Talking Taiwan

Pasuya Yao (姚文智) is a politician turned film producer. His film production company thuànn TAIWAN, produced the documentary Su Beng, The Revolutionist and more recently the feature film Untold Herstory that ranked third at Taiwan's box office in 2022. We spoke about Untold Herstory, which is based on a book authored by Tsao Chin-jung (曹欽榮) and published in 2012, the book's title has been translated as "Bonfire Island: Untold Herstory." It is a collection of interviews of women political prisoners held on Green Island in the 1950s. If you haven't seen Untold Herstory yet, it will be coming to Taiwan Plus on February 28 2024. Special thanks to Loretta Chen for her translation assistance for this episode. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/pasuya-yao-on-his-film-untold-herstory-about-1950s-women-political-prisoners-on-green-island-ep-244/ Mr. Yao is a former Democratic Progressive Party legislator and previously ran for Taipei City Mayor in 2018. We talked about why he decided to switch from a career in politics to film producing, and about the subjects his upcoming television and film projects: artist Chen Cheng-po （陳澄波）, the Taiyuan uprising of 1970, and Chen Nylon (鄭南榕). This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: 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. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Pasuya Yao's career as a politician before becoming a film producer · How Mr. Yao got interested and involved in politics as a college student · Mr. Yao recalls the Kuomintang's authoritarian rule during Taiwan's martial law era · When Mr. Yao served as director of the News Bureau in 2004 he gained a more comprehensive understanding of Taiwan's media culture and film industry · Mr. Yao served as director of the GIO (government information office) in 2005 he · How Mr. Yao ran for Taipei City mayor in 2018 but lost and decided to switch to producing films · How Mr. Yao was exposed to opposition (dangwai) magazines when he was a teenager · The meaning behind the name of Mr. Yao's film production company, thuànn TAIWAN Film Company · The difference between the first film Mr. Yao's produced, Su Beng, The Revolutionist (a documentary) and Untold Herstory (a feature film) · How fundraising is the most challenging part of film production · The subjects of Mr, Yao's future television and film projects: Chen Cheng-po, a Taiwanese artist that was executed in 1947, Taiyuan 1970, Cheng Nylon · Mr. Yao's relatives that were affected by the 228 Massacre and White Terror era · "Puanpuatsu" which means that Chiang Kai-shek personally signed and issued orders to change people's verdicts to death sentences · Documents revealing Chiang Kai-shek's orders to execute were gradually exposed and made public over two decades since the DPP was the opposition party · How Mr. Yao feels it's important that younger generations of Taiwanese understand Taiwan's history and that Taiwan's democracy was hard-earned and due to the sacrifices of many · How a thousand or more people's fate were changed directly by Chiang Kai-shek who personally signed and issued orders to execute people · How the film Untold Herstory is based on the oral history research done by Tsao Chin-jung · The film Untold Herstory depicts 29 cases ofindividuals whose outcomes were changed directly by Chiang Kai-shek's orders · The challenges in casting actors for Untold Herstory · Where Untold Herstory has been screened · What kind of response the film has received · How Untold Herstory was release around the time of Taiwan's local elections in November 2022 · Untold Herstory ranked third at Taiwan's box office in 2022 · Where Untold Herstory will be screened in the future · Untold Herstory will be available on Taiwan Plus beginning February 28, 2024, the anniversary of the 228 Massacre Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/pasuya-yao-on-his-film-untold-herstory-about-1950s-women-political-prisoners-on-green-island-ep-244/

Summer is upon us and in the past it's been a very busy time for the Taiwanese American community with several summer conferences and camps being organized across the country. There's TAF, the Taiwanese American Foundation, TACEC, the Taiwanese American Conference East Coast, TAC-WC, the West Coast version of the Taiwanese American Conference, and TANG just to name a few. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/christine-su-of-tang-enriching-youth-through-a-loving-taiwanese-community-ep-243/ These conferences and camps have become an annual tradition, the basis for lifelong friendships, a place for reunions of sorts, and a way to build and connect with our community. After all we've been through these past couple of years, it's good to be back and able to meet again in person. This year marks the 20th anniversary of TANG (the Taiwanese American Next Generation). This year TANG will be held at West Chester University in Pennsylvania from July 1-4. You may have heard this organization mentioned in past episodes of Talking Taiwan with my guests Rolla Chng, Peter Lin and Ed Lin (who incidentally are not related to me or to each other). Also, several of my past guests like Michelle Kuo and Tim Chng have been involved with TANG or invited to speak there. TANG's mission statement is: For the youth to be enriched by a loving Taiwanese community, so they can obtain a stronger sense of self and passionately pursue their convictions. Since TANG is just around the corner, I thought it would be good to invite Christine Su to stop by Talking Taiwan's podcasting booth at Passport to Taiwan to talk about TANG and how it's connected to TACEC. The Taiwanese American Conference East Coast, is an annual conference organized the TAA, the Taiwanese Association of America, one of the oldest Taiwanese organizations with chapters all across the United States. Each year TACEC is organized by a different East Coast chapter of the TAA. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: 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. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: · The origins of TANG (Taiwanese American Next Generation) and its connection to TACEC (Taiwanese American Conference East Coast) · This year is the 20th anniversary of TANG and 52nd anniversary of TACEC · TANG staff consists entirely of volunteers · The theme of this year's TANG is "Identity: Write Your Story" · The Taiwan Night show that happens at TACEC and TANG · The programs for the different age groups that attend TANG: high schoolers, juniors, tiny tots, TANG parents, college, and young adults · TANG and TACEC are usually held together over the July 4th weekend and is a multigenerational experience with kids, their parents and grandparents attending · What TANG did during the pandemic · How the TANG high school counselors created a virtual program for high schoolers during the pandemic · In 2020 TANG organized a "Helping Hands Virtual Walk & Run" for the community to stay connected during the pandemic Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/christine-su-of-tang-enriching-youth-through-a-loving-taiwanese-community-ep-243/

Author Ed Lin stopped by to chat with me in the Talking Taiwan podcasting booth at Passport to Taiwan. This is the first of several live interviews we recorded at our outdoor on-location podcasting booth. We touched upon a broad range of topics, many that we've covered here in the past on Talking Taiwan. In fact, this gives us a good excuse to share some of our past episodes in the related links section for this episode on our website. On the other hand, my conversation with Ed brought up a few good ideas for future topics and guests that we should have on Talking Taiwan. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/ed-lin-our-interview-live-at-passport-to-taiwan-ep-242/ As Ed and I were talking, you'll hear us talking to some of the people who walked by and stopped by to say hello, among them were of some of our supporters, mutual friends and a previous Talking Taiwan guest another Lin, Peter Lin who's band the Asian American Jazz Collective performed at Passport to Taiwan that day. That's the thing about Passport to Taiwan, when you're there you never know who you'll run into. We were also thrilled to meet and talk to some of our listeners who stopped by our booth. For those of you in New York City, you can catch Ed Lin performing in Short Stack 2 at the Ma-Yi Theatre from June 15-18. We'll include a link to purchase tickets online on the Talking Taiwan website. CORRECTION: The restaurant that Ed refers to in the interview as 688 is actually the 886 Restaurant. The film that Ed mentions as Taipei Au Revoir is Au Revoir Taipei. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: 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. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: · What Ed's been working on lately · How Ed will be performing in Short Stack 2 at the Ma-Yi Theater from June 15-18 to benefit Heart of Dinner, a community organization aiding and feeding working-class AAPI seniors throughout the city · Ed will be speaking at the TANG (Taiwanese American Next Generation)/TAC (Taiwanese American Conference), which will be at West Chester University from July 1-4 · Taiwanese soft power and how it compares to that of other island nations like Ireland or Jamaica's · People who will be stopping by to be interviewed in the Talking Taiwan podcasting booth at Passport to Taiwan · The upcoming movie adaptation of the novel Loveboat Taipei · Things to do in the first 24 hours upon arriving in Taiwan · Ximending Red House in Taipei · The bells of Kaohsiung Harbor public art project (Echo Across the Harbor) · The band Chthonic and how their song Supreme Pain for the Tyrant makes reference to Peter Huang, who tried to assassinate Chiang · How activist Yuri Kochiyama encouraged Ed when he was a student at Columbia University working on bringing Asian studies to the campus · How the Taiwanese and Taiwanese diaspora are becoming more outspoken and proud of their identity · How the Famous Porkchop House on Doyers Street in New York City's Chinatown was renamed Taiwan's Porkchop House · Cannabis use in Taiwan Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/ed-lin-our-interview-live-at-passport-to-taiwan-ep-242/

In October of last year, Anna May Wong became the only Asian American and fifth woman to appear on the U.S. quarter as a part of the U.S. Mint's American Women Quarters™ Program. Anna May Wong is one of the better known early Chinese American movie stars. She was the first Asian American actress to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She received it in 1960, the inaugural year of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Anna May Wong was regarded as a fashion icon in the 1920s and 30s, and was also politically outspoken. In May, Barbie announced the release of an Anna May Wong Barbie doll for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/peilin-kuo-on-indie-film-making-and-the-life-of-anna-may-wong-ep-241/ To talk about the life and times of Anna May Wong I've invited Peilin Kuo a Taiwanese filmmaker who's made a few short films about Anna May Wong and has plans to work on a biopic about the actress. Peilin also talked about some of her recent film projects, her love of martial arts films and her next film project that will be set in Taiwan. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: 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. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: · How Anna May Wong became the only Asian American and fifth woman to appear on the U.S. quarter as a part of the U.S. Mint's American Women Quarters™ Program in October 2022 · Anna May Wong was the first Asian American actress to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 · In May, Barbie announced release of an Anna May Wong Barbie doll for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month · Taiwanese filmmaker Peilin Kuo who'd made a few short films about Anna May Wong · Peilin's interest and start in filmmaking · Peilin's connection and upbringing in Taiwan · What made Peilin decide to move to New York City · How Peilin first learned about Anna May Wong and what impressed her about Anna May Wong · Peilin's approach to in creating her short films about Anna May Wong · Peilin's plans to make a biopic about Anna May Wong · What set Anna May Wong apart from other Chinese American actresses · Anna May Wong appeared in 50-60 films · The stereotypical characters that Anna May Wong portrayed and the discrimination and anti-miscegenation laws she had to deal with · How Anna May Wong was a fashion icon and politically outspoken · Chinese press and government were critical of Wong but, Peking University awarded the actress an honorary doctorate in 1932. · Later in life Anna May Wong was outspoken about better film roles for Chinese Americans · Anna May Wong was passed over for the character O-Lan in the film version of Pearl Buck's book, The Good Earth; MGM cast Luise Rainer to play the leading role in yellowface, later Rainer won an Oscar for her performance · Other stereotypically Asian character played by non-Asian actors in yellowface like Mickey Rooney's character in Breakfast at Tiffany's · Anna May Wong's visit to China in 1936 · How Anna May Wong passed away at the age of 56 before she was supposed appear in the film, Flower Drum Song · How there are no recordings of TV show Anna May Wong appeared in called the Gallery of Madam Liu Tsong · Liu Tsong was Anna May Wong's birth name · Peilin's next film project which will be set and shot in Taiwan · Peilin's other film projects in the sci-fi and martial arts genre · Peilin's love of martial arts films · How Peiln's short film Once Upon A Time In The Bamboo was inspired by the film, A Touch of Zen (by director King Hu) · What Peilin loves about filmmaking · What she would be doing if she wasn't a filmmaker · Peilin's approach to filmmaking · Peilin's advice for others who want to pursue filmmaking Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/peilin-kuo-on-indie-film-making-and-the-life-of-anna-may-wong-ep-241/

We had a beautiful day on Sunday at the Passport to Taiwan in New York City's Union Square Park. Congratulations to the Passport to Taiwan team for making the event a huge success! The park was packed and food lines were long. We were so glad to be invited to be a part of it. For us it was a welcome change of pace. It's not often that we get to meet our listeners in person! Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/talking-taiwans-26-notable-episodes-ep-240/ We want to thank everyone who stopped by the Talking Taiwan podcasting booth and those that tuned in to our livestream on Facebook. We did have some technical issues with the sound on our livestream and a very loud generator in the booth, so thank you for bearing with us. Kaju, our sound engineer and executive producer, is optimistic that he'll be able to do some sound editing magic with the interviews we recorded that day. Some of the people that stopped by that day included Tom Fifield of the Taiwan Employment Gold Card Office, author Ed Lin, multi-disciplinary artist Chin Chih Yang, singer and musician Jilliyeah, and Christine Su of TANG (Taiwanese American Next Generation). We'll be sharing those interviews as future episodes of Talking Taiwan. We'd also like to give a huge shoutout to our volunteers Josh and Marcellus. The two of you were indispensable in helping us to get set up and breaking down at the end of the day. We really couldn't have done it without you! In preparation for Passport to Taiwan, we created a selection of audio clips from some of our most notable interviews to play in our booth and we thought we'd share them with you here. Whether you're new to Talking Taiwan or one of our loyal listeners we hope that you enjoy it and maybe even discover an episode that interests you. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: 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. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/talking-taiwans-26-notable-episodes-ep-240/

This year the Passport to Taiwan will be returning to New York City's Union Square Park on Sunday, May 28th from 12 noon to 5:00pm. It will be the first in-person Passport to Taiwan in three years since the pandemic, and we are looking forward to it! Talking Taiwan will be there with a special live on-location podcasting studio. Read on to learn more about what we have planned. Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/passport-to-taiwan-2023-u-s-largest-taiwan-festival-is-back-in-union-square-ep-239/ Since the first Passport to Taiwan was held in 2002 it's become the largest outdoor Taiwanese American event in the entire United States. Passport to Taiwan is a celebration of Taiwanese art, culture, music, community, and of course food. In this episode I mention some of the notable performances, organizations and businesses that will be at Passport to Taiwan. For a full list of performances visit the Passport to Taiwan website at: www.p2tw.org If you're going to be in New York City on May 28th stop by Talking Taiwan's booth to hear clips from some of our most notable guests. Maybe you'll catch me interviewing some invited guests like Jilliyeah, who some may recognize for the memorable acceptance speech she made at last year's Grammy awards on behalf of the Taiwanese designers who won the Best Recording Package Grammy award for the album Pakelan. Jilliyeah put Taiwan in the mind of viewers that night when she said, on behalf of the designers "We are from Taiwan…Taiwan is a beautiful and a peace-loving country." And then she added, "I hope someday if you can go and visit Taiwan, super welcome." Jilliiyeah is now in the U.S. pursuing her own career as a singer musician. She's going to be stopping by to do an interview with me at the Talking Taiwan podcasting. Some past guests might be stopping by too. You never know who'll show up in at our on-location podcasting studio! We'll also be doing some giveaways for anyone who comes and sits in the "hot seat" with me and answers my Flash Five Questions, or who wants to pitch themselves, or someone else to be a guest on Talking Taiwan. For those of you who can't make it to Passport to Taiwan, we want to let you know that we'll be livestreaming throughout the day from Passport to Taiwan to our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/talkingtaiwanpodcast So if you'd like to see what we are up to on May 28th from 12 noon-5pm Eastern Time, just visit our Facebook page to catch our livestream from New York City's Union Square Park. If you can't tune in or we experience any technical issues, don't worry we'll be recording the event and will post recordings from the event to our YouTube channel and social media. To learn more about the background and history behind the Passport Taiwan, we're resharing some of my interview that was done in 2014 with Borcheng Hsu, the event's organizer. Here's a little preview of what's covered in this podcast episode: · Talking Taiwan will be at Passport with a special live on-location podcasting studio · Some of the notable performances including: the featured presentation sponsored by the Overseas Community Affairs Council and performed by the College of Performing Arts, National Taiwan University of Arts, "A Touching Encounter with Music and Dance from Taiwan," Peter Lin's band the AAPI Jazz Collective, Jilliyeah, and Taiwan Republic · Some of the organizations and businesses that will be at this year's Passport to Taiwan · Some of the individuals or organizations I'll be interviewing in Talking Taiwan's booth at Passport to Taiwan · 2002 was the first time that Passport to Taiwan was held in Union Square Park · How Taiwanese American Heritage Week was declared in 1999 · Where the idea and the name Passport to Taiwan came from · How Passport to Taiwan started with a core group of 10 volunteers · How Passport to Taiwan was modeled after the Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival organized by CAPA (Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans) · On the day of Passport to Taiwan there are about 200 volunteers helping out · How Passport to Taiwan has grown · How other Taiwanese American communities participate in, visit and attend Passport to Taiwan · How there were only four food booths at the first Passport to Taiwan · Folk artists that have been invited to do demonstrations at Passport to Taiwan have included sugar paining, aborigine fabric weaving, clay figurines, straw weaving · Artists and performers who have been invited from Taiwan to be a part of Passport to Taiwan · How Passport to Taiwan is not just about Taiwan, but the Taiwanese American community and people, the shared democratic values of Taiwan and the U.S. · Misconceptions about Taiwan · The is most rewarding thing about organizing Passport to Taiwan · The challenges of running and organizing Passport to Taiwan · The most popular thing about Passport to Taiwan · How most of the food booths offering Taiwanese dishes are made by loca

