Talking Taiwan

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 Bluebi

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 [email protected] 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: 1. to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, 2. to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, 3. to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, 4. to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, 5. 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 Rela

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: 1. To realize UN's purposes and to foster justice, peace and security for Taiwan and the world. 2. To promote Taiwanese understanding of and education on the UN and its related organizations. 3. 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. 4. 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 herehttps://thecultureshack.blog/2023/12/04/emergency-preparedness-guide-for-expats-in-taiwan/ Taiwan is of course no stranger to natural disasters since it often experiences earthquakes and typhoons. What's raised eyebrows about John's book is that it has a section that specifically addresses what to do in case of a military attack by China. Since 2020 China has upped its grey zone tactics by sending planes into Taiwan's ADIZ on a daily basis. Concerns about civil defense preparedness in Taiwan peaked in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022, and then there was the PLA's military actions in August of 2022 in response to Nancy Pelosi, the U.S. House Speaker at the time visiting Taiwan. John and I talked about the research involved in writing the guide, how people can be prepared in case of and emergency or disaster and why he felt it was necessary to include a section in the guide to address dealing with a possible invasion of Taiwan by China. John Groot is a long-time Canadian expat in Taiwan. He is an independent writer-researcher and has done one book and many articles about Taiwan's history, culture, and geography. Recently he has focused more on the security situation with regards to Chinese aggression toward Taiwan. One of his major recent projects was a 68 page PDF e-book called "Resilience Roadmap: An Emergency Preparedness Guide for Expats in Taiwan." Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: · John's background and upbringing · How John got interested in civil defense and emergency preparedness · How Russia's invasion in Ukraine in 2022 heightened interested in civil defense in Taiwan · How John learned about the NGO Open Knowledge aka OK Taiwan · Documentary filmmaker Tobie Openshaw · The PLA's military actions in response to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in August 2022 · The civil defense handbook that was issued by Taiwan's government and how it showed the difference between uniforms of Taiwan's military and China's PLA · How many expats there are in Taiwan, and the different types of expats · Issues with the path for expats to apply for nationality in Taiwan · The research John did for the book · Tobie Openshaw's experience with the 921 Earthquake in Taiwan · Sweden's defense system · Israel's military service system · How France supports its citizens abroad · How long it took John to write the book · How the book is organized · The earthquake in Taiwan that caused a crane to fall from Taipei 101 · John's experience with natural disasters in Taiwan · The acronyms in the book · The origin of the term "bug out" · How people can be prepared for emergencies or disasters · Having a communication plan in case of emergency or disaster · What students learn about dealing with natural disasters and emergencies · Liability issues in Taiwan when it comes to medically intervening to help someone · Why John felt that the book should address what to do in case of threat of war i.e. an attack on Taiwan by China · Meetings amongst the American communities in Taipei after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in August 2022 · The response John's received to the book · Whether or not it is advisable to go to a government evacuation center · How in times of need it's important to consider the needs of others · How families can prepare their children for dealing with disasters · How Taiwan and the U.S. do not want war with China · What John would like people to take away from the book · How John hopes that people can be prepared for emergencies or disasters Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/an-emergency-preparedness-guide-for-expats-in-taiwan-our-discussion-with-survivalist-author-john-groot-ep-291/

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 ·

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). Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-linda-gail-arrigo-taiwan-democracy-fighter-talks-about-events-leading-up-to-the-kaohsiung-incident-ep-287/ 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: https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-linda-gail-arrigo-taiwan-democracy-fighter-talks-about-events-leading-up-to-the-kaohsiung-incident-ep-287/

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). Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/bluebird-movement-3-experts-discuss-the-controversial-bills-leading-to-protests-at-the-legislative-yuan-ep-286/ 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. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/bluebird-movement-3-experts-discuss-the-controversial-bills-leading-to-protests-at-the-legislative-yuan-ep-286/

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. Related Links:

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 sc

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-think-tank-focused-on-the-relationship-between-the-united-states-and-taiwan-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. 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-think-tank-focused-on-the-relationship-between-the-united-states-and-taiwan-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 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 PayPal: [email protected] Zelle: [email protected] Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/talkingtaiwan Checks can be made payable to Talking Taiwan and sent to: Talking Taiwan PO Box 1049 New York, NY 10113 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

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 PayPal: https://tinyurl.com/zn3zm9ux Zelle: [email protected] Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/talkingtaiwan 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 [email protected]. 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: [email protected] 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/