Talking Taiwan

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: This lost episode of Talking Taiwan features John Eastwood, co-managing partner at Eiger Law. In the original interview with John which was recorded October 2012, John talks about attending the Democratic National Convention of 2012, his involvement with the Democratic National Committee and Democrats Abroad, and the significance of the Japanese Taihoku prison wall in Taipei. Stay tuned for my follow up interview with John next week as we check in with him 10 years later to get an update from him. For the month of June we'll be slowing things down by sharing lost episodes every other week, and in July we'll be taking a break from the lost episodes. We've got a lot of great new content planned and we just can't fit it all into our weekly publication schedule. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: At the time of the interview Eiger Law had won Taiwan's law firm of the year for two years in a row At the time of the interview Eiger Law had won awards for employment and compliance practices, for investment and employment practices (from Acquisition International), for corporate and MNA practices Eiger Law was named Employer of Choice for 2012 (which was based on responses given by Taiwanese lawyers) The Democratic National Convention in September of 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina How John is the first resident from within Taiwan to be elected to be a member of the Democratic National Convention How John spent the summer of 2012 trying to get American citizens living abroad registered to vote on a nonpartisan basis The politicians who spoke at the Democratic National Convention of 2012 The different events that Democrats Abroad Taiwan organizes including Memorial Day and Veteran's Day activities to remember Americans who served and sacrificed for the freedom of the U.S.A. The Japanese Taihoku prison wall in Taipei where 14 American airmen who held there as prisoners of war were executed in the final weeks of World War II Who can join Democrats Abroad Taiwan Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/ep-194-lost-episodes-john-eastwood/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: It's been three years since Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize same sex marriage in 2019. My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Joyce Teng, the Deputy Executive Director of Taiwan Equality Campaign, previously known as the "Marriage Equality Coalition Taiwan." We talked what's happened since 2019. Surveys and polls conducted over the past three years indicate growing support for LGBTQIA+ issues within Taiwan's society. However, there are still some additional struggles that same sex married couples experience as opposed to heterosexual married couples in Taiwan. Joyce also touched upon a few issues concerning transgender and nonbinary individuals. She mentioned three areas in which same sex married couples face some challenges, the first being transnational couples; problems arise for couples of different nationalities when their marriage cannot be legally recognized in Taiwan; the second issue is co-adoption and dealing with Taiwan's adoption procedures, and finally reproductive rights. It's been eye-opening for me to learn about all of this. These are all complex issues and many of them they could also pose challenges for heterosexual married couples in Taiwan. I only recently learned about a woman's reproductive rights in Taiwan when it comes to freezing her eggs. We'll include some articles on this topic in the Related Links section of this episode. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Taiwan Equality Campaign was previously the "Marriage Equality Coalition Taiwan" How the rights of heterosexual married couples differ from the rights of same sex married couples in Taiwan How heterosexual married couples and single individuals can adopt in Taiwan, but same sex married couple cannot adopt in Taiwan Earlier this year there was a court case that ruled that one of the spouses of a same sex couple, could adopt his spouse's child who had been adopted when the was still single, however this is only one case, and according to the law in Taiwan a same sex spouse is unable to adopt the adopted child of their spouse What is involved with the adoption process in Taiwan and how it could take up to 3-5 years The gap when it comes to reproductive rights for heterosexual women and lesbian women who want to freeze their eggs in Taiwan Reproductive rights of same sex couples in Taiwan How Taiwan has one of the lowest birth rates in the world The government in Taiwan offers subsidies for heterosexual couples to do IVF but not for same sex couples How birth rates in Taiwan tend to be low during the year of the tiger (February 1, 2022 – January 21, 2023 is a tiger year) How Taiwan has changed in the time that Joyce has been working for the Taiwan Equality Campaign and since same sex marriage was legalized in Taiwan Surveys done by the Taiwan Equality Campaign over the past three years indicate increasing support by the general public for same sex couples to adopt, do IVF Surveys done by the Taiwan Equality Campaign show that over time more of the general public have indicated that they have friends identifying as LGBTQIA+; this indicates that LGBTQIA+ individuals are more willing to come out to their family, friends and peers Surveys have also indicated that since the legalization of same sex marriage in Taiwan, LGBTQIA+ individuals are more comfortable to talk about their personal lives and spouses The different types of survey questions asked to gage people's acceptance of same sex couples in Taiwan Whether the general public in Taiwan supports teaching school-aged children about gender equality, sexual orientation and expression How attitudes and acceptance of LGBTQIA+ individuals and issues may be indicative of generational differences The film Small Talk, a documentary film about the filmmaker's difficult relationship with her mother who was a lesbian If having a nonbinary "Digital Minister" in Taiwan, Audrey Tang has had any impact on the general public's views or acceptance of LGBTQIA+ individuals How there is work to be done when it comes to awareness and understanding of transgender and nonbinary individuals in Taiwan The challenges faced by transgender and nonbinary individuals in Taiwan The question of how transgender and nonbinary individuals would like to be identified on their identification cards/documents How the Taiw

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Edouard Roquette was at the beginning of his experience as an entrepreneur when he was previously interviewed for Talking Taiwan, as you may have heard in the previous lost episode of Talking Taiwan (episode 191) featuring Edouard. We've invited Edouard back on as a guest to talk about what he's been up since then. Edouard talked to us about his clean tech startup and why it failed, and the challenges that many foreign entrepreneurs experience in Taiwan. He also had a life changing accident which we will talk about in a follow up interview, in a future episode. Edouard is currently the founder of Rooms.Taipei a co-living business. If you'd like to check out their COVID newsletter that Edouard mentioned in his interview, the one that provides updates to help people keep up on the visa and immigration situation in Taiwan during COVID, check out the related links section below. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Edouard's clean-tech start-up CityVolt and why it failed The differences between a gas vehicle and electric vehicle Battery sources for electric vehicles Exchangeable, rechargeable batteries for scooters How Edouard won a competition and was invited to speak at The Economist's Carbon Economy Summit in Washington D.C. in 2009 Eduoard's thoughts on what makes Gogoru successful The accident that changed Eduoard's life and led him to consider a co-living business that he started in 2014 Edouard's co-living business, Rooms.Taipei The problems that Edouard's co-living business aims to solve How Rooms.Taipei is an accelerator for the experiences that a foreigner can have in Taiwan Why it's difficult to scale a business like this or to differentiate it How businesses in Taiwan are not protected from extreme rent increases that negatively impact their businesses, causing them to close How rent increases can lead to many other "costs" aside from causing businesses to close, these costs include: environmental costs, human costs (jobs lost), economic cost (when companies are constantly closed and new ones started) Edouard's thoughts about Taiwan's plans to attract 100,000 foreign workers by 2030 Edouard's business strategy of reaching out to and collaborating with his competitors How difficult it is for foreign entrepreneurs to do business in Taiwan How most of Edouard's customers are people who have just arrived in Taiwan or are new to Taiwan How housing and banking are two of the most difficult things for foreigners in Taiwan to deal with The E. Sun Bank branch that offers English service and where Edouard is encouraging foreigners to open bank accounts Problems that people have encountered with negligent landlords How Edouard has reached out to the office of the mayor of Taipei through the French Chamber of Commerce about creating a standard of accommodations and contracts How most housing projects in Taipei are luxury apartments targeted to investors but not to the average resident of Taipei Last year Taipei city lost inhabitants Edouard's thoughts on what to do when the odds are against you Edouard's private entrepreneur group of business owners who meet regularly and support each other's businesses Katie Moves Taipei, a business that offers Zumba online classes Taiwan Impact Entrepreneurs Facebook group and what they are doing for foreign entrepreneurs in F&B (food and beverage) The kombucha beverage company, Daoori Elias Ek's efforts to improve things for foreign entrepreneurs in Taiwan How there needs to be better representation for foreign employees, migrant workers, foreign students How things have changed for entrepreneurs in Taiwan in the past 10 years since Eduoard's "lost" episode of Talking Taiwan interview Edouard's advice for foreigner entrepreneurs considering doing business in Taiwan What Edouard loves about Taiwan which includes cycling and being a Tiger Man for the goddess Matsu's birthday How Edouard founded one of the biggest sports groups for foreigners in Taiwan Outdoor sports groups in Taiwan to check out Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/edouard-roquette-todays-challenges-facing-foreign-entrepreneurs-in-taiwan-ep-192/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: This lost episode of Talking Taiwan features Edouard Roquette, a member of the French Chamber of Commerce talking about entrepreneurship and Taiwan's foreign entrepreneur community. Next week we'll be bringing Edouard back on to find out what he's been up to since then. For the month of June we'll be slowing things down by sharing lost episodes every other week, and in July we'll be taking a break from the lost episodes. We've got a lot of great new content planned and we just can't fit it all into our weekly publication schedule. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Edouard was a finalist for the French Chamber of Commerce's Innovation award in 2010 and 2011 Edouard is a member of the French Chamber of Commerce's SME (Small and Medium Enterprises) committee Edouard's involvement with the Founder's Club that meets monthly How to raise money for a business that doesn't involve equity The different approaches that foreign entrepreneurs in Taiwan take to raising funds Why Edouard has chosen to start his business in Taiwan and not China The variety of ideas that come out of the Taiwan's foreign entrepreneur community Advice Edouard would give to people on the beginning of their entrepreneurial paths What people should not do when starting a business Why it's important to consider who you decide to work with and accept money from Local Taiwanese entrepreneurs vs. to foreign entrepreneurs How Edouard learned about entrepreneurship before coming to Taiwan through a program developed jointly by the MIT Sloan Business School and the University of Cambridge called the SEEDA (South East England Development Agency) Enterprisers The lack of support, programs or resources available for entrepreneurs in Taiwan Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/ep-191-lost-episodes-edouard-roquette/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: May 15 to June 15th is Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month. To learn more about what Tourette syndrome is, I encourage you to listen to the episode that we did last year with Peter Zhao, episode 129. Peter is a Tourette Activist and has been a guest on Talking Taiwan several times. He's also spoken up about Asian hate crimes. I really appreciate the openness and candor with which he speaks about his personal struggles with mental health. It's not an easy thing to do. Peter spoke about the challenges he's faced in dealing with Tourette and bipolar I, and his concerns with the side effects of medication, which he noted has made him lose his "edge." Dealing with mental health is a process that requires assessment, evaluation, and self-reflection. To learn more about Peter, you can find him on social media as @fabulouslytourette or check out his podcast Fabulously Tourette Radio. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Peter's podcast Fabulously Tourette Radio Peter's diagnosis of manic depression, bipolar I with major depressive episodes How Peter is considered neurodivergent How podcasting is a form of talk therapy for Peter The term neurodivergent What happened to lead Peter to get officially diagnosed with bipolar I Peter's previous struggles in taking an anti-psychotic drug Orap (generic name Pimozide), which he shared in detail in Talking Taiwan episode 129 Peter's Op Ed on AsAm News about dealing with bipolar disorder Peter's struggles with his mood swings and comorbidities How Peter's depression affected his job performance and family life The difficulties and challenges of Peter's day job How Peter has experienced greater anxiety after working remotely since the beginning of the pandemic Peter's candid posts about mental health on social media What happened after Peter was diagnosed with bipolar I and started taking a new medication The approach Peter took to starting this new medication How the medication stopped many of Peter's tics and how he feels about that How Peter feels after being on this new medication for four months The side effects of the medication that Peter is taking and how he's dealing with them The support of Peter's partner How Peter came to the decision to take a leave of absence from work How Peter handled his leave of absence and used it as a mental health reset Peter's considerations when it comes to job satisfaction and his career path Peter's advocacy for Tourette syndrome and bipolar disorder Peter's tip, the 50-50 mindfulness technique for people dealing with anxiety Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/peter-zhao-tourette-syndrome-awareness-and-his-own-personal-struggles-with-mental-health-ep-190/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: In this episode of Talking Taiwan, my guests are Richard Pearson, the Executive Director of the Western Pacific Fellowship Project and Professor Shelley Rigger. We will be talking about the Taiwan Fellowship Act, a bill which has been decades in the making, and was inspired by the Mansfield Fellowship. This bill which has gotten bipartisan support in both the U.S. and Taiwan. It has been added to the COMPETES Act, and has also passed through both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate in slightly different versions. Now the House and Senate are in conference committee to resolve differences in order to come up with a final version of the bill. Learn more about what the Taiwan Fellowship Act is, how it serves to strengthen U.S.-Taiwan ties, why you should care about it, and how you can support passage of this bill in to law. About Richard Pearson: Richard Pearson is Executive Director of the Western Pacific Fellowship Project and Managing Director, Taiwan Fellowship. He has roughly two decades of experience in U.S.-Asia economic relations and the political-economy of the Asia-Pacific largely in the public service sector. Mr. Pearson's professional experience includes time as a business reporter based in Taipei and in public service focusing on the Indo-Pacific. From 2010-2014 Mr. Pearson was an Associate Director at the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation during which time he originally conceived and explored the Taiwan Fellowship concept. Along with Ryan Shaffer and former AIT Director and Chairman Ambassador Raymond Burghardt, Mr. Pearson founded the Western Pacific Fellowship Project in late-2019 to operationalize the Taiwan Fellowship. Mr. Pearson received his undergraduate degree from St. Olaf College and his graduate degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Immediately after college, he held a Fulbright scholarship to Taiwan. His essays on U.S.-Asia relations have been published in various outlets in the U.S. and East Asia including the Taipei Times and The Diplomat. About Shelley Rigger: Shelley Rigger is the Brown Professor of East Asian Politics at Davidson College. She has a PhD in Government from Harvard University and a BA in Public and International Affairs from Princeton University. She has been a Fulbright scholar at National Taiwan University (2019), a visiting researcher at National Chengchi University in Taiwan (2005) and a visiting professor at Fudan University (2006) and Shanghai Jiaotong University (2013 & 2015). She is a non-resident fellow of the China Policy Institute at Nottingham University and a senior fellow of the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI). She is also a director of The Taiwan Fund, a closed-end investment fund specializing in Taiwan-listed companies. Rigger is the author of two books on Taiwan's domestic politics, Politics in Taiwan: Voting for Democracy (Routledge 1999) and From Opposition to Power: Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (Lynne Rienner Publishers 2001). She has published two books for general readers, Why Taiwan Matters: Small Island, Global Powerhouse (2011) and The Tiger Leading the Dragon: How Taiwan Propelled China's Economic Rise (2021). She has published articles on Taiwan's domestic politics, the national identity issue in Taiwan-China relations and related topics. In 2019-20 she was a Fulbright Senior Scholar based in Taipei, where she worked on a study of Taiwan's contributions to the PRC's economic take-off and a study of Taiwanese youth. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: The COMPETES Act and the Taiwan Fellowship Act, what they are and the background The Western Pacific Fellowship Project How the China Bill in the COMPETES Act aims to strengthen the U.S. response and monitoring of China's economic activity, and political and security moves globally How the COMPETES Act aims to strengthen the U.S. semiconductor industry How the COMPETES Act contains a bill to change the name TECRO (Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office) change to Taiwan Representative Office is a part of the Competes How the Taiwan Fellowship Act fits into the larger question of the U.S.'s response to China What the Taiwan Fellowship Act is The Mike Mansfield Fellowship Why Americans should care about getting the Taiwan Fellowship Act passed Why Taiwan matters on its own, apart from China What is the procedure for an Act to get passed and what stage the Taiwan Fellowship Act is currently at The many Taiwanese American civic groups that support the Taiwan Fellowship Act For those who'd like to support the Taiwan Fellowship Act and see it get passed in to law, now is a crucial period; they should contact their members of congress to express their support for getting it passed You can write an email to your member of congress through an automated form on FAPA's (Formosan Association of Public Affairs) website How the Mansfield Fellowship came from congress v