How is it that I haven't done an episode about bubble tea? It's surprising that of all the things related to Taiwan, that I've covered on this podcast, I haven't covered this one. Last year I heard that April 30th was National Bubble Tea Day when I saw a tweet by President Tsai Ing-wen. So I got to work planning to release an episode about bubble tea for this year's April 30th. Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/kristen-mccoy-ward-everything-about-bubble-tea-with-the-bobba-queen-ep-238/ I started off speaking to New York-based bubble tea shop veteran Sam Lin who brought the Quickly bubble tea brand from Taiwan to New York. His first Quickly shop was in Flushing near the public library on Kissena. Now he runs 22 Coco bubble tea shops in New York, New Jersey and Boston. Sam's mother is a street vendor in Taiwan selling douhua (a sweet dessert tofu) and Sam grew up eating douhua with tapioca balls long before there was this thing called bubble tea. Sam had some interesting things to say about the origins of bubble tea and who invented it. As I was getting this episode ready for the end of April, I also spoke to Borcheng Hsu, organizer of the Bubble Tea Festival in New York, who clarified the origins of National Bubble Day. And finally, I came across a YouTube channel called Bubble Tea Kristin. It's an amazing resource for almost everything related to bubble tea. Kristin has recipes for those wanting to make bubble tea drinks at home. In the past she's owned and run several bubble tea shops and what she does now is help people who dream of opening their own bubble tea shop. I wanted to find out why she's been called the "Boba Queen," so I looked her up and invited her to be a guest on Talking Taiwan. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: 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. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: · The origins of bubble tea and who invented it · Why National Bubble Tea Day is on April 30th · What should New York City celebrate as bubble tea day · Kristin the "Boba Queen" · Where Kristin's love and interest in bubble tea comes from · How she learned about the bubble tea business and opened her own bubble tea shops · How she sold her bubble tea business at the beginning of the pandemic and now mentors and helps other people to open bubble tea shops · How her past experiences and childhood prepared her for being an entrepreneur and business owner · How it's difficult to be profitable in the first year of running a bubble tea shop · What it takes to have a successful bubble tea shop · How to get the right texture for the tapioca pearls in bubble tea · The different types of tapioca pearl balls and toppings · How long tapioca pearls last after they are cooked · Kristin's visit to Taiwan in 2018 · How bubble tea shops are popping up all around the world · The different flavors of bubble tea that Kristin created for her shops · How bubble tea has evolved over the years since Kristin opened her first bubble tea shop · The reactions from people that Kristin has gotten since she is not from Taiwan or Asia · How she was once the only white female bubble tea shop owner in the U.K. · Any backlash she's experienced as a bubble tea shop owner · How Kristin works with her bubble tea shop clients and advises them · Her recommendations of what to do in the first year of running a bubble tea shop · How the approach of business owners in the U.S. differs from those in the U.K. · How the pricing of bubble tea is important · How Kristin has helped bubble tea shop owners who have already started their business but run into some problems and need help · How Kristin sees her role in the world of bubble tea · What Kristin misses about running a tea shop · A drink recipe that people can make at home Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/kristen-mccoy-ward-everything-about-bubble-tea-with-the-bobba-queen-ep-238/

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and my guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan, Peter Lin is here to talk about the Asian American Pacific Islander or AAPI Jazz Fest which is coming up on May 20th in Newark, NJ. The AAPI Jazz Fest celebrates the diversity of the pan-Asian jazz community with a full day of performances and panels. Peter is Founder of Yardbird Entertainment and Producer of the AAPI Jazz Fest. Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/aapi-jazz-fest-2023-celebrating-the-diversity-of-the-pan-asian-jazz-community-with-peter-lin-ep-237/ This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: 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. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: The AAPI Jazz Collective's performance at the Metropolitan Museum for the Lunar New Year How AAPI Jazz Fest got started How the first AAPI Jazz Fest last year (in 2022) was organized in a month What it's like being an Asian American jazz musician The mission of AAPI Jazz Fest The AAPI Jazz Fest is a 10 hour event with performances and panels The artists performing at the festival At the end of the night there will be a jam session during which time any musicians are invited to join in Local organizations and vendors that will also be at the festival Peter's band the AAPI Jazz Collective, and their recent performance opportunities How to support, attend, donate to, or volunteer for the AAPI Jazz Fest Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/aapi-jazz-fest-2023-celebrating-the-diversity-of-the-pan-asian-jazz-community-with-peter-lin-ep-237/

This past Saturday, April 29th was the first TaiwanFest of the year in New York City. So we decided to go check it out and see what businesses and community organizations were there. Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiwanfest-nyc-2023-talking-taiwans-live-stream-coverage-in-the-rain-ep-236/ For this episode we tried out something different by livestreaming and talking to people on location. It was a test run for May when Talking Taiwan will be at this year's Passport to Taiwan on Sunday, May 28th from 12-5pm in New York City's Union Square Park. We'll be having an outdoor on location podcasting studio. So if you're in New York, drop by, I'll be interviewing people in the booth throughout the day. Come and talk to us. Hear highlights from some of our most notable episodes. Suggest someone to be a guest on Talking Taiwan. We'll be doing giveaways for anyone who willing to sit in the hot seat to answer my flash five questions or better yet, anyone who wants to pitch themself to be a guest on Talking Taiwan. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: 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. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Related Links: TaiwanFest.NYC: https://taiwanfest.nyc/ Sweeeet NYC: https://www.instagram.com/sweeeetnyc/ Passport to Taiwan: https://p2tw.org/ Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiwanfest-nyc-2023-talking-taiwans-live-stream-coverage-in-the-rain-ep-236/

This episode is a follow up on episode 233 that covered Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen's 48-hour transit through New York from March 29-31 en route to Central America. When Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen left Taiwan to go on a ten-day state trip to Central America to meet with Taiwan's diplomatic allies Guatemala and Belize. She first transited through New York from March 29-31 en route to Central America. At the end of her trip she transited through Los Angeles from April 4-5th, where she met with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/tim-chng-and-borcheng-hsu-the-day-president-tsai-ing-wen-met-protesters-from-the-peoples-republic-of-china-ep-235/ In this episode of Talking Taiwan I started off speaking with Tim Chng (who was previously on Talking Taiwan in episode 159) and Borcheng Hsu (a community organizer based in New York City) about how Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen was met with protestors representing the PRC, People's Republic of China on the first day of her arrival in New York City. All three of us were all there that day, on the afternoon of March 29th at the first major site of the protests, the Lotte New York Palace Hotel where President Tsai was staying. Our discussion raised a lot of questions, like: How organized the PRC protestors were. How did they know President Tsai's itinerary in New York? As you'll hear from our conversation, the protestors seemed to know when and where to show up and make a scene. On the other hand, how prepared was the Taiwanese American community? What did community do in response? And what can concerned Taiwanese Americans do to be better prepared in the future when a similar situation arises? After President Tsai's 48-hour transit in New York, she headed to Central America to meet with Taiwan's diplomatic allies Guatemala and Belize. At the end of her she transited through Los Angeles from April 4 to 5th and met with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy before returning to Taiwan. While in L.A. she was once again met with PRC protestors. Tim, Borcheng and I also talked about what happened in L.A. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: 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. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: · How Tim and Borcheng were involved in self-determination and pro-democracy demonstrations for Taiwan in the 1990s, when a thousand people or so could easily be gathered to show support · What motivated Tim to drive up from Baltimore to be in New York in time to welcome Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen when she arrived at the hotel she was staying during her 48-hour transit through New York · Why the bus from DC with Taiwanese American supporters of President Tsai wasn't able to make it to New York in time for President Tsai's arrival at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel where she was staying · What the scene was like and what happened prior to President Tsai Ing-wen's arrival at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel on March 29th · How Tim and Chi Chun Wang, the President of the Taiwanese Association of America Baltimore chapter spoke to some pro-democracy Chinese activists who said that the PRC (People's Republic of China) protestors were being paid $30 an hour · What happened outside of the Lotte New York Palace Hotel on March 29th before and when President Tsai Ing-wen arrived · How the PRC (People's Republic of China) protestors were organized and seemed to know President Tsai's itinerary while she was in New York · How Borcheng worked with TECRO and the NYPD (New York Police Department) on March 29th · How sound permits are required for the use of amplified sound in New York City · The NYPD's handling of the situation on March 29th · What the PRC protesters were saying about President Tsai and Taiwan · How prepared the Taiwanese American community was to respond by organizing counter protests · What happened on March 30th when President Tsai accepted the Global Leadership Award from the Hudson Institute · What happened on March 31st when President Tsai left her hotel in New York to go to Central America · What happened with the protests of President Tsai's visit to New York in 2019 · How one of Tim's tweets about the protests of President Tsai in New York on March 29 was misconstrued by someone · The questions about why pan-green supporters were waving ROC (Republic of China) flags and not green flag

In part two of our interview with T.H. Schee we talked about what concerns in particular that Taiwan should have about AI, ChatGPT and Baidu's chatbot Ernie. ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI in partnership with Microsoft, which is its largest investor. It was released in November of 2022. And in case you're wondering, GPT stands for: generative pre-trained transformer. Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/t-h-schee-what-concerns-should-taiwan-have-about-a-i-chatgbt-and-baidus-chatbot-ernie-ep-234/ ChatGBT is quite versatile. It can mimic human conversation, and do a whole range of things from drafting email to writing essays, taking tests and writing and debugging computer programs. On February 7th Chinese company Baidu announced it would be creating a Chinese language ChatGPT, Ernie Bot. A week later, Taiwan's Science and Technology Minister, Wu Tseng-tsong announced that Taiwan will be developing its own Chinese language chatbot due to fears of bias that could be created by China's chatbot. And on March 16th the Ernie Bot was publicly unveiled. T.H. Schee is a digital veteran with twenty years of experience in the private and NGO sectors. He was a founding member of the Taiwan Internet Governance Forum and provided his expertise on digital crisis response to the UN Global Geospatial Information Management group. He has served as an adviser to government agencies and the city of Taipei (2016–18) and is a stalwart writer on the intersection of digital and tech policies. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: 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. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: · Comparing people's concerns about the Internet in 1995-1996 with concerns about AI today · Yams.com the first Chinese language search engine which was created in Taiwan · ChatGPT · Baidu's Chinese chatbot Ernie · Baidu's demo of Ernie · How and open, free Internet is key to the successful development of chatbots like Ernie or ChatGPT · How the government of Taiwan is supporting developing its own Chinese language chatbot · T.H. Schee's thoughts on ChatGPT · How different generations use and access the Internet · How ChatGPT is similar to a search engine · If ChatGPT can produce responses in Chinese should Taiwan be concerned · T.H. estimates that 30-40% of the results written in traditional Chinese characters that show up on page one of a Google search are actually sources from China · Whether or not it's a good idea for Taiwan to try to develop its own version of ChatGPT and if it will reap any benefits from doing so · How to combat bias in ChatGPT or similar chatbots · T.H's thoughts on how Taiwan should approach developing its own version of ChatGPT Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/t-h-schee-what-concerns-should-taiwan-have-about-a-i-chatgbt-and-baidus-chatbot-ernie-ep-234/

On March 29th Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen left Taiwan to go on a ten-day state trip to Central America to meet with Taiwan's diplomatic allies Guatemala and Belize. In a pre-departure speech, President Tsai shared that the theme of her trip "Meeting Democratic Partnership, Fostering Shared Prosperity" expresses our determination to foster deeper exchange and cooperation between Taiwan and our allies. Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/president-tsai-ing-wens-48-hour-transit-through-new-york-en-route-to-central-america-ep-233/ This episode of Talking Taiwan is about first leg of President Tsai's trip that brought her to New York for a 48-hour transit from March 29-31, 2023. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: 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. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/president-tsai-ing-wens-48-hour-transit-through-new-york-en-route-to-central-america-ep-233/

Last year I spoke with T.H. Schee about Taiwan's civil defense preparedness in episode 178. This was a hot topic of discussion in Taiwan after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February of 2023. It made the military threat that the people of Taiwan face from the People's Republic of China very real. A year has passed since Russia's invasion and I wanted to bring T.H. back for a follow up conversation about this and how the government and people of Taiwan have adjusted and continue to deal with the situation there. We also touched upon some recent news stories in Taiwan that are related to the topic of internet security. Next week we'll be sharing the second part of my interview with T.H. about AI. We'll be talking about ChatGPT, Baidu's chatbot Ernie and what concerns in particular that Taiwan should have about AI. Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/th-schee-on-taiwans-civil-defense-preparedness-one-year-later-after-the-war-in-ukraine-ep-232/ T.H. Schee is a digital veteran with twenty years of experience in the private and NGO sectors. He was a founding member of the Taiwan Internet Governance Forum and provided his expertise on digital crisis response to the UN Global Geospatial Information Management group. He has served as an adviser to government agencies and the city of Taipei (2016–18) and is a stalwart writer on the intersection of digital and tech policies. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: 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. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: · The situation in Taiwan since we last spoke to T.H. last year · Thoughts from T.H.'s March 3 talk with New Bloom Magazine "Lessons from Ukraine for Taiwan?" · What the government in Taiwan is doing regarding Taiwan's military preparedness · Proposed changes to Taiwan's Mobilization Act that include the military taking control of the media during wartime and the mobilization of people as young as 16 years old · The importance of allies and partners for Taiwan · The submarine cables that were cut and affected the internet access of people on Matsu · How Vietnam had four out of five of its submarine cables cut which meant that there were no ships available to repair the cables that were cut and affected Matsu, so Matsu was without internet access for two to three months · How the people of Matsu were impacted by the cut submarine cables · The Taiwan government responded by providing a microwave transmission for Matsu · How some people of Matsu purchased SIM cards from China to be able to access the internet, and what is problematic about that · The Taiwan Internet Governance Forum · How/why the submarine cables in the Taiwan Strait have gotten cut 25 times in five years · The hi-resolutions photos from the National Palace Museum got hacked and ended up for sale online Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/th-schee-on-taiwans-civil-defense-preparedness-one-year-later-after-the-war-in-ukraine-ep-232/

