York
Link: www.p2tw.org/
Ysanne’s personal website
http://www.helloysanne.com
Ysanne’s company website for Cherry Plum Media
http://cherryplum.media
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
When Gus, the producer of Talking Taiwan suggested that I do an interview with David Frazier, co-founder and Festival Director of the Urban Nomad Film Festival, which first started in Taipei in 2002, I was intrigued. And after speaking with David about Urban Nomad, I found myself wishing that I'd be in Taipei at the time of the festival!
We talked about how the Urban Nomad Film Festival is more than just a film festival. In the past it has featured poetry readings, live bands, exhibits, parties, and a host of other interactive events.
At a glance, the Urban Nomad is part film festival, part music festival. But it is more than that. The goal of the festival's organizers has been to create a community-oriented event. David explained that the festival was inspired by punk rock’s DIY ethic, and described the Urban Nomad Film Festival as participatory event and “a live art project.”
Learn where the name of the festival “Urban Nomad” came from, the fascinating evolution of the festival and what it takes to run a festival like this. The Urban Nomad Film Festival is definitely something worth checking out if you’re in Taipei in the spring. To learn more, visit their website: www.urbannomad.tw
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How the festival has evolved since it first started in 2002
Where the name of the festival “Urban Nomad” came from
What the Urban Nomad Film Festival is
What it takes to run a festival like the Urban Nomad Film Festival
The people and supporters of the festival
Highlights from past Urban Nomad Film Festivals
The New York connection to the Urban Nomad Film Festival
The types of films that premier at the Urban Nomad Film Festival
Related Links:
www.urbannomad.tw (Urban Nomad Film Festival website)
www.facebook.com/UrbanNomad.tw (Urban Nomad Film Festival Facebook page)
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
I love talking to entrepreneurs and small business owners. It’s always interesting to learn how they started and have continued to build their businesses. For this episode I had the pleasure of speaking to Michael Forncrook about how he started a craft beer business in Taiwan. We spoke at great length, and what a lot of listeners don’t know is that we do most our podcasts long distance, via Skype. For this interview I was in New York, and Michael was in central Taiwan. It might not come as a surprise that we’ve the occasional technical glitch, but it happened a record number of times during my interview with Michael. We actually had to hang up and reconnect four times! So I want to thank Michael for sticking it out with me and for supporting Talking Taiwan. We had such a fascinating conversation about a range of topics including what type of beer is healthier, the steps to brew beer at home, gypsy brewers, and advice for expats wanting to start a business in Taiwan.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
How and why PB Craft hosts beer brewing classes
Beer brewing in Taiwan and Asia
Michael’s company PB Craft
The B2B agricultural food marketplace, that Michael is developing. He describes it as the Aliba or B2B Amazon for food products and beverages
Can beer be considered healthy and what kind of beer is healthier?
The benefits of beer spas
How to brew beer at home
Unique craft beer flavors
What is a gypsy brewer?
The craft beer industry in Taiwan and Asia.
The challenges of running a business with your spouse
Advice for expats interested in starting a business in Taiwan
Entrepreneurship in Taiwan
Beer Brewing Steps:
Related Links:
http://www.pbcraft.com (B2B beer and beverage consulting and materials supplier)
http://www.diybeersupply.com.tw (B2B online store)
http://AgriGoGo.com (new BB Agriculture Marketplace)
金鼎軒自釀啤酒 DIY Beer Supply Home Brew Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/%E9%87%91%E9%BC%8E%E8%BB%92%E8%87%AA%E9%87%80%E5%95%A4%E9%85%92-DIY-Beer-Supply-Home-Brew-483634355030591/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Ed Yen is a Taiwanese music producer, music executive, entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, audio engineer, theater designer, film score, commercial composer, A&R manager and vocal coach. He is the Executive Producer of Taiwan Music Express and CEO Of GCA.
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
TalkingTaiwan catches up with Dwagie at the CMJ Music Night Showcase on 24 October.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dwagie%E5%A4%A7%E6%94%AF/267893688022
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Sophie Ping-Ya Hsu talks to host Felicia Lin about Taiwan Voice.
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Eric Tsai and Jenny Wang on Outreach for Taiwan talk to host Felicia Lin about Outreach for Taiwan.
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Here is an interview with Author Ed Lin on his Book, Ghost Month.
Ed Lin talks about his latest novel - Ghost Month - which is his 5th book featuring Detective Robert Chow. The story centers around a mysterious murder that occurs in Taipei, Taiwan, during the 7th month of the lunar calendar. Mr Lin also talks about the writing process and his experiences as a novelist.
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Here is an interview with Echo Lin on Anti-Nuclear Protests in Taiwan.