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: This lost episode of Talking Taiwan features blogger Michael Turton. At the time Michael had written over 5000 blog posts for his blog The View From Taiwan. Michael began writing his blog in 2005 and I remember how popular Michael's blog was. That's how I learned about him when I was living in Taiwan, back in the days before social media. Michael has been a guest twice on Talking Taiwan. in episode 119 he spoke with me about China's ban on Taiwan's pineapples. And in episode 138 he spoke about his love of biking in Taiwan. That episode earned Talking Taiwan a Golden Crane Podcast Award. Be sure to give those episodes a listen to learn more about Michael. For the month of June we'll be slowing things down by sharing lost episodes every other week, and in July we'll be taking a break from the lost episodes. We've got a lot of great new content planned and we just can't fit it all into our weekly publication schedule. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Michael's blog the View From Taiwan How Michael has written over 5000 blog posts How long it takes him to write a blog post on average What keeps him going with his blog writing How his blog posts are fact based and he's been quoted by journalists How being based in Taichung, gives him a different perspective than those living in Taipei Michael's love of biking in Taiwan The most active English language bloggers in Taiwan Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/ep-188-lost-episodes-michael-turton-5000-blog-posts/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Karen Lin is running as the Democratic candidate for Judge of the Civil Court in Queens, New York. Presently, Karen serves as Court Attorney-Referee in Kings County Surrogate's Court. She has also served as a Judge in the New York City Housing Court, adjudicating disputes between landlord and tenants in the Bronx and Manhattan. We spoke about her current position as Surrogate Court Referee which involves estate settlement between family members and other matters such as guardianship, which was the central issue of the #FreeBritney movement involving Britney Spears. Karen talked about what she loves about the legal profession and the challenges of working as a Judge in New York City's Housing Court, which is one of the busiest courts in the nation. Karen also volunteers as Co-Chair of the Pro Bono and Community Service Committee of the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY), she also spearheaded the Queens Pro Bono Clinic and helped to set up and manage AABANY's Remote Legal Clinic during the pandemic, to assist seniors and low-income families by phone. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Karen's connection to Taiwan What Karen wanted to be when she grew up and how she got interested in law as a career What Karen does in her current position as Surrogate Court Referee The #FreeBritney movement and guardianship What's been a challenging moment in Karen's career What's have a highlight or high point in Karen's career What it was like being a judge in housing court The confirmation hearing for Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson How the civil rights movement led to the Immigration and Naturalization Act (1965) How landlord tenant law in New York is very tenant friendly and could be reformed to protect individual homeowner landlords who are renting out a space in their homes The reform of landlord tenant law is an issue for lawmakers to address How New York City's Housing Court is one of the busiest courts in the nation How Karen's experience as a judge in New York City's Housing Court and Surrogate's Court has prepared her for being a civil court judge How in the Anglo American system (or common law system) that we have in the United States, a judge's ruling or interpretation of the law can affect or create laws Karen's pro bono work as Co-Chair of the Pro Bono and Community Service Committee of the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY) Karen's involvement in setting up AABANY's Remote Legal Clinic during pandemic Her decision to step down as judge of the New York City Housing Court What a civil court judge does and can accomplish during their 10-year term How Karen would like to see greater access to legal advice and support for those who most need it Karen's mentors and advice on finding them If Karen would like to be a Supreme Court Judge The difference levels of the U.S. court system The importance of voting In Queens, NY Asian Americans are 25% of the population Karen is running in the Democratic primary, on June 28; only people registered as Democrats and who live in Queens can vote for Karen Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/karen-lin-democratic-candidate-for-civil-court-judge-in-nyc-talks-about-her-career-in-the-legal-profession-ep-187/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: It's Thursday and we're releasing another "lost" episode of Talking Taiwan! We've discovered some never before published, "lost" episodes of Talking Taiwan that were recorded 10 years ago, when Talking Taiwan was being created, and we've decided to re-release them on Thursdays. This week's lost episode of Talking Taiwan features Jerome Keating, the author of The Mapping of Taiwan, Desired Economies, Coveted Geographies, New Perspectives on Cartography, Competing Monopolies and the Destiny of Taiwan. We've had Jerome on Talking Taiwan twice in the past. In fact, in episode 97 he gives a great synopsis of the history of Taiwan. That episode was also the number one episode of 2020. And in episode 98 he talks about the books he's written. Be sure to check out those episodes to learn more about Dr. Keating. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Jerome Keating' book, The Mapping of Taiwan, Desired Economies, Coveted Geographies, New Perspectives on Cartography, Competing Monopolies and the Destiny of Taiwan The meaning behind the title of Jerome's book The purpose behind the Dutch and Spanish colonization of Taiwan How Japan was the first to control the entire island of Taiwan Taiwan's trade history Taiwan's fong tian jade How the indigenous people of Taiwan were Taiwan's first traders The Austronesian empire Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/lost-episodes-dr-jerome-keating-phd-ep-186/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: In this episode of Talking Taiwan, I'm speaking with Brian Foden. We're welcoming Brian back on as a guest after discovering his lost episode that was recorded 10 years ago. Originally from Canada, he's been living in Taiwan for over 20 years now. We spoke about what Taiwan was like when he first arrived, how it's changed and what life is like for him these days. Brian is a writer/editor and part-time newscaster at ICRT. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: When Brian arrived in Taiwan How life is like in Taiwan now that the government has switched away from a zero-COVID strategy What life was like in the early period of the pandemic when Taiwan had no local COVID cases How Brian manages working remotely and in-person at the office Brian started working at ICRT in May of 2000 and worked there full-time until 2004 Brian's position as morning show news producer at ICRT How Brian left ICRT in 2004 and returned in 2012 Brian's work as a news reader at ICRT Brian's background in journalism Comparing winters in Regina, Saskatchewan and in Ottawa, Ontario How Brian ended up in Taiwan How Taiwan has changed in the time that Brian has lived there Chen Shui-bian was elected President around the time that Brian moved to Taiwan; it was the first time that a Democratic Progressive Party candidate had been elected President in Taiwan The development of Taiwan's MRT system The popularity of English learning magazines in Taiwan How ICRT has changed over the years The podcast series Rick Monday made about ICRT (Radioactive Taiwan) The glory days of ICRT and the impact it made on Taiwan's culture and society in the 1980s How Brian first got his job at ICRT in 2000 Brian's advice for anyone considering living and working in Taiwan The type of writing Brian does for work What Brian found difficult about journalism Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/brian-foden-newscaster-for-icrt-talks-about-how-life-has-changed-in-taiwan-ep-185/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: As some of you may know, I started hosting Talking Taiwan in 2013, but Talking Taiwan was actually created back in 2012. And we've discovered some never before published, "lost" episodes of Talking Taiwan that were recorded 10 years ago! Some of these guests featured in these "lost episodes" may already be familiar to our listeners and some of them will be reintroduced with a follow up interview for us find out what they're up to these days. Stay tuned every Thursday a new "lost" episode of Talking Taiwan. This "lost" episode of Talking Taiwan features Brian Foden, a proud Canadian. Next week we'll be bringing Brian back on to find out how he's doing and what he's up to these days. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Where in Canada Brian is from What brought Brian to Taiwan Brian's work on the ICRT News team How he left ICRT Brian's travels through South America The Brass Monkey in Taipei's pub quiz nights and Brian's pub quiz team The Three Stooges Brian shared what kinds of job opportunities there were in writing, editing, recording or for those with a journalism background Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/ep-184-lost-episodes-brian-foden/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Erin Hale is an American Journalist who has lived and worked across Asia. She is currently a freelance journalist based in Taiwan. Her work has appeared in The Guardian, The Independent, Al Jazeera, Voice of America, The BBC News, The New Statesman, The South China Morning Post, Marie Claire, The Southeast Asia Globe, Forbes.com and other outlets. I came across her work through a recent article she wrote about how Taiwan's banking system is stuck in the 80's. I happened to discover it the same week we released episode 180 with Paolo Lising. In that episode Paolo and I talked about how people in Taiwan still update their account passbooks by running them through dot matrix printers at the bank. Erin has lived in Asia for seven years. We talked about how she's lived in Hong Kong, China and Cambodia and the reporting she's done on Hong Kong and Cambodia, in addition to Taiwan. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: What brought Erin to Taiwan What Erin witnessed of the Hong Kong protests in 2019 Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement of 2014 John Lee who was elected to succeed Carrie Lam as Hong Kong's next leader How the recent article that Erin wrote for BBC News about how Taiwan's banking system is still stuck in the 80s was inspired by a tweet by Catherine Chou (@catielila) The reaction on Twitter to Erin's article and how she used Twitter to crowdsource research for it How often Erin uses Twitter to do research for her stories How Erin appealed to Twitter for people's experiences voting in the Philippines presidential election How Erin deals with bots on Twitter, fake news and disinformation as a journalist Taiwan-related visa and immigration issues that Erin has dealt with The bureaucracy that Erin has experienced in Taiwan How Erin gets ideas or sources for her stories Working as a freelance journalist What it takes to succeed as a freelance journalist What Erin enjoyed about writing the story about banking in Taiwan The article that Erin wrote about Taiwan's indigenous people What it's been like for Erin to learn Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan and what her goals in studying Chinese are How Erin ended up moving to Asia Beijing's 'Airpocalypse' in 2013 How journalists' experiences in China have changed over the last five years How Cambodia has changed and become influenced by China Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/erin-hale-on-taiwans-antiquated-banking-system-and-being-an-american-journalist-in-asia-ep-183/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Taiwan's Employment Gold Card program has come up in several past episodes of Talking Taiwan. I've been wanting to bring someone on to talk about what it is, who might be eligible for it and how to apply for it. In this episode I spoke with Michael Fahey, an American lawyer who's lived in Taiwan for 30 years. He worked with the Taiwan National Development Council on Taiwan's Gold Card program. Michael is co-founder of Forward Taiwan, an organization founded to improve Taiwan's immigration laws as they pertain to foreign professionals. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How people may consider Taiwan small but with its population of 23 million people it could be compared to one of the U.S.'s largest states or a mid-sized European country What is the Taiwan Gold Card How the Taiwan Employment Gold Card is a four-in-one card: visa, work permit, resident permit, and re-entry permit, that is valid for three years After three years Gold Card holders who have been in Taiwan for an average of 183 days can apply for permanent residency in Taiwan How there was an increase in Gold Cards issued during the pandemic The government of Taiwan's goal of getting to 10,000 Gold Cards issued by the end of the year and a long-term goal of having 100,000 foreign professionals in Taiwan by 2030 How to apply for a Gold Card The eight fields that people can apply to in order to obtain a Gold Card The special category of consultation for those who don't fit in to any of the eight fields What documentation needs to be provided in order to apply for a Gold Card The importance of providing objective evidence of your professional accomplishments (e.g. an award, a measurable accomplishment) 60% of Gold Card holders have qualified by meeting the salary qualification in the economy field The type of work that Gold Card holders can seek while in Taiwan Singapore's Employment Pass program and the backlash it's gotten from Singaporean citizens Recent changes to the Gold Card program including the requirement for applying for permanent residence was lowered from five years to three years and different tax incentives Changes to ordinary work permit requirements which previously required both a college degree and two years of related experience The American Chamber of Commerce Taiwan Business Topics publication Useful resources for people applying for a Gold Card including: the Taiwan National Development Council's website Foreign Talent, the Taiwan Employment Gold Card Office Help Desk, Taiwan EZ Permit The challenges faced by some Gold Card holders in finding employment in Taiwan It's not necessary to speak Chinese to live and work in Taiwan If there is something missing or incomplete with a Gold Card application, you will have 30 days to rectify it Currently Gold Card applications are taking 4-6 weeks to get approved What happens if someone's application for the Gold Card is not accepted The most competitive sub field under arts and culture is popular music/TV/movies Special considerations for people wanting to live and work in Taiwan Considering places to live in Taiwan other than Taipei Michael's work with Forward Taiwan How Forward Taiwan is working on access to dual nationality for people naturalizing as Taiwanese citizens How Michael is transitioning to working on migrant workers issues The most meaningful accomplishments of Forward Taiwan: an increased number of countries that Taiwan has working holiday agreements with, making it easier for graduates of Taiwanese universities to stay and live and work in Taiwan How the National Development Council came up with Taiwan's Gold Card program and modeled it after Singapore's Employment Pass program Taiwan's independent artist work permit Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/michael-fahey-of-forward-taiwan-talks-about-the-gold-card-program-ep-182/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Yao Huang is funding minority owned businessess to solve the financial inequality problem. I first met and interviewed Yao Huang, in 2013. She is founder and managing partner of The Hatchery. If you want to learn more about her and the Hatchery you can go back and listen to episode 147 of Talking Taiwan. Last year I looked her up, wondering what she's been up to and reached out to invite her back on to Talking Taiwan as a guest. A lot can happen in 9 years! I learned that she had done two TED Talks and a stint of standup comedy. Yao has been focusing on some very big things like solving the problem of financial inequality through a $100 million dollar fund for minority-owned small to medium-sized businesses. And from her social media posts it looks like she's living the life and having a ball at these gatherings called the Wonder Women Dinner Series all across the country. When I asked her what she's excited about these days she mentioned crypto, blockchain and Web3. To some, these may sound like things of the future but the future is already here. Last year Facebook's name change to Meta was a nod to the metaverse, and earlier in the year, the buzz over a thing called NFTs hit mainstream media. When it comes to understanding NFTs you've got to also understand crypto currency, and blockchain technology. We covered that topic in episode 157: DJ Kaku Trailblazes NFTs in Asia. All of these things together- crypto, blockchain and the metaverse make up Web3. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: What the Wonder Women Dinner Series is How the Wonder Women Dinner Series has been going on for 16 years How the Wonder Women Dinner Series is a way for women to network, connect, make friendships, and have fun How Yao did standup comedy at Caroline's, B.B. King's and around New York City around 2014 Division One Capital a $100 million fund for women and minority small businesses How venture capital only helps 2% of all companies How Division One Capital's lending is based on a company's sales or revenues How it is difficult it is for women and minorities to secure a loan from a bank How loans from traditional banks can be at higher rates than funding obtained from Division One Capital How funding from a fund like Division One Capital can stabilize and allow a business to grow How Division One Capital was previously called Diana Capital How Division One Capital is working with cities' initiatives to help SMBs (small and medium-sized businesses) How Yao believes there is a lot of wealth that can be more equally distributed and easily accessed The businesses that Yao has helped grow e.g. a Black woman owned HVAC company and a woman-led company in the data security space that has raised $3.5 million How crypto, bitcoin and block chain has revolutionized the fintech sector, banking, credit, currency, stocks, and led the wave of Web3 How important it is to learn about bitcoin and cryptocurrency and how it works The bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami, FL Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/yao-huang-solving-financial-inequalities-by-funding-minority-owned-businesses-ep-181/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Paolo Lising shares his knowledge on starting a business in Taiwan. In February, I did a follow up interview with Paolo Lising, who I've had on as a guest previously along with Ramon Ray in episode 168, which was about solopreneurship. Paolo is the author of Startup Taiwan: Foreigners Business Guide, and the founder of MillionDC.com. Startup Taiwan is the second book written to help foreigners wanting to start a business in Taiwan after How to Start a Business in Taiwan, which was written by Elias Ek in 2013. Elias has also been a guest on Talking Taiwan. I spoke in depth with Paolo about his early interest in entrepreneurship, what brought him to Taiwan, and how he transitioned from journalism to corporate life and the startup scene. We had an in-depth conversation about what went into his book Startup Taiwan. For those wanting the most up-to-date information they should subscribe to a digital version of Startup Taiwan, which Paolo regularly updates on his website StartupInTaiwan.com. He also has a podcast by the same name Startup Taiwan, that I'd recommend you check out. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Paolo's background and upbringing Paolo's career as a journalist covering the Philippines energy sector and banking When and how Paolo became an entrepreneur Paolo's first business, which was an antique shop in the Philippines How Paolo decided to go from being a journalist to pursing an MBA How Paolo decided to go Taiwan to purse an MBA degree How the MBA program at NTU (National Taiwan University) is taught in English Paolo worked at ASUS and Rayliant Global Advisors in Taiwan before getting into the startup scene Paolo's current startup in Taiwan, MillionDC.com, which is a learning platform for entrepreneurs from developing countries The special needs of entrepreneurs from developing countries Where the name MillionDC comes from How his bosses at ASUS and Rayliant Global Advisors were supportive of Paolo's interest in starting his own company on his own time outside of his work hours How one of the problems for people in the Philippines is having stable internet connection and access to information What led Paolo to write Startup Taiwan How to Start a Business in Taiwanby Elias Ek How so much has changed since 2013 when How to Start a Business in Taiwanby Elias Ek was published and Paolo felt a need to write a book with up dated information How Taiwan has changed it policies towards accepting foreigners and allowing them to open up businesses The two ways that foreigners can enter Taiwan and start a business: entrepreneur visa and Gold Card visa The requirements for an entrepreneur visa include submitting a plan of what you will to do in Taiwan, and the growth potential of your business Incubators in Taiwan and the support they provide to entrepreneurs The Gold Card visa is for those with expertise in their fields, similar to an APRC (lien Permanent Resident Certificate) The requirements for a Gold Card The process of writing and doing research for Paolo's book, Startup Taiwan There are six steps to starting a business in Taiwan How Paolo's book includes interviews with entrepreneurs and case studies The KPIs (key performance indicator) for grants given by the government of Taiwan The difference and added value of Paolo's book, Startup Taiwan compared to Elias' book, How to Start a Business in Taiwan How the interviews in Paolo's book, Startup Taiwan offer some real life examples of what people go through in the process of trying to start a business in Taiwan How Taiwan is in general very technologically advanced, but its banking system is not Why there aren't many venture capitalists setting up in Taiwan How a chop aka seal aka stamp is still commonly used by Taiwan's banks as form of identification The inspiration behind the book cover art for Startup Taiwan The challenges that Paolo has experienced in doing business in Taiwan Common misperceptions that people have about Taiwan or doing business in Taiwan If any of the case studies from the book Startup Taiwanhave been translated into Chinese How Audrey Tang, Taiwan's digital minister has received a copy of the book and thought the recommendations were helpful informing policies to make Taiwan a startup hub in Asia How Paolo wanted the first version of the print version of Startup Taiwanto look like a coffee table art book with grey paper vs. white or off-white How there are three versions of the book, Startup Taiwan 1)the print book released in 2020, 2) the online version available at StartupInTaiwan.com which is regularly updated 3) the 2022 version which is available on Amazon Kindle and print (updated up to January 31, 2022) If you go to StartupInTaiwan.com you can get a digital version of the book with real time updates based on current events and news How it is more challenging for foreign entrepreneurs in Taiwan to get access to funding than local Taiwanese ent