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/eric-chang-on-the-unfolding-situation-at-the-legislative-yuan-during-the-sunflower-movement-ep-231/ The Sunflower Movement in Taiwan, which started in protest to the passage of the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement (CSSTA), happened nine years ago, on the night of March 18, 2014. I was in Taipei when the Legislative Yuan, which is the equivalent of the parliament in Taiwan, was occupied by students and activists in an effort to block the passage of the trade agreement between Taiwan and China. It was the beginning of what became known as the Sunflower Movement. The day before, on March 17, the Kuomintang (KMT) had attempted to force through passage of the CSSTA in Taiwan's Legislative Yuan, without giving it a clause-by-clause review. Several days later at a press conference on March 23rd Taiwan's then President Ma Ying-jeou stated his resolve in passing the trade agreement. That night, students and activists attempted to occupy the Executive Yuan in protest. A few days later, on March 28th I spoke with Eric Chang who joined students and protestors outside of the Executive Yuan on the 23rd. He was there when police started breaking up the students and protestors, himself among them, and he shared what he saw and experienced that night in episode 121. At the time I spoke to Eric it had been only 10 days since the occupation of the Legislative Yuan, so the situation at the Legislative Yuan and the Sunflower Movement was still unfolding and this of course was before we knew what the outcome would be. It's interesting to look back on it and hear my conversation with Eric in pre-COVID times, and way before the insurrection of the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021. We talked about the role of social media in the occupation of the Legislative Yuan, how the Sunflower Movement galvanized young people in Taiwan at the time, and the atmosphere outside the Legislative Yuan while it was occupied; every day there were thousands of people from all walks of life gathered outside in the streets surrounding the Legislative Yuan. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: · What the occupation of the Legislative Yuan by students and activists means for Taiwan's democracy · What the scene/situation around the occupied Legislative Yuan was like · Comparisons between the occupation of Taiwan's Legislative Yuan with what would happen if people tried to occupy the U.S. Capitol Building · How peaceful and organized the student protestors are; they have set up a variety of stations for supplies, to charge mobile phones, for recycling, first aid · Professors have given lectures outside in the perimeter of the Legislative Yuan · A sausage vendor that's set up outside of the Legislative Yuan and is giving out sausage for free · Medical and legal professionals who have volunteered to help the student protestors · How Eric and his friend Dwagie (Taiwanese hip hop artist/rapper) have visited the Legislative Yuan area since the occupation · The March 30th Rally in support of the Sunflower Movement that took place globally · The Taiwan Voice Facebook page · How people can speak publicly or perform in the area surrounding the occupied Legislative Yuan · Lazy Habits, a jazz hip hop band performed outside of the occupied Legislative Yuan · High school students in Tainan (in southern Taiwan) are speaking out publicly about the occupation of the Legislative Yuan · How the Sunflower Movement has galvanized people across Taiwan · How Eric has seen friends who are KMT supporters come out in support of the Sunflower Movement and occupation of the Legislative Yuan · How young people learn about news through social media, Facebook and PTT, a popular local bulletin board founded by a National Taiwan University student in 1995 · Whether or not the pact (Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement) will get passed · How the Sunflower Movement has made people feel more comfortable to free to speak out publicly Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/eric-chang-on-the-unfolding-situation-at-the-legislative-yuan-during-the-sunflower-movement-ep-231/

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/rur-architecture-what-inspired-the-team-to-design-the-taiwan-music-center-and-kaohsiung-port-terminal-ep-230/ The Kaohsiung Port Terminal just opened on March 6th and I had a chance to speak with Jesse Reiser AR'81 and Nanako Umemoto AR'83 of Reiser+Umemoto, RUR Architecture, the architects behind its design. They are the team that also designed the Taipei Music Center which opened on September 5, 2020. We spoke about their 35-year-long careers in architecture, how they landed both of these projects in Taiwan, the inspiration behind the design of the projects, and what contributed to delays in completion. Both projects were expected to be completed and in operation by 2014. Also with us when we spoke was Jasmine Lee, the project manager for the Taipei Music Center and Kaohsiung Port Terminal projects at RUR Architecture. We will be bringing back Jesse, Nanako and Jasmine to show us the Kaohsiung Port Terminal, Taipei Music Center and other architecture projects via video. That video will be posted on Talking Taiwan's YouTube channel at a later date. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: 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. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: · How Jesse, Nanako and Jasmine ended up choosing their careers in architecture · How things have evolved in Jesse and Nanako's 35-year-long careers in architecture · How Jesse and Nanako started teaching and how that has shaped their careers in architecture · How Jesse and Nanako started entering architecture competitions, and things transpired from there · The Dubai tower project that Jesse and Nanako worked on · The AIishan Mountain project that Jesse and Nanako won · The inspiration behind the Taipei Music Center · How and why the Taipei Music Center project changed over time · The purpose/function of the Taipei Music Center · How other projects like the stadium in Taipei aka the Taipei Dome have been delayed and not completed · How Aldo Rossi, Jesse's teacher and employer influenced the design of the Taipei Music Center · The indoor and outdoor performance space of the Taipei Music Center · Why it took over 10 years to complete the Taipei Music Center · The Taipei Music Center opened on September 5, 2020, and on October 3rd the 31st Golden Melody Awards were hosted there · The three functions of the music center: performance, history, production · Social media's impact on the visibility of the Taipei Music Center · What a surprise it was to win the design competition for the Kaohsiung Port Terminal · Why the Kaohsiung Port Terminal project took 13 years to complete and the adjustments that had to be made over time · How the Taipei Music Center and Kaohsiung Port Terminal projects were inspired by Jesse and Nanako's work in New York · Jesse and Nanako's work in New York · How teaching affects their approach to architecture projects · The O-14 tower in Dubai that Jesse and Nanako worked on · What it is like seeing one's architectural projects completed and come to life · Jesse, Nanako and Jasmine's thoughts on being architects and their advice for those interested in going into architecture Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/rur-architecture-what-inspired-the-team-to-design-the-taiwan-music-center-and-kaohsiung-port-terminal-ep-230/

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/robert-tsao-founder-of-umc-pledges-to-donate-usd-100-million-to-taiwans-military-cause-ep-229/ In December we spoke with Robert Tsao, founder of UMC, who in August of 2022 pledged to donate 100 million U.S. dollars to help Taiwan defend itself. In 2011 he moved to Singapore and became a citizen there, but in September of last year he renounced his Singaporean citizenship, and reinstated his citizenship in Taiwan. We talked about what motivated him to decide to make the donation to defend Taiwan, why he's been perceived as pro business investment in China, and about his support for a referendum on unification between Taiwan and China. We even asked him about his early support in 1993 for the New Party (Xin dang), a political party in Taiwan that had a pro Chinese unification stance. Mr. Tsao also shared his thoughts on the Chinese Communist party today and why he thinks it's important protect Taiwan from an attack by the Chinese Communist People's Republic of China. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: 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. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Talking Taiwan has a donor who is willing to make a $5,000 matching donation! Help us double what we raise to $10,000 by MAKING A CONTRIBUTION to Talking Taiwan at: http://gofundme.com/building-talking-taiwans-legacy https://www.patreon.com/talkingtaiwan PayPal using: [email protected] Zelle using: [email protected] Checks or money orders made payable to Talking Taiwan can be sent to: Talking Taiwan PO Box 1049 New York, NY 10113 https://talkingtaiwan.com/support/ Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: · Mr. Tsao's thoughts on the November 2022 local elections in Taiwan · Mr. Tsao's thoughts on whether the local elections will impact Taiwan's 2024 presidential election · Mr. Tsao's donation of 100 million U.S. dollars for Taiwan's defense and what it will be spent on · Why Mr. Tsao decided to make the donation of 100 million U.S. dollars · Taiwan's first direct presidential election was in 1996 · How to protect Taiwan's freedom and democracy · President Chen Shui-bian's Task Force on cross-Strait Relations, headed by Academia Sinica President and Nobel prize winner Professor Lee Yuan-tseh · Mr. Tsao's suggestion regarding a referendum on Taiwan's reunification with China in 2001 · Taiwan's independence · How Taiwan is unlike Hong Kong which was returned to China · The July 21, 2019 attacks at the Yuen Long MTR station in Hong Kong · Mr. Tsao's thoughts on the Chinese Communist party · Parallels between Russia's President Vladimir Putin invading Ukraine and the possibility of China' President Xi Jinping attacking Taiwan · Questions about Mr. Tsao's thoughts on investment in China, and his support for a referendum on unification between Taiwan and China · Mr. Tsao's support in 1993of the New party, a political party in Taiwan that had a pro-Chinese unification stance · How Mr. Tsao considers himself Taiwanese · The protests by people in China over strict COVID restrictions · Name rectification and constitutional reform for Taiwan · How much of a deterrent Taiwan's semiconductor industry is to China attacking Taiwan · Military reform in Taiwan · Mr. Tsao's thoughts on the unification of Taiwan and China Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/robert-tsao-founder-of-umc-pledges-to-donate-usd-100-million-to-taiwans-military-cause-ep-229/

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/commemorating-the-228-massacre-taboos-scars-stigmas-and-an-essential-lesson-in-taiwan-history-ep-228/ 228, February 28, 1947 is an important date in history for Taiwan. In Taiwan it is a national holiday known as 228 Peace Day, and since 228, which is also known as the 228 Massacre is just around the corner, we thought we'd share the first of 2 special episodes that we did last year for the 75th anniversary of the 228 Massacre. At the same time, we wanted to share some community announcements for our listeners who might be looking for ways to commemorate 228. If you're in New York, the Taiwan Center in Flushing, NY will be having a 228 Remembrance Memorial Service on Saturday, February 25, 2023 from 2:00-3:30pm. And for those in California, Josephine Pan tells me that annual 228 Commemorative Concert will be held in person again this year on Tuesday, February 28, 2023 at 7:30pm at the Arcadia Community Church. Both of these events are open and free to the public. Full details for the 228 commemorative events in New York and California are listed below in the Related Links section. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: 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. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: · How each guest first heard of or learned about 228 · How the 228 was a forbidden topic of discussion · How my guests and their families were personally impacted by 228 · The Formosa Incident aka Kaohsiung Incident · The White Terror and Martial Law era of Taiwan · The writer who was sent to prison because of his Chinese-language translation of a Popeye comic · Why the topic of 228 has been so taboo · Tsuann's grandfather who was a political prisoner during the White Terror era · Post-traumatic stress · What Tsuann's relatives experienced and witnessed about 228 · Why Tsuann decided to try to help 228 victims and their families · Green Island, the place where political prisoners were exiled · The case of a 15-year-old girl who was jailed · How political prisoners, after being released were ostracized by society · How things banned during the Martial Law era included books, music, art or any medium related to communism or that was critical of the Kuomintang · Personal accounts of people persecuted during the Martial Law era · The families whose husbands and fathers disappeared due to 228 · What Josephine's relatives experienced and witnessed about 228 · The privileges and overrepresentation granted to the Chinese vs. local Taiwanese under Kuomintang (KMT) rule · The injustices in Taiwan's society under the initial rule of the KMT · Why it's important to remember and understand 228 · The importance of healing from historic trauma · Canada's residential schools · What Tsuann discovered about 228 survivors through her work with the Transitional Justice Committee · Why Josephine started organizing an annual concert to commemorate 228 · How 228 became a national holiday in 1998 but has almost been cancelled as a holiday twice · Comparisons of 228 Peace Memorial Day with U.S. holidays such as Martin Luther King Jr. Day or Memorial Day · My guests' thoughts on whether or not 228 remains a national holiday · Indigenous Peoples Day · How to commemorate 228 · What young people in Taiwan know about 228 · What was previously taught to Josephine, Tsuann, and Wei-Wei about Taiwan in their textbooks when they were high school students in Taiwan · How the 228 Massacre has only recently been included in high school textbooks · How the 228 Massacre is being taught in high schools · The Jing-Mei Prison Museum in Taipei · Music that was banned during the White Terror era · Experiential ways to learn about 228 Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/commemorating-the-228-massacre-taboos-scars-stigmas-and-an-essential-lesson-in-taiwan-history-ep-228/

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/courtney-donovan-smith-of-taiwan-report-shares-his-analysis-on-taiwans-2022-nine-in-one-local-elections-ep-227/ With Taiwan's next presidential election set for early 2024, what are the implications of Taiwan's 2022 "Nine-in-One" Local Elections that took place back in November? We've invited Courtney Donovan Smith co-founder of Taiwan Report, ICRT's Central Taiwan correspondent, and contributing columnist to Taiwan News to share his insights on the recent elections in Taiwan. The topic of plagiarism also came up since plagarism scandals have plagued political candidates from all three political parties, the DPP, KMT and TPP. Donovan also shared his analysis on how each of the major political parties in Taiwan fared in the November elections. While it might be a bit too early to discuss the 2024 presidential candidates, we'll definitely have Donovan back at a later date to discuss Taiwan's 2024 Presidential Race. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: 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. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: · Taiwan's local elections (aka the 9-in-1 elections) that were held in November 2022 · What positions were up for election · 22 positions were up for election · The results of the November 2022 elections in Taiwan · How the DPP, KMT and TPP fared in the elections · What implications the November elections might have for Taiwan's presidential elections in 2024 · Why President Tsai Ing-wen stepped down as the DPP party chair · The DPP and KMT's strategies during the November 2022 local elections · The DPP's missteps during the November 2022 local elections · The plagiarism scandals that have affected Taiwan's 3 major political parties: the DPP, KMT & TPP · The increasing numbers of women being elected as legislators and to other positions in Taiwan · The referendum to lower voting age in Taiwan from 20 to 18 years old · How Donovan got into writing and reporting about Taiwan's politics · Those who write and comment on Taiwan's politics: Michael Turton, Nathan Batto · How Donovan created an RPG (role playing game) · Who will be the KMT presidential candidate for Taiwan's presidential election in 2024 Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/courtney-donovan-smith-of-taiwan-report-shares-his-analysis-on-taiwans-2022-nine-in-one-local-elections-ep-227/

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/ed-hill-talks-about-his-off-broadway-debut-and-comedy-special-candy-and-smiley-ep-226/ Ed Hill is a Vancouver based Taiwanese comedian on his first national North American tour. We spoke about his early years in Canada, his connection to TAIWANfest and how his overachieving Asian tendencies came out when he first started doing comedy. In 2021, Ed became the first comedian of Taiwanese-Canadian descent to release a full one-hour comedy special titled "Candy & Smiley." The special was named "Top 15 Comedy Specials of 2021" by Paste Magazine and "Best of 2021" by NPR Radio. The special is currently streaming worldwide on Amazon Prime and Apple TV. From March 30-April 2 Ed will be doing an off-Broadway show, "Stupid Ed" at the Tank in New York City. Ed's tweets have also been featured on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon", Buzzfeed, and The Huffington Post. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: 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. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: · Ed's connection to TAIWANfest · Ed's connection to Taiwan · The discrimination he's experienced and how it became a part of his standup routine · How he got into doing standup comedy · How he handles it when he bombs as a comedian in front of an audience · How Ed's training as a therapist informs his comedy · Ed's comedic influences · Ed's mentor the late comedian Louie Anderson · Ed's tweets that have ended up on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and how he comes up with them · Ed's first comedy special Candy and Smiley · How Ed's first comedy special Candy and Smiley was affected by the pandemic · How Ed's parents have reacted to his doing comedy · Ed's upcoming off-Broadway show, Stupid Ed · Through his show Stupid Ed, Ed will be reflecting on his relationships with the female figures in his life · What Ed wants to do with his comedy · Ed's story podcast, the Guide to Quarantine · Ed's advice to others interested in doing standup comedy · What Ed gets out of doing standup comedy Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/ed-hill-talks-about-his-off-broadway-debut-and-comedy-special-candy-and-smiley-ep-226/

