Talking Taiwan

This year marks the 25th anniversary of 9/11. September 11, 2001 when four commercial passenger airplanes were hijacked by terrorists linked to the Islamic extremist group al Qaeda. Two of the planes struck the World Trade Center in New York City causing the twin towers to collapse and a third plane hit the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C. The passengers and crew of the fourth plane fought the hijackers, and the plane crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiwan-american-voices-remembered-on-the-25th-anniversary-of-9-11-ep-362/   Close to 3,000 people were killed by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Several different figures have been published, but according to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum 2,977 people were killed.   Do you remember where you were when 9/11 happened?   I remember where I was on September 11, 2001, when I heard that the World Trade Center twin towers in New York had collapsed after being struck by two hijacked planes. I was actually in Taiwan and all alone in my parent's apartment in Kaohsiung. I had relocated to Taiwan from New York, just a few months before 9/11. The way I found out about the whole thing was a phone call from my Mom telling me what had happened. I remember being in disbelief and immediately turning on the TV and seeing CNN reporting on it.   25 years have passed since that tragic day.   What happens when there's a generation of Americans who have no recollection of 9/11? That's something that my guest on this episode, David has thought about. David found a personal connection to 9/11 through the personal stories of the Taiwanese who died on 9/11. His hope is that by sharing the stories of the Taiwanese who lost their lives on 9/11, younger Taiwanese Americans can find a connection to 9/11.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiwan-american-voices-remembered-on-the-25th-anniversary-of-9-11-ep-362/

The last time that Taipei elected a mayor from the Democratic Progressive Party was Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in 1994. At the time it seemed like some kind of a breakthrough because Taipei is known to be a Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang stronghold. During his tenure as mayor of Taipei, Chen Shui-bian had a very high public approval rating of over 70% to nearly 80%. In spite of this he was not reelected for a second term. Instead, the Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was elected mayor of Taipei. Now nearly 30 years have passed and none of the DPP mayoral candidates have been able to get elected in Taipei since. Will this year's DPP candidate Puma Shen (沈伯洋) be able to break the spell?   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/puma-shen-%e6%b2%88%e4%bc%af%e6%b4%8b-dpp-taipei-mayoral-candidates-vision-for-taipei-city-our-full-interview-ep-361/   In this episode you'll learn about more about who Puma Shen (沈伯洋) is and what his vision for Taipei City is.   Puma is an Associate Professor at National Taipei University's Graduate School of Criminology, Co-Founder of Doublethink Lab, Co-Founder of Kuma Academy, and this year's Taipei City mayoral candidate for Democratic Progressive Party.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/puma-shen-%e6%b2%88%e4%bc%af%e6%b4%8b-dpp-taipei-mayoral-candidates-vision-for-taipei-city-our-full-interview-ep-361/

In July Puma Shen (沈伯洋) who's currently a Legislator in Taiwan's Legislative Yuan came to the U.S. for an eight-day trip. Puma is an Associate Professor at National Taipei University's Graduate School of Criminology, Co-Founder of Doublethink Lab, Co-Founder of Kuma Academy, and this year's Taipei City mayoral candidate for Democratic Progressive Party.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/meet-puma-shen-%e6%b2%88%e4%bc%af%e6%b4%8b-the-democratic-progressive-party-legislator-running-for-taipei-mayor-ep-360/   It's been nearly 30 years since Taipei has elected a DPP mayor and Puma most definitely has an uphill battle because Taipei voters usually vote for politicians from the Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang. According to a poll released by Taiwan Brain Trust in May, the incumbent Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) led DPP Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen (沈伯洋) by more than 20 points.   Puma gave a talk when he was in New York on July 24th and many people showed up to hear him speak. We were at his talk and wanted to share some translated highlights from it. We recorded Puma's entire talk on July 24th and it's on Talking Taiwan's YouTube channel if you'd like to watch it. Incredibly the video now has over 60,000 views!   More exciting news for us…   I've been following Puma's career since he founded Doublethink Lab in 2019, so I was excited to finally have a chance to sit down with him for an interview just 2 days after he officially registered as the DPP candidate for Taipei Mayor. We will share a short clip from the interview at the end this episode before we release the entire interview soon.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/meet-puma-shen-%e6%b2%88%e4%bc%af%e6%b4%8b-the-democratic-progressive-party-legislator-running-for-taipei-mayor-ep-360/  

Earlier this year, in March we met and interviewed 13-year-old artist Ashton Yeh right before the opening of his debut exhibition in New York. Born in Taiwan Ashton moved to Japan to immerse himself in his passion for animation and Japanese Manga. He has already had successful solo shows in Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, and the Philippines. Ashton's artwork is a vibrant portal of monsters, pop-culture-inspired creatures, and imaginative worlds.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/ashton-yeh-13-year-old-taiwanese-imaginative-artist-does-exhibitions-around-the-world-ep-359/   We had a lot of fun meeting and speaking with Ashton. What a creative and expressive young man he is! Ashton gave us a personal walkthrough of his exhibit, telling us about the stories and ideas behind each of his pieces of artwork, so if you'd like to see and hear even more about Ashton's artwork, be sure to visit Talking Taiwan's YouTube channel where we'll be sharing that video.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/ashton-yeh-13-year-old-taiwanese-imaginative-artist-does-exhibitions-around-the-world-ep-359/