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: So much has happened since I interviewed John Fan, one of the co-founders of PicCollage back in December. PicCollage is an app that allows you to create fun things with your photos and videos. It is one of the most popular apps in the photo and video app category in the app store. We actually spoke the day after Talking Taiwan won a Golden Crane Podcast Award. It was a fascinating conversation not only about PicCollage, but about what it was like for John being in Taiwan when it was one of the few places in the world relatively unaffected by COVID at the beginning of the pandemic, and how it attracted COVID refugees that included some of Taiwan's most talented influential diaspora. John also talked about how the startup scene in Taiwan has changed in the ten years that he's lived there. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How PicCollage is an app that allows you to create fun things with your photos and videos How PicCollage as a company that creates a variety of apps related to greetings, video editing, and wellness The WOWSHI app inspired by Japanese washi tapes designed to mimic the tactile experience of applying washi tape, which can be a form of relaxation The idea for the WOWSHI app came out of the realization that during the pandemic people were looking for ways to de-stress How PicCollage was started 10 years ago and was initially designed primarily for the iPad 10 years ago apps like Uber, Instagram and Snapchat were still relatively new How PicCollage was started in Silicon Valley but has much of its operations in Taiwan John's experience as a Taiwanese American having moved to Taiwan and lived there for 10 years The challenges of running a business in multiple time zones The advantages of running a business in Taiwan The freedom and creativity in Taiwan The popularity of bubble tea and cat cafes of Taiwan How Taiwan is connected to and influenced by China, Japan and the U.S. Taiwan's kawaii i.e. cute aesthetic which has been influenced by Japan Kawaii culture in the in the campaign for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Chen Shui-bian How Bitmoji was created in 2007 PicCollage's Silicon Valley values and Taiwanese employees How PicCollage has offered its team members U.S. $3,500 to spend on learning about or getting training on something of their own choice How PicCollage's values are a mix from Silicon Valley and Taiwan: Always Be Learning. Be Proactive and Overcommunicate. Win As A Team. How PicCollage has changed and evolved over time John's work experience prior to PicCollage What it has been like starting and running PicCollage How PicCollage values user feedback and has invited users to come in for user interviews on Fridays What they have learned from user feedback e.g. the ability to save/back up the collages on their phone in the cloud Artist collaborations with PicCollage have included collaborations with individual artists, Sanrio, and tokidoki What it's been like being in Taiwan when it was relatively unaffected by COVID at the beginning of the pandemic, and attracted COVID refugees How Taiwan was one of the first countries to be aware of the threat of COVID early on in the pandemic and was prepared due to its prior experience with SARS How Taiwan was able to maintain zero COVID cases up until April/May 2021 and attracted COVID refugees, like the founders of Rotten Tomatoes, Twitch and YouTube The use of Gather and Kumospace as Taiwan has gone into partial lockdown and adopted working remotely How has the startup culture in Taiwan changed in the 10 years that John has been in Taiwan How software startups exist in the shadows of Taiwan's two major industries: the semiconductor industry and ODM (Original Design Manufacturer) industry or contract manufacturing industries How Taiwan can play a role in the software industry How people in Taiwan vs Japan and Korea, are more willing to take a risk and work for smaller companies instead of large companies and conglomerates How the startup Gogoro has been able to get a lot of funding How Appier went public in Japan There's been greater investor interest in Taiwan startups than in the past 500 Startups has set up a branch in Taiwan How there are more VCs (venture capital) in Taiwan now How there are more VCs investing in software How Taiwan can excel in creativity and design Pinkoi. "the Etsy of Asia" that was started in Taiwan GagaOOLala, an LGBTQ+, "Netflix for Asia" that was started in Taiwan How Taiwan needs people with senior level experience with product marketing, and engineering management, and this void could be filled by Taiwan's diaspora or those interested in working with Taiwanese companies How PicCollage is hiring Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/john-fan-pic-collage-cofounder-creating-jobs-for-taiwans-most-talented-since-2011-ep-179/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Russia's invasion of Ukraine has put the reality of war on display for the world, especially for Taiwan, which like Ukraine, has been under the constant threat of military aggression of an unfriendly neighbor. Because of the war that's been happening in Ukraine there's been talk of how Taiwan must improve its military defense capabilities and preparedness, but beyond this, there are people in Taiwan wondering what they themselves can do to be prepared, should Taiwan come under attack. My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan, T.H. Schee, a representative of Open Knowledge Taiwan, is one of those people asking these important questions. We'd like to dedicate this episode to the memories of David Kilgour, who passed away on April fifth at the age of 81 and Peng Ming-min who passed away on April eighth at the age of 98. Mr. Kilgour, who I interviewed recently, was a human rights activist, and a former Member of Canada's Parliament, having served in the House of Commons for nearly 27 years, as Secretary of State for Latin America & Africa from 1997-2002, and Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific from 2002-2003. Dr. Peng Ming-Min was a pro-Taiwan independence/pro-democracy activist. In 1964 he was arrested for sedition for drafting and printing a manifesto advocating for democracy in Taiwan, he served as president of the Formosan Association of Public Affairs from 1986 to 1988, and in 1996 he ran as a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate in Taiwan's first direct presidential election. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by the Taiwanese United Fund. The Taiwanese United Fund is an arts and culture foundation that celebrates the cultural heritages of Taiwanese Americans. Established in 1986, the foundation's mission is to facilitate cultural exchange between the Taiwanese American community and other American cultural communities, hoping to enrich and expand our cultural experiences. To learn more about TUF visit their website http://www.tufusa.org/ Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How T.H. became interested and involved with civil defense The 9/21 earthquake in Nantou His work with Open Knowledge Taiwan What is civil defense Great Britain's Air Raid Wardens Service How T.H. has been dealing with disaster response for over ten years How Taiwan has to deal with disaster response year round due to typhoons and earthquakes What is digital first aid Taiwan's history of civil defense programs in Kimen and Matsu What is covered in Open Knowledge workshops The last time that preparedness for war was treated as a priority in Taiwan The 1995-1996 missile crisis in Taiwan aka the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis What Taiwan can learn from what's happening with the war in Ukraine The challenge of evacuating from Taiwan since it is an island How prepared Ukrainian civilians were for war How people can prepare for different levels of crisis: 1) emergency preparation (e.g. power outage/ blackout) 2) natural disaster 3) an attack/invasion/war The importance of establishing several reliable sources of information in case of a natural disaster The emerging discussion about how to handle an attack on Taiwan The importance of being able to identify friend from foe in case of a war in Taiwan The importance of first aid knowledge How civil defense in Taiwan is mandated by the national police agency/law enforcement in Taiwan An explanation of infographics from Open Knowledge that were recently shared on Twitter How general citizens could seek to improve their preparedness by enrolling in courses offered by hospitals Preparedness for military reservists The importance of having secure lines of communication in times of crisis Taiwan's Ministry of Defense has published a handbook that outlines the roles and responsibilities of the local and central government in times of crisis; the handbook is irrelevant for civilians T.H.'s thoughts on how the government of Taiwan can better prepare its citizens for war How the past civil defense programs in Kimen and Matsu prepared and trained civilians for war and what we can learn from them How the defense sector is a closed circle and Open Knowledge Taiwan is trying to address civilians' lack of access to defense related information Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces How it's important for Taiwan to improve bi-lateral and tri-lateral exchanges of information Michael Turton's piece in the Taipei Times about Taiwan's preparedness for war How it's important to be able to resist the first 72 hours of an attack How critical points identified at Open Knowledge Taiwan workshops could be turned into policy recommendations for Taiwan's government Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiwans-civil-defense-preparedness-t-h-schee-on-how-to-prepare-for-the-threat-of-an-attack-ep-178/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: April fourth is Children's Day in Taiwan, which is great timing for this interview with children's book author Margaret Chiu Greanias. She spoke with me about her latest book Amah Faraway, which has many of its scenes set in Taipei, Taiwan. Margaret shared how she became a children's book author, what she loves about picture books, how they get created and what she's working on next. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by the Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 and the Taiwanese United Fund. The Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 was established in 2000 to promote Taiwanese and Taiwanese American arts and literature, and to protect and enhance the human rights, freedom and democracy of the people in Taiwan. The Taiwanese United Fund is an arts and culture foundation that celebrates the cultural heritages of Taiwanese Americans. Established in 1986, the foundation's mission is to facilitate cultural exchange between the Taiwanese American community and other American cultural communities, hoping to enrich and expand our cultural experiences. To learn more about TUF visit their website http://www.tufusa.org/ Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How Amah Faraway is written as a reverse poem What is a reverse poem The reverse poem, "The Lost Generation" by Jonathan Reed that inspired Margaret to write Amah Faraway as a reverse poem What inspired Margaret to write Amah Faraway How much of the book was based on Margaret's relationship with her amah and on her children's relationship with their amah (Margaret's mother) How Margaret's children react to reading her books Margaret's memories of visiting Taiwan as a child How Margaret got connected with the illustrator of Amah Faraway Tracy Subisak the illustrator of Amah Faraway who is half Taiwanese and her special contributions to the book, which included the use of Mandarin Chinese The Two Tigers nursery rhyme that amah sings to Kylie in Amah Faraway How children's picture books can be written first without an illustrator or written with a specific illustrator, in which case the manuscript and sketches would be sent together to an editor How Margaret's first book Maximillian Villainous was created with illustrator Lesley Breen Withrow, and the manuscript and sketches were sent together to an editor How the movie Despicable Me inspired the idea for Margaret's first children's book Maximillian Villainous When the editor chooses the illustrator for a picture book usually the author and illustrator aren't introduced to each other, and the illustrator works independently to interpret the words of the story in their own way How picture books are half about the words and half about the art How Margaret decided to become a children's book author What Margaret was doing before she became a children's book author Margaret's favorite books as a child How Margaret decides to write about Margaret's writing process Margaret writes picture books for ages 3-8 but would like to also write chapter books for middle grade (8-12 years old) What Margaret loves about picture books and writing for the 3-8 year old age group World Read Aloud Day The Five Chinese Brothers, an American children's book written by Claire Huchet Bishop What's involved in the process of getting a children's book published The challenge of writing a story in 500 words or less Children's books that Margaret recommends Margaret's next book, Hooked on Books that will be coming out next summer Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/celebrating-childrens-day-in-taiwan-margaret-chiu-greanias-talks-about-her-latest-book-amah-faraway-ep-177/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: As she watched the humanitarian crisis unfold due to the war in Ukraine, S. Chien wanted to do something to help. She came up with the idea for the Taiwan Cares project and together with Dr. Monty Wang and Dr. Bo-Chheng Lin, mobilized the efforts of over 30 Taiwanese Americans from New Jersey to raise over $9000 in 24 hours. The funds were used to purchase and ship urgently needed medical supplies and baby formula to people in Ukraine. Chien is the President of New Jersey Chapter of North America Taiwanese Women's Association. Dr. Monty Wang is a retired physician. [INSERT photo of Dr. Bo-Chheng Lin] Dr. Bo-Chheng Lin, is cofounder of New Jersey Living Well Club and an elder of the New Jersey Taiwanese American Fellowship Presbyterian Church (TAFPC). I learned about their project Taiwan Cares from an email that was forwarded to me with a touching video created by Shi Chien about how over $9,000 was raised in 24 hours in order to send humanitarian relief to people in Ukraine. With everything that's been happening in the world today, I think that we need to tell more stories of the good that people are doing in the world. The Taiwanese Care project team will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukrainian refugees in cooperation with the Taiwanese American Council of Greater New York (TAC-GNY) which has set up the Ukraine-Taiwan Humanitarian Fund Drive. Donors may contact them for details and/or send checks to: Taiwanese American Council (TAC) of Greater New York TAC / Taiwan Center 137-44 Northern Blvd, Flushing, NY 11354 Make checks payable to TAC/GNY. Please write the following as the check's memo: Ukraine – Taiwan Cares TAC-GNY is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. After receiving a donation check, TAC-GNY will send the donor a tax-deductible receipt. The fundraising drive ends mid-April. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by the Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 and the Taiwanese United Fund. The Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 was established in 2000 to promote Taiwanese and Taiwanese American arts and literature, and to protect and enhance the human rights, freedom and democracy of the people in Taiwan. The Taiwanese United Fund is an arts and culture foundation that celebrates the cultural heritages of Taiwanese Americans. Established in 1986, the foundation's mission is to facilitate cultural exchange between the Taiwanese American community and other American cultural communities, hoping to enrich and expand our cultural experiences. To learn more about TUF visit their website http://www.tufusa.org/ Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How the Taiwan Cares Project was initiated Dr. Monty Wang talks about how he's visited both Ukraine and Russia and his impressions Why they only had 24 hours to raise funds How the Taiwan Cares Project team partnered with a Ukrainian Orthodox Church in New Jersey to deliver the supplies to people in need in Ukraine Why they decided to purchase urgently needed baby formula and medical supplies to send to Ukraine rather than sending a cash donation How Dr. Wang planned what items to order and the quick turnaround time in order to get them delivered to the Ukrainian church The Taiwan Care project will be a continued and continuous effort How Taiwan has made disaster relief contributions to Japan (Fukushima earthquake) and Indonesia How Ukraine's situation is similar and different from Taiwan's China's incursions into Taiwan's ADIZ How people from Taiwan have donated around $240 million U.S, dollars to Ukraine The Holodomor, Ukraine's Great Famine Possible future initiatives of the Taiwan Cares project The YouTube video S. Chien created about the Taiwan Cares project and the music she used for it The Ukrainian folk instrument, the bandura that was banned by Russia How they purchased 900 pounds of supplies to send as humanitarian relief to Ukraine The design of the Taiwan Cares label and how it includes the Ukrainian words for "Help from Taiwan" Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiwan-cares-humanitarian-efforts-for-ukraine-raise-9000-in-24-hours-ep-176/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Will China attack Taiwan given the current circumstances surrounding the war in Ukraine? My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Kuan-Ting Chen, the CEO of Taiwan NextGen Foundation, which is an NGO (a non-governmental organization) founded in Taipei that focuses on various issues such as Taiwan's soft power, promoting democracy, educational policy research, public advocacy and issues related to domestic and foreign policy. He shared his thoughts on Russian's invasion of Ukraine and the comparisons being made between Ukraine and Taiwan. I asked him how people in Taiwan have been reacting to the situation. Prior to serving as CEO of Taiwan NextGen Foundation Kuan-Ting served at the Taipei City government as the chief research officer and deputy spokesperson. He was in charge of various issues related to public affairs, international affairs, and student affairs. Before that Kuan-Ting served on Taiwan's National Security Council. In that capacity he was responsible for Taiwan-Japan relations. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by the Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 and the Taiwanese United Fund. The Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 was established in 2000 to promote Taiwanese and Taiwanese American arts and literature, and to protect and enhance the human rights, freedom and democracy of the people in Taiwan. The Taiwanese United Fund is an arts and culture foundation that celebrates the cultural heritages of Taiwanese Americans. Established in 1986, the foundation's mission is to facilitate cultural exchange between the Taiwanese American community and other American cultural communities, hoping to enrich and expand our cultural experiences. To learn more about TUF visit their website http://www.tufusa.org/ Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Some of the history of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia The famine that Ukraine endured during the early 20thcentury due to the policies of the Soviet Union The Budapest Memorandum Why people are drawing comparisons between Ukraine and Taiwan How the situation in Ukraine and Taiwan are similar and different How the invasion and conflict in eastern Ukraine's Donbas has been going on for 7-8 years already Comparing China with Russia Kuan-Ting's thoughts on the relationship between China and Russia How the international reaction to Russia can send a message to China The weaknesses of Russia and China militarily and economically China's reactions to Russia's invasion of Ukraine The role that China could play to possibly deter Russia's invasion of Ukraine Why Kuan-Ting doesn't think that China will try to attack Taiwan at this time What Taiwan can do as deterrence What has been the reaction in Taiwan to what's been happening to Ukraine Taiwan's military preparedness A recent survey of how many Taiwanese would be willing to fight to defend Taiwan The rallies in support of Ukraine in Taiwan How the sunflower is the national flower of Ukraine How thousands have showed up to rallies in support of Ukraine How the government of Taiwan has shown support for Ukraine The Taiwan Can Help campaign How the U.S. has responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and what we could infer, if anything about how the U.S. might respond if Taiwan was to be attacked by China What Taiwan can realistically expect in terms of military assistance from the U.S. How Taiwan needs to be better prepared in case China attacks What Taiwan can learn from what's happening in Ukraine What Kuan-Ting learned about how Ukrainians are reacting to Russia's invasion of Ukraine when he interviewed a Ukrainian minority Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/will-china-attack-taiwan-kuan-ting-chen-discusses-ramifications-of-the-war-in-ukraine-on-taiwan-ep-175/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Jiho Chang tells us the inside story first hand by reliving the Sunflower Movement from Ground Zero. March 18th will mark the eighth anniversary of the beginning of the Sunflower Movement during which time activists occupied Taiwan's Legislative Yuan in order to protest the passing of the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement, which was a treaty between Taiwan and China. The roots of the Sunflower Movement go back much further, years before 2014. My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan, Jiho Chang, shares his perspectives on the Sunflower Movement as he looks back upon it, and talks about his involvement with the movement. Jiho has been a guest on Talking Taiwan previously, talking about his work as Keelung City Councilman (episode 149), and remembering the late revolutionary Su Beng (史明) (episode 156). This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by the Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 and the Taiwanese United Fund. The Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 was established in 2000 to promote Taiwanese and Taiwanese American arts and literature, and to protect and enhance the human rights, freedom and democracy of the people in Taiwan. The Taiwanese United Fund is an arts and culture foundation that celebrates the cultural heritages of Taiwanese Americans. Established in 1986, the foundation's mission is to facilitate cultural exchange between the Taiwanese American community and other American cultural communities, hoping to enrich and expand our cultural experiences. To learn more about TUF visit their website http://www.tufusa.org/ Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Why the Sunflower Movement happened in Taiwan How the Sunflower Movement had roots in protests that started in 2008 How former President Ma Ying-jeou tried to "re-sinicize" many things in Taiwan Jiho's involvement with the Sunflower Movement How there had been an attempt to occupy the Ministry of the Interior a year before the Sunflower Movement in 2014 The power struggle between former President Ma Ying-jeou and Speaker of the Legislative Yuan, Wang Jing-ping at the time of the Sunflower Movement Factions between the Kuomintang Jiho's account of what happened the night activists broke into the Legislative Yuan How the length of the occupation was unexpected The public support for the movement, with crowds of people surrounding the Legislative Yuan for the duration of the occupation How Jiho has to testify in court about the attempted occupation of the Executive Yuan How there was a livestream of what was happening inside of the Legislative Yuan during the occupation How nothing was planned but people (such as doctors and other professionals) stepped up The documentary about the Sunflower Movement that featured Jiho and his colleagues How the Sunflower Movement has affected Taiwan's political landscape and directions The conditions inside of the Legislative Yuan during the occupation There were 500-600 people occupying the Legislative Yuan How another headquarters of operations was set up at a NTU (National Taiwan University) social sciences building nearby The attempt at occupying the Executive Yuan on March 28, 2014 The end of the occupation of the Legislative Yuan March 30thrally in Taipei in which hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in support of the Sunflower Movement Rallies organized globally on March 30thin support of the Sunflower Movement Hong Kong's protests (in 2014 aka the Umbrella Movement and 2019-2020) In the end as a result of the Sunflower Movement the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement was not approved and many young activists went on to serve in politics Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/reliving-the-sunflower-movement-from-ground-zero-jiho-chang-tells-the-inside-story-ep-174/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: On March 9th Taiwan Post will be issuing a stamp commemorating the 150th anniversary of the arrival of Canadian missionary George Leslie Mackay in Northern Taiwan. Mackay was unlike most 19th century missionaries. He has been referred to as the "son-in-law of Taiwan," and was a forward thinker. He was one of the first to oppose the Head Tax imposed on Chinese in Canada. To help understand who George Leslie Mackay was and the significance of his contributions, I'll be speaking with Reverend Michael Stainton, the founder of the Canadian Mackay Committee. Reverend Stainton has worked for the last 25 years to promote the recognition of Mackay in Canada and on several campaigns for Canada Post to issue a stamp to commemorate George Leslie Mackay. Those interested in contacting the Canadian Mackay Committee can email [email protected] This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by the Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 and the Taiwanese United Fund. The Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 was established in 2000 to promote Taiwanese and Taiwanese American arts and literature, and to protect and enhance the human rights, freedom and democracy of the people in Taiwan. The Taiwanese United Fund is an arts and culture foundation that celebrates the cultural heritages of Taiwanese Americans. Established in 1986, the foundation's mission is to facilitate cultural exchange between the Taiwanese American community and other American cultural communities, hoping to enrich and expand our cultural experiences. To learn more about TUF visit their website http://www.tufusa.org/ Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How and when Reverent Stainton first learned about Dr. George Leslie Mackay How Reverend Stainton was a student radical at York University and was involved in the anti-Vietnam War movement and interested in China How Reverend Stainton became disillusioned with the friendship work with China that he was doing How Reverend Stainton was initially reluctant to go to Taiwan to work with the Presbyterian Church in 1979 How the Kuomintang had cancelled elections in response to U.S. President Jimmy Carter's switch in recognition from the Republic of China to the People's Republic of China as the sole legal government of China (in 1978) The Tangwai movement in 1979 How Reverend Kao Chun-ming, who was the guarantor on Reverend Stainton's visa to Taiwan (in 1979) had gotten arrested for helping to hide Shih Ming-teh How things in Taiwan were in chaos when Reverend Stainton arrived there in 1980 Upon arriving in Taiwan Reverend Stainton was assigned to the Aboriginal Student Center At the time the Kuomintang believed the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan was a cat's paw of the Chinese Communist Party Reverend Stainton was warned that he would be watched and under surveillance with his phone calls tapped and letters opened How Reverend Stainton was asked to play the part of Dr. George Leslie Mackay in a play was put on for the 100th anniversary of the Mackay Memorial Hospital in 1981 In 1992 after Reverent Stainton had returned to Canada, he saw the importance of promoting the recognition of Dr. George Leslie Mackay in Canada How Dr. George Leslie Mackay breaks the stereotypes of 19th century missionaries How Joseph Steere a professor of Zoology at the University of Michigan who met Mackay in Taiwan in 1873 wrote that he observed that Mackay treated the Chinese as equals rather than an inferior race How Mackay learned Taiwanese culture and language from his students How Mackay accepted his students' suggestion and arrangement for him to marry a Taiwanese woman, Tiuⁿ Chhang-miâ (aka Minnie) How Mackay was criticized about his marriage and why he got married at the British Consulate How Mackay told the Foreign Mission Board of his marriage only after he had already gotten married Why Mackay is so beloved in Taiwan and is called the "son-in-law of Taiwan" How Mackay's upbringing influenced his values Mackay was the youngest son of a Scottish Evangelical Presbyterian family Mackay and his family had gone to Canada as refugees from the Sutherland Highland Clearances in northern Scotland because aristocratic landlords had pushed peasants off their land due to the English Industrial Revolution Mackay along with other refugees had been sent to Oxford county which is present-day South Central Ontario in Canada How highlanders (people from northern Scotland) were also looked down upon in Canada because they weren't civilized Scots from the south How the early injustice Mackay and his family experienced shaped him How he learned frontier medicine and developed strong resilience from growing up in the frontier The Zorra pioneers and how Zorra refers to part of the province of Ontario How Mackay became known for pulling teeth and was able to gain the trust of local people in Taiwan but he was not a dentist or doctor Mackay was given an honorary doctorate degree in 1881 Misc

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Dr. Michi Fu and Dr. Tsuann Kuo are helping 228 Survivors deal with trauma. This year marks 75 years since the 228 Massacre and this week we continue our discussion on the topic. 228 refers to February 28, 1947, which could be argued is a misnomer because tensions leading up to the massacre of tens of thousands of people had been building for quite some time before February 28th, ever since the Chinese Nationalists (the Kuomintang) had fled from China to Taiwan in 1945. Some Taiwanese dissidents have used the term March Massacre instead of 228 since the massacres that happened were mostly in March of 1947. Last week we talked about the lasting impact of 228. Under the subsequent authoritarian rule of the Chiang regime, there was 38 years of martial law and the White Terror era. Anyone could be disappeared, executed or worse for just saying or doing the wrong thing, or for what was seemingly wrong in the eyes of the authorities. The people of Taiwan were horrified and terrified. Generations dared not speak of 228. If you haven't already listened to last week's episode, I encourage you to listen to it first to understand the trauma that 228 has inflicted on generations of Taiwanese. My guests on this week's episode will talk about some of the ways they have helped 228 survivors and their relatives to start to heal their trauma. I am welcoming back Dr. Michi Fu and Dr. Tsuann Kuo to talk about the work they did with the Transitional Justice Commission's "caring projects" that were set up specifically to help 228 survivors and their relatives. Three sites were set up for the "caring projects" and Tsuann and Michi were at the Taichung site at the end of 2020 up until February 28, 2021. Please note that the comments and experiences they share are limited to the work that they did through the "caring project" in Taichung and their personal opinions. They are not representing the Transitional Justice Commission, which as you'll hear in the interview, has a much broader scope with five main objectives. The Transitional Justice Commission was set up in 2018 to investigate the actions taken by the Kuomintang between 15 August 1945 and 6 November 1992 (This includes 228, the martial law era and White Terror era). Special thanks to Michi for her help in assembling all the guests for this episode and the previous one, both dedicated to discussing the topic of 228. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by the Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 and the Taiwanese United Fund. The Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社was established in 2000 to promote Taiwanese and Taiwanese American arts and literature, and to protect and enhance the human rights, freedom and democracy of the people in Taiwan. The Taiwanese United Fund is an arts and culture foundation that celebrates the cultural heritages of Taiwanese Americans. Established in 1986, the foundation's mission is to facilitate cultural exchange between the Taiwanese American community and other American cultural communities, hoping to enrich and expand our cultural experiences. To learn more about TUF visit their website http://www.tufusa.org/ About this episode's guests Dr. Michi Fu is a second-generation Taiwanese American and a NATWA II member. She became a Taiwanese citizen after spending a sabbatical year as a mid-life adult. As a Taiwanese returnee, identity politics was an inevitable part of the ethnic identity development process. As such, she has been educating herself on Taiwanese history, including the 228 Massacre, that her family has traditionally remained silent about. Tsuann Kuo, Ph.D. was trained as a gerontologist and has had both clinical and managerial work experiences in the United States before returning to Taiwan. Currently, Dr. Kuo works as an Associate Professor at the School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University in Taichung City, Taiwan. She is actively involved in a number of organizations as the President of Taiwan Association of Family Caregivers, the Executive Director of Taichung Dementia Integrated Care Center and the President of Red Cross in Taichung City. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: The five objectives of the Transitional Justice Commission How Tsuann and Michi got involved with the Transitional Justice Commission The caring projects that extended help to the survivors of 228 and their descendants at three sites (Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung) Michi's related work with the Museum of Tolerance and survivors of the Armenian genocide The challenges and difficulties in gaining the trust and cooperation of 228 survivors How survivors and their relatives were impacted by 228 How the program's activities helped survivors to reflect on their past and to make sense of it, and to build their social networks How 228 survivors tried to make sense of why their fathers were killed or jailed The workshops that Michi and Tsuann conducted to help 228 survivors deal with thei

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: The 228 Massacre has been a subject of taboo for those who have had family who lived through it and the White Terror Era that followed. The Lunar New Year holiday and celebrations in Taiwan have just ended, but another national holiday will soon be here, the 228 Peace Memorial Day. But what is 228? It's been, 75 years and as you'll hear from my guests on today's show, it's still a touchy topic. And frankly it's not something that can be easily boiled down to a single date, February 28, 1947. The first thing to know is that 228 is actually a misnomer because the events thought to have ignited the conflicts and that led to the massacring of tens of thousands actually happened the night before on February 27th, 1947. Also, tensions had already been mounting for quite some time before then. Two years earlier in 1945, at the end of World War II, the Chinese Nationalists (the Kuomintang) had fled from China to Taiwan bringing with them the Republic of China framework. On the night of February 27th, Tobacco Monopoly Bureau agents tried to confiscate contraband cigarettes from a 40-year-old woman and brutally knocked her out. When an angry crowd gathered in protest, one of the agents fired a shot into the crowd killing a bystander. Within 24 hours, the incident had escalated into bloody violence and massacres. Under the authoritarian Chiang regime, what followed was 38 years of martial law and the White Terror era. Anyone could be disappeared, executed or worse for just saying or doing the wrong thing or for what was seemingly wrong in the eyes of the authorities. The people of Taiwan were horrified and terrified. Generations dared not speak of 228. 228 was absent from high school textbooks until relatively recently. Denial, distrust, suppression, and the passage of time have made it hard for many to come to terms with 228. What I've presented is of course not the entire story but is meant to provide you with some basic background for the discussion in this episode of Talking Taiwan. If you were previously unfamiliar with 228, I hope that this has piqued your interest, and that you do some further research for yourself on the topic History is not about an isolated date like 228 but understanding its deeper context, significance and repercussions. Since it's the 75th anniversary of the 228 massacre we will be dedicating two episodes to this topic. In this first episode today, my guests Wei-Wei Chang, Michi Fu, TsuAnn Kuo and Josephine Pan represent different backgrounds and generations of Taiwanese women. Each will share their personal perspectives and experiences related to 228, thoughts on the societal impact of 228. Next week Michi and TsuAnn will return to discuss their work with 228 survivors and their families through the Transitional Justice Commission. Special thanks to Michi for her help in assembling all the guests for these two episodes. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by the Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 and the Taiwanese United Fund. The Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社was established in 2000 to promote Taiwanese and Taiwanese American arts and literature, and to protect and enhance the human rights, freedom and democracy of the people in Taiwan. The Taiwanese United Fund is an arts and culture foundation that celebrates the cultural heritages of Taiwanese Americans. Established in 1986, the foundation's mission is to facilitate cultural exchange between the Taiwanese American community and other American cultural communities, hoping to enrich and expand our cultural experiences. To learn more about TUF visit their website http://www.tufusa.org/ About this episode's guests Weiwei Chang was born and raised in Taiwan during the martial law era. Her parents retreated from China to Taiwan as refugees after World War II. She has been living in the U.S. for over 40 years. Six years ago she retired from her job as registered nurse. Michi Fu is a second-generation Taiwanese American and a NATWA II member. She became a Taiwanese citizen after spending a sabbatical year as a mid-life adult. As a Taiwanese returnee, identity politics was an inevitable part of the ethnic identity development process. As such, she has been educating herself on Taiwanese history, including the 228 Massacre, that her family has traditionally remained silent about. Tsuann Kuo, Ph. D. was trained as a gerontologist and had both clinical and managerial work experiences in the United States before returning to Taiwan. Currently, Dr. Kuo works as an Associate Professor at the School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University in Taichung City, Taiwan. She is actively involved in a number of organizations as the President of Taiwan Association of Family Caregivers, the Executive Director of Taichung Dementia Integrated Care Center and the President of Red Cross in Taichung City. Josephine Pan is a proud Taiwanese Hakka from Hsinchu. She immigrated to the US in 1980 after graduating from colle