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/spark-accel-a-virtual-accelerator-for-taiwanese-american-entrepreneurs-ep-225/ SPARK Accel is a personalized 4-week virtual accelerator for Taiwanese American entrepreneurs. At the end of the program there will be a virtual pitch competition and a chance for participants to win up to $15,000. SPARK Accel is an initiative under the Taiwanese American Citizens League (TACL). TACL is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of Taiwanese Americans. Stacey Pai, one of the founding team members of SPARK Accel, spoke with me about how SPARK Accel supports entrepreneurs, and what stage of entrepreneurs are eligible to participate in its accelerator program. As SPARK Accel grows, it is looking to recruit a volunteer program manager, fundraising manager, community manager, marketing manager, and startup mentors. This is a great opportunity for budding Taiwanese entrepreneurs. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: What is Spark Accel? What stage of entrepreneur Spark Accel serves When Spark Accel launched The first cohort in the summer of 2021 had 6 startup participants and 10 ppl on the leadership team, and over 30 mentors Spark Accel plans to launch 2 cohorts in 2023, one in April/May, and the other in Sep/Oct. How to apply and qualify for the Spark Accelerator program What will happen during the 4-week program and what participants will learn Spark Accel's in-person mixers San Francisco, New York, Boston, and Taipei Future locations that will host Spark Accel in-person mixers How Spark Accel is run by volunteers and supported by fundraising and donations How many participants there are in each accelerator cohort At the end of the 4-week program there will be a pitch contest in order to win a cash prize of up to $15,000 The "audience component" at the end of the program, which involves a video recording of pitches that will be shared online and via social media, and friends and family will be invited to vote The startups and mentors associated with Spark Accel Spark Accel is looking for volunteer mentors Spark Accel is recruiting for a volunteer program manager, fundraising manager, community manager, and marketing manager Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/spark-accel-a-virtual-accelerator-for-taiwanese-american-entrepreneurs-ep-225/

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/andrew-klerck-blindness-later-in-life-could-not-stop-this-thriving-entrepreneur-ep-224/ Andrew Klerck is the founder of Taiwan Impact Entrepreneurs, a group that serves foreigners who want to start a business in Taiwan. He spoke with me about how much you need to start a business in Taiwan, and why Taiwan is a great place to do so. Andrew also talked about how he got started on his own journey as an entrepreneur and lost his eyesight over 15 years ago while running an export company. Today he is a thriving entrepreneur, thanks to the assistive technology of smartphones, screen readers, and smart glasses. He shared from a foreigner's perspective, good reasons to do business in Taiwan and some of the challenges of doing business in Taiwan. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: 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. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Talking Taiwan has a donor who is willing to make a $5,000 matching donation! Help us double what we raise to $10,000 by MAKING A CONTRIBUTION to Talking Taiwan at: http://gofundme.com/building-talking-taiwans-legacy https://www.patreon.com/talkingtaiwan PayPal using: [email protected] Zelle using: [email protected] Checks or money orders made payable to Talking Taiwan can be sent to: Talking Taiwan PO Box 1049 New York, NY 10113 https://talkingtaiwan.com/support/ Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: · What brought Andrew to Taiwan · Why Andrew started the Taiwan Impact Entrepreneurs(TIE) group · What the Taiwan Impact Entrepreneurs group does and who they serve · The Taiwan Impact Entrepreneurs mastermind group · The difference between the Taiwan Impact Entrepreneurs Facebook group and the Taiwan Impact Entrepreneurs mastermind group · How the TIE mastermind group is run · Why Taiwan is a good place for foreigners to live · Why Taiwan is a good place for foreigners to start a business · The advantage of doing business in Taiwan · The difficulties and tradeoffs of doing business in Taiwan for foreigners · How to build good credit and get offered credit from banks in Taiwan · How it's difficult for foreigners to get funding in Taiwan · The Taipei Entrepreneur Hub · Abled Minds Taiwan · What prevents disabled people in Taiwan from pursuing entrepreneurship · How Andrew lost his eyesight · How Andrew managed to run a business as he was loosing his eyesight · The technology that helps Andrew as a blind person with his daily life and to do business · Andrew's upbringing in South Africa under apartheid · The entrepreneurial and business mindset of Andrew's parents · How Andrew has run a company that had operations in nearly 60 different countries · Andrew's TIE partner Jamie Rufe was an executive assistant to Foxconn CEO, Terry Gou · Andrew's advice for people who want to start a business in Taiwan but don't have a lot of cash · The importance of street hustling and selling Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/andrew-klerck-blindness-later-in-life-could-not-stop-this-thriving-entrepreneur-ep-224/

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/graci-kim-from-new-zealand-diplomat-to-new-york-times-best-selling-author-ep-223/ Graci Kim is a New York Times Bestselling author of the Gifted Clans series. In 2012, she was interviewed for Talking Taiwan about her cooking show called Graci in the Kitchen. We've invited her back to give us an update on what she's up do these days. She's been a New Zealand diplomat, once ran a business that turned children's drawings into cuddly toys, and given a TED Talk in 2018 that still resonates today. She spoke with us about her Korean roots, how she decided to become a writer, what it was like when her book, The Last Fallen Star hit the New York Times Bestseller list, and her writing process. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Talking Taiwan has a donor who is willing to make a $5,000 matching donation! Help us double what we raise to $10,000 by MAKING A CONTRIBUTION to Talking Taiwan at: http://gofundme.com/building-talking-taiwans-legacy https://www.patreon.com/talkingtaiwan PayPal using: [email protected] Zelle using: [email protected] Checks or money orders made payable to Talking Taiwan can be sent to: Talking Taiwan PO Box 1049 New York, NY 10113 https://talkingtaiwan.com/support/ Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: What happened to Graci's cooking show, Graci in the Kitchen Graci's TED Talk in 2018 and how what she talked about in the talk still resonates today Korea's occupation by Japan and how that impacted Graci's family Graci's Korean roots Graci's Gifted Clanstrilogy and the inspiration behind it The connection between the Percy Jackson and the Olympiansbook series and Graci's Gifted Clans trilogy Graci's writing process and routine How Graci had a career as a diplomat and decided to try being a writer Writers who have influenced Graci What it was like when Graci's book Last Fallen Starhit the New York Times Best Seller List Graci's advice for first time writers Graci's sources of inspiration and ideas for her writing Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/graci-kim-from-new-zealand-diplomat-to-new-york-times-best-selling-author-ep-223/

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/ep-222-lost-episodes-graci-in-the-kitchen/ Here's a Lost Episode of Talking Taiwan from 2012 featuring Graci Kim. At the time she had a YouTube show called Graci in the Kitchen, and she talked about some of the episodes that were in the works. Next week we'll be sharing our follow up interview with Graci to find out what she's been up to since then. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How and when Graci first learned to cook Graci in the Kitchen is show on YouTube that's going to be shot in Taiwan How Graci's show Graci in the Kitchen is about the power of food Graci's philosophy of feeding the body, mind and soul How each episode focuses on a mood Graci's episode featuring kimchi pancakes The good bacteria and health benefits of kimchi pancakes The difference between kimchi in Korea and Taiwan How popular kimchi is in Korea Why kimchi pancakes is a dish that most people would enjoy Graci's tips for making kimchi pancakes

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/talking-taiwan-2022-top-5-award-winner-end-of-year-review-ep-221/ A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: It's that time of year again… time to reveal the top 5 Talking Taiwan episodes of the year. As we were preparing for this last episode of the year I reflected on this past year and, I realize that there is a lot to be grateful for. Talking Taiwan has had 3 different sponsors throughout the year: The Taiwan Elite Alliance, The Taiwanese United Fund, and NATWA the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. We are grateful for our many individual donors and the generosity of Guy Gilchrist who donated 10 of his drawings that helped to raise money for Talking Taiwan. And we're also grateful to all of our amazing guests and want to thank each and every one of you for being a part of the Talking Taiwan podcast. Our New Year's wish is for there to be more peace, love and happiness in the world. We're really excited about the guests we've lined up to interview and topics to cover. We look forward to continuing to break new ground in the new year. For links to the top 5 episodes of 2022 visit our website TalkingTaiwan.com. Wishing you a wonderful rest of 2022 and a Happy New Year! Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/talking-taiwan-2022-top-5-award-winner-end-of-year-review-ep-221/

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/what-caused-the-cancellation-of-worldpride-taiwan-2025-our-discussion-with-david-yu-ep-220/ A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: In August the news broke that WorldPride 2025 was no longer going to be hosted by Taiwan. Less than a year ago, InterPride and Taiwan had celebrated the selection of Kaohsiung Pride's bid over the Capital Pride Alliance of Washington D.C. to host WorldPride 2025 in Taiwan. The announcement about WorldPride Taiwan 2025 was hugely significant since Taiwan was the first country in Asia to legalize same sex marriage in 2019 and It would be the first ever WorldPride event to be held in East Asia. My listeners will recall that we did an episode about this news last December with Darien Chen in episode 162. What had happened to make Kaohsiung Pride and the Taiwan Preparation Committee decide to withdraw from hosting WorldPride Taiwan 2025? In August I came across a tweet about the cancellation by Bi-Khim Hsiao, Taiwan's Representative to the United States. She had tweeted an article written by David Yu, Don't Sacrifice Taiwan in the Fight for LGBT Rights. The article had been published in Foreign Policy. I reached out David and I invited him to come onto Talking Taiwan as a guest to discuss and reflect on what happened. David is Contractor CTO of an LA-based life sciences startup. I also reached out to the Kaohsiung Pride committee, and InterPride for comment but have not received any responses to date. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: David's involvement with ITASA The article that David wrote for Foreign Policy about the cancellation of WorldPride Taiwan 2025, which was tweeted by Bi-khim Hsiao How Taiwan won the bid to host WorldPride 2025 in November of 2021 How on August 12, 2022, the WorldPride Taiwan 2025 Facebook page posted an announcement stating that they would be terminating hosting WorldPride 2025 What's been reported in the media regarding the cancellation of WorldPride Taiwan 2025 The statement posted on the WorldPride Taiwan 2025 Facebook page regarding their termination of hosting WorldPride 2025 InterPride's request that the event name be changed from WorldPride Taiwan 2025 to WorldPride Kaohsiung 2025, and the offer to use WorldPride Kaohsiung, Taiwan How InterPride's application for consultative status at the United Nations and China may have influenced to request to change the WorldPride event name Should Kaohsiung Pride and the Taiwan Preparation Committee found a way to still host WorldPride 2025 in Taiwan What is the loss of not hosting WorldPride 2025 in Taiwan LGBTQIA rights in Europe Europe's views and dealings with China How Guzzler Leong, Standing Director of Kaohsiung Pride (originally from Macau) was able to have his same sex marriage recognized in Taiwan, however his case does not change the precedent of Taiwan only recognizing transnational same sex marriages to citizens of countries where same sex marriage is legal The parallels between Taiwan's situation in the global arena and LGBTQIA rights within mainstream society How China interferes with Taiwan's representation internationally How Taiwan has to compete under the name Chinese Taipei in the Olympics David's personal experiences at sporting events where Taiwan was not accurately represented and how he handled it An inspiring quote about coming out, by Harvey Milk, a gay activist and member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors How the Gay Games 2023 is being co-hosted by Guadalajara and Hong Kong and Dennis Philipse the founder and co-organizer of Gay Games Hong Kong has resigned How to move forward from the cancellation of WorldPride Taiwan 2025 Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/what-caused-the-cancellation-of-worldpride-taiwan-2025-our-discussion-with-david-yu-ep-220/

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-karen-chung-shares-secrets-of-language-learning-and-challenges-taiwanese-students-face-learning-english-ep-219/ A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Dr. Karen Chung is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures of National Taiwan University. She talked about something called the echo method when she was previously interviewed for Talking Taiwan in 2012 and we've invited her back to give us an update. In this interview she shared some additional tips on how to use the echo method and her thoughts on the challenges that Taiwanese students face in learning English. We also spoke about Taiwan's Bilingual 2030 Plan. Professor Chung has a TEDx talk with over 1.5 million views and an online Open Course Ware course in phonetics on the Taiwan University site which has received over 1.3 million views. A lifelong learner herself, she talked about when she first started learning Chinese, and how to this day, she continues improving her Chinese. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Where Professor Chung's interest in language came from How she started teaching German in the 11thgrade How she got interested in learning Chinese Her love of the Chinese language Her resonance with Confucian values What brought Professor Chung to Taiwan How the Echo Method can be used to learn any language and can help to improve your native language Where the Echo Method came from What echoic memory is How to use echoic memory to learn a language Professor Chung's tips for learning and practicing language How listening and seeking feedback by reading the reactions of those you are speaking to can help you to improve your speaking abilities Whether or not it is harder to learn a language the older people get If it is necessary to be in an environment where you can be fully immersed in a language, in order to acquire a near native accent How to most effectively use the echo method Taiwan's Bilingual 2030 Plan and increase English translation of signs, websites, government and banking documents How the U.S.'s Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) has increased the burden of paper reporting for banks Karen's Facebook page, Karen on Ivy League Analytical English Her collaboration with her former student Melissa on creating an English teaching app Karen's interview on I'm Learning Mandarin podcast and morning routine What she enjoys about reading classical Chinese works Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-karen-chung-shares-secrets-of-language-learning-and-challenges-taiwanese-students-face-learning-english-ep-219/