Vincent Hsu (徐崇育) is a Taiwanese bassist, composer and the leader of Vincent Hsu & Soy La Ley Afro-Cuban Jazz band. We sat down to speak a few days before his concert, Spirits from Both Sides. The concert was held on August 15th at Flushing Town Hall with Vincent and Arturo O'Farrill- a six-time GRAMMY Award winner and two-time Latin GRAMMY Award winner. Hsu planned to premiere a big-band arrangement of his Taiwanese Trilogy Music Suite (台灣人三部曲), at the August 15th  performance. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/vincent-hsu-%e5%be%90%e5%b4%87%e8%82%b2-award-winning-taiwanese-jazz-bassist-composer-bridges-cultures-through-his-musical-works-ep-358/ We talked about the parallels between Taiwanese folk culture and Afro-Latin spiritual beliefs and how his musical composition, Taiwanese Trilogy Music Suite, draws inspiration from Taiwanese Hakka writer Chao-Cheng Chung (鍾肇政). Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/vincent-hsu-%e5%be%90%e5%b4%87%e8%82%b2-award-winning-taiwanese-jazz-bassist-composer-bridges-cultures-through-his-musical-works-ep-358/

We were invited to help out with book packing for an organization called Books for Taiwan, which was spearheaded by Amy Lin (賴淑娟). In July the Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce in New York gave Amy the Community Spirit Award and we are sharing her inspiring story in this episode. The concept behind Books for Taiwan, is pretty straightforward. They collect children's books and ship them to schools, organizations and businesses in Taiwan. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/books-for-taiwan-founder-amy-lin-changes-lives-one-book-at-a-time-ep-357/ Books for Taiwan collects books that are stored at a warehouse donated to them located in New Jersey and volunteers gather regularly throughout the year to pack up books to be put on pallets and shipped over to Taiwan. Books for Taiwan has been around for over 20 years and they have already shipped over 1.3 million books to Taiwan. In this episode you'll learn how you can get involved and help out with this meaningful project. We'll list how you can donate to and learn more about Books for Taiwan below in our related links section.     Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/books-for-taiwan-founder-amy-lin-changes-lives-one-book-at-a-time-ep-357/

This year Taiwanese Waves is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year and will be back at SummerStage in New York City's Central Park's Rumsey Playfield on Sunday August 16th. Doors open at 5:00pm. When Taiwanese Waves debuted in 2016, it set an all-time record for the highest single-day attendance at SummerStage. And since then it's continued to introduce audiences to Taiwanese Music. This year's lineup includes Golden Melody Award regulars 9m88, YELLOW and ØZI. You'll also be hearing the psychedelic sounds of Mong Tong and from Taiwanese American singer-song writer Chance Emerson, and finally New York's Chinatown Records will spin tracks from past Taiwanese Waves alumni. Related Links:  

While we were at last year's Taiwanese American Conference West Coast in July of 2025 which was hosted in San Francisco Silicon Valley, we sat down with Akio Yaita (矢板明夫), the keynote speaker of the conference. As a senior journalist at Sankei Shimbun Akio has covered Beijing and Taipei. He's been a strong advocate for Taiwan. In 2024 Akio obtained citizenship in Taiwan and founded the Indo-Pacific Strategy Thinktank. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/akio-yaita-%e7%9f%a2%e6%9d%bf%e6%98%8e%e5%a4%ab-outspoken-taiwan-advocate-in-taiwan-i-can-make-a-bigger-contribution-ep-355/ As we were working on translating and editing our interview with Akio we were disturbed to learn that on July 6th Akio was assaulted after a speaking engagement in Taichung. While Akio was in the lobby of a hotel, a Chinese man approached him and punched him in the face. The man, surnamed Liao (廖) was later arrested at the Taichung International Airport. Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council described the attack as the "first case of transnational repression" in Taiwan since China's Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law took effect on July 1. After the attack Akio has said that he will not be intimidated.   What timing it's turned out to be for us to be sharing our interview with Akio Yaita now. You'll get know about his backstory and how you can follow him and his work.   This episode is sponsored in part by the Pacific Times.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/akio-yaita-%e7%9f%a2%e6%9d%bf%e6%98%8e%e5%a4%ab-outspoken-taiwan-advocate-in-taiwan-i-can-make-a-bigger-contribution-ep-355/

The Taiwanese American Arts Council is celebrating its 10th anniversary and third year as an organization in residence on Governors Island. Island Reverence is the theme of this year's residency. I recently sat down to interview three of the artists in residence at TAAC's house 17 on Governors Island: Chia-Che Tsou, Dena Paige-Fischer, and Leon Chuang. Chia-Che has a fascinating story about how he ended up becoming an artist. Dena and Leon both coincidentally grew up with parents who are artists. Dena and Leon's artwork are currently on view at TAAC house 17 on Governors Island until August 2. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/celebrating-taacs-10th-anniversary-island-reverence-on-governors-island-house-17-ep-354/ We will be releasing a YouTube video of my interview with Chia-Che, Dena, and Leon for listeners who'd like to see some of the visuals referred to in this episode. You can find it soon on Talking Taiwan's YouTube channel.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/celebrating-taacs-10th-anniversary-island-reverence-on-governors-island-house-17-ep-354/

We were at the dress rehearsal of BIRDY, one Hung Dance's most critically acclaimed productions, which will be premiering in New York at NYU Skirball on July 17 & 18th. BIRDY explores the relationship between freedom, limitation, and identity through a distinctive movement language inspired by Tai Chi, traditional Peking opera and contemporary dance. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/birdy-explores-universal-themes-of-freedom-limitation-and-identity-relevant-to-taiwan-ep-353/ We sat down to speak with Lai Hung-Chung, Choreographer and Artistic Director of Hung Dance about his artistic vision for BIRDY and Wei-Ping Chen the dance company's Operations Director. Lai told us that the themes of freedom, limitation, and identity not only reflect his personal struggles but also relate to Taiwan's situation.   Hung Dance is an award-winning Taiwanese contemporary dance company founded in 2017. The troupe's name comes from the Chinese character 翃 (Hóng), meaning to fly.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/birdy-explores-universal-themes-of-freedom-limitation-and-identity-relevant-to-taiwan-ep-353/