Echo Lin explains her role as Secretary General of the Environmental Jurist Association, an international group of legal professionals concerned about the lack of legislative frameworks that protect our planet from ourselves. She specifically discusses the controversies surrounding Taiwan's 4th Nuclear Power plant and why this remains a hot-button issue even nearly 30 years after it was approved by Taiwan's Legislative Yuan.
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Borcheng Hsu talks about the 13th Passport 2 Taiwan Festival at Union Square in New York City. P2TW has grown to over 60 booths (1/3 are authentic Taiwanese food you cannot find in the US outside of someone's home) and how cultural groups are now being flown in direct from Taiwan. Mr Hsu also talks about the future of the event, and how it could be traveling to a city new you someday soon!
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Here is an interview with Tony Chang on the Sunflower Movement.
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Here is an interview with Tony Chang on the Taiwan Independence Citizens Revolution.
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Here is an interview with Tony Chang on the Taiwan Independence Citizens Revolution.
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Here is an interview with Lawrence Lin about American Citizens for Taiwan.
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Here is an interview with Claire Hsieh about the STUF United Fund.
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Here is an interview with Chieh-ting Yeh about the Ketagalan Project.
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
When I invited Andrew Watson onto Talking Taiwan to talk about the fourth annual Hello Taiwan Concert, I was pleasantly surprised by how our conversation touched on the 1990s music scene in Taiwan. Andrew was living in Taiwan at the time when he formed his band Feiwu (廢物樂隊), which will be performing at Hello Taiwan. Feiwu is the hard-rocking band who wrote and performed the classic “我愛台灣啤酒” (“I Love Taiwan Beer”) and other original songs at Spring Scream and various venues around the island from 1997 to 2001. The band is well known as one of the core bands that pioneered the Taiwan independent music scene of the ’90’s along with Mayday (五月天), Cthonic (閃靈), 1976, The Chairman (董事長), and Quarterback (四分衛).
This year, organizers of the Hello Taiwan Concert will be raising funds for Typhoon Haiyan victims in the Philippines. Last year they raised $10,000 for the Breezy Point firemen who were themselves victims of Hurricane Sandy, when their houses were burned down in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Many of the Breezy Point firemen, were the first responders at the 9/11 terrorist attack.
The bands that will be performing at Hello Taiwan include: Feiwu (廢物樂隊), Bikini Carwash, Torpid May, and The Underground Channel.
There will be a special guest performance by Filipino American rapper, producer and performer, IZZY.
Hello Taiwan will be hosted by Ben Hedges. journalist, producer and TV host. He now hosts New Tang Dynasty Television’s show “Lao Wai Kan Zhongguo” 郝毅博是《老外看中國》的主持人.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this episode:
- The bands that will be featured at the fourth annual Hello Taiwan Concert
- Andrew’s band Feiwu (廢物樂隊) and Code of Resistance
- What’s going to be happening at the Hello Taiwan Concert
- How the Hello Taiwan Concert is a mix of a Taiwan-style night market with live music performances
- What brought Andrew to Taiwan
- Will Feiwu record a third album?
- The 1990s music scene in Taiwan
- How Andrew would compare the music scenes in Taipei and New York
- Andrew’s Flushing restaurant recommendations
- Filipino rapper Izzy will be among those performing at Hello Taiwan
- How Ben Hedges the host of Lao Wai Kan Zhongguo (老外看中國) on New Tang Dynasty Television will be hosting Hello Taiwan
Related Links:
The Hello Taiwan website: http://www.hellotaiwan.us/
Feiwu’s (廢物樂隊) Facebook page: www.Facebook.com/FeiwuBand
Feiwu’s (廢物樂隊) website: www.hsiung.net/feiwu
Code of Resistance’s Facebook page: www/Facebook.com/CodeofResistance
Ben Hedge’s You Tube Channel “Lao Wai Kan Zhongguo” 郝毅博是《老外看中國》的主持人: http://www.youtube.com/laowaikanzhongguo
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
When I spoke with Jesse Liu a concert promoter and manager of the Brazilian band Hibria, our conversation touched upon the music scene in Asia and comparisons between Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and South East Asia. Jesse also spoke more specifically about the music industry in Taiwan.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this episode:
- How Jesse balances managing a band and being a concert promoter
- The Brazilian band, Hibria that Jesse manages
- The financial risk involved in being a concert promoter
- The difference between being a band manager and a concert promoter
- How Jesse compares the various markets in Asia (e.g. Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, and South East Asia markets)
- How Jesse compares the music scenes in Korea, China and Japan
- How Taiwan is still a leading producer of Chinese language pop music
- The most popular bands in Taiwan
- How Taiwan’s music industry has changed over the course of Jesse’s career
- What does it take to make a band successful?