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-mark-chen-talks-about-his-years-of-service-in-taiwan-ep-217/ A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: In part one of my interview with Dr. Mark Chen (episode 212) we talked about his advocacy work for Taiwan in the U.S. and the impact of the Kaohsiung Incident on Taiwan's democratization. Several of the people who were tried and sentenced in connection with the Kaohsiung Incident later became prominent leaders in Taiwan's first opposition party, the Democratic Progressive Party. The incident happened 43 years ago in 1979 on December 10th, which just passed, making it a good time to share part two of my interview with Dr. Chen. In the second half of my interview with Dr. Mark Chen, we talked about his work in Taiwan as an elected official and public servant. He became a member of the Legislative Yuan in 1992; that year was the first time that elections were held for all 161 seats of the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan. Dr. Chen has also been elected Magistrate of Tainan County, and served in that position from 1993-2001. He was the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2004-2006, the Secretary General in the Office of the President from 2006-2007, the Secretary General of the National Security Council from 2007-2008 and a Legislator in Taiwan's Legislative Yuan from 2001-2004 and 2012-2016. Currently he is the chairman of the Prospect Foundation. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: 1992 was the first time that elections were held for all 161 seats of the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan Dr. Chen was born in Tainan, Taiwan In 1992 Dr. Chen resigned from his job at the Department of Commerce to return to Taiwan and served as a congressman at large Dr. Chen ran for County Governor of Tainan in 1992, and he made history as first Democratic Progressive Party candidate (and non-Kuomintang candidate) County Governor of Tainan ever elected to the position He was rated the top County Governor in Taiwan and served as Country Governor of Tainan for two terms (eight years in total) Dr. Chen was a member of the Legislative Yuan but gave up his position when President Chen Shui-bian invited him to serve as the Minister of Foreign Affairs How Taiwan's transition to democracy has been relatively peaceful The importance of Taiwan having the support of like-minded democratic nations Challenges that Dr. Chen had to deal with as the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Taiwan Dr. Chen's work as a legislator in Taiwan's Legislative Yuan ECFA (Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement) and the Sunflower Movement What happened during the 2014 occupation of the Legislative Yuan by activists and students during the Sunflower Movement Dr. Chen's thoughts on his work as an elected official vs. a public servant at the highest levels of the government in Taiwan How Dr. Chen was inspired by the words of Former U.S. President John F. Kennedy The work of the Prospect Foundation, of which Dr. Chen is the chairman Dr. Chen's thoughts on Robert Tsao, founder of UMC's (United Microelectronics Corp) pledge of 100 million U.S. dollars to help Taiwan defend itself What overseas Taiwanese can do to advocate for Taiwan Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-mark-chen-talks-about-his-years-of-service-in-taiwan-ep-217/

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/ep-217-lost-episodes-karen-chung-on-the-echo-method/ A Note from the Host Felicia Lin Here's another one of the lost episodes of Talking Taiwan that we discovered were recorded back around 2012. Yes that's 10 years ago when Talking Taiwan was just being created. Next week we'll be bringing this guest back for a follow up interview to find out what they're up to these days. This lost episode of Talking Taiwan from 2012 features Karen Chung, an associate professor of English at National Taiwan University, she's talking about something called the "Echo Method." Next week we'll be sharing our follow up interview with Karen to find out what she's been up to since then. Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/ep-217-lost-episodes-karen-chung-on-the-echo-method/

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/j-w-henley-author-of-migrante-reveals-the-plight-of-migrant-workers-in-taiwan-ep-216/ A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: J.W. Henley , author of Migante discusses how the plight of migrant workers in Taiwan came to him, and all the research that was involved. Joe Henley is Freelance Writer and Author. The last time we had Joe on Talking Taiwan (in episode 64) we spoke about his book Bu San Bu Si. In this episode I spoke with him about his latest book, Migrante, which has recently been translated into Chinese. Joe shared how the idea for this book about the plight of migrant workers in Taiwan came to him, all the research that was involved, why he's donating all of his proceeds from the sales of Migrante, and how his band nearly got arrested when they were performing in the Philippines. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How Joe got the Reading Times publishing company interested in translating his book Migrante from English into Chinese How the translator of Migrante into Chinese is also the translator of Harry Potter books Why the book cover for the English language version of Migrante is different from the Chinese language version of Migrante The publisher of the original English language of Migrante, Camphor Press gave Joe a complete control over the design of the book cover What Joe had in mind for the cover of the English language version of Migrante when he asked Isa Nthrope, a Manila-based artist and musician to created it The two book cover options that the publishing company offered Joe for the Chinese language version of Migrante What prompted Joe to write Migrante The news reporting that Joe has done about communities of people in the Philippines who live in cemeteries and how this is related to the main character of Migrante The research and various types of migrant workers that Joe interviewed for Migrante Joe estimates that he's interviewed 70-80 migrant workers during the five years he spent on writing Migrante NGOs that Joe spoke to: Yilan Migrant Fisherman Union and Serve the People Association Joe's reporting on the "Drug War" in Manila Migrante is a composite work of fiction How Joe "met" the son of Rodrigo Duterte when he was the mayor of Davao The time Joe thought he was going to get arrested and put in jail while performing with his band in the Philippines Joe's thoughts on the recent election of Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr. How the journey of many Filipino migrant workers starts in the Philippines Factory workers in Taiwan are covered by the Labor Standards Act but caregivers, and fishermen are not, and what that difference means How Indonesia has made a stand for the rights of its migrant workers that work in Taiwan May God, the only brokerage agency in Taichung, Taiwan that Joe has come across, that actively encourages employers of migrant workers to shoulder all the placement fees, transportation fees and monthly service fees, which are usually passed on to migrant workers The research that Joe did to be able to describe scenes in the book The range of factory dormitory conditions The living conditions of caregivers Joe's writing process for Migrante Why migrant workers can't easily quit or leave their jobs Professor Jose Mario de Vega and how Joe consulted with him for feedback on Migrante How Joe hopes that his book will create awareness about the plight of migrant workers in Taiwan Joe is donating all of his proceeds from the sales of Migrante to the Yilan Migrant Fishermen Union and Serve the People Association Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/j-w-henley-author-of-migrante-reveals-the-plight-of-migrant-workers-in-taiwan-ep-216/

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-bonny-ling-discusses-the-challenges-taiwan-faces-dealing-with-migrant-workers-ep-215/ A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Dr. Bonny Ling is a scholar and practitioner who works on international human rights and development. She is Executive Director of Work Better Innovations, a research consultancy with a community service mission working on new ideas for a responsible economy. We spoke about her work with migrant workers, the challenges that Taiwan has faced in dealing with migrant workers, why it is important for Taiwan to address the wider challenges of combatting human trafficking and modern slavery. She also spoke about her forced labor project that is going to take her back to Taiwan to work with SMEs (small medium enterprises) in December. In Taiwan 98 percent of all businesses are small medium enterprises and they employ close to 80 percent of the total domestic workforce. The European Union (EU) defines a small enterprise as one with less than 50 employees and a medium enterprise as one with less than 250 employees. Dr. Bonny Ling has worked in the UN system and in international civil society. Bonny is a Senior Non-Resident Fellow with the University of Nottingham Taiwan Studies Programme; Research Fellow with the Institute for Human Rights and Business; and Advisory Board Member of the INGO Human Rights at Sea. Bonny wrote her PhD in Law on human trafficking and China at the Irish Centre of Human Rights and is an expert on human trafficking and modern slavery. She graduated from Cambridge University (criminology) and the Fletcher School, Tufts University (law and diplomacy). Bonny has served as an international election observer in East Timor and for the OSCE. Previously at the University of Zurich in Switzerland, she writes on human rights, migrants, business responsibilities and international development and is a contributing writer for Ketagalan Media, New Bloom, Taipei Times, Taiwan Insight and The News Lens. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Bonny's connection to Taiwan What constitutes a migrant worker The importance of addressing and speaking about hate and discrimination toward migrants The mistreatment of migrant workers who worked on construction for the 2022 Qatar World Cup The terms forced labor, human trafficking and modern slavery The Modern Slavery Act in the U.K. and Australia The definition of forced labor The indicators of forced labor The media coverage on how migrant factory workers in Taiwan were mistreated during COVID How movement restrictions on migrant workers in Miaoli initially applied to domestic workers and factory workers How the movement restrictions did not make scientific sense from a public health point of view How Taiwan is under scrutiny regarding the treatment of its migrant workers How everyone has a connection to Taiwan if you consider the statistic that Taiwan makes 90% of the world's high-end chips What happened when Indonesia introduced a zero (pre-employment) fee policy for its migrant workers in 2020 The international legal definition of a migrant worker Fees that low wage migrant workers are expected to pay How migrant workers are often indebted (due to the fees they owe) before their first day of work In private industry some brands have exerted pressure on their suppliers telling them that they cannot charge workers fees Bilateral discussions between Indonesia and Taiwan in August that led to the increase in the wage for domestic care workers, and the wage for all domestic care workers has been raised in Taiwan but there are some caveats The wage or domestic care workers hadn't been raised in seven years in Taiwan How Taiwan needs to hire and retain skilled workers for its manufacturing industry due to its declining birthrate and aging population How Taiwan's treatment of migrant workers is related to its image as a responsible global citizen How Taiwan's economy largely consists of (98-99%) SME (small medium enterprises) How better wages and working conditions are related to attracting and retaining workers/employees How there needs to be more dialogue and open communication between employers and workers The importance of creating awareness of forced labor indicators amongst employers How to deal with the infra

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/a-master-class-in-art-and-life-with-guy-gilchrist-famous-cartoonist-for-the-muppets-ep-214/ A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: On November 5th we hosted a special live online event for people to experience the artistry of Master Cartoonist Guy Gilchrist. Guy's artwork is enshrined in the Smithsonian Museum and first lady Nancy Reagan has declared him a national treasure. In this episode we share highlights from the event. HURRY! LAST CHANCE! YOU CAN WIN ALL OF GUY'S DRAWINGS FROM THIS PODCAST BY DONATING $25 OR MORE TO TALKING TAIWAN! Guy has generously donated all 10 of the drawings he did that night of various Muppets and classic cartoon characters. You own Guy's artwork! Just enter to win his drawings by simply by making a donation of $25 or more to TalkingTaiwan.com/support by 11:59 EST on November 30. Deadlines to Enter th Contest for our fans abroad are as follows: Great Britain: December 1 4:59am GMT Taiwan: December 1 12:59pm CST To Donate, the EASIEST WAY IS TO click this link and go to the Talking Taiwan Support Page Alternatively, you can go directly on PayPal and use [email protected] *Note: When donating with PayPal or with a credit or debit card, be sure to select the option "Sending to a friend" to avoid withheld commissions To see Guy in action and draw along with his tutorials visit our YouTube channel and watch A Master Class In Art and Life with Guy Gilchrist: Famous Cartoonist for The Muppets. https://youtu.be/aijIsddfo8c A full replay of the event (which is over two hours long) is also available on our YouTube channel. Guy Gilchrist: The Muppets Master Cartoonist Main Event REPLAY https://youtu.be/L_K_zbbeiNg We want to thank Guy Gilchrist and his cameraman Rich for sharing his amazing talent with us. Aside from being a talented artist, Guy really knows how to bring happiness to others through his art, as you'll see if you watch any of the recordings of the event that we've posted on our YouTube channel. A portion of the money raised will benefit Guy's favorite charity World Central Kitchen. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here are the highlights from this episode: [Timestamps for topics covered during the episode are on YouTube] Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/a-master-class-in-art-and-life-with-guy-gilchrist-famous-cartoonist-for-the-muppets-ep-214/

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/formosa-files-john-ross-and-eryk-michael-smith-are-on-a-mission-to-share-the-history-of-taiwan-ep-213/ A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: John Ross and Eryk Michael Smith are the co-hosts of the Formosa Files podcast. Together John and Eryk tell stories from the history of Taiwan (formerly known as Formosa) in a nonchronological order. They spoke with me about where the idea for the podcast came from, their love of history and where they find inspiration for their podcast episodes. They are on a mission to share the history of Taiwan far and wide. Now in their second season, John and Eryk also shared what we can expect from season three. John Ross is an author and co-founder of publisher Camphor Press, which specializes in books on Taiwan and China in English, while Eryk Michael Smith has worked as a writer and journalist for multiple media outlets in Taiwan, including the island's only English-language radio station ICRT (FM 100.7). Both Ross and Smith have lived in Taiwan for well over 20 years and call the island home. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: What brought John and Eryk to Taiwan Eryk's work at Next Media How John and Eryk met Where the idea and inspiration for the Formosa Files podcast came from The first episode of Formosa Files, The White Formosan Their approach to creating content for Formosa Files Why John and Eryk decided to focus on the time period from 1600-2000 How John and Eryk came up with the name of the podcast Where John and Eryk's love of history comes from Why John and Eryk think it's important to know history The sources of research that John and Eryk use for Formosa Files How Eryk discovered the story of the Duck King Han Cheung's Taiwan in Time column in the Taipei Times newspaper Steven Crook's Highways and Byways column in the Taipei Times newspaper Why Formosa Files episodes don't follow chronological order and how John and Eryk decide what topics to cover and when Episode ideas that John and Eryk have had to scrap Topics that their listeners are interested in How Formosa Files has evolved and changed over time Eryk and John's favorite episodes of Formosa Files What we can expect from Formosa Files in the future What's being planned for season three of Formosa Files Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/formosa-files-john-ross-and-eryk-michael-smith-are-on-a-mission-to-share-the-history-of-taiwan-ep-213/

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-mark-chen-advocate-for-taiwan-in-both-the-u-s-and-taiwan-ep-212/ A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: 1979 was a crucial year for Taiwan. In January of that year the United States changed its diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing and in December of that same year the Kaohsiung Incident happened. Speaking with my guest, Dr. Mark Chen, for this episode made me realize that there are many people to thank for the important work that they did back then to safeguard Taiwan and the people of Taiwan. Dr. Mark Chen (陳唐山 ) has spent much of his life dedicated to doing advocacy work for Taiwan both in the U.S. and in Taiwan. Listeners of this podcast may recall his name being mentioned in episode 199 when I spoke with Gerrit van der Wees about the Taiwan Relations Act. When the United States formally recognized the communist People's Republic of China and severed its diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979, Mark Chen and others reached out to U.S. congressmen and senators to express the concerns of the people of Taiwan. As a result, he and several others were invited to testify in front of the U.S Congress as the Taiwan Relations Act was being drafted. The act passed in April of 1979. Later that same year when the Kaohsiung Incident happened on December 10th Dr. Chen and overseas Taiwanese were galvanized to call for further investigation into the matter and to put international pressure on the Kuomintang government to release those charged and arrested in connection with the Kaohsiung Incident. Dr. Chen also shared how the advocacy work being done for Taiwan at the time led to the formation of FAPA (the Formosan Association for Public Affairs) in 1982. This year marks the 40th anniversary of FAPA. In part one of my interview with him we focus on the work he's done for Taiwan in the U.S.- which started when he was a student at the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Chen has been the president of the Taiwanese Association of America, World Federation of Taiwanese Associations, and the Formosan Association of Public Affairs. In part two of my interview with Mark Chen, we'll talk about his work in Taiwan as an elected official and public servant, and his current work as the chairman of the Prospect Foundation. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How the education Dr. Chen received when Taiwan was ruled by the Japanese influenced him How the arrival of the Kuomintang in Taiwan in 1945 at the end of World War II was without the consent of the Taiwanese people and changed things overnight for the people of Taiwan How the Chiang Kai-shek Kuomintang government was focused on retaking China at the time and a lot of this rhetoric ended up being taught in schools The impact of the 228 massacre on the people of Taiwan How subject matter taught in schools changed under the Kuomintang How Mark and many of his peers were able to study in the U.S. with the financial assistance of scholarships How an exit visa was needed to be able to leave Taiwan which was still under martial law at the time His involvement with Taiwanese student groups as a university student was forbidden by the Kuomintang government in Taiwan at the time Why his Taiwan passport was confiscated after sending it to the Taiwan embassy in Houston to be renewed; making him stateless When an ad about the 228 massacre that was to run to the University Oklahoma newspaper was denied publication, Dr. Chen who was a young student at the university, appealed directly to the university's president who agreed to publish the ad When the U.S. cut its official relationship with Taiwan in 1979, Taiwan was known as "Free China" under the rule of the Chiang Kai-shek government, as opposed to "Red China" which refers to the People's Republic of China How Dr. Chen and others in the Taiwanese American community worked to inform members of the U.S. Congress about the importance of the U.S. maintaining a relationship with Taiwan, and understanding the perspectives of the Taiwanese people How Dr. Chen was blacklisted for being involved with organizing Taiwanese student organizations not allowed to return to Taiwan for father's funeral How Dr. Chen, Peng Ming-min and others were invited to testify to the U.S. Congress about on behalf of the people of Taiwan that there should be freedom and democracy in Taiwan, this formed the basis for the Taiwan Relations Act On January 1, 1979 U.S. President Jimmy Carter switched the U.S.'s diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to the People's Republic of China How Dr. Chen asked the American Institute in Taiwan office in Washington D.C. to investigate the Kaohsiung Incident which happened on December 10, 1979 Dr. Chen was the chairperson of the World Federation of Taiwanese Associations when he personally went to visit the chairman of Amnesty International in London to appeal of their help in calling for th