We sat down to speak with Claire Wang (王婉諭), chairwoman of the New Power Party, one of Taiwan political parties, that emerged from the Sunflower Movement. While she never imagined herself going into politics, personal circumstances changed that. She's a powerful example of transforming personal tragedy into action. Wang is a passionate advocate for progressive values and local democracy, from judicial reform and child protection to housing justice. Now she's leading a new chapter for the New Power Party. Last July we brought Talking Taiwan to TAC-WC, the Taiwanese American Conference West Coast hosted in San Francisco/Silicon Valley. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/claire-wang-%e7%8e%8b%e5%a9%89%e8%ab%ad-chairwoman-of-the-new-power-party-talks-about-relaunching-the-party-ep-352/ It was just weeks before the historic July 26th vote to recall 24 Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang lawmakers. At the time it was the largest recall effort attempted by the citizens of a democracy. As a result of what was called the Great Recall Movement, a total of 31 KMT legislators were put up for a recall vote. Another 7 KMT legislators in addition to the first 24 would be up for a recall vote on August 23. Last July Talking Taiwan traveled back to witness the first recall vote on July 26th. To learn more about the Great Recall movement we encourage you to listen to our past episodes 316 with recall campaigners Carol, Acho and Eric, and 317 with Courtney Donovan Smith. This episode is sponsored in part by the Pacific Times (太平洋時報).   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/claire-wang-%e7%8e%8b%e5%a9%89%e8%ab%ad-chairwoman-of-the-new-power-party-talks-about-relaunching-the-party-ep-352/

Dr. Hsing-Huan Wang is Chairman of the Taiwan Statebuilding party. Last July we sat down to speak with him at TAC-WC, the Taiwanese American Conference West Coast hosted in San Francisco/Silicon Valley.  We talked about how he went from studying Buddhist philosophy and aspirations to pursue academic research as a professor, to accidentally becoming a politician. The Taiwan Statebuilding has a clear vision for an independent Taiwan and a Taiwanese Republic. The party also takes a hard line on China as an enemy state. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-hsing-huan-wang-chairman-of-the-taiwan-statebuilding-party-an-unwavering-voice-for-taiwans-independence-ep-351/ This interview was recorded just weeks before the historic July 26th vote in 2025 to recall 24 Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang lawmakers. At the time it was the largest recall effort attempted by the citizens of a democracy. As a result of what was called the Great Recall Movement, a total of 31 KMT legislators were put up for a recall vote. Another 7 KMT legislators in addition to the first 24 would be up for a recall vote on August 23. Last July Talking Taiwan traveled back to witness the first recall vote on July 26th. To learn more about the Great Recall movement we encourage you to listen to our past episodes 316 with recall campaigners Carol, Acho and Eric, and 317 with Courtney Donovan Smith. This episode is sponsored in part by the Pacific Times (太平洋時報).   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-hsing-huan-wang-chairman-of-the-taiwan-statebuilding-party-an-unwavering-voice-for-taiwans-independence-ep-351/

Happy Pride month! Cony Hsieh is President of the Kaohsiung Pride Parade Association. We recently spoke with Cony about her experience as a lesbian woman serving in Taiwan's military, and how she hopes her research on gender issues in the military can help push for reform in Taiwan's military. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/cony-hsieh-kaohsiung-pride-president-focuses-on-lgbtq-issues-and-reforming-taiwans-military-ep-350/ She's also a podcaster and her podcast 微叛逆ê副駕 (which has been translated as "The Slightly Rebellious Co-pilot") is about LGBTQ+ life experiences and gender issues in the military. She once created 28 days of podcast episodes covering a range of LGBTQ+ experiences for Pride Month!   Cony has a master's degree from the Graduate Institute of Gender Education at National Kaohsiung Normal University.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/cony-hsieh-kaohsiung-pride-president-focuses-on-lgbtq-issues-and-reforming-taiwans-military-ep-350/

This year's Taiwan Pride Float at the New York City Pride March was inspired by Taiwan's Betel Nut Beauty culture. The concept and design was conceived by Nymphia Wind, who was already an established drag queen in Taiwan when she won RuPaul's Drag Race season 16 in 2024. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/nymphia-wind-brings-taiwans-betel-nut-beauty-culture-to-the-new-york-pride-march-ep-349/ Nymphia dedicated her win to Taiwan and that same year Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen congratulated Nymphia and invited her to perform at the presidential office. In 2024 Nymphia also appeared on the Taiwan Pride Float at the New York City Pride March. In 2025 Nymphia performed at the Paris Cultural Olympiad. Right before the New York City Pride March on Sunday, June 28th, we were invited to an event where Nymphia shared her creative vision behind this year's Taiwan Pride float. We also had a chance to meet the other betel nut beauties Yolanda Mesula and Tina Banana, who would be joining Nymphia on the float. After Nymphia's initial comments, I did have a chance to ask her a question and to get some other soundbites. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/nymphia-wind-brings-taiwans-betel-nut-beauty-culture-to-the-new-york-pride-march-ep-349/