- The challenges involved in booking shows for bands in China
- The music business in Taiwan
Related Links:
Jesse’s concert promoting business Icon Promotions: www.icon-promotions.com
Hibria’s website: www.hibria.com
Hibria’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/HIBRIAOFFICIAL/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Here is an interview with Television, Film Actor, and Producer Brian Yang.
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Here is an interview with Brian Yang, the producer of "Linsanity" the Movie.
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Here is an interview with entrepreneur Yao Huang, the founder of the Hatchery.
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
I spoke at length with Eric de Fontenay, the Founder of MusicDish about topics ranging from the artists who will be performing at this year’s Taiwan CMJ Music Showcase, the Asian music scene, Mandopop, J-pop and K-pop. It was a fun and fascinating conversation. Listen to hear preview clips from the artists who will be performing at the Taiwan CMJ Music Showcase, which will be held at the legendary New York City venue, Webster Hall and to learn more about the Asian music scene.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this episode:
- What is the CMJ Music Marathon
- The panels and events that will be happening during the CMJ Music Marathon (October 15- October 18)
- Bands that will be performing at the Taiwan CMJ Music Showcase: Joanna Wang, Miss Ko and DJ Noodles
- Sound clips from the artists that will be performing at the Taiwan CMJ Music Showcase
- How all three artists being represented in this year’s Taiwan CMJ Music Showcaseare all female
- Taiwan’s music and its place in the Asian music scene
- How Mandopop compares to J-pop and K-pop
- How China is developing its music scene
- The influence and popularity of K-pop
- Comparisons between the music scene in Taiwan and China
- How Eric started MusicDish and got involved with the Taiwan music scene
- The Spring Scream Concert that is held annually in Southern Taiwan
- The first MP3 lawsuit
- The Hsu-nami
- Partners and supporting organizations of the Taiwan CMJ Music Showcase
Related Links:
MusicDish website: www.MusicDish.com
Facebook group dedicated to Mandarin music www.facebook.com/groups/musicdishchina, on
Music Dish on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MusicDish_China
https://twitter.com/MusicDish
Asian In New York website: http://www.asianinny.com/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Jenny Wang spoke with me about Taiwan Week 2013, which is a week of events leading up to the Keep Taiwan Free Rally aka the UN for Taiwan (UN4TW). This year marks the 20th anniversary of UN4TW movement in New York. Listen to hear about all the fun daily events being planned for Taiwan Week.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What is Taiwan Week and how it got started
- What is the purpose behind Taiwan Week
- The connection between Taiwan Week and the UN for Taiwan Rally
- What activities and events are being planned for Taiwan Week
- The challenges in organizing Taiwan Week
- The kickoff concert event on Friday, September 6 and all events leading up to Saturday, September 14th, the day of The Keep Taiwan Free Rally
- The photo shoot with the Third Prince (三太子哪吒)
- Who the Third Prince is
Related Links:
Taiwan Week 2013 Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/528492097224586/
See What Happened at Taiwan Week 2012: http://youtu.be/k9Lm-fPRy1Q
Keep Taiwan Free website: www.KeepTaiwanFree.org
Twitter https://twitter.com/Keep_TW_Free
Taipei Times article about the Third Prince (三太子): https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2013/02/21/2003555342
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Our guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Elena Liao, the owner of Té Company. She won last year’s Entrepreneur Challenge and Competition (ECC). To learn more about the ECC listen to the previous episode about the Entrepreneur Challenge and Competition. The name of her company, comes from the word “Té,” for “tea” in Taiwanese Hokkien.
Elena, the owner of Té in New York. Elena, founder of Té Company, is an avid tea drinker and a dedicated food enthusiast living in New York City. She was born and raised in Taiwan, then moved to the US in her early teens.
Like most Taiwanese families, drinking oolong tea was part of her daily ritual growing up. Living in the food mecca of New York City, Elena was surrounded by foodies alike celebrating hand crafted espresso and the complex bouquet of artisanal wine.
As her appreciation and knowledge for fine culinary craft blossomed, she found herself increasingly drawn to the delicate flavors of oolong teas. The childhood tea drinking tradition became more than a passtime. It became a culinary exploration, which led her to study oolong tea’s history and artistic craftsmanship.