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/guy-gilchrist-on-dealing-with-setbacks-and-how-dr-seuss-influenced-his-life-ep-211/ A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: In this episode of Talking Taiwan, we share the second half of my interview with illustrator and cartoonist Guy Gilchrist, picking up after part one in episode 207. In the second half of my interview with Guy, he talked about how Dr. Seuss has been an influence in his life. Guy also talked about how he had to deal with chronic pain and back surgery. These days Guy can be seen on social media and at Comicons around the country doing what he loves most drawing cartoon character live for his fans. Guy is best known as the cartoonist of Jim Henson and The Muppets. He's also had his hand in notable cartoons such as The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Looney Tunes, Tom & Jerry, Tiny Toons, Pink Panther, and Disney, among others. He was declared a national treasure by former First Lady, Nancy Reagan and his artwork has been enshrined in the Smithsonian. Since one thing we can't do on this podcast is to show the magic of Guy's cartooning, we decided to host a LIVE online event where you can meet Guy this Saturday, November 5th at 6:30pm EST. At the event you'll have a chance to see him drawing live. Guy will also show you how to draw cartoon characters yourself. The best part of all this is that Guy has generously offered to donate all of the drawings he does that night and you can enter to win them by simply making a donation of $25 or more to Talking Taiwan's GoFundMe page: http://gofundme.com/building-talking-taiwans-legacy If you'd like to attend the event just Register at: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0qcuippj0oGNFuyKrRnUTpoPMCFSBcWEqP#/registration This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How hearing Dr. Seuss speak when Guy was in grade school left a lasting impression on him How Guy went from being a bad student to realizing that he could actually do something with his talents How Guy wrote to Dr. Seuss when he was struggling to get a children's book published Guy's encouragement not to give up on your dreams especially if you are in the arts How Guy's children's book about the character Mudpie had been rejected by a dozen publishers The story of how Dr. Seuss' first book I Saw It On Mulberry Street got published Guy's Mudpie character and the book series he's created about Mudpie How Guy has dealt with arm and back issues, and chronic pain How Guy first had back surgery at the age of 29 and has gotten cortisone shots to deal with pain for years How Guy started having trouble walking about six years ago Guy's recovery from the back surgery he had about six years ago after his muscles atrophied from not being active for a year How Guy now deals with pain Guy's advice to love ourselves and take care of ourselves first Guy's music and songwriting Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/guy-gilchrist-on-dealing-with-setbacks-and-how-dr-seuss-influenced-his-life-ep-211/

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/emma-choi-youngest-npr-host-talks-about-her-comedy-podcast-everyone-and-their-mom-ep-210/ A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Emma Choi is the host of the NPR weekly short-form comedy podcast Everyone & Their Mom. She is the youngest host at NPR and currently in her final year at Harvard University. In January of 2021, she was an intern for the NPR show Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me! Initially she was told that she couldn't be hired since she was a college student but apparently her PowerPoint prowess led to her working with the Wait Wait team to create Everyone & Their Mom, which began airing in February 2022. She's a second generation Korean American. Emma is definitely a trailblazer with a quirky sense of humor. I especially enjoyed the episodes of Everyone & Their Mom that she did about the job of a grizzly bear conflict manager, and the one about how her grandmother's kimchi could be improved. She spoke to me about what it's been like working at NPR and why she did a satanic Tickle Me Elmo impression during her internship interview. On Mon, Oct 24, 2022 at 11:32 PM Felicia Lin A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Emma Choi is the host of the NPR weekly short-form comedy podcast Everyone & Their Mom. In 2021, she was an intern for the NPR show Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me! Apparently, it was her PowerPoint prowess led to her working with the Wait Wait team to create Everyone & Their Mom, which began airing in February 2022. She's a second generation Korean American. We talked about that it's been like working at NPR and being NPR's youngest host, what why she did a satanic Tickle Me Elmo impression during her internship interview. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: What it's like being NPR's youngest host Her keynote speech at the Asian American Journalists Association Who would be her dream guest Where Emma's sense of humor comes from How her family has been on her podcast Everyone & Their Mom How Emma did an episode about how her grandma's kimchi is missing something What goes into producing an episode What Emma has learned from Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me!host Peter Sagal How Emma wrote a 400-page bookspanning three generations of Korean women Emma's experience with the Harvard Lampoon Emma's interest in writing in the future What Emma's experience working at NPR has been like How Emma's experience with the Harvard Lampoon has made her appreciate the diverse writing team she works with at NPR If Emma has thought about what she wants to do next Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/emma-choi-youngest-npr-host-talks-about-her-comedy-podcast-everyone-and-their-mom-ep-210/

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/michelle-kuo-and-albert-wu-on-a-broad-and-ample-road-and-the-taiwanese-presbyterian-church-shooting-ep-209/ A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: In mid-June I spoke with Michelle Kuo and Albert Wu about their weekly newsletter, A Broad and Ample Road. They began writing it in 2020 as a way to keep in touch with people during the pandemic. We also spoke about the shooting at the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian church in Laguna Woods which had happened a month before on May 15th. We discussed how the shooting sparked debate on the shooter's identity as Taiwanese or Chinese, and the terms benshengren (本省人) and waishengren (外省人) which are commonly used in Taiwan to differentiate people. Michelle reflected on how the close-knit nature of the Taiwanese community in Laguna. Her parents live five minutes from the church and knew members of the Taiwanese community in Laguna Woods. Albert shared why he felt that in a different life the shooter could have been one of his uncles. Michelle Kuo is a social activist, lawyer, teacher, and writer. She is an associate professor at the American University of Paris in History, Law, and Society and a visiting associate professor at National Taiwan University. Albert Wu is a historian and an associate research fellow at the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Why Michelle and Albert named their newsletter A Broad and Ample Road Why Michelle and Albert started their newsletter The piece that Michelle and Albert wrote about how Taiwan's pro-China media depicts Ukraine and Russia How Michelle thinks that writing doesn't have to be a solidary activity How Michelle and Albert decide what to write together How Michelle and Albert write together What Michelle and Albert's writing process is How Michelle and Albert deal with disagreements in the writing process How often the newsletter is published One of the most enjoyable things about writing the newsletter How the newsletter had connected them with a variety of people who can relate to the things Michelle and Albert write about Michelle's piece about moving to Taiwan Michelle and Albert have envisioned the newsletter being bilingual and through a grant from Substack have been able to work with translators Michelle's book Reading With Patrickhas been translated into Chinese The shooting at Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church in May Divisions between the different groups of people who identify as Taiwanese and Chinese in Taiwan The terms benshengren (本省人) and waishengren (外省人) The Chinese character for sheng (省) means province which is how Taiwan was referred to under the Republic of China initially until constitutional amendments were made The term the "49ers" which refers to the Chinese that fled China with the with the Kuomintang to Taiwan in 1949 How the gunman of the shooting at Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church was a son of waishengren Albert and Michelle's experiences growing up a family that was a mix of bengshengren and waishengren The discrimination that Albert's waishengren uncles experienced in Taiwan How Michelle was raised by her parents to identify as Chinese American The debate over whether to call the gunman Taiwanese or Chinese The idea that the term Taiwanese can be inclusive, multicultural The waishengren identity as victim vs. privileged The variety of reactions to the Taiwanese Presbyterian Church shooting Michelle's parents' connection to the members of the Taiwanese Presbyterian Church How members of the Taiwanese community in Laguna Woods coexist and interact despite their differences in political opinions How the circumstances of the shooter David Chou's life were unraveling What makes someone become a killer or a hero The types of communities that could contribute to making people in to heroes or killers The brutal impact of authoritarian regimes on all members of its society Activists in the opposition (dangwai) movement have included waishengren, aboriginal, Hakka and other groups Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/michelle-kuo-and-albert-wu-on-a-broad-and-ample-road-and-the-taiwanese-presbyterian-church-shooting-ep-209/

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-wilma-welsh-how-the-presbyterian-church-of-taiwan-became-the-voice-of-the-people-in-the-1970s-ep-208/ A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: When Wilma Welsh left Canada to work with the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) in 1969, she told me that it changed her life. Little did she know how she'd be a part of the pivotal role that the PCT would play as a voice for the people of Taiwan. During her time in Taiwan, Wilma experienced the Kuomintang's surveillance and censorship, and felt the lingering impact of the 228 massacre which happened on February 28, 1947. She was the English secretary to Reverend Kao Chun-ming, the General Secretary of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan. When Taiwan's international status and the fate Taiwan's people came in to question Reverend Kao and others wrote the Public Statement on Our National Fate, Wilma typed it up and took it out of Taiwan to Hong Kong where it could be safely mailed out. She also recounted how she was working at the Bible Society in Taipei in 1975 when the Kuomintang arrived to confiscate Taiwanese Hoklo language versions of the Bible and ended up smuggling out 2 copies of the Bible. In 2006 she became the Moderator of the 132nd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. She was the first lay person to ever hold this position. In 2010 she was by the bestowing of a Doctor of Divinity Degree (DD) from Knox College, the University of Toronto. During her year as Moderator she received three additional honors, a life membership in the Women's Missionary Society, the Mahatma Gandhi Peace Medal, and an honorary membership in the World Taiwanese Christian Association. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Wilma's early involvement with the Presbyterian Church What brought Wilma to Formosa (as Taiwan was known then) to work with the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan Wilma's parents' reaction to her going to Taiwan What Wilma was doing before she went to Taiwan What Wilma knew about Taiwan before she went there The language training that Wilma did before going to Taiwan Wilma's first impressions of Taiwan How Wilma first worked with M.C. Chong How Wilma work for Dr. Kao (Reverend Kao Chun-ming) How Taiwan was under martial law and Wilma had to beware of informers The censorship of postal mail coming from Taiwan Wilma's work with Dr. Kao How she worked half a day on Wednesdays at the Bible Society How it was not safe for Dr. Kao to speak with Wilma about certain things in the office because there were planted informants in the office How the Taiwanese were afraid of the Kuomintang since the 228 Massacre had happened How she burned documents that Dr. Kao didn't want people to read How the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan was pressured to cancel its membership in the World Council of Churches The letter that was written by Presbyterian Church in Taiwan stating that it was not their wish to withdraw from the World Council of Churches How Wilma hid this letter when she left Taiwan for Hong Kong where she mailed the letter out to partner churches The letter was also taken to the American embassy (AIT) to be sent out to the U.S. How the Republic of China's United Nations seat was transferred to the People's Republic of China in 1971 when UN Resolution 2758 recognized the PRC as the legitimate representative of China and what that meant for the fate of Taiwan and the people of Taiwan What prompted the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) to issue the Statement on Our National Fate How Wilma secretly took copies of the PCT's Statement on Our National Fate with her to Hong Hong to be mailed out How the PCT's Statement on Our National Fate stated: How the PCT's Statement was perceived as a challenge to the Kuomintang's authority What happened when the Kuomintang sent police to confiscate Hoklo (Taiwanese) language bible from the Bible Society in 1975 How Wilma was asked to intervene and smuggle copies of the Bible out of Taiwan How Wilma smuggled the Bibles out of Taiwan to Canada How Wilma knew that despite the things she did, she was protected by the Canadian government How there were informants in the office of the PCT Wilma reflects on how the time she spent in Taiwan changed her Wilma's thoughts on current event

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/guy-gilchrist-cartoonist-for-the-muppets-talks-about-how-to-achieve-your-dreams-ep-207/ A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: I first learned about illustrator and cartoonist Guy Gilchrist, when I interviewed Dr. Karen Tsai (in episode 120) about how she spearheaded the creation of Monster Dance, a children's book created to help children deal with and understand the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Guy is best known as the cartoonist of Jim Henson's Muppets comic strip that was printed worldwide in 660-plus newspapers daily in 80 different languages. Guy spoke with me about his humble beginnings, and how he made his childhood dreams of becoming a cartoonist a reality. Guy has had a lead role on the creative team for the Muppet Babies, Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock, and other Henson creations. Throughout the years, Guy has also had his hand in notable cartoons such as The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Looney Tunes, Tom & Jerry, Tiny Toons, The Pink Panther, and Disney, among others. Since we can't showcase or share all of Guy's talents on the podcast, we are excited to announce that on November 5th, we'll be hosting a live online event where you can meet Guy and see him draw your favorite cartoon characters live. Guy has agreed do a special live online event to help raise some money for Talking Taiwan on November 5th. To get invited to this special event to meet Guy online just make a donation to Talking Taiwan's GoFundMe campaign: http://gofundme.com/building-talking-taiwans-legacy. We'll be sharing more information about the fun things planned for this event in the upcoming weeks. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How Guy got involved with the children's book Monster Dance How Guy met Dr. Karen Tsai who spearheaded the creation of Monster Dance Dr. Karen Tsai's nonprofit organization Donate PPE How Guy helped Donate PPE's efforts by drawing comic book characters with masks for kids and to thank frontline health care workers How they went from the idea to create a coloring book to a children's book Madeleine Editions, the publisher they worked with to create the children's book Monster Dance The Walt Disney quote that inspired Guy to put out the book in record time How the team working on the book worked via Zoom and from locations all around the world and Eva Lou the founder of Madeleine Editions How the book got done in record time during the pandemic Guy's childhood and how his mother nurtured his artistic talent Since childhood Guy always imagined that he'd be a famous cartoonist How Guy did not have a television when he grew up, so he often watched television in an appliance store near the diner where his mother worked How he was inspired by watching cartoonist Walter Lantz draw Woody Woodpecker on television Why at the age of 10 Guy sent in his artwork to Walter Lantz How as a kid Guy imagined that he'd get to Los Angeles or New York to find work The first time Guy went to a Comic Convention, now known as ComiCon The letter that Walter Lantz sent in response to Guy How at age 16 Guy landed his first job drawing for a Disney coloring book How Guy became the cartoonist who drew the Muppets comic strip, which debuted in September 1981 The first time that Guy met Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets How the Muppets comic strip was the only one to appear daily in 80 different languages around the world because Jim Henson wanted the Muppets How Guy ended up being a guest of honor at the Whitehouse, declared a national treasure and having his work enshrined in the Smithsonian Which Muppet Guy identifies with the most Guy's advice for illustrators who are struggling with their career or creativity Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/guy-gilchrist-cartoonist-for-the-muppets-talks-about-how-to-achieve-your-dreams-ep-207/