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: David Kilgour recently wrote an article that appeared in the Ottawa Citizen, Winter Olympics — here's why we're calling them the China Genocide Olympics. For nearly 20 years, he has been outspoken about the human rights abuses and organ trafficking in China. When he and David Matas were asked in 2006 to investigate allegations that the organs of Falun Gong practitioners were being harvested, the disturbing truth was revealed. Following the investigation, Kilgour and Matas co-wrote, Bloody Harvest-The Killing of Falun Gong for their Organs. Mr. Kilgour is a former Member of Canada's Parliament, having served in the House of Commons for nearly 27 years, Secretary of State for Latin America & Africa from 1997-2002, and Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific from 2002-2003. Prior to his political career he was a prosecutor. In this interview Mr. Kilgour reflected on his career in politics and as a prosecutor, and shared his thoughts on Taiwan. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by the Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 which was established in 2000 to promote Taiwanese and Taiwanese American arts and literature, and to protect and enhance the human rights, freedom and democracy of the people in Taiwan. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Why he's calling the 2022 Winter Olympic Games the Genocide Games The protest held in Ottawa of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing How he became aware of persecution of the Falun Gong and the harvesting of their organs for involuntary transplants The International Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of the Falun Gong approached David Kilgour and David Matas about looking into the allegations of organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners The book that he wrote with David Matas, Bloody Harvest Ethan Gutmann who also wrote a book about organ harvesting in China The update on organ harvesting done by David Kilgour, David Matas and Ethan Gutmann The China Tribunal in London chaired by Sir Geoffrey Nice The Uyghur Tribunal How there are 9-10 countries that have banned organ tourism Mr. Kilgour's efforts to lobby the Canadian Parliament to enact legislation against organ trafficking Accounts from doctors who performed surgeries for involuntary organ transplants How Uyghurs have been persecuted in China The persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China How Mr. Kilgour is a voluntary advisor to two Uyghur organizations Mr. Kilgour's recollection of his first visit to China His work to get goods produced by slave labor banned internationally How the U.S. has strengthened laws on importing goods produced by slave labor Volkswagen's plants in Xinjiang with parts being made by forced labor in China The diplomatic boycotts of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing Why the International Olympic Committee would award the Olympics to Beijing a second time Taiwan's early response to COVID-19 The last time Mr. Kilgour visited China on a trade mission under Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien The Chinese surgeon who removed the cornea of thousands of Falun Gong Who is profiting from the organ harvesting and transplant business in China Comparing the 2022 Olympics in Beijing to the 1936 Olympics in Berlin What the average person can do about the human rights abuses in China What Mr. Kilgour enjoyed about his political career Where his sense of social justice and activism came from Mr. Kilgour's position as State Secretary of Asia Pacific Taiwan has laws banning organ trafficking Ryszard Paszkowski, a Soviet-trained spy that Mr. Kilgour wrote a book about Mr. Kilgour's past visits to Taiwan The trucker protests and Freedom Convoy in Ottawa The Taiwanese politicians that he's met His work with the Ottawa Mission How the National People's Congress of China has 91 billionaires Billionaire investor Chamath Palihapitiya's comments about the Uyghurs The hate email that Mr. Kilgour has received Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/david-kilgour-author-and-human-rightd-advocate-why-2022-is-the-china-genocide-olympics-ep-170/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Michael Cannings is the Publisher at Camphor Press, a British-Taiwanese publishing house focused on East Asia, that he co-founded with John Grant Ross and Mark Swofford, in 2014. Profit was not the motive for setting up Camphor Press, but promoting books, especially those about Taiwan was. Michael spoke with me about how they weathered the challenging, early years of Camphor Press, and shared some insights about the publishing industry. Camphor Press has been responsible for rescuing notable books such as Formosa Betrayed and A Pail of Oysters- among the must-read books for those wishing to understand Taiwan. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: What brought Michael to Taiwan Michael's time in Taiwan How Michael met is Camphor Press co-founders What motivated him personally to start Camphor Press and why he saw the need for a publishing company that focused on books about Taiwan How he witnessed the re-election of Chen Shui-bian as President of Taiwan and the Sunflower Movement during the time he lived in Taiwan The Red Shirts Movement after the re-election of Chen Shui-bian in 2006 The book that led to the idea to start a publishing company How they choose the name of the publishing company Michael's co-founders John Grant Ross, Mark Swofford and how they work together Advice on how to work with your friends on a business The initial challenges after setting up Camphor Press in 2014 How Michael has been working on Camphor Press full-time since the beginning of the pandemic How the pandemic has affected Camphor Press How Camphor went from publishing e-books to also publishing print books How Camphor Press acquiredEastBridge Books and the rights to several previously out-of-print books about Taiwan including Formosa Betrayed The oldest book in Camphor Press' catalog How Michael and his co-founders were able to persist with Camphor Press during the most challenging first years Michael's book recommendations for people interested in learning more about Taiwan Joe Henley's book Migrante The new Taiwan-related books that Camphor Press will be publishing Discount code: talktw for Talking Taiwan listeners to get 15% off any online purchase from Camphor Press: https://camphorpress.com/ Tin Gate, the hybrid publishing company that Michael is starting and how it is different from Camphor Press Michael's advice for authors wanting to get their books published The changing stigma of self-published books The podcast Formosa Files that John Ross co-hosts with Eryk Michael Smith Mark Swofford's website: http://pinyin.info/and his work with the Sino-Platonic Papers Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/michael-cannings-of-camphor-press-publisher-rescues-notable-books-about-taiwan-and-east-asia-ep-169/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: My guests on this episode of Talking Taiwan are serial solo entrepreneurs Ramon Ray and Paolo Lising. Ramon has started 5 companies and sold 2 of them. He is the author of Grow Your Solo, a book about how to grow a solo business. Paolo Lising is founder of MillionDC.com, a learning platform for entrepreneurs from developing countries. He is the author of Startup Taiwan, a comprehensive guide for foreigners and global Taiwanese who wish to start a business in Taiwan. Ramon and Paolo talked about their experiences running a solo business, why they have chosen to be solopreneurs and what it takes to be successful as a solopreneur. About Ramon Ray Ramon is a US based serial entrepreneur focused on making the world a better place. He's started 5 companies and sold 2 of them. Ramon has authored several books, including Grow Your Solo about how to grow a solo business, and Celebrity CEO, all about personal branding. Ramon has testified to the United States Congress, interviewed President Obama, been fired from the United Nations and graduated from the FBI Citizens Academy. He's never been to Taiwan but hopes to travel there, one day! About Paolo Lising Paolo Lising is founder of MillionDC.com, a learning platform for entrepreneurs from developing countries. Lising is a digital marketing expert with a decade of experience working for listed tech companies and finance firms in Taiwan. He has won awards as a business journalist and book author in the Philippines. He recently published his book Startup Taiwan: Foreigners Business Guide as the first comprehensive and unbiased guide for foreigners and global Taiwanese who wish to start their business in Taiwan. Paolo took his Masters in Business Administration from National Taiwan University with extensive training in strategy consulting under a joint program at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Ramon's background and current solo business Paolo's background and current solo business Ramon's definition of what a solo business is The pros and cons of running a solo business What Ramon and Paolo like about running a solo business How studies show that businesses started by a solo founder are more likely to be successful than a business started by several co-founders What it takes to be a successful and long-lasting solopreneur Advice for people wanting to start a solo business Paolo's first small business A hundred-thousand-dollar business vs. a million-dollar business What types of business ideas might be better suited for a hundred-thousand-dollar business Taiwan as a place to start a business and do business The challenges of doing business in Taiwan Resources offered by Paolo's website: www.startupintaiwan.com How Taiwan is focused on building itself as a tech hub Taiwanese culture and customs as they relate to gift giving The importance of "guanxi" when it comes to doing business in Taiwan How Taiwan compares as a place to do business in the world Tips that Paolo has for foreigners wanting to have a business in Taiwan Banking in Taiwan Ramon's invitation for people to visit www.SmartHustle.com Ramon's invitation for people to visit www.GrowYourSolo.com The 5 businesses that Ramon has started including the latest one, Zone of Genius And how Ramon sold 2 of his small businesses Flippa, a company that specializes in selling online companies How to create a business that is more saleable Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/ramon-ray-and-paolo-lising-how-to-become-a-solopreneur-in-taiwan-and-the-u-s-ep-168/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: This year, the Lunar New Year falls on February 1st and it's the year of the tiger. For those of you familiar with Lunar New year celebrations, you may recall some of the traditions, which might include: wearing the color red, receiving or giving red envelopes, eating special foods, lion dances and firecrackers My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is not going to talk about any of that. Charlie Wu is the Managing Director of the Asian-Canadian Special Events Association, which organizes Taiwanfest and Lunarfest. The Lunarfest is a twist on celebrating the Lunar New Year, inspired by the Lantern Festival which marks the end of the Lunar New Year celebrations. Charlie talked about how Lunarfest has evolved over the course of a decade and engages with local indigenous communities in Canada. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Charlie's background and upbringing in Taiwan Charlie's experience assimilating to life in the U.S. The differences between Canadians and Americans Why he wrote an article about being Taiwanese Canadian, not Chinese Canadian Why Charlie was named one of the top 100 influential Chinese Canadians in B.C. What happened when a group of Chinese Canadians asked Charlie to support their fight against anti-Asian and anti-Chinese racism at the beginning of the pandemic When Lunarfest started and its connection to the 2010 Winter Olympics hosted by Vancouver How Lunarfest is the only legacy event from the 2010 Winter Olympics that has continued until present day How Lunarfest has evolved over time and been able to sustain for a decade The challenges in changing the perception from Chinese New Year to Lunar New Year This year's Lunarfest events in B.C. How the Lunarfest is different from most traditional Lunar New Year celebrations How Lunarfest has engaged the local community by inviting participation of indigenous people The artists who have created the lanterns for Lunarfest There will be a celebration planned on February 5thand 6th at the ---art gallery The Lunarfest installation in association with the Taiwanese Canadian Association of Toronto in Markham The endangered Formosa leopard The Lunarfest's annual arts and crafts programs for 2000 school-aged kids in the Greater Vancouver Area Past Lunarfest programs and how Lunarfest has changed due to COVID How the Panjabi community is participating in Lunarfest Vancouver Cirque de Soleil's participation on Lunarfest Vancouver Lunarfest lanterns will be on Granville Island for the first time Indigenous artist Susan Point's participation in Lunarfest Vancouver How you can participate and see photos of Lunarfest online using the hashtags #lunarfest #lanterncity The Lunarfest lanterns have audio descriptions about the artists accompanied by pipa music in the composition, "Woven Melodies" Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/charlie-wu-of-lunarfest-celebrates-the-year-of-the-tiger-ep-167/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: "If you are listening to this episode as part of a class or institutional program, we'd love to hear from you — please tell us the country, city, and name of the university you are studying and listening from, and give us details about how this episode is being used as part of a class or an ongoing project, and email us at [email protected]." __________________________________________ I'm always interested in listening to other podcasts and to learn about Taiwan-related ones. Late last year I heard about the Bilingual aka Bailingguo (百靈果) News Podcast because there was an episode that generated some heated discussion on Forumosa.com, among English-speaking foreigners in Taiwan. Forumosa is an online discussion forum for English-speakers about Taiwan and in full disclosure, they have been a sponsor of Talking Taiwan. I was wondering what all the controversy was about so I spoke to my friend Cindy about it and this led to a discussion about how foreigners are viewed in Taiwan and oddly enough the discrimination that overseas Taiwanese sometimes experience in Taiwan. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: One of the most popular podcasts in Taiwan the 百靈果(Bilingual) News Podcast How an episode of the 百靈果(Bailingguo) News Podcast generated a lot of discussion amongst the English-speaking expat community in an online discussion forum on Forumosa.com What the discussion on Forumosa.com was about If the slang term lao wai (老外) that refers to foreigners in Taiwan is insulting What makes the 百靈果(Bailingguo) News Podcast so controversial How people have compared the style of the hosts of the 百靈果(Bilingual) News Podcast to Joe Rogan and Howard Stern Why the English-speaking expat community on Forumosa.com were upset by the episode People's opinions of the 百靈果(Bailingguo) News Podcast The discrimination that foreigners experience in Taiwan The discrimination that some overseas Taiwanese experience in Taiwan Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/bilingual-podcast-discrimination-that-overseas-taiwanese-experience-in-taiwan-talking-with-cindy-wu-ep-166/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Cindy Wu is an English and Mandarin Chinese bilingual performer, speaker, and music educator based in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. She loves and enjoys all aspects of life, travel, and culture. I met Cindy years ago when I lived in Kaohsiung. I've invited her on to Talking Taiwan to speak about her music career and how she's dealt with the setbacks and challenges that she's faced along the way. When asked about how she's been able to impact the lives of her students, she responded that it's her students who have impacted and inspired her with their love support. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: • How Cindy and I met in Taiwan • Cindy's background and connection to Taiwan • When she immigrated to the United States • What brought Cindy back to Kaohsiung, Taiwan in 2005 from the U.S. • ORIENTED.com and how Felicia organized ORIENTED.com Happy Hours in Kaohsiung • Where Cindy's love of music came from • How Cindy first learned piano by attending Yahama classes • How the time she spent at Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY affected her • How Cindy uses music to educate kids • How Cindy began teaching piano, violin and singing in Taiwan • How the perception of the Taiwanese language has changed over time • What Cindy's done in her music career • The challenges that Cindy deals with as a vocalist • The voiceover work that she does • How Cindy started her first livestream show • Why she stopped doing her livestream show for a year • Cindy's approach to her livestream shows and how she deals with criticism, haters and trolls • Cindy's children's book, Sunny Girl's Dream World • Cindy's approach to teaching junior high and high school students • The opportunities that Cindy's livestream show has brought her • How Cindy works with the Oxford Institute and is on the board the Global Leadership and Learning Association • How Cindy helps students get a dual high school diploma Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/cindy-wu-music-educator-in-taiwan-speaks-about-her-music-career-and-positivity-ep-165/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Amazin LeThi, a global LGBTQIA+ advocate and one of the first Asian ambassadors for WorldPride at Copenhagen 2021. She reached out to me not long after hearing that Taiwan would be hosing WorldPride 2025. She spoke with me about the challenges she's faced as an Asian and LGBTQ youth, and how her sports training and deep sense of purpose helped to pull her out of homelessness. About Amazin LeThi: Amazin LêThi was born in Saigon where she was left in an orphanage by her mother. Amazin was bullied constantly as a young child because of her ethnicity and sexuality and it was because of this she went into bodybuilding at the tender age of 6 going onto become a competitive natural bodybuilder in her teens then qualifying as a strength and conditioning coach. As a young adult, she was homeless for a number of years and it was at this lowest point, contemplating suicide, Amazin realized her passion and love for sport could help her survive. Gaining physical and mental strength and confidence, from her personal journey of homelessness and against all the odds she has overcome enormous barriers to become one of the most visible and influential leading global rainbow (LGBTQIA+) advocate in the world. She is also a TV/Film star, entertainment executive and the first Vietnamese internationally published health and fitness author. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Why Amazin travels so much What it means to Amazin personally that WorldPride will be hosted in East Asia for the first time in 2025 Her struggles growing up in a predominantly white culture after being adopted from Vietnam What is has been like for her to re-connect with her Asian identity and visit Vietnam How WorldPride 2021 was held in 2 cities, Copanhagen and Malmö It was the first time that WorldPride and Eurogames coincided How many of the WorldPride 2021 events were held virtually How COVID has impacted Amazin personally Amazin's thought on the prevalence of Asian Hate What advice she has for the WorldPride 2025 Taiwan team How she ended up homeless and what that was like being homeless How she had a mental breakdown as she tried to get out of homelessness Amazin's struggle with mental health What people can do about homelessness The importance of having a sense of purpose in life How sports have helped her to be more resilient The high percentage of Asian LGBTQ youth that become homeless How Amazin was not able to be "out" in the world of bodybuilding The Amazin LeThi Foundation How 10 states in the United States have banned transgender and nonbinary kids from playing sports The work that Amazin does and how she's worked with President Obama and President Biden What Amazin is currently working on Amazin's Olympic ambitions Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/amazin-lethi-her-journey-from-homelessness-to-world-lgbtq-ambassador-ep-164/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Now it's time to announce our Top 5 of 2021 Talking Taiwan episodes. In doing so we'd like to recognize our wonderful guests, who make what we do possible. But first, we have some exciting news! On December 21st Talking Taiwan won a Golden Crane Podcast Award. We are so honored to have been recognized for our work and to have been nominated alongside so many other amazing podcasts. We've enjoyed producing new episodes for you every week and it's been exciting to see our listenership grow. We look forward to breaking new ground in the new year! For links to the top 5 episodes of 2021 check out the Related Links section below. Wishing you a wonderful rest of 2021 and a Happy New Year! Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/talking-taiwan-award-winner-top-5-of-2021-end-of-year-review-ep-163/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: In November it was officially announced that Taiwan had been chosen to host WorldPride 2025. The Kaohsiung Pride Team won the bid over Washington D.C. to host World Pride Day. My guest on this episode is Darien Chen, the founder of WorldPride Taiwan 2025. WorldPride 2025 will be first time that a WorldPride will be held in East Asia and this is exciting news indeed! In fact, Amazin LeThi, a global LGBTQIA+ advocate and one of the first Asian ambassadors for WorldPride at Copenhagen 2021 reached out to me not long after hearing the announcement. I invited her to join us in this episode. We'll have her back on another episode to share her personal story and to talk about her LGBTQIA+ advocacy work. I'd like to congratulate the team that worked so hard to secure the bid for Taiwan to host WorldPride 2025. I know they have a lot pf work ahead of them and we'll definitely check in on their progress in the future. Darien was previously on episode 82 of Talking Taiwan, talking about how he organized the Taiwan Pride Parade for the World in June of last year when Taiwan one of the safest places to be during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Taiwan Pride Parade for the World in 2020 How Kaohsiung Pride is the only pride organization from Taiwan that is a member of InterPride There hasn't been a previous bid from an Asian city or country to host WorldPride 2025 How Asia comprises 60% of the world's population How Kaohsiung Pride was able to get waivers for 2 of the 13 qualifications to host WorldPride 2025 The application process to host WorldPride 2025 which was an 11-month process The naming issue that came up for Taiwan after winning the bid to host WorldPride 2025 The parallel between Taiwan's position in the global arena and the LGBTQIA's within mainstream society InterPride's application with the UN for consultative status Why Kaohsiung Pride ended up hosting WorldPride 2025 instead of Taipei or other cities in Taiwan How there are 15 different Pride event held all over Taiwan How events planned for WorldPride 2025 includes Taipei and Kaohsiung, and other parts of Taiwan How WorldPride 2025 will include organizations and events like Taipei Pride which is essentially a protest and Taiwan TransPride hosted by Taiwan Gay Hotline What other cities were bidding to host WorldPride 2025 In the end Kaohsiung was competing with Washington D.C. to host WorldPride 2025 How June 2025 will be the 50th Anniversary of Pride in Washington D.C. How Taiwan was voted by Muslim women as the safest place Darien's involvement with Mr. Gay Taiwan and Mr. Gay World What it means to Darien personally that Taiwan is hosting WorldPride 2025 How the Kaohsiung Taiwan WorldPride 2025 committee didn't raise any money to help with the bid Now that gay marriage has been legalized in Taiwan, why is there still a need for Pride events What other WorldPride events Darien has attended What other WorldPride events Amazin has attended The benefit of having virtual events at WorldPride as they did at Copenhagen's WorldPride 2021 The importance of bringing WorldPride to the Asia region How the events being planned for WorldPride 2025 includes a "Taiwanese wedding-style banquet" to raise money for InterPride How a reenactment of the Fire Island Invasion is going to happen during WorldPride 2025 in Kaohsiung Darien and Amazin's connection to Australia Sydney WorldPride 2023 The challenges faced by LGBTQ Asians in Asia vs. in western countries The coming out experience for LGBTQ persons in eastern vs. western societies How the concept of coming out is a very western idea Coming out vs. inviting someone into your story The musical artists that Darien would like to invite to perform at WorldPride 2025 How the Taiwan Pride logo was created by a Taiwanese Kaohsiung-based graphic designer Bauer Hung (飽爾) Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiwan-hosts-worldpride-2025-our-conversation-with-darien-chen-and-amazin-lethi-ep-162/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: To mark the year's International Human Rights Day, I reached out to Yibee Huang, the CEO of Covenants Watch to talk about Lee Ming-che a Taiwanese activist who has been imprisoned in China since 2017. December 10th is International Human Rights Day. It's also an important day in Taiwan's history and a turning point in Taiwan's transition from authoritarianism to democracy. I'm referring to the Kaohsiung incident, also known as the Formosa Incident which began as a celebration of International Human Rights Day in 1979, but ended with a police crackdown and the arrest of prominent opposition leaders (The Kaohsiung Eight) who were tried in military court and sentenced to terms ranging from 12 year to life imprisonment. For more information about the Kaohsiung Incident visit the Related Links section below. Covenants Watch is an NGO based in Taipei, Taiwan that is committed to promoting human rights and equality for all people. Despite Taiwan not being a member of the United Nations, Covenants Watch ensured that Lee Ming-che's case was the first from Taiwan that was taken up by a UN special mechanism, namely the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (the WGEID). Yibee talked to me about Lee Ming-che's case and other Taiwanese who have gone missing or been imprisoned in China. About Covenants Watch: Covenants Watch (CW) is an NGO based in Taipei, Taiwan. It is committed to promoting human rights and equality for all people. Excluded from international society since the 1970s, the Taiwanese government has not been under the supervision of the United Nations system. Under these circumstances, CW strives to introduce a unique treaty review process that can hold the government accountable and ensures its domestic laws, policies and practices are aligned with international human rights standards. In addition to its domestic activities, CW plays an increasing role on the international level by participating in the Special Procedures and the Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council. UPDATE: After 5 years, Lee Ming-che has been released from a Chinese prison and returned home to Taiwan. Read the Guardian's interview of Lee Ming-che and his wife Ching-yu, Taiwanese activist Lee Ming-che: 'I can breathe in the fresh air of freedom,' by Helen Davidson in Taipei and Chi Hui Lin: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/09/taiwanese-activist-lee-ming-che-interview-china-jail-free Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: The mission of Covenants Watch and Lee Ming-che's connection to the organization Lee Ming-che's early life and background How Ming-che's political views changed and developed into a sense of Taiwanese identity While in college Ming-che got involved in student-led social movement and pro-democracy activities organized by pro-DPP (Democratic Progressive Party) students, and met his future wife Ching-yu The NGOs and organizations that Ming-che has worked with His involvement with the DPP and Taiwan independence movement What is known about the circumstances of his arrest What Ming-che was doing in China, when he went missing on March 19, 2017 The March 24th press conference that Lee Ching-Yu (Lee Ming-che's wife) and human rights groups organized to call upon the Chinese government to explain what happened to Ming-che The timeline of when Chinese authorities first responded, admitted that Ming-che was under arrest, the date of Ming-che's trial and sentencing How Lee Ching-yu's travel documents (Tai bao zheng/台胞證) were nullified when she tried to make plans to travel to Beijing in April 2017 to confront the Chinese government about what has happened to Ming-che Why Ching-yu tattooed the words "Lee Ming-Che, I am proud of you" on her forearms Ming-che's confession which was revealed at his trial Cases of human rights activists and lawyers who were tortured Swedish NGO worker Peter Dahlin's forced confession How Ching-yu needs apply for special consent from the Chinese authorities each time she would like to travel to China What a Tai bao zheng (台胞證) is How Covenant Watch appealed to the UN's Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) for help with Lee Ming-che's case What is the UN's Universal Periodic Review Why Ming-che's was transferred from Chishan Prison in Hunan to Yancheng Prison in Hebei in late 2018 and what happened to him as a result How the Chinese government has imposed an additional penalty of two years of deprivation of political rights on Lee Ming-che, which may be imposed at the end of his sentence in April 2022 How Ming-che has been treated in prison Ching-yu last saw Ming-che in January 2020 The Write a Letter or Postcard to Ming-che campaign that was started on Ming-che's first birthday after being imprisoned in China The different campaigns that have been organized for Ming-che The purpose behind letters and postcards written for Ming-che The UN Standard Minimum

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: When you think about things made in Taiwan what comes to mind? Barbie dolls, textiles, plastics, toys, bicycles, or maybe these days its boba, bubble tea, or semiconductor chips? What's made Taiwan the leader in the semiconductor industry, what is its competitive advantage, how can it maintain it going forward? The story of how Taiwan's semiconductor industry was developed is really quite interesting if you consider that Taiwan was previously an agriculturally-based economy and had no expertise in hi-tech. My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Dr. Bo-Chheng Lin, who has a PhD in solid state physics, and worked on semiconductors at AT&T Bell Laboratories. He is currently retired, and is one of founders of Living Well New Jersey, a group for retired Taiwanese Americans. This organization has been around for 10 years and I'm grateful for their support of Talking Taiwan. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How Taiwan's semiconductor industry was set up How Taiwan went from an agricultural-based economy to the leader of the global semiconductor industry Taiwan's first industrial parks The establishment of TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Limited) The role of Philips, a Dutch multinational corporation and RCA, an American electronics company in the development of Taiwan's semiconductor industry How Tsing-Hua University and the Chiat-Tung University are the leading universities in the IC (integrated circuit) industry The establishment of UMC (United Microelectronics Corporation) and TSMC Moore's Law, the observation that the number of transistors on a microchip doubles about every two years, producing twice the processing power at half the cost The impact on the world's commerce that would result if Taiwan's semiconductor manufacturing capacity got disrupted The current semiconductor chip shortage How the semiconductor industry is a cyclical business The impact of COVID-19 on the semiconductor industry How Taiwan's business model for the semiconductor industry compares to Korea's The situation between TSMC and Huawei, that resulted due to the U.S.'s concerns over safeguarding its intellectual property from China, and the impact this has on China's 5G Huawei is TSMC's second largest customer TSMC's plans to build a factory in Arizona The IoT industry and what is IoT (Internet of Things) If Apple and other companies start producing their own semiconductor chips what would that mean for the semiconductor industry and Taiwan? What it will take for Taiwan to maintain its competitive advantage in the semiconductor industry How the transistor was invented at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, NJ How Taiwan's government should encourage engineers from foreign countries to work in Taiwan's semiconductor industry The Gold Card program How the construction needs of TSMC has influenced the construction of housing in Taiwan What the next 10-15 years looks like for Taiwan and what other industries it might consider The China 2025 project Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-bo-chheng-lin-taiwans-semiconductor-industry-and-the-current-chip-shortage-ep-160/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Tim Chng is one of the founders of ITASA (Intercollegiate Taiwanese American Students Association), and we've known each other since those college days. He is currently documenting the overseas Taiwan Independence Movement on Wikipedia. I thought I'd invite him onto Talking Taiwan to talk about some of the media attention that Taiwan's been getting lately, and the project he's started to document the contributions of WUFI (World United Formosans for Independence) and overseas Taiwanese to the fight for Taiwan's freedom and democracy. After a non-Taiwanese friend of mine texted me asking about who Enes Kanter was and why he was speaking up about Taiwan, I realized that it would be a good idea to do an episode about this and other celebrities who have shed light on Taiwan- for good and bad. Enes Kanter, a basketball player for the NBA's Boston Celtics, has called for boycotting the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and caused quite a stir by tweeting and speaking out about Taiwan being a free and democratic country, and not a part of China. Twitter was all abuzz over this. I had seen Tim weighing in on the Twitter discussion about Enes, so I thought it would be fun to invite him on to Talking Taiwan to share his thoughts on all of this. I knew that we'd have an interesting conversation. We talked about Enes, John Oliver, John Cena and even Peng Shui, the Chinese women's tennis player whose safety and whereabouts have been in question ever since her post on a Chinese social media platform (Weibo) about being sexually assaulted by a retired Chinese Communist party leader was deleted. Tim also talked about what motivated him to start documenting the Taiwan independence movement on Wikipedia, and how in a broader sense it is about recognizing the role of Taiwan's diaspora in the fight for Taiwan's freedom and democracy during the White Terror era. If you're interested in helping Tim with this project you can do so simply by creating a login on Wikipedia, which as Tim said is really quite easy to do, and you can start editing and adding to the Wikipedia pages about WUFI or the Taiwan independence movement. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: The background of Enes Kanter NBA's Celtics team, has spoken up for Taiwan How Enes Kanter and his family has been blacklisted by the Turkish government How Enes' father went to prison for speaking up against Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Taiwan's blacklist Comparing the struggles and conflict that the Uyghers, and people of Hong Kong, Tibet and Taiwan's have with China Badiucao, the artist who created the art and designs for Enes Kanter's sneakers that called for a boycott of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and the Stand With Taiwan sneakers The perception that Taiwan's democracy was a direct result of Chiang Ching-kuo lifting martial law in Taiwan How the father (Dr. Kang-lu Wang) of one of ITASA's founders (Alvin Wang) was assassinated by the Kuomintang (KMT) What led Tim to start his project to document the Taiwan independence movement, especially the resistance movement amongst overseas Taiwanese How the resistance movement of overseas Taiwanese in the 1950s-1980s is not taught in history books and hasn't been well documented Documenting WUFI (World United Formosans for Independence) on Wikipedia How difficult it was to get media coverage on Taiwan in the 1950s-1980s How New Bloom was contacted and consulted by John Oliver's team for his segment about Taiwan How Taiwan needs allies and support as it stands up to China What is problematic about what Enes Kanter is saying about China Tsai Ing-wen's public statement thanking Enes Kanter for his support Whether or not the U.S. really cares about Taiwan's self-determination or freedom The KMT's network of overseas student spies during the martial law era How organizers of the first ITASA conference at Yale University received an anonymous intimidating letter How no one from Yale University was able to attend the Love Boat program in the year following the Yale ITASA conference How Tim and his family were blacklisted and not allowed to return to Taiwan What inspired many WUFI members and overseas Taiwan independence activists to stand up for Taiwan and to attempt to free Taiwan from authoritarian rule How Peter Huang who attempted to assassinate Chiang Ching-kuo was a WUFI member How many overseas Taiwanese students were inspired by the Cuban revolution How within WUFI there were members who were KMT spies The founding of WUFI in 1971 and how it united organizations in Japan, Europe, the United States, and Canada How WUFI members were responsible much of the U.S. media coverage on Taiwan The Taiwanese American Association of America (TAA), the grassroots arm of WUFI Fundraising efforts for the Taiwanese political drama Island Nation 2 What motivated Chiang Ching-kuo to lift martial law in Taiwan Tim's criticism of John Oliver's segment on T