Elena’s love of tea was first nurtured by her family and her passion for it shines through in this interview. Our conversation turned out to be a deep dive into the world of tea. She spoke to me about artisanal teas, how tea can be aged like wine, and even used in cooking and baking.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What the name of her company Te comes from
- Her participation in the Entrepreneur Challenge and Competition (ECC), which is organized by TAP-NY and the Taiwanese Merchants Association
- How she prepared her proposal for the ECC
- What advice she would give to anyone preparing to go through a competition like the ECC
- What she things is the one thing you need to succeed in participating in a competition like the ECC
- What she did with the money she won from the ECC
- How she got on the path to starting Te Company
- The research she’s done about tea to prepare herself to be a tea merchant
- Her visits with tea framers in Taiwan tea leaves are picked in Taiwan
- How white, green, yellow, oolong and black tea can all be made from a single plant
- How tea is similar to wine or whiskey
- How tea ceremony can affect the taste of tea
- What is espresso tea
- The difference between drinking tea from a tea bag vs. loose leaf tea
- How tea can be aged
- How Elena comes up with new tea blends
- The difference between ice tea and hot tea
- How she uses oolong tea in cooking and baking
- What’s next for Te Company
Related Links:
Te Company’s website: http://www.te-nyc.com
Taiwanese American Professionals- New York (TAP-NY): https://www.tap-ny.org/
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
In this episode of Talking Taiwan I spoke with Crystal Tang, TAP-NY’s Professional Chair and Jacqui Wu, TAP-NY’s Co-President about the second annual Entrepreneur Challenge and Competition (ECC). The ECC is organized by the Taiwanese American Professionals - NY (TAP-NY) and the Taiwan Merchants Association. Crystal and Jacqui talked about the ECC’s selection process and the impressive lineup of judges who are successful, prominent Taiwanese American entrepreneurs and business leaders.
The ECC is an opportunity to showcase the Taiwanese American entrepreneurial spirit. This year the organizers have added a nonprofit category. Eight finalists will be chosen for the final event, which will be open to the public. At the final event, there will be cash prizes of up to $10,000 for winners, and an audience favorite will be chosen.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What the Entrepreneur Challenge and Competition (ECC) is- the competition opens June 1, with business plans due on July 31
- How written proposals are selected for the second round
- The third round, which consists of eight proposals selected in the second round will be open to the public
- There will be cash prizes for contestants of up to $10,000
- The two organizations organizing the ECC, the Taiwan Merchants Association and Taiwanese American Professionals - NY (TAP-NY)
- How the ECC was created by Bob Wu, the founder of TAP-NY
- The ECC judges, which include prominent Taiwanese American entrepreneurs and business leaders: Andrew Yang (Venture for America) Will Peng, Yao Huang, Dorothy Jean, Benny Wang (Timehop)
- The changes and improvements they’ve made to ECC for this second year of the competition, including the addition of a separate category for nonprofits
- On September 14th the top eight finalists will present to the judges and the audience
- There will be an audience favorite who will be awarded $1,000
- Last year’s ECC winner, Elena Liao
Related Links:
Entrepreneur Challenge and Competition (ECC) website: www.competition.tap-ny.org
Entrepreneur Challenge and Competition (ECC) Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/435405363234006/
Taiwanese American Young Professionals – NY website: http://www.tap-ny.org
Jacqui Wu was born in Hawaii and grew up in Taiwan. After graduating from Taipei American School, she moved to Ann Arbor to attend the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, where she earned her Bachelors of Business Administration. Jacqui began her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in the Dispute Analysis & Investigations group, which focused on the accounting aspects in litigation and fraud investigation. She recently moved into investment banking and joined Sevara Partners LLC, a start-up boutique investment bank focused in mergers & acquisitions, restructuring advisory and capital raising. Jacqui is excited to be working with TAP to build a community of “expatriate” Taiwan-folk to pay homage to their Taiwanese roots and meet other foodies who appreciate delicacies like stinky tofu and chicken gizzard.
Crystal Tang was born in New Jersey and lived there until moving abroad to Hong Kong in 8th grade. While she was abroad she had the opportunity to visit family in Taiwan multiple times a year and has come to think of it as home. After finishing high school, Crystal moved to New York where she attended Barnard College, studying Art History and Visual Arts. During undergrad, she was involved with the Taiwanese American Students Association and also participated in the Formosa Foundation’s Ambassador Program. Crystal currently works as a Regional Director at Teach For America where she oversees recruitment and outreach efforts in New York.
A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Ho Chie Tsai is a founding Board Member who also wears many hats in the Taiwanese American community. As a frequent speaker on the collegiate conference circuit and youth summer camp programs, a past Program Director and current Board Member of the Taiwanese American Foundation, and a founder of the Taiwanese American Professionals chapter in San Francisco, he hopes to inspire a renewed sense of pride in personal identity and to increase activism and involvement within the greater Asian American community.
Ho Chie holds an Electrical Engineering BS degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a Bioengineering MS and an MD degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago. In his spare time, he works as a pediatrician.