Jotham Hung is a ceramic artist and educator based in Southern California reflecting on his early experiences with art. Late last year I sat down to speak with Jotham about his evolution and journey to becoming a full-time educator artist and he shared the dark moment that led to his creative process which has resulted in pieces that reflect the themes of deconstruction & reconstruction, damage & repair.   If you think you're not creative, don't write yourself off. Jotham believes everyone is an artist and has the potential to be creative.     This episode is sponsored by the Taiwanese United Fund (TUF). TUF is an arts and culture foundation that celebrates the cultural heritages of Taiwanese Americans. Established in 1986, the foundation's mission is to facilitate cultural exchange between the Taiwanese American community and other American cultural communities, hoping to enrich and expand our cultural experiences.   Related Links:  

Late last year, I sat down to speak with John Enger Cheng about the early roots of his creativity in childhood, his creative process as an artist, what it means to him to be Taiwanese American and how that shows up in his art. We also talked about how he maintains a creative practice and believes that inspiration finds you working. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/john-enger-cheng-on-his-creative-process-and-how-inspiration-finds-you-working-tuf-part-2-ep-347/ In this candid conversation, John talks about his artwork that has been inducted into the permanent collection of Taiwanese Art Treasures Preserved Overseas – The Homecoming Exhibition of the Sun Ten Collection at the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, which is located in Taichung   John Enger Cheng is Designer, Co-founder, and Creative Director of the design practice Winnow+Glean, and a visual artist known as @madebyenger on Instagram. You can find his work on madebyenger.com   We will be releasing a YouTube video of my interview with John for listeners who'd like to see some of the visuals referred to in this episode. You can find it soon on Talking Taiwan's YouTube channel.   This episode is sponsored by the Taiwanese United Fund (TUF). TUF is an arts and culture foundation that celebrates the cultural heritages of Taiwanese Americans. Established in 1986, the foundation's mission is to facilitate cultural exchange between the Taiwanese American community and other American cultural communities, hoping to enrich and expand our cultural experiences.     Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/john-enger-cheng-on-his-creative-process-and-how-inspiration-finds-you-working-tuf-part-2-ep-347/

We sat down to speak with George Yin, Board Chair of the Vincent Price Art Museum Foundation & Political Law Attorney about his interest in supporting the arts, why he thinks it's important to do so, and how so-called "non-artists" can support the arts and more specifically artists in their community. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/george-yin-arts-advocacy-can-be-a-lifelong-passion-tuf-part-1-ep-346/ This episode is sponsored by the Taiwanese United Fund (TUF). TUF is an arts and culture foundation that celebrates the cultural heritages of Taiwanese Americans. Established in 1986, the foundation's mission is to facilitate cultural exchange between the Taiwanese American community and other American cultural communities, hoping to enrich and expand our cultural experiences. In the spirit of supporting artists in their community, we also spoke with two Taiwanese American artists based in Southern California John Cheng and Jotham Hung. Stay tuned for my interviews with John and Jotham. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/george-yin-arts-advocacy-can-be-a-lifelong-passion-tuf-part-1-ep-346/

We stepped out in the drizzling rain for this year's Passport to Taiwan on Sunday, May 24th in New York City's Union Square Park, and were happy to see that the weather hadn't put much of a damper on the number people that came out for this annual tradition. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/passport-to-taiwan-2026-making-our-rounds-with-taiwanese-community-organizations-fapa-tccny-natma-ep-345/ We made our rounds and spoke to people at some of the booths representing different Taiwanese American community organizations including the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA), the Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce New York, (TCCNY) and the North American Taiwanese Medical Association (NATMA). And if you're into doing a deep dive into historical facts related to Taiwan, we recommend you check out @formosa.forever on Instagram. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/passport-to-taiwan-2026-making-our-rounds-with-taiwanese-community-organizations-fapa-tccny-natma-ep-345/  

In part two of our interview with Vickie Wang (王宇平), she talked about how the COVID lockdown of 2022 in Shanghai affected her mental health, her thoughts on the Great Recall movement in Taiwan last year, how she questions her Taiwanese-ness i.e. if she's Taiwanese enough, generative propaganda, and how she got into stand-up comedy. Vickie Wang a writer, interpreter, and stand-up comedian born and raised in Taiwan. Now based in New City York she co-produces a monthly stand-up show called Wang's World Comedy. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/vickie-wang-%e7%8e%8b%e5%ae%87%e5%b9%b3-surviving-the-shanghai-covid-lockdown-part-2-ep-344/    

Vickie Wang (王宇平) is a writer, interpreter, and stand-up comedian born and raised in Taiwan. She's lived in Shanghai, China for nearly a decade, where she started doing stand-up comedy under censorship. Last year I sat down to interview Vickie. in part one of my interview with Vickie, we talked about the perceptions and attitudes that many Taiwanese have about the Chinese, and on the other end how the Chinese she met in China perceived the Taiwanese and Taiwan. We also talked what it was like for her to go through the strict COVID lockdown in Shanghai in 2022. Now based in New City York Vickie co-produces a monthly stand-up show called Wang's World Comedy (pronounced WAYNE) and writes a Substack called Happy Medium. Stay tuned for the second part of my interview with Vickie. She has published two Taiwan op-eds in The New York Times, one on the metoo movement, and one on what another Trump term means for Taiwan's future. She is currently working on a nonfiction book about her experience of COVID and comedy in China. Related Links:  

Every year we try to dedicate an episode of Talking Taiwan to 228, an important date in Taiwan's history, marking the 228 Massacre. 228 stands for February 28 1947. February 28th is now commemorated as a national holiday in Taiwan known as the 228 Peace Memorial Day. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/kita-foundation-mapping-the-path-of-the-trailblazers-that-paved-the-way-for-taiwans-democracy-and-freedom-ep-342/   However, the 228 Massacre is not confined to this single date in history. There were circumstances leading up what happened on February 28th and there were also subsequent events after February 28th which escalated into bloody violence and massacres leading to what some refer to as the March Massacre.   Under the authoritarian Chiang regime, and Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang, what followed after 228 was 38 years of martial law and the White Terror era. Anyone could be disappeared, executed or worse for just saying or doing the wrong thing, or for what was seemingly wrong in the eyes of the authorities. The people of Taiwan were horrified and terrified. For decades there was denial and suppression of 228 by authorities in Taiwan, and generations dared not speak of 228.   228 was absent from high school textbooks until relatively recently. To learn more about the specifics of 228 I invite you to listen to some of our past episodes on the topic. We recommend episodes 309, 277, 228, and 172.   In an effort to confront its authoritarian past, in recent years Taiwan has taken steps to acknowledge historical sites of injustice such as buildings where military police fired on civilians on February 28, 1947. Around this time of year, around February 28 and leading into March, it's a time to reflect on the past, and what we can learn from it.   So in the vein of reflecting on the past, this year I thought I'd share my interview with Sabrina Liu and Meng Chiang who are part of the team that makes up the KITA Foundation, an organization that was formed as an oral history project to understand who are the trailblazers that paved the way for Taiwan's democracy and freedom.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/kita-foundation-mapping-the-path-of-the-trailblazers-that-paved-the-way-for-taiwans-democracy-and-freedom-ep-342/

Last July, we brought Talking Taiwan to the 2025 Taiwanese American Conference, West Coast. While we were there, I sat down to speak with Dr. Shih-Fen Chen (陳時奮), who's also been known by his pen name Wēngdáruì (翁達瑞). Dr. Chen is Professor Emeritus at Ivey Business School, and a Professor at Western Washington University. He's an outspoken political commentator, self-described as a scholar with a sense of responsibility to reveal the truth.   This episode is sponsored in part by the Pacific Times (太平洋時報)   Related Links:

Back in April 2021 we covered news about a record breaking 25 Chinese air force aircraft including fighters and nuclear-capable bombers that entered Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ). At the time 25 seemed like an alarming number. It was the largest incursion by Chinese military planes into Taiwan's ADIZ to date.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/chinas-alarming-gray-zone-tactics-around-taiwan-and-its-neighboring-nations-in-asia-ep-340/   To be clear these sorts of activities had been going on long before this and long before September of 2020 which about the time that Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense started to publicly report China's incursions.   The China's People's Liberation Army has shown no signs of letting up. The PLA's gray zone tactics, have also included the use of drones and balloons. Incursions by warplanes and naval ships into the airspace and waters surrounding Taiwan are now a daily occurrence.. And they have completely shattered the record 25 aircraft in Taiwan's ADIZ many times over.   Major military exercises have included the Joint Sword-2024A. Three days after Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te's inauguration in May 20 of 2024, China's PLA conducted two days of military exercises in the air and sea space around Taiwan.   More recently, at the end of 2025 on December 29 and 30, People's Republic of China (PRC) military forces carried out a large-scale exercise in the air and ocean areas around Taiwan called "Justice Mission-2025."  This two days of PLA military exercises involved at least 200 warplanes.   Unfortunately these types of gray zone tactics by China have become commonplace and while they have been more widely reported on, even more troubling are the other gray zone tactics that the PRC has been levying on Taiwan, which include the presence of Chinese owned and operated oil rigs in Taiwan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and on January 16th the New York Times reported that China quietly mobilized thousands of fishing boats twice already, most recently in the first few weeks of this new year.   Quoting from the New York Times, "By January 11, they had assembled into a rectangle stretching more than 200 miles. Maritime and military experts said the maneuvers suggested that China was strengthening its maritime militia, which is made up of civilian fishing boats trained to join in military operations."   This was not the first time, a month earlier on December 25th the Times reported that "about 2,000 Chinese fishing boats assembled in two long, parallel formations on Christmas Day in the East China Sea. Each stretched 290 miles long, about the distance from New York City to Buffalo, forming a reverse L shape"   According to the New York Times, "The unusual formations were spotted by Jason Wang, the chief operating officer of ingeniSPACE, a company that analyzes data, and were independently confirmed by The Times using ship location data provided by Starboard Maritime Intelligence."   In this episode of Talking Taiwan we will be speaking to Marvin Bernado, Maritime Domain Awareness Analyst at ingeniSPACE and Elva Wu, National Security Researcher / Imagery Analyst at ingeniSPACE.   About ingeniSPACE:   ingeniSPACE is a geospatial intelligence company integrating remote sensing data across multiple phenomenologies. We are an insight-as-a-service platform delivering all weather day-night multi-temporal understanding around the world. Our intelligence extends the "executive decision making time" that public sector and commercial leaders need to make well-informed decisions.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/chinas-alarming-gray-zone-tactics-around-taiwan-and-its-neighboring-nations-in-asia-ep-340/  

At the end of 2024 I sat down with Dr. Meng Chiang, the Executive Director of the 2024 Taiwanese American Conference- East Coast. We had a really wonderful heart-centered conversation about the conference theme Collective Memory and that led to collective trauma as it relates to the Taiwanese and Taiwanese American communities. We talked about the 4 types of trauma responses, the 4 Fs- flight, fight, freeze and fawn and post-traumatic growth. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/collective-memory-collective-trauma-a-conversation-with-meng-chiang-ep-339/ This episode is dedicated to the memory of Sharon Huang, who passed away in December of 2025. She was a dear friend, mother, wife, sister, auntie, a community organizer and a cornerstone of the Taiwanese American community, especially in New York where she resided. Most notably she and her husband Patrick Huang ran the Brooklyn Artists Studio (BAS) and have supported the Taiwanese American Arts Council (TAAC) and Talking Taiwan. Together they have advocated for Taiwan democracy, human rights, and culture. The loss of Sharon is felt by so many who knew and loved her, she leaves behind family in the U.S. and Taiwan.   Mengchun "Meng" Chiang, PhD (she/her/hers), is a member of the Taiwanese American community. She has served in various community leadership roles, most recently as Executive Director of the Taiwanese American Conference East Coast (TACEC) in 2024.   Professionally, Meng is the founder of CHI Executive Consulting, LLC, where she provides leadership coaching and consulting services, specializing in workplace inclusion and organizational wellness. She is passionate about empowering leaders from diverse backgrounds, helping them enhance their communication, negotiation, and inclusive leadership skills. Meng regularly facilitates workshops to help leaders integrate their identities into effective leadership practices that drive business success and personal growth.   Meng is a licensed clinical psychologist with affiliations to Harvard Medical School, Carnegie Mellon University, the Tepper School of Business, and National Taiwan University. Her experience spans education, training, and leadership roles. She pioneered the Leadership and Connection for Asian Women+ Leaders program and served as Assistant Director of Training at Carnegie Mellon University. In her free time, Meng enjoys traveling, practicing loving-kindness meditation, listening to music, taking walks, and grocery shopping.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/collective-memory-collective-trauma-a-conversation-with-meng-chiang-ep-339/

It's time to reveal the Top 5 episodes of Talking Taiwan in 2025. What's notable about these 5 episodes is that they are among the most popular Talking Taiwan episodes of all time.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/talking-taiwan-top-5-of-2025-award-winner-end-of-year-review-ep-338/   But before revealing the Top 5 episodes of 2025, let's take look back on 2025, which was a busy year for Talking Taiwan! We hosted the inaugural Talking Taiwan Fundraising Gala at the elegant Eichholtz showroom in New York City in April. It was truly a magical memorable night. In April we were also invited to speak at the North American Taiwanese American Women Association's (NATWA) Annual Conference.   For sometime we've been watching what was happening with the Great Recall in Taiwan which ultimately led to 24 legislators being put up for a recall vote on July 26th and another seven on August 23. The world had not seen anything like this happen on a national level in a democracy! And after Felicia interviewed a group of highly dedicated recall campaigners, she learned firsthand about the grassroots mobilization efforts that resulted in over one million signatures being collected in support of the recall vote, and she felt this was a historic moment that Talking Taiwan should be in Taiwan to cover.   Thanks to an anonymous donor who offered to pay for our flights back to Taiwan and others who made generous donations we were able to travel back to Taiwan for a week to cover the first recall in vote on July 26th. We left shortly after returning from the Taiwanese American Conference- West Coast (TAC-WC) which was held in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was the first time we were invited to speak at TAC-WC about our work. While we were at the conference, we also set up an on-location podcasting studio where we interviewed several of the conference's speakers. We look forward to releasing those episodes very soon in the New Year.   It's been an extremely eventful year for Talking Taiwan with many ups and downs. Spending only a week in Taiwan to cover the Recall Vote in July, and trying to conduct interviews, and edit and produce them in that time period proved to be a bit unrealistic and we'll need to pace ourselves better in the future.   It was also crushing to witness the results of the Recall Vote on July 26th with none of the 24 legislators successfully recalled from office. While still recovering from that ordeal in July, we traveled to T.O. Webfest awards in September where Talking Taiwan was nominated in the Best Ensemble Cast category. While we didn't win, it was our second nomination after being shortlisted at the International Women's Podcast Awards in 2024 and winning a Golden Crane Award in 2021.   As we go into the 13th year of Talking Taiwan, I'd like take a moment to especially thank everyone who has supported Talking Taiwan over the years and made a contribution to help fund our trip to return to Taiwan to cover the Great Recall in July.   We also want to thank each and every one of all of our amazing guests for being a part of the Talking Taiwan podcast.   Special thanks to our listeners. We remain committed more than ever to producing content that matters to people who care about Taiwan.   For links to the top 5 episodes of 2025 visit our website TalkingTaiwan.com. Wishing everyone a Happy Healthy New Year 2026! I'm your host Felicia Lin.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/talking-taiwan-top-5-of-2025-award-winner-end-of-year-review-ep-338/

In July of 2024, we brought talking Taiwan to the 53rd annual Taiwanese American Conference (TAC), East Coast at Westchester University.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/the-charm-of-tainan-taiwans-oldest-city-a-talk-with-author-and-historian-jinyu-hsieh-%e8%ac%9d%e9%87%91%e9%ad%9a-ep-337/   Jinyu Hsieh (謝金魚), one of the speakers at TAC is a writer and a historian. I sat down to talk to her about Tainan, located in southern Taiwan, it is the oldest city in Tainan was founded in 1624 and in 2024 it was celebrating its 400th anniversary.   This episode is sponsored in part by the Taiwanese American Council of Greater New York.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/the-charm-of-tainan-taiwans-oldest-city-a-talk-with-author-and-historian-jinyu-hsieh-%e8%ac%9d%e9%87%91%e9%ad%9a-ep-337/

To commemorate its anniversary on December 10th, we thought this would be a great time to reshare one of our most popular CLASSIC episodes, an interview we did with Taiwan Democracy fighter Dr. Linda Gail Arrigo, Ai Linda (艾琳達) in 2024 about events leading up to the HISTORIC Kaohsiung Incident. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-linda-gail-arrigo-taiwan-democracy-fighter-talks-about-events-leading-up-to-the-kaohsiung-incident-classic-ep-336/ Last year when we were in Taiwan in January for the presidential election, we were privileged to meet Dr. Linda Gail Arrigo, Ai Linda (艾琳達) in Taipei and sat down for a one-on-one interview. Few have experienced such historic events first-hand in the way Linda has, as she speaks from the doorstep of history. Linda talked about the era and events that precipitated the Kaohsiung incident, also known as the Formosa Incident, which is widely considered the watershed moment in history that led to Taiwan's democratization. The Kaohsiung Incident happened in December of 1979 During this interview Linda talked about how, in 1975 she had been sent to observe a trial that had been stated to be an open trial but when she arrived there, she saw that it wasn't. In the face of intimidation by the Taiwan Garrison Command officers, she chose to speak up about the injustice she saw, and reported it to Amnesty International. To me, Linda's self-directed action was a moment of historic defiant courage.  Thank you Linda Gail Arrigo, Ai Linda (艾琳達) for sharing your story and for advocating for the people of Taiwan. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-linda-gail-arrigo-taiwan-democracy-fighter-talks-about-events-leading-up-to-the-kaohsiung-incident-classic-ep-336/

Earlier this year, on March 30, at the Taiwan Center in Flushing NY, FAPA (Formosan Association for Public Affairs) hosted a panel discussion, Lessons from the Battlefield: What Taiwan Can Learn From Ukraine. Representatives from the Ukrainian community, Razom for Ukraine and Dignitas Ukraine and FAPA discussed how NGOs can strengthen advocacy, humanitarian aid, and international collaboration.    Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/what-taiwan-can-learn-from-ukraine-a-panel-hosted-by-fapa-part-2-ep-335/   It was a very substantive discussion that we wanted to record and share with FAPA's permission to our listeners. This episode part two is the second half of the panel discussion. To listen to the first half of the panel discussion listen to the previous episode, episode 334.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/what-taiwan-can-learn-from-ukraine-a-panel-hosted-by-fapa-part-2-ep-335/

Earlier this year, on March 30, at the Taiwan Center in Flushing NY, FAPA (Formosan Association for Public Affairs) hosted a panel discussion, Lessons from the Battlefield: What Taiwan Can Learn From Ukraine. Representatives from the Ukrainian community, Razom for Ukraine and Dignitas Ukraine and FAPA discussed how NGOs can strengthen advocacy, humanitarian aid, and international collaboration.    It was a very substantive discussion that we wanted to record and share with FAPA's permission to our listeners. This episode part one is the first half of the panel discussion.   Related Links:  

I recently sat down with Dr. Raymond Kuo, Director of RAND's Taiwan Policy Initiative and Catherine Kish, Research Assistant and Chinese Language Specialist at RAND to talk about their War on the Rocks article, "Taiwan's Will to Fight Isn't the Problem." Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/does-taiwan-have-the-will-to-fight-ep-333/   Later on in the interview we also talked about how Taiwan could leverage its diaspora. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/does-taiwan-have-the-will-to-fight-ep-333/

Talking Taiwan's inaugural fundraising gala was on April 30th here in New York City at the elegant Eichholtz showroom in Chelsea. The gala was a celebration of Taiwanese American cuisine, culture and community.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/talking-taiwans-2025-inaugural-fundraising-gala-ep-332/   We had Peter Lin's AAPI Jazz Collective perform, and food catered by 886 Restaurant, DAE tea and Taiwan Beer. It was a memorable, magical night and if you're wondering what you missed out on it, don't worry, later on in the episode I'll be sharing how you can watch the replay that we made of the event. We'll also share the Humanitix link where you can make a donation to watch the replay of the Talking Taiwan Gala.   At the gala I interviewed comedian Esther Chen, Thomas Duh of DAE Tea, artist Kaarina Chu MacKenzie, and Jonny Lee, President of TAP-NY (Taiwanese American Professionals- NY chapter). And that's what we'll be sharing in this episode.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/talking-taiwans-2025-inaugural-fundraising-gala-ep-332/

Dr. Yang Szu Pang (楊斯棓) is an author and speaker. He has donated 100% of his books royalties to causes and organizations that he cares about. He has been invited to speak at several Taiwanese American conferences and communities across the country. In July of 2024 he sat down to speak with at the Taiwanese American Conference East Coast which was held at Westchester University. We talked about a broad range of topics from how to be financially prepared to care of aging, ailing parents to his most recent book, It Only Takes One, where the title of the books comes from and how it's related to Hsiao Bi-khim, the current the Vice President of Taiwan.   Special thanks for translation assistance provided by Dr. Lee-Yuan Liu.   This episode is sponsored in part by the Taiwanese American Council of Greater New York.   Related Links:

Wang Guo-ren's deer sculpture measures well over 10 feet if you include its antlers. Constructed completely of fallen pieces of wood and tree branches that have been colorfully painted, the deer seems to have magically taken up residence on the lawn outside of the Taiwanese American Arts Council House 17.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/eco-art-on-island-the-deer-god-and-wearable-art-now-at-governors-island-house-17-ep-330/   Inside of the house we spoke with Julia Hsia about her exhibit “Wear Enough” which includes artifacts made with paper and receipts.   In September we ventured over to Governors Island to meet artists in residence Wang Guo-ren and his sculpture entitled the Deer God, and Julia Hsia.   This year's house theme is Eco Art on Island and as you hear at the beginning of the episode we were outside with the lovely sounds of nature like birds, and the more than occasional airplane flying overhead, many of which had to be edited out. Special thanks to Julia Hsia for helping to translate for Guo-ren at the beginning of the episode, before we moved indoors to interview her.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/eco-art-on-island-the-deer-god-and-wearable-art-now-at-governors-island-house-17-ep-330/

In this episode, the husband-and-wife team, gypsy jazz and classical guitarist Antoine Boyer and chromatic harmonica player Yeore Kim shared about their real life “Love in Taipei” story. He's from France and she's from South Korea, so music was their first common language. We also talked about how they navigate their partnership as life partners and as musical partners, and their debut duet album You and I.   If you'd like to know more about Antoine you can check out Kaju's in-depth interview with Antoine on YouTube   Related Links:

On Friday, September 12th at the Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza which is across from the UN Headquarters, in New York representatives from the Taiwan United Nations Alliance or TAIUNA, an NGO from Taiwan, held a press conference urging the UN to include Taiwan in its system. TAIUNA Youth Representatives performed a dance, a white protest of Taiwan's exclusion from the UN. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiunas-white-protest-of-taiwans-exclusion-from-the-un-ep-328/ September is when the UN General Assembly takes place and delegates from TAIUNA have been coming to New York for the past twenty years to call for Taiwan's membership in the UN. This year is the 80th anniversary of the United Nations and the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The General Assembly High-level Week runs from September 22-30th. The following day, Saturday, September 13th was the UN for Taiwan rally and march which has been organized by the Taiwanese American Council of Greater New York since 1992. The annual press conference and UN for Taiwan Rally are reminders of Taiwan's long-standing isolation from the international community. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiunas-white-protest-of-taiwans-exclusion-from-the-un-ep-328/

  Dr. Chen Chien-jen, Former VP of Taiwan Reflects Upon his Life in Politics and as a Public Servant. Felicia Lin has a fascinating discussion with the epidemiologist who was responsible for Taiwan's zero Covid in 2020.

In this episode of Talking Taiwan we sat down to speak with Eugenie Chao who describes herself as Taiwanese American maker, educator, and musician who works in the intersection of ceramics, sound, and history. Her exhibit at the Taiwanese American Arts Council House 17 on Governors Island aptly named Listening Vessels, features ceramic objects turned musical instruments created by Chao and is on display until September 7th.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/working-in-the-intersection-of-ceramics-sound-and-history-taiwanese-american-maker-eugenie-chao-ep-326/   Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: What came first for Eugenie music or working with clay? What made her combine ceramics with music? Where did that idea come from? How did she get interested or start working with clay? Eugenie's musical training and what instruments she plays? What was her early artwork like? How her artwork has evolved over time? What does it mean to work at the intersection of ceramics, sound, and history? What is her creative process is like? How sound affects her artwork?  How she decides the size of the objects she creates? The challenges involved with making large scale pieces vs pieces that can be made by hand How does the size of an object affects the sound it makes The ceramic instruments from ancient cultures that inspire her, how she discovered them and what was their purpose What inspires you? Where do you get your inspiration? Eugenie's connection to Taiwan How Eugenie considers herself a maker and not an artist What can we expect to see and experience from Eugenie's Listening Vessels exhibit at the TAAC house on Governors Island The most ambitious or challenging piece of work that Eugenie has made How Eugenie deals with a creative block Eugenie's future projects can we expect to see from you?   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/working-in-the-intersection-of-ceramics-sound-and-history-taiwanese-american-maker-eugenie-chao-ep-326/

When we decided to travel back to Taiwan to cover the vote to recall 24 KMT legislators on July 26th we had no idea how things would turn out. The Great Recall (or da ba mian) as it came to be known in Taiwan, was notable not just because it led to a record number of 31 KMT legislators in total being put up for a recall vote. What was most impressive about is that it was a nationwide effort that started at a grassroots level by everyday people.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/3-perspectives-in-taiwan-why-the-great-recall-failed-ep-325/   It's been incredible to watch everything leading up to the Great Recall. Going back to last May in 2024 during what came to be known as the Bluebird Movement when tens of thousands of people and upwards of 100,000 took to the streets of Taiwan in a series of protests against controversial bills proposed in the legislative yuan. What happened during the Bluebird Movement protests is said to be what in part galvanized citizens to organize the recall campaigns.   I can't deny that our hopes were high for the results of the July 26th recall vote and after we learned that none of the KMT legislators were successfully recalled, we did our best during the remaining days of our time in Taiwan to try to make sense of the results by talking to a number of our friends and peers.   What you'll hear in this episode are some sound bites from conversations we had on July 30th with Rath Wang, Safe Spaces Senior Policy Fellow and Dennis Chen, Chairman of Wikimedia Taiwan. They shared their observations and thoughts on why the recalls failed, the recall campaigners and what the results of the recall vote could mean for President Lai.   Later that day I also spoke with Morrison Lee a Taiwanese businessman who went to China on what was supposed to be a 48-hour trip and ended up getting detained and stuck there for nearly 4 years. Morrison talked about his personal involvement in the recall effort also shared his thoughts on why the recall votes failed.   As mentioned, recall campaign groups succeeded in putting up a total of 31 KMT legislators for a recall vote. Another 7 legislators will be up for a recall vote on August 23rd.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/3-perspectives-in-taiwan-why-the-great-recall-failed-ep-325/

As part of our great recall coverage in Taiwan, on July 25th the day before the vote to recall 24 Kuomintang (KMT) legislators, we sat down to interview A-Mei the spokesperson for the Shān chú wēi hài (山除薇害) recall group. We talked about why she got involved in the recall effort, how she got doxed by the Kuomintang (KMT) and how the recall effort was supported by overseas Taiwanese in over 38 cities from over 20 different countries.  We previously interviewed three recall campaigners from this