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Esther Chen is a Taiwanese American actress and comedian. We spoke about how she got into doing standup comedy, worked with Jerry Seinfeld, and ended up back in Taiwan during the pandemic. Esther shared how she's had to adjust her standup comedy material to suit the different tastes of audiences in Taiwan, other parts of Asia, and the U.S. While in Taiwan Esther started doing standup comedy more regularly and got recognized by fans. She also talked about the very Taiwanese experiences of going to see a fortune teller for advice about her career in acting and comedy, and the criticism that she and her family have received from Taiwanese discussion forums in response to her comedy. **A quick note to listeners about the audio quality of this episode. There were some issues with the first 8-9 minutes of this interview. We tried our best to improve them so please bear with us and know that the issues resolve at around the 10 minute mark.** Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How she got interested in doing standup comedy What it was like for her to work with Jerry Seinfeld How she comes up with material for her standup comedy Why she moved back to Taiwan during the pandemic and what she did while she was there Her Chinese Mandarin language podcast 好戲開場: It's Showtime! How humor in English is different than humor in Mandarin Chinese How she had to adjust her standup comedy for audiences in Taiwan vs. New York How her jokes about China were received outside of Taiwan i.e. Malaysia How she hears Taiwan-related news from Ken and Kylie, the hosts of the 百靈果New Podcast How she hears Taiwan-related news from Ken and Kylie, the hosts of the 百靈果New Podcast (aka, K.K. Show) The segment that John Oliver did on his HBO show, Last Week Tonight about Taiwan Enes Kanter's tweet boycotting the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and the Freedom Shoes with the words "No Beijing 2022" "Move the Games" "No Rights No Games" on them How moving back to Taiwan during the pandemic pushed Esther to try new things with her standup comedy How working in Taiwan compares with working in New York or the U.S. When she's going to be performing standup in New York How she handles stress and anxiety The criticism Esther and her family has received from Taiwanese discussion forums in response to her comedy How her parents have reacted to her work as an actress and comedian What happened when Esther went to see a fortune teller and asked if she should continue with a career in acting and comedy What advice Esther has for anyone thinking of doing standup comedy The standup comedy bit that Esther did about the Atlanta Spa Shootings Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/esther-chen-tries-her-fortune-at-standup-comedy-in-taiwan-and-the-u-s-ep-158/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Earlier this year there was a lot of buzz about this thing called NFTs. These days you know that something's definitely gone more mainstream when it's talked about on The Ellen Show and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. What are NFTs, these non-fungible tokens? I was curious about the whole thing myself which is why I've asked Kaku, a Taiwan-based DJ to be my guest on this podcast. He's a trailblazer in the NFT space, the first influencer not only from Taiwan but from Asia, to get into the NFT market. I did some research in advance, to prepare for this interview as I do when dealing with a topic that I'm less familiar with. But as you'll hear in the interview, I was learning all about NFTs as Kaku spoke to me. After the interview I did some further research, and re-listened to this interview as part of the editing process. That's when I noticed that each time I listened to the interview, I picked up on something new. If you're really interested in learning more about NFTs, I encourage you to listen to this episode more than once to really understand what's being discussed. Also check out the links to resources and articles that I've included in the Talking Taiwan show notes for this episode. And Kaku gives some great advice on how to understand what NFTs are. One last thing, NFTs present an exciting opportunity but they are still in uncharted territory. Ultimately, it is your responsibility to safeguard your own assets, to do your research, and to protect yourself. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Kaku's upbringing and connection to Taiwan How he started DJing How he made DJing a career What he was doing before becoming a DJ How his style is different from other DJs in Asia His early interest in music His early musical interests and influences What it's like being a professional DJ The challenges of being an Asian in the entertainment industry How the pandemic has affected him How Kaku was initially known for making the genre of music called Jersey Club A clip of the Jersey Club genre that Kaku is known for The track PASS OUT by Nitti Gritti & Gaeko (개코) & Kaku An exclusive preview of the new track BLINK by Kaku and Freekill featuring Elle Vee (due to be released in December) How Kaku is the first DJ in Asia who's gotten into the NFT space Origin Protocol Audius 3lau (pronounced: boo-lao), the number one DJ in crypto and NFTs What is an NFT The different ways that NFTs can be used The challenges of protecting your intellectual property in the NFT space How Kaku got interested in NFTs What is blockchain technology? Counterfeit NFTs How NFT lingo is similar to sneaker culture Kaku's first NFT and how it was related to the (RED) Foundation Kaku's collaboration with an artist named Jonni Tsayto create his first NFTs to raise money for (RED) Kaku's NFT collaboration with Jonni for the Inspiration4 NFT auction for SpaceX benefiting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital How the Inspiration4 NFT auction raised about 200,00 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital How NFTs can be utilized to raise money for charity How Kaku created NFTs and collaborated with Jonni The events, promotion and education related to Kaku's first NFT drop NFT projects that Kaku is promoting and working on Kaku's plans for a future merch drop that's connected to NFTs How NFT's are used by musicians 0N1 Force the first anime-based NFT Ethereals art is hand-drawn by artist Jimmy Danko Purchasing NFTs How the profile picture NFT market works Profile picture based NFTs (aka PFP NFTs) When PFP NFTs are minted, it's like a random raffle and comparable to opening a pack of Pokémon cards How social media has become an asset Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs The opportunity that NFTs presents for digital artists Protecting your access to NFTs and cryptocurrency Whether or not creators who intend to sell their NFTs need to already had a large following in order to be successful Kaku's advice to join an NFT community on Discord to learn about NFTs How artists can make money with NFTs The environmental impact of NFTs Kaku's advice for people who want to create NFTs What Kaku learned from his first NFT drop Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/dj-kaku-trailblazes-nfts-in-asia-ep-157/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: November 9th would be the 103rd the birthday of the late revolutionary, Taiwan independence activist, and historian Su Beng (史明), who passed away on September 20, 2019. I've been working on his English-language biography and I wanted to remember him on this day. In this episode of Talking Taiwan, I spoke with Jiho Chang one of the co-authors of The Oral History of Su Beng (史明口述史), a three-volume book that he and others collaborated on while attending the National Taiwan University. In addition to talking about Su Beng's legacy, Jiho shared some personal stories about Su Beng, and talked about Su Beng's role in the Sunflower Movement. At the end of the episode, I share some of my fondest memories of Su Beng. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: The public funeral/memorial that was organized for Su Beng on October Su Beng's lifelong commitment to the cause of Taiwan's independence The noodle shop that Su Beng opened in 1950s in Ikebukuro, Japan The underground and afterhours activities that happened at the noodle shop The third and fourth floors of the noodle shop is being converted into a museum How Su Beng's residence in New Taipei has been converted into a museum Su Beng's connection to Taiwan's current president Tsai Ing-wen How Jiho first heard of and met Su Beng The 1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis The English language version of Su Beng's book, Taiwan's 400 Year History The Chinese language version of Su Beng's book, 台彎人四百年史(The Taiwanese People's 400 Years of History) China's Anti-secession Law Su Beng's sit-in to protest China's Anti-secession Law in 2005 How Jiho joined Su Beng's protest of China's Anti-secession Law and got to know Su Beng The parallels and comparison between Su Beng and Che Guevara How Jiho, Lán Shì-bó / Nâ Sū-phok (藍士博) and others National Taiwan University students started interviewing Su Beng and wrote a three-volume book, The Oral History of Su Beng(史明口述史) Su Beng's hospitalization for kidney failure in Japan in 2009 Su Beng's life in Japan as a student at Waseda University Su Beng's family background Su Beng's Japanese girlfriend/partner who he met while in China Su Beng's love of Kentucky Fried Chicken Su Beng's special relationship with his maternal grandmother Su Beng's role in the 2014 Sunflower movement Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/remembering-su-beng-taiwanese-revolutionary-with-jiho-chang-ep-156/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: We thought it would be a good time to re-share this past episode about the Ghost Month in Taiwan. It's November first, the day after Halloween, October 31st which is actually short for all Saints' Eve, and November first is All Saints' Day, a Christian feast dedicated to celebrating departed saints. When you really get into it there are many festivals around the world that center around celebrating or commemorating dead spirits, souls, and ghosts. In Taiwan the Ghost Month happens during the seventh month of the Lunar calendar, which was not that long ago. Actually, this year it was in August. This week's episode features an interview that I did in 2014 with author Ed Lin about his novel, Ghost Month. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: What the Ghost Month is and how it relates to Ed's book by the same title The superstitions related to the Ghost Month Ed's novel the Ghost Month The research that Ed did for his novel Ed's source in organized crime Ed's interest in the murder mystery genre How Ed has been inspired by mystery book author Chester Himes Ed's character Robert Chow, a Chinese American detective who is featured in a number of his mystery novels Ed's writing process How Ed immersed himself in the time period when he was writing about Chinatown in 1976 Why Ed chose to write about Chinatown in 1976 Ed's advice for aspiring authors Ed's book tour for Ghost Month Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/ed-lin-ghost-month-in-taiwan-ep-155/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Ming Chiang, the president of Hello Taiwan. We talked about how Hello Taiwan got started, its charitable contributions and events, its connection to the annual Passport to Taiwan event in New York, what its mission is, how it creates greater recognition of Taiwan, and the unexpected PR generated for Hello Taiwan when Bi-khim Hsiao, Taiwan's Representative to the United States was seen wearing a Hello Taiwan mask at the airport. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Ming's background and connection to Taiwan What Ming was doing before he became the president of Hello Taiwan How Ming was previously the president of the Taiwan New York Taiwan Chamber of Commerce Ming's business ventures The Taiwanese American organizations that Ming has worked with When Hello Taiwan was established and its mission Hello Taiwan concerts and its connection to Passport to Taiwan The Hello Taiwan logo Events organized by Hello Taiwan Hello Taiwan's partnership with the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce Hello Taiwan Day with the LA Dodgers How Hello Taiwan donated new dragon boats to the Rhode Island Taiwan Heritage Day for the dragon boat races Sponsorship of Taiwanese Waves Taiwan Mets Day Hello Taiwan events and ambassadors around the world How someone can become a Hello Taiwan ambassador The celebrities and influential people that Ming has met Hello Taiwan merchandise The unexpected PR generated for Hello Taiwan when Bi-khim Hsiao, Taiwan's Representative to the United States was seen wearing a Hello Taiwan mask at the airport The confusion caused by the Republic of China (ROC) and labels such as the Chinese Professional Baseball League, Chinese Taipei in the Olympics, Taipei Economic Cultural Representative Office Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/ming-chiang-hello-taiwan-brings-greater-recognition-to-taiwans-name-and-identity-ep-154/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: This week's episode of Talking Taiwan continues with the second half of my conversation with Hsinyi Lin, the Executive Director of the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty. We continued our conversation by talking about what the public opinion in Taiwan on the death penalty is, the types of surveys that are typically done to gauge public opinion, and the survey of public opinion about the death penalty that TAEDP and the Academia Sinica worked on in 2013-2014. Other topics discussed included a deeper discussion of the alliance's work which includes educating the public and improving understanding about the death penalty, the two covenants adopted as domestic law in Taiwan, that reflect an intent to gradually abolish the death penalty in Taiwan, and the government of Taiwan's general handling of the death penalty. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How surveys on the public opinion about the death penalty in Taiwan are done The 2013-2014 survey of public opinion about the death penalty that Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty (TAEDP) worked on with the Academia Sinica What has changed with TAEDP since it was established in 2003 How TAEDP works to educate society about abolishing the death penalty The origins of the death penalty in Taiwan Whether or not death penalty effectively deters crime Why the death penalty was not abolished after the by DPP President Chen Shui-bian's announcement that it would be abolished in 3 years The policy that was introduced in writing in 2005, by the government of Taiwan that the death penalty would gradually be abolished The de facto 2006 moratorium that was put in place until 2009 The execution in 2010 was carried out under President Ma Ying-jeou What is the ICCPR, and ICESCR The implementation law on the Two Covenants (ICCPR & ICESCR) that was passed in Taiwan in 2019, making the Two Covenants domestic law in Taiwan How article 6 of the ICCPR states that there should not be any delay to prevent the abolition of capital punishment How executions are done in Taiwan and the problems with the execution process How TAEDP is trying to change the execution process in Taiwan How to deal with the opinions, rights and wishes of victims' families How TAEDP interacts with victims' families How TAEDP works to educate or create awareness about the death penalty by organizing film festivals What is the public opinion and surveys in Taiwan on the death penalty The results of a 2013-2014 survey on death penalty conducted by the Academia Sinica How TAEDP works with schools to educate students about the death penalty TAEDP's book for children that teaches them about punishment and the judicial system The most recent executions that happened in 2018 and 2020 Why there is no moratorium currently in place Whether or not citizens in Taiwan take the death penalty issue into consideration when voting TAEDP's work with international organizations and how this impact's Taiwan What TAEDP has learned from working with international organizations How to handle cases like Lee Ming-Che, who was incarcerated in China Here's the corrected text "Lee Ming-Che" was accidentally repeated twice Hsinyi's involvement with the Free Tibet movement and how she had a chance to ask the Dali Lama for his thoughts on the death penalty President Tsai Ing-wen's stance on and handling of the death penalty issue The case of Chiou Ho-shun (邱和順) and the TAEDP's request of President Tsai to grant him amnesty How supportive has the government been of TAEDP's work What's been accomplished in the nearly 20 years of TAEDP's existence TAEDP's members and supporters How people can learn more and work with TAEDP Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/hsinyi-lin-fights-to-abolish-the-death-penalty-in-taiwan-part-2-ep-153/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Hsinyi Lin, the Executive Director of the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty. She spoke with me about the movement to abolish the death penalty in Taiwan. 2000 was an exciting year for Taiwan, it was the first time that there was a transition in power from the Kuomintang, and the first time that a Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate, Chen Shui-bian was elected. That same year President Chen Shui-bian announced that the death penalty would be gradually be abolished. However, in September of 2000 there was an execution. This is part one of a two-part interview. In next week's episode, I will get in to a deeper discussion with Hsinyi about the public opinion on the death penalty in Taiwan, why the death penalty has not yet been abolished and the problems with the current death penalty procedure in Taiwan. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How Hsinyi got involved in the movement to abolish the death penalty in Taiwan The announcement in 2000 by President Chen Shui-bian (the first Democratic Progressive Party president of Taiwan) that the death penalty would be abolished How Lu Cheng (盧正) a case that was believed to be innocent was executed in September of 2000 after the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty asked Control Yuan was to review the case This first case proved innocent by the judicial system in Taiwan was the Hsichih Trio (蘇案) Exonerated cases in Taiwan with the year the case started and the year the case was exonerated: Hsichih Trio (蘇案): Su Chieh-ho (蘇建和), Liu Bing-lang (劉秉郎), Chuang Lin-hsun (莊林勳, 1991-2012) Hsu Tzu-chiang (徐自強, 1995-2016), Cheng Hsing-tse (鄭性澤, 2002-2017), Hsieh Chih-hung (謝志宏, 2000,-2020) Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty's (TAEDP) work on cases believed to be innocent How Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty was formed on December 9, 2003 The urgency of the case of Tzu Hsu-chiang (徐自強) who was exonerated in 2016 How Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty advocates and deals with all death row inmate cases The NGOs that Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty works with Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/hsinyi-lin-fights-to-abolish-the-death-penalty-in-taiwan-part-1-ep-152/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: I recently interviewed Christina Hu, the Director of the Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign about the Pew Research report on Asian communities which misrepresented the Taiwanese. For months Christina and the Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign team worked with Pew Research to get an official response issued. After several months of communications, Pew reissued the report in question on September 8 with the categories of "Chinese, with Taiwanese," "Taiwanese," and "Chinese, except Taiwanese." When I spoke with Christina in episode 148, she briefly mentioned her documentary filmmaking, so I thought now would be a good time to share an interview that I did with her back in 2018. In 2018, I spoke with Christina about her documentary filmmaking. Her films have focused on presenting history through personal perspectives. She talked about her first film and her love of history. Christina's films about Taiwan have covered topics like the blacklist and the historic ruling by Taiwan's High Court that has paved the way for the legalization of same sex marriage. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in the podcast: How she got started making documentary films Where the term "blacklist" came from The Blacklist Workshop (aka Blacklist Studio) Her Blacklist Film Series What is the blacklist? Her first documentary film, Her Journey The gap year (in 1999) she spent in Germany in between high school and college When she was in third grade in Taiwan and was disciplined at school for saying that her family was from the province of Taiwan instead of Fujian How she observed the Tiananmen Square massacre in Taiwan The films that she has made about Taiwan How her interest in the history of Taiwan has motivated her filmmaking The challenge of telling the story of Taiwan through film Her documentary film about Taiwanese Canadian Columbus Leo Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/christina-hu-talks-about-documentary-filmmaking-and-her-blacklist-short-film-series-ep-151/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Jane W. Wang is a self-actualization coach based in Taipei, Taiwan. She spoke candidly with me about the challenges she faced in her journey to become a coach, which involved dealing with imposter syndrome and bouts of depression. She's channeled these personal experiences into creating her Multicultural Hero's Journey program. We also talked about the field of coaching, what coaching is, and how it differs from counseling and psychotherapy. I interviewed Jane back in July of this year. We've spoken since then and Jane is ever evolving. It'll be interesting to see what future developments we hear from her. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Jane's connection to Taiwan How being a third culture kid (TCK) has shaped her identity and life purpose Her career path before becoming a coach Why she wanted to become a coach Her personal journey, the struggles and depression that she dealt with along the way before she became a coach Why she decided not to get a degree in counseling from Columbia University and instead got certified in coaching What is coaching and how it differs from counseling or psychotherapy Jane's own experiences with coaching, being the person being coached by someone else Jane's advice on how to pick a coach to work with The challenges Jane faced in becoming a coach The depression and imposter syndrome she experienced in the process of becoming a coach How Jane dealt with her self-judgment and learned to love herself How Jane dealt with three bouts of depression What she learned from going through depression How someone can identify whether or not they themselves or someone they know is experiencing depression How Jane created her Multicultural Hero's Journey coaching program Who would benefit the most by going through the Multicultural Hero's Journey coaching program Jane's advice for people who are interested in becoming a coach What it takes to be a good coach Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/jane-wang-battles-depression-and-navigates-a-multicultural-heros-journey-ep-150/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Keelung City Councilor, Jiho Chang. Jiho spoke with me about his work as a city councilman, and how his interest and involvement in Taiwan's politics dates back to his time as a university student, and the 1995-1996 Taiwan Strait missile crisis that happened after KMT presidential candidate Lee Teng-hui visited his alma mater Cornell University and before Taiwan's first direct presidential election in 1996. Jiho was among the activists who occupied the Legislative Yuan during the Sunflower movement. He's also one of the co-authors of The Oral History of Su Beng (史明口述史), a biography of the late revolutionary and lifelong Taiwan independence activist Su Beng. We'll have him back on another episode to talk about all that. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Jiho's background and upbringing How/why he decided to return to Taiwan after spending 10 years in Canada His study of political science at university in Canada and Taiwan National University The 1995-1996 missile crisis in Taiwan How he was involved with the 2014 Sunflower movement How his first attempt to get elected as a neighborhood warden aka borough warden aka village warden (里長) failed How he previously worked as a speechwriter for presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen How he got elected as Keelung City Councilor in 2018 How he got in trouble for posting about his work on as a speechwriter for President Tsai on Facebook What his work as a city councilor involves How Keelung is one of the smallest cities What it took to campaign for the position of city councilor Why he ran as a DPP candidate The Taiwan People Party and New Power Party How long each city councilor position term lasts The Ghost Month in Taiwan What Jiho finds most rewarding about his work as city councilor How Jiho advocated for and helped the widow and family of a man in his constituency to obtain NT$1,000,000 in compensation for his death from his employer of 20 years Jiho's future political aspirations Related Links: Jiho Chang's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/JihoTiun/ Taiwan's first direct presidential election (1996): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Taiwanese_presidential_election Taiwan's cross strait missile crisis of 1995-1996: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Taiwan_Strait_Crisis#:~:text=The%20Third%20Taiwan%20Strait%20Crisis,1995%20to%2023%20March%201996. Lee Teng-hui: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Teng-hui Sunflower Movement: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunflower_Student_Movement President Tsai Ing-wen on Twitter: https://twitter.com/iingwen Tsai Ing-wen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsai_Ing-wen DPP (Democratic Progressive Party): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Progressive_Party https://www.dpp.org.tw/en/about Taiwan People Party: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan_People%27s_Party New Power Party: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Power_Party KMT (Kuomintang): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuomintang Ghost Month: https://oftaiwan.org/culture/ghost-festival/ Taiwan News article, "12 Ghost Month taboos to watch out for in Taiwan": https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3990308 Su Beng: http://aboutsubeng.com/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: In April of this year, reports published by the Pew Research Center analyzing Asian American communities included footnotes stating that data for " 'Chinese' includes those identifying as 'Taiwanese.' " Soon after, in May, the Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign published an open letter and petition on TaiwaneseAmerican.org asking Pew Research to issue an apology to the Taiwanese American community, and to re-publish its findings with Taiwanese as a separate category. Upon hearing this, I reached out to Christina Hu, Director of the Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign asking to interview her about this. She was working on getting an apology and correction from Pew, so I agreed to wait until she got an official response from Pew to do the interview. For months, the Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign team worked on getting a response from Pew Research and by July Christina told me that she was hoping to get an official response. On Wednesday, September 8, 2021 Pew Research reissued their report on Asian American communities which had previously misrepresented the Taiwanese. To be clear it was a correction, not an apology. Data for 2000, 2010 and 2019 included the categories of "Chinese, with Taiwanese," "Taiwanese," "Chinese, except Taiwanese" and "Okinawan." I spoke with Christina Hu, the Director of the Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign and Chieh-ting Yeh, the Media Director of the Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign about what transpired after the Taiwanese American community's response to Pew Research's initial report on Asian communities, and what led to Pew to re-issue their report. We also spoke about the 2020 Write in Taiwanese Campaign and the decades long advocacy work of the Taiwanese American Citizens League (TACL), that started in 1990 to educate the Taiwanese American community to complete the US Census by not only checking the "Other Asian" box, but also writing in "Taiwanese." The Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign Team: Christina Hu Director, Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign Director of Civic Engagement, Taiwanese American Citizens League Chieh-Ting Yeh Media Director, Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign Editor-in-Chief, Ketagalan Media Leona Chen Creative Director, Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign Editor-in-Chief, TaiwaneseAmerican.org Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How Christina got involved in the Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign How Ting (Chieh-ting) got involved in the Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign The background and history of the Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign The evolution of the Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign since it started in1990 Why it's important to be counted on the U.S. census It wasn't until 1960 that people could select their own race on the U.S. census Why it is important for Taiwanese Americans to be counted on the U.S. census How the Pew Research Reports which used U.S. census data misrepresented the Taiwanese The Pew Research Report on Asian American communities that included a footnote stating that data for " 'Chinese' includes those identifying as 'Taiwanese.' " The communications that the Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign and Christina had with Pew Research and Neil Ruiz, the Associate Director of Race and Ethnicity The open letter and online petition (posted on TaiwaneseAmerican.org) asking Pew Research to issue an apology to the Taiwanese American community, and to re-publish its findings with Taiwanese as a separate category The various groups that signed the online petition and supported the Taiwanese American community's campaign to ask Pew Research for an apology and correction of their reports that did not include Taiwanese as a separate category How Christina discovered that the Pew Research report had disappeared Okinawans as a separate category What happened in the four months that the Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign tried to get an official response from Pew Research The conversations that Christina had with Neil Ruiz about why it was important for her personally, to identify as Taiwanese, and why Pew could say they were confused by self-reported data from the Taiwanese American community that unequivocally indicated that people wanted to be identified as Taiwanese The slogan of the Write in Taiwanese Census Campaign Related Links: Key facts about Asian origin groups in the U.S. (from Pew Research): https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/04/29/key-facts-about-asian-origin-groups-in-the-u-s/ Response to Pew Research Reports Hiding Taiwanese Identity: "We made it count. Now tell our stories." (The open letter and online petition that appeared on TaiwaneseAmerican.org): https://www.taiwaneseamerican.org/2021/05/pew-research-center-taiwanese-american-statement/ Some of the responses on Twitter to Pew Research Reports Hiding Taiwanese Identity: https://twitter.com/search?q=taiwanese%20census%202020%20pew&src=typed_query&f=top Pew Research reissues repor

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Happy Labor Day! We've decided to take a break ourselves, so we are sharing one of our past episodes that I think really stands the test of time. In 2013 I interviewed entrepreneur Yao Huang. That year, she was involved with the Entrepreneur Challenge and Competition, which was organized by the Taiwanese American Professionals, New York Chapter and the Taiwan Merchants Association. Yao talked about how she went from a career in pharmacy to venture capital, and how she founded The Hatchery to grow Silicon Alley, New York City's tech community. I think you'll find that the perspective and advice that she offers in this interview sound and still relevant today. Yao is the founder of The Hatchery and she's been named by Forbes one of 11 women at the center of New York's digital scene. Her entrepreneurship has been written about in Fortune magazine, and various publications. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Yao's connection to Taiwan Yao's involvement with the TAP-NY's (Taiwanese American Professionals, New York chapter) and Taiwan Merchants Association's Entrepreneur Challenge and Competition (ECC) Yao's career prior to becoming an entrepreneur How she advised one of the companies competing in the ECC The first company she started How she made the transition from pharmacy in to entrepreneurship and venture capital What is venture capitalism What The Hatchery does How The Hatchery has been integral in growing New York's tech community The Hatchery's incubator program Why Yao founded The Hatchery Silicon Valley vs. Silicon Alley What it was like leaving her job in pharmacy to start a company What advice she has for people who want to start a business What she loves the most about what she does Her passion project, Win4Causes What she finds so rewarding about what she does Related Links: Yao Huang on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaohui/ The Hatchery website: https://hatchery.vc/ The Hatchery's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehatchery/ The Hatchery on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thehatchery 2013 Entrepreneur Challenge and Competition (ECC) organized by the Taiwanese American Professionals, New York Chapter and the Taiwan Merchants Association: https://bit.ly/3DMaVpd Nomz, the company that Yao advised during the ECC: https://www.eatnomz.com/ Talking Taiwan Episode 30, TAP-NY's Entrepreneur Challenge and Competition: https://talkingtaiwan.com/tt026-tapny/ Yao Huang's TED Talk, Talent incubator: Yao Huang at TEDxBroadway: https://youtu.be/qjFR0F_5K4g Yao Huang's TED Talk, I for Innovation: https://youtu.be/jbjQYQ3IXj8

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Tiffany Yu is a disability activist, CEO and founder of Diversability, and host of Tiffany & Yu, a social impact podcast. She's also on the San Francisco Mayor's Disability Council, a three-time TED Talk speaker and has a list of many more impressive accomplishments that appear on her Wikipedia page. She spoke with tremendous vulnerability about her disability origin story, the trauma she's experienced, dealing with shame, and her continued healing. Tiffany also shared about the many exciting projects she's working on for Diversability and in the disability space. CORRECTION: At x:xx when Tiffany mentioned a TED Tallk "The Danger of a Single Narrative" she was referring to the TED Talk "The Danger of a Single Story." Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How Tiffany spearheaded the Taiwan Necklace Project to raise money for ITASA (Intercollegiate Taiwanese American Students Association) Tiffany's disability origin story How she came up with the idea for her company Diversability in 2009 while a student at Georgetown University The work that Diversability does How Diversability went from a side hustle to something fulltime years later in 2017 How Diversability is about improving the lives and well-being of disabled people How can Diversability make disability a reason to belong and not a reason to exclude What happened in 2019 that made Tiffany realize that she was experiencing PTSD and how she dealt with it Tiffany's thoughts on her first TED Talk What has changed since Tiffany started Diversability How Tiffany was able to get the mayor of San Francisco to declare July Disability Pride Month in 2020 How Tiffany has evolved since she first founded Diversability News about Diversability The "Disability is not a bad word" T-shirt campaign The Diversabillity Leadership Collective The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) goal of economic self-sufficiency How Tiffany has launched an endowment fund at Georgetown University for disability-related initiatives The comments that Tiffany's mom made about Diversability in 2018 How Tiffany deals with her mother's opinion of the work she does with Diversability Tiffany's podcast Tiffany & Yu, which she started in 2020 during the Coronavirus pandemic Tiffany's favorite episode of her podcast Tiffany & Yu Laverne Cox's term "possibility model" The term ableism How Tiffany enjoys making Tik Tok dance videos The accomplishment that Tiffany is most proud of How the Paralympics may be used as a reason not to care about disability The term inspiration porn How paralympican Rebecca Meyers' request to have a personal care assistant accompany her was denied Related Links: Tiffany Yu's website: https://www.tiffanyyu.com/ Tiffany and Yu podcast: https://www.tiffanyyu.com/podcast Tiffany Yu on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imtiffanyyu/ Tiffany Yu on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/imtiffanyyu Tiffany Yu on Twitter: https://twitter.com/imtiffanyyuv Tiffany Yu on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffanyayu/ Tiffany Yu on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/tiffanyayu Tiffany Yu on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiffany_Yu Diversability: https://mydiversability.com/ Diversability Facebook Group: http://bit.ly/diversabilitycommunity Diversability Leadership Collective: http://diversability.mn.co Diversability Facebook page: http://facebook.com/diversability Diversability on Twitter: http://twitter.com/diversability Diversability on Instagram: http://instagram.com/diversability Disability Empowerment Endowment Fund to support disability initiatives in perpetuity at Georgetown University: https://securelb.imodules.com/s/1686/18/giving.aspx?sid=1686&gid=4&pgid=3975&cid=5816&dids=534.144&bledit=1&sort=1&unit=34&appealcode=21HW001312 The Georgetown Voice article, "Alumna Tiffany Yu looks to cement legacy of disability justice as students push for Disability Cultural Center" about the endowment fund for disability related initiatives at Georgetown University that Tiffany is raising money for: https://georgetownvoice.com/2021/08/09/alumna-cements-legacy-of-disability-justice-students-push-for-cultural-center/ Tiffany's first TED Talk, The Power of Exclusion: https://www.ted.com/talks/tiffany_yu_the_power_of_exclusion?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare Tiffany's second TED Talk, The Truths About Being A Pioneer: https://www.ted.com/talks/tiffany_yu_the_truths_about_being_a_pioneer?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare Tiffany's third TED Talk, The Problem with Positivity: https://www.ted.com/talks/tiffany_yu_the_problem_with_positivity?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare The Danger of a Single Story (TED Talk): https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder): https://www

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: This week I'm welcoming back Dr. Dafydd Fell to talk about the SOAS Center of Taiwan Studies at the University of London. They just had their summer school program in July, which is free and open to the public. It's a tremendous resource for people interested in learning more about Taiwan. The program included speakers on the topics of Taiwan's anti-nuclear movement, environmental activism and movements, Taiwan's Post New Wave Cinema, how to write about Taiwan for a general audience, the campaign to end the death penalty in Taiwan, just to name a few. You can check out their YouTube channel which has videos from the summer school program and other SOAS Center of Taiwan Studies events. Dr. Fell and I talked about how Taiwan studies has changed over the past 20 years and some of the challenges faced by Taiwan studies programs in general. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: The establishment of the SOAS Taiwan Studies Program at the University of London How there weren't any other Taiwan Studies programs in Europe when the SOAS Taiwan Studies Program at the University of London was established in 1999 SOAS Taiwan Studies program was founded by Professor Robert Ash Establishment of European Association of Taiwan Studies in 2004 Taiwan Studies programs in Europe How we are currently in a Golden Age of Taiwan Studies Taiwan studies programs in Europe vs. the U.S. The collaboration between SOAS Taiwan Studies program and the University of Texas at Austin Taiwan Studies program The challenges faced by Taiwan Studies programs How the SOAS Taiwan Studies program's focuses on Taiwan Studies teaching programs and publication (of books that come out of conferences) The types of classes and programs offered at the SOAS Taiwan Studies Program Prominent political figures from Taiwan that have been invited to speak at SOAS The second world congress of Taiwan Studies at SOAS (with 80 speakers and 500 in person attendees) How the SOAS Taiwan Studies Program organizes 50-70 events per year How the events present interesting opportunities for students to actually meet some of the figures on their reading lists What graduates of the SOAS Taiwan Studies Program have gone on to do The major research contributions that have some out of SOAS Taiwan Studies Program The challenges of funding Taiwan Studies programs Whether more Taiwan Studies degree programs will be developed worldwide The relationship between Chinese and Taiwanese studies programs The SOAS Taiwan Studies Program Summer School which has been running since 2007 Related Links: SOAS Centre of Taiwan Studies' website: http://www.soas.ac.uk/taiwanstudies/ SOAS Centre of Taiwan Studies' Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ SOAS Centre of Taiwan Studies' Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlZZGmE1e_6PI2e-HOPOQw Professor Robert Ash: https://www.soas.ac.uk/staff/staff30582.php European Association of Taiwan Studies: https://www.eats-taiwan.eu/ North American Taiwan Studies Association (NATSA): https://www.na-tsa.org/ International Journal of Taiwan Studies: https://brill.com/view/journals/ijts/ijts-overview.xml Taiwan Studies program at the University of Texas at Austin: https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/eastasia/asian-studies-at-ut/Taiwan-program.php Brill Series in Taiwan Studies: https://brill.com/view/serial/BSTS Routledge Research on Taiwan Series: https://www.routledge.com/Routledge-Research-on-Taiwan-Series/book-series/RRTAIWAN Camphor Press: https://camphorpress.com/ Taiwan Studies Revisited, Edited By Dafydd Fell, Hsin-Huang Michael Hsiao: https://www.routledge.com/Taiwan-Studies-Revisited/Fell-Hsiao/p/book/9780367201722 Taiwan's Contemporary Indigenous Peoples, Edited By Chia-yuan Huang, Daniel Davies, Dafydd Fell: https://www.routledge.com/Taiwans-Contemporary-Indigenous-Peoples/Huang-Davies-Fell/p/book/9780367553579 Tsai Ing-wen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsai_Ing-wen Peng Min-Ming: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peng_Ming-min Frank Hsieh: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Hsieh Su Tseng-chang: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Su_Tseng-chang Second World Congress of Taiwan Studies held at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) June 18-20, 2015: https://www.soas.ac.uk/news/newsitem94890.html Reflections on the Second World Congress of Taiwan Studies (held in 2015): https://www.soas.ac.uk/news/newsitem104787.htxml Academia Sinica: https://www.sinica.edu.tw/en Hakka singer Lin Sheng-hsiang: https://www.soas.ac.uk/taiwanstudies/events/07jul2016-music-of-lin-sheng-hsiang.html SOAS Centre of Taiwan Studies 2021 Summer School program: https://www.soas.ac.uk/taiwanstudies/summerschool/ The Fourth World Congress of Taiwan Studies (2022) in Seattle, Washington, USA: https://wcts.sinica.edu.tw/wctsIV/zWelcome.html