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/eric-chan-discusses-what-led-the-taiwan-military-to-shoot-down-a-chinese-civilian-drone-ep-206/ A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: On September first, the Taiwan military shot down a Chinese civilian drone that flew near Kimen. In this episode of Talking Taiwan. I speak with Eric Chan about what led up the incident, China's increased gray zone tactics toward Taiwan since U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in early August, and other news related to Taiwan's military, such as the Taiwan Policy Act and UMC founder, Robert Tsao's donation for civil defense in Taiwan. Eric Chan is a non-resident research fellow at the Global Taiwan Institute, a Washington DC-based think tank dedicated to policy research on Taiwan and its people. He is also a senior airpower strategist with the U.S. Air Force, where he provides USAF with expertise on People's Republic of China military capabilities, political leadership, and strategic culture. Mr. Chan was previously the China, Korea, Philippines, and Vietnam Country Director with the Air Force. In this role, Mr. Chan was responsible for USAF engagement with the Chinese Air Force, and for managing security cooperation with key allies and partners. Mr. Chan has published widely on Chinese influence operations and gray zone warfare, Taiwan military reform, and military diplomacy with the People's Liberation Army. He has written for publications including the Global Taiwan Brief, the USAF Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs, The Diplomat, and War on the Rocks. Mr. Chan holds a Master's degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University and a Bachelor's degree in Political Science/History from the University of California, San Diego. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How China's gray zone tactics towards Taiwan have changed over the years and since U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in August Should there be concerns about these changes and China's use of drones in their gray zone tactics towards Taiwan What kind of intelligence can drones collect and damage they can do When China started sending drones over to Taiwan To date about 30 drones have flown over Kimen What led up to Taiwan's military shooting down a drone from China on September 1 How Taiwan's military is considering installing anti-drone systems The difference between civilian and miliary drones How Ukraine has rigged civilian drones with grenades in the war with Russia The impact of China's military actions in response to Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan and was it a blockade How some have called China's recent military actions against Taiwan the fourth straits crisis What would constitute a military blockade of Taiwan Based on China's recent military actions, what do we know about China's military capability How Beijing's recent white paper "One China, Two Systems" does not include promises made in a previous 1993 paper that Taiwan could have its own administrative, legislative, and judicial institutions, run its own democratic system, have its own military and economic affairs How Beijing will use Taiwan's rejection of the white paper to justify harsher tactics against Taiwan How has China's' recent military actions and white paper affected public perception of people in China UMC (United Microelectronics Corporation) founder, Robert Tsao's sizeable donation for civil defense of Taiwan The Taiwan Policy Act which has been passed through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee What the Taiwan Policy Act would mean for Taiwan and the Taiwan Relations Act The message that the Taiwan Policy Act would send to China Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/eric-chan-discusses-what-led-the-taiwan-military-to-shoot-down-a-chinese-civilian-drone-ep-206/

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/rev-michael-stainton-working-with-indigenous-people-in-taiwan-before-and-after-martial-law-ep-205/ A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: In this episode of Talking Taiwan, I welcome back Reverend Michael Stainton to talk about his time in Taiwan and work with the indigenous people of Taiwan. Much of the time he spent in Taiwan was during the martial law era (before 1987) and he gives an interesting account of what Taiwan was like at the time. Reverend Stainton is the President of the Taiwanese Human Rights Association of Canada and the Founder and Director of the Canadian Mackay Committee. We had Reverend Stainton on as a guest previously (in episode 173) to talk about Canadian missionary George Leslie Mackay's contributions to Taiwan. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: In the 1970s, while Chiang Kai-shek was President of Taiwan Chinese Communist materials and materials from China were labeled "banditry materials" at the Stanford Center's library Students could access the "banditry materials" but were required to sign out and promptly return them because the materials had to remain on premises The Garrison Command would periodically stop by the library to check to make sure none of the "banditry materials" was missing How the death of Chiang Kai-shek was covered by the three television stations in Taiwan How Taiwan was a totalitarian police state in the 1970s What happened when Reverend Stainton was sent to Taiwan as a missionary in 1980 to work with the Presbyterian Church of Taiwan Reverend Stainton's work as the Director of the Taipei Aboriginal University Student Center How students of the Taipei Aboriginal University Student Center were required to report to the political commissary what Reverend Stainton was teaching them How Reverend Stainton tried to encourage the aborigine students to think about their identity and history by inviting various speakers such as local politicians and an academic who had critiqued the myth of Wu Feng (who was beheaded by the Tsou aborigine tribe) How the police were always watching and Reverend Stainton's mail was opened and censored (during Taiwan's martial law era) What happened when the police and garrison command arrived to break up a birthday party that students were having at the Taipei Aboriginal University Student Center How Reverend Stainton knew that his phone was being tapped Some students from the Taipei Aborigine University Student Center went on to become leaders and politicians including Icyang Parod who is the Minister of the Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP) In 1982 Reverend Stainton switched to doing work in a rural aboriginal development in Wulai How Reverend Stainton helped to uncover embezzlement by the director of the Taipei Presbytery's community development center in Wulai How Reverend Stainton discovered that he was disinvited from continuing to stay in Taiwan and sent back to Canada The Atayal people began to request that they run the aboriginal development in Wulai be under the Atayal Presbytery church instead of the Taipei Presbytery How Reverend Stainton studied at the Coady Institute after returning to Canada in 1983 and learned methods of community of development How Reverend Stainton was invited to return to Taiwan How Reverend Stainton was invited to work at community development centers in Taidong and Hualien How the president of a cooperative ran for and was elected township mayor, but the KMT found a way to oust him People who planned to participate in the Aboriginal return our land movement demonstration march in Taipei on August 25,1988 were harassed by the police and warned not to participate, busloads of people en route to the demonstration were also stopped In this era Cheng Wen Chen's murder at Taida happened in 1981 and in 1989, Deng Nylon (Cheng Nan-jung) committed suicide by self-immolation rather than be arrested Reverend Stainton and his wife returned to Canada in 1991 How Reverend Stainton's observation of the variations in behavior of different aborigine groups at the Taipei Aborigine University Student Center made him interested in anthropology How Columbus Leo challenged the blacklist after martial law had been lifted Reverend Stainton was sent by the United Church of Canada to be an

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/eduordo-roquette-talks-about-his-life-changing-scooter-accident-and-playing-tiger-man-ep-204/ A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Edouard Roquette is the founder of Rooms.Taipei a co-living business. In episode 192 he spoke to me about his experiences as an entrepreneur and the challenges facing foreign entrepreneurs in Taiwan. I've invited him back on to talk about the life-changing scooter accident that happened to him in 2012. It landed him in a wheelchair for six months, and on crutches for eight years. With physical therapy and treatment Edouard has been able to walk and hike again. To this day he continues to consult with physical therapists about his condition. We also spoke about how he took on the role of playing Tiger Man at the annual festivities in Beigang celebrating the birthday of Mazu, the goddess of the sea, and his fascination with Taiwan's religious festivals and ceremonies. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How Edouard recovered enough from his scooter accident to be able to walk How Edouard's accident happened three days before his visa for Taiwan expired The approach that hospitals in Taiwan take with pain management As a result of overstaying his visa Edouard had to leave Taiwan for a year How Edouard has been able to go from not being able to stand for more than a few minutes to being able to walk and hike Edouard's physical therapist in Taipei JJ. Physio How Edouard had to advocate for himself to get physical therapy As a result of Edouard's accident he lost his company, money, health, and relationship How it took eight years for Edouard to walk again and how he got through it How it was important for Edouard to feel a sense of normalcy as he was dealing with his injury and recovering How he dealt with the way that people treated him at various stages of his recovery How Edouard has been open trying all different types of treatments The lessons that Edouard has learned throughout this journey to recover from his accident The importance of connecting with support groups or people who have had similar experiences Edouard's advice to others who have visa issues in Taiwan How Edouard ended up playing the role of Tiger man for Mazu's birthday Taiwan's dense religious practices The Mazu festival in Beigang (北港) attracts 200,000 people The Mazu festival in Dajia (大甲) attracts 2 million people The Wanjin (aka Wanchin) Catholic Basilica in Pingtung, Taiwan Obscure religious festivals in Taiwan Edouard has posted videos of Mazu birthday festivities on Facebook How Edouard has been involved with the Mazu birthday festivities in Beigang for 14 years Edouard's recommendations for people interested in attending religious festivals in Taiwan Being a tourist in your own country and constantly discovering things about the place you live The Taiwan Gods website Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/eduordo-roquette-talks-about-his-life-changing-scooter-accident-and-playing-tiger-man-ep-204/

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/john-eastwood-discusses-areas-in-need-of-legal-reform-in-taiwan-ep-203/ A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: John Eastwood is a partner at the Taipei office of the law firm Eiger. I spoke with John previously in episode 195 about some of the changes he's seen in Taiwan from a legal perspective, in the 20 years that he's resided in Taiwan. In this second half of our interview, John and I spoke about other issues and areas in need of legal reform in Taiwan. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Legal reforms that John has seen happen in Taiwan Issues that are in need of legal reform The Anti-banditry Act (aka The Act for the Control and Punishment of Banditry) The case of a man who decapitated a child in Taiwan What does it mean to be not guilty by reason of insanity The need for increased awareness and understanding of mental health and mental illness when it comes to making judgments on criminal cases Cases of elder abuse fraud in Taiwan and conservatorship How John's firm has helped to safeguard their elderly clients' assets How elder fraud is not just an "old person's" issue but also a "young person's" issue How difficult it is to undo things once fraud had been committed Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/john-eastwood-discusses-areas-in-need-of-legal-reform-in-taiwan-ep-203/

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/the-history-of-mets-taiwan-day-with-diana-lee-of-hello-taiwan-ep-202/ A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: On this episode of Talking Taiwan I'm speaking with Diana Lee, one of the founders and organizers of Hello Taiwan about Mets Taiwan Day which is in its 17th year. It's coming up soon on August 28th. We talked about how the event got started, some of the celebrities and notable people who have appeared at Mets Taiwan Day in the past and what sorts of activities and things people will experience at the event. Among the most exciting news for Taiwanese baseball fans is who will be throwing the first pitch of the game, and how to get a limited edition MetsTaiwan No. 1 jersey. Hello Taiwan also sponsors other sporting and cultural events throughout the year. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How and when Mets Taiwan Day started How the NY Mets have several celebration of different culture events in the month of August Activities at Mets Taiwan Day include the Formosan Black Bear mascot, Third Prince, diabolo performance Peng Cheng-min (aka Chia Chia) former Taiwanese baseball player and coach will be throwing the first pitch at this year's Mets Taiwan Day The Mets Taiwan No. 1 jersey and how to get one How the Mets Taiwan No. 1 jersey will be available in kids sizes for the first time this year Celebrities and famous, notable Taiwanese who have made appearances or thrown the first pitch at past Mets Taiwan Day events Other sports events sponsored by Hello Taiwan include: Rhode Island Dragon Boat Festival, Hello Taiwan Night at Dodgers' Stadium, Hello Taiwan Night Lunar New Year event with the Long Island Nets Other events that Hello Taiwan has planned throughout the year for Halloween, a Taiwanese night market, Easter, Christmas Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/the-history-of-mets-taiwan-day-with-diana-lee-of-hello-taiwan-ep-202/

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/shui-ying-chung-talks-about-filmmaking-and-her-award-winning-short-ep-201/ A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Shu-Ying Chung is a filmmaker based in New York. Her short film Removable has been making the rounds at film festivals. It's won several awards for best story, best short, best actress, and best director, to name a few. I spoke with Shu-Ying about what motivated her to write, direct and produce the film and how she can identify with the subject matter of the film due to her own past immigration status issues. She also talked about some of the highlights of her career in film and offered some advice for those interested in filmmaking. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: What it was like growing up in Taiwan for Shu-Ying Her interest in music, television and film and her parents' reaction Her short film Removable that is currently making the rounds at several film festivals, which has earned many awards for best short, best actress, and best director, to name a few What inspired her to write, produce and direct her short film Removable Shu-Ying's own experience with being forced to leave the U.S. due to work visa issues What happened when Shu-Ying had to leave the U.S. to return to Taiwan due to a visa issue and ended up staying there for 1.5 years How she wrote the script for Removable with her husband The research involved in writing the script for Removable How Shu-Ying and her husband did everything required for pre-production of the film in four weeks and a five-day shoot to make the short film, Removable How Removable was self-funded by Shu-Ying and her husband If Shu-Ying has plans to expand Removable into a full-length film Shu-Ying's career path in film so far and her work at Hearst Magazines How Shu-Ying's immigrant/work status has been a barrier in her career path How English language proficiency can be a barrier for foreigners to overcome in the U.S. Shu-Ying's dream of being able to direct full length films full-time What it takes to be a good film director Shu-Ying's approach to filmmaking The most memorable film/video projects (shown on Shu-Ying's website) that she has worked on Shu-Ying's first experience shooting with 35 mm film The difference between shooting on film vs. digitally Shu-Ying's work on the Artists' Den documentary series What Shu-Ying misses about Taiwan Some of Shu-Ying's favorite films One of the films that influenced her short film Removable What Shu-Ying thinks she would be doing if she wasn't a filmmaker The dream film project that Shu-Ying would like to make about her grandmother How Shu-Ying would like to be remembered What advice Shu-Ying has for others interested in being a filmmaker Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/shui-ying-chung-talks-about-filmmaking-and-her-award-winning-short-ep-201/

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/charlie-wu-talks-about-the-annual-event-taiwanfest-ep-200/ A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Today Talking Taiwan hits a major milestone with episode 200! We think it's especially meaningful that the topic of this interview is TAIWANfest, an annual Taiwanese Canadian event that dates back to 1990. Nowadays, TAIWANfest is held annually in Toronto and Vancouver. And my guest on this episode is Charlie Wu, the Managing Director of Asian-Canadian Special Events Association , which organizes TAIWANfest and LunarFest. You may recall that we had Charlie on earlier this year (in episode 167) to talk about LunarFest. TAIWANfest will be held in Toronto later this month from August 26-28 and in Vancouver from September 3-5. This year's theme is: The Stories of Independence Indulge in Indonesia, Discover Malaysia. The programming will feature the indigenous band, Kanatal, which is a sort of experiment, that breaks the mold. They are a newly formed band of 4 experienced musicians, that have performing on tour without even having an album released. Other programs at TAIWANfest include a standup comedian, film screenings discussions, and events both in-person and virtual with topics covering: literature, social activism, food and culture. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: TAIWANfest will be taking place in Toronto from August 26-28 and in Vancouver from September 3-5 The theme of TAIWANfest 2022: The Stories of Independence Indulge in Indonesia, Discover Malaysia The independence of nations vs. people The newly formed band, Kanatal [ga-na-dal], which means "island" in the Amis language, referring to the small island of Taiwan How Kanatal is touring and will perform at TAIWANfest The opening concert for TAIWANfest Toronto will be performed by an orchestra led by Maestro Ken Hsieh TAIWANfest Vancouver's closing concert will be performed by a string orchestra Comedian Ed Hill who will be performing at TAIWANfest Toronto and Vancouver TAIWANfest's virtual programming The Let Taiwan Be Taiwan program Connections between Indonesia and Taiwan There are 300,000 Indonesians living in Taiwan Indonesian migrant workers and their cultural impact on Taiwan Films, performances and food presented at TAIWANfest The "Taiwan Bookstore" concept at TAIWANfest Vancouver The food known in Taiwan, Indonesia and the Philippines, as "lumpia"; "run-bing" in Mandarin Chinese; and "popiah" in Malaysia The discussion on "Making Taiwan Relevant in Cansda" about the book Charlie wrote with two others about his experiences running TAIWANfest How Indonesian culture will be represented at TAIWANfest How TAIWANfest Vancouveris working with the Brilliant Time Bookstore in Taiwan to collect donated books in Southeast Asian languages for migrant workers in Taiwan The graphic image that represents TAIWANfest 2022 was inspired by batik culture from Malaysia and Indonesia How Charlie and his team decides and curates the content of TAIWANfest Some of the films that will be part of Cinematic Taiwan, such as The Road Forward, a musical documentary by Marie Clements, which will be subtitled in Chinese Kanatal's song Peace The documentary being made about Kanatal The story of how Kanatal was formed Suana·Emuy·Cilangasay, who assembled the musicians to form Kanatal Eden Liu's social activism in Indonesia Due to capacity limitations at the Harbourfront Center in Toronto and the pandemic, TAIWANfest in Toronto will be scaled down while TAIWANfest in Vancouver will be at full scale Future plans for the Jade Music Festival Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/charlie-wu-talks-about-the-annual-event-taiwanfest-ep-200/

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/gerrit-van-der-wees-the-past-and-present-state-of-u-s-taiwan-relations-ep-199/ A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: In June I spoke with Gerrit van der Wees about an article that he wrote about U.S. President Biden's remarks about Taiwan when he was in Tokyo in May. Just last week, Gerrit wrote a very timely article about the controversy over the U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's plans to visit Taiwan. In April Pelosi had planned to visit Taiwan as part of a tour to the Indo Pacific region but had to cancel because she contracted COVID-19. Last week Pelosi left with a delegation for Asia, but made no mention of visiting Taiwan. There had been speculation that the Chinese would attack if U.S. fighter jets escorted Pelosi's plane into Taiwan, and in a phone conversation with U.S. president Joe Biden, Chinese president Xi Jinping warned Biden against "playing with fire" over Taiwan. In his piece for the Taipei Times, Gerrit stated that it is essential that Pelosi stands her ground and pushes through with her plan to visit Taiwan. We'll share Gerrit's Taipei Times article and a few others about this situation on our website for this episode. In my interview with Gerrit I asked him to explain in detail what the Taiwan Relations Act is, and what it tells us about the relationship between the U.S. and Taiwan. We also talked about the so-called U.S. policy of strategic ambiguity, how his work on the Taiwan Communique evolved from 1980 to 2016, and his thoughts on the war in Ukraine, and how it relates to China and Taiwan. About Gerrit van der Wees Gerrit van der Wees is a former Dutch diplomat. From 1980 through 2016, he served as chief-editor of "Taiwan Communiqué." Also, from 2005 through 2016 he was liaison for the Senate and the State Department at FAPA-HQ. He currently teaches the History of Taiwan at George Mason University and Current issues in East Asia at George Washington University's Elliott School for International Affairs. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: U.S. President Joe Biden's remarks on the U.S.'s willingness to help defend Taiwan The Taiwan Relations Act, the document that contains US commitments to (help) defend Taiwan, and its first two clauses How U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken referred to the second clause of the Taiwan Relations Act in a speech he made at the end of May What the second clause of the Taiwan Relations Act says and means The background of the Taiwan Relations Act How Harvey Feldman of the East Asia Pacific desk of the U.S. State Department was involved in initially drafting the Taiwan Policy Act How in 1979 the U.S. Congress started drafting the Taiwan Relations Act which had security clauses and a human rights clause embedded within it How Senator Ted Kennedy, Senator Claiborne Pell, and Congressman Jim Leach were instrumental in drafting the Taiwan Relations Act and getting it passed in April 1979 The establishment of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) in January 1979 Mark Chen's (陳唐山) work with Senators and Congressmen to ensure that the Taiwan Relations Act took into consideration the native Taiwanese perspective The Taiwan Communique and why it was established How news from and about Taiwan while under martial law was obtained, communicated and printed in the Taiwan Communique How dangwai (outside party) magazines: Měilì dǎo aka Formosa Magazine (美麗島) and Bāshí niándài aka 1980s (8十年代) were sources of information for the Taiwan Communique How the George Washington University library has a complete collection of dangwai magazines from Taiwan The censorship of postal mail that was received in and sent out from Taiwan during the martial law era After the Taiwan democratized in the early 1990s the focus of the Taiwan Communique shifted to working to gain more international recognition for Taiwan What the "One China Policy" means from the perspective of the U.S. and China How the "One China Policy" which was based on the 1970s, a time in which Beijing and Taipei that claimed to be the government of China How things have changed since the 1970s, which requires an adjustment in policy to reflect current times What makes the Taiwan Relations Act so unique How Taiwan meets all the requirements of a nation state ac

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Emily Wu Truong is a motivational speaker for mental health awareness. She is affiliated with NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness and has been involved with this organization for the last 8.5 years. I've invited her on to Talking Taiwan as a guest since July is BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) Mental Health Month. Emily spoke with me about her own struggles with mental health, and suicide. She has a passion for working with youths on mental health related issues. She also shared her thoughts about the oppression and trauma experienced firsthand or as generational trauma by the people of Taiwan, and how it could impact one's mental health. About Emily Wu Truong: Emily Wu Truong is an award-winning mental health advocate, nationally-recognized motivational speaker, catalytic thought leader, community educator, playwright and published author. For over a decade, Emily has worked tirelessly to create more compassionate & accepting communities by bringing mental health education wherever she goes. As a speaker, Emily utilizes her story from depression to self-actualization, inspiring others to find meaning in life struggles. She has spoken to a variety of audiences, including students from elementary school to graduate school students, school administrators, teachers, families, law enforcement, faith-based communities, medical and mental health professionals and many more. Over the years, in recognition of Emily's efforts to raise awareness on mental health and emotional resilience, she has been featured in the California Mental Health Movement "Each Mind Matters," Good Morning America, NBC Asian America, LA 18 and World Journal (世界日報). Emily has also been honored with the "2015 Woman of Achievement Award" by former Senator Ed Hernandez. Also in 2015, Emily was honored with the Youth and Young Adult Leadership Award at the 29th Annual National Alternatives Conference in Memphis, Tennessee. In 2017, the Los Angeles County Supervisors honored Emily's request to establish May 10th as "Asian Pacific American Mental Health Day." In 2018, former Assemblyman Ed Chau honored Emily with the 2018 Make A Difference Award. Emily has become a role model for many, sharing her life lessons and delivering her message that helplessness is not hopelessness and that with help, there is hope. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Why she's been called the lady in green How Emily tries to talk about mental health in a positive light The struggles that Emily felt growing up How the painting "The Potato Eaters" by Van Gogh reminds her of how she felt disconnected from her family in the past How she started asking existential questions about life when she was in junior high Competitiveness in the Asian culture Comparisons made by Asian parents, families and relatives Emily's passion for the mental health of youth How important it is for kids to have supportive friends How Emily struggled in elementary school and was bullied in junior high Emily's best friend in high school Enoch who helped her to get through high school How Emily used dating as a coping skill in the past How Emily is a suicide survivor what her to consider suicide and what stopped her from committing suicide Emily's thoughts on school shootings Her first experience with a therapist and counseling in college How Emily wants to help young people to develop coping skills to deal with their parents and peers so that they don't need to internalize things How Emily took an interest Taiwan in order to bond with her mother How Emily competed in the Miss Taiwan pageant How Emily discovered that her mother's cousin is Taiwanese activist Koh Se Kai and that encouraged her to be more outspoken How Emily got involved in the Write in Taiwanese Census Bureau, TACL and FAPA Emily's thoughts on how the people of Taiwan have been oppressed and how and trauma experienced firsthand or as generational trauma could impact one's mental health Author Iris Chang who committed suicide Emily's work with NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/emily-wu-truong-award-winning-mental-health-speaker-inspires-others-to-find-meaning-in-their-struggles-ep-198/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Ed Lin is a native New Yorker of Taiwanese and Chinese descent. He is the first writer to win three Asian American Literary Awards. The last time we had Ed on Talking Taiwan (in 2014) we spoke about "Ghost Month" his first book in the Taipei Night Market Series of mysteries. Since then, he's written a YA novel and now four books in the Taipei Night Market Series. "Death Doesn't Forget," Is the latest book in the series and it will be published in July. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Ed Lin's Taipei Mysteries books series and how he went about planning and writing them The main character of Ed Lin's Taipei Mysteries book series, Jing-Nan and how he's evolved The premise and what inspired Ed to write Death Doesn't Forget How the indigenous tribe that Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei is named after is not officially recognized as a tribe in Taiwan The lack of representation of indigenous people in Taiwan's government The way Ed has described Taipei in his novel The neighborhood of Guangzhou Street west of Longshan Temple and why he described it as seedy The training center located near Longshan Temple in Taipei for aborigine people and why the program was unsuccessful The inconsistent romanization of streets in Taipei How the stops on Taiwan's MRT system are announced in four languages: Mandarin, Taiwanese (Holo), Hakka and English How safe Taipei and Taiwan is The role of organized crime, good and bad in Taiwan's society How the population of Taiwan is not monoethnic as some would assume Taiwan's new immigrants from Southeast Asia The plight of Taiwan's migrant workers The "island mentality" of Taiwan that Ed describes as people's kindness and helpfulness Ed's interactions with complete strangers and gangsters in Taiwan How the characters in Death Doesn't Forget represent different ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds How Taiwan's White Terror era has affected the people of Taiwan and its lasting trauma Some of the intriguing characters of Death Doesn't Forget The abuse of migrant fishermen and migrant workers in Taiwan and Ed's interest in writing about it The "orphan brigade" of Death Doesn't Forget and Taiwanese baseball teams from the Japanese occupation period (similar to what was portrayed in the film Kano) How Japan used baseball as a form of soft power in its colonies How Taiwan's Little League baseball team is a form of its soft power Green Island and how one of the characters of Death Doesn't Forget in spent time at the prison there Why murder is the crime featured in many of Ed's novels Ed's observations and thoughts on the intermingling of religions in Taiwan How Ed would immerse himself in the time period of 1976 when writing his Chinatown Mysteries series Ed's thoughts on how the war in Ukraine may or may not be giving China ideas about attacking Taiwan Ed's approach to his book readings How/why the narration of Death Doesn't Forget was switched to third person, instead of first person for all of the other novels in the Taipei Mysteries series How the writing James T. Farrell, Irish-American author of the Studs Lonigan trilogy and Danny O'Neill pentology, inspired Ed to write Death Doesn't Forget in third person Ed's foray into YA (young adult) novel writing with David Tung Can't Have A Girlfriend Until He Gets Into An Ivy League College How Ed came up with the title Death Doesn't Forget Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/ed-lin-winner-of-three-asian-literary-awards-talks-about-his-new-book-death-doesnt-forget-ep-197/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: July is BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) Mental Health Month, which is also known as Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, named for the mental health advocate who brought awareness to the unique struggles that underrepresented groups face in regard to mental illness in the US. I've invited Susan Chung on to Talking Taiwan to talk about her career in mental health, and BIPOC Mental Health Month. Susan is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, who provides psychotherapy specifically to BIPOC students. We also spoke about key statistics and research findings that inform us about the mental health of Asians, some of the unique challenges facing BIPOC communities and individuals, the racism that Susan has experienced as a mental health professional, and the importance of managing our own mental health. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How Susan got interested in studying mental health and social work How Susan realized that there's a need to have more Asians represented in mental health Susan's work with forensic social work and how it is different from social work Susan's work with survivors of human trafficking Susan's career path Susan has worked with middle school-aged kids in addition to college kids How Susan manages the impact that dealing with victims of human trafficking could have on her own mental health How Susan continues to do forensic social work since moving from New York to North Carolina by accompanying police on raids How Susan felt about being the only Asian-identifying therapist among Black-identifying therapists at the University of North Carolina counseling center Work-related trauma that Susan has experienced Susan's work experience at the University of North Carolina Susan's experiences living in Irvine, California, New York City and North Carolina In 2017, according to the Office of Minority Health, the leading cause of death in young Asian Americans in the US was suicide. Citation: Matsuoka, J. K., Breaux, C., & Ryujin, D. H. (1997). National utilization of mental health services by Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders. Journal of Community Psychology, 25(2), 141-145. doi:10.1002/(sici)1520-6629(199703)25:23.0.co;2-0 Susan's research at University of California, Irvine about the higher rate of depression and suicidal thoughts amongst Asian-identifying students The rates of reported and diagnosed mental illness are low for Asian Americans compared to Euro-Americans, averaging between 5-12% Citation: https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=4&lvlid=54 According to the nonprofit organization Mental Health America, Asian Americans are the least likely racial group in the United States to seek mental health services Susan's work in the children's psychiatric department of a hospital and how many of the students referred to her were Asian, and none had voluntarily sought help for themselves Challenges that BIPOC experience that could affect their mental health Resources provided by Mental Health of America's web page for BIPOC Mental Health Month How the 2021 BIPOC Mental Health Month tool kit acknowledged that the Western medical model is based on evidence-based approaches (which can be problematic especially for BIPOC) Susan talked about how her Asian-identifying clients often have psychosomatic symptoms that are indicative of a mental health-related issue Mental illness doesn't have to be about an illness or having a condition like depression, being bipolar, having PTSD, etc. The stigmatization of mental health De-stigmatizing mental health by changing the language we use or referring to it as mental wellness How the pandemic has impacted people's mental health and the research that Susan did related to this Susan's thoughts on the Atlanta spa shooting in March of 2021 Tips to manage and assess our own mental health What can we do to support friends and family who may be struggling with their mental health The racism that Susan has experienced as a mental health professional The vicarious trauma Susan felt in dealing with a student who was the target of an Asian hate crime at UNC How racial injustice and systemic injustice can affect BIPOC communities Challenges faced by indigenous communities and how they may have some nonevi

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: John Eastwood is a partner at the law firm Eiger. He was previously interviewed for Talking Taiwan in 2012 and we've invited John back on to Talking Taiwan to talk about some of the changes he's seen in Taiwan from a legal perspective, in the 20 years that he has resided in Taiwan. We touched upon how Taiwan's WTO accession improved the protection of intellectual property rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, migrant worker rights, and laws that should be reformed like the Parade an Assembly law. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: What brought John to Taiwan John was a journalist before becoming a lawyer John spent time in China as a visiting scholar Eiger has branches in both Taipei and Shanghai John's experience with COVID-19 in Taiwan What John has been up to since his last interview for Talking Taiwan in 2012 John's involvement with the Democratic National Convention and Democrats Abroad How John feels its important for people to understand the situation and what's going on in Taiwan Taiwan's health restrictions in things like pork imports The early days of COVID in Taiwan How mask wearing is perceived in Taiwan How Taiwan has changed from a legal standpoint with respect to intellectual property in the last 20 years, since John has lived in Taiwan How Taiwan's WTO accession improved the protection of intellectual property rights Human rights issues in Taiwan that could be improved include: LGBTQIA+ adoption and reproductive rights, How manufacturing of counterfeit goods has moved to China How people in Taiwan often call on the police to resolve domestic disputes How public insult laws in Taiwan need to be reformed Misuse of the public insult law and how it can be used against foreigners How the police in Taiwan are often used to harass people How the police in Taiwan don't necessarily stop people from pursuing frivolous cases The Assembly and Parade Law How migrant workers in Taiwan have been mistreated Other issues in need of legal reform like abortion Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/john-eastwood-talks-about-the-legal-changes-in-taiwan-over-the-past-20-years-ep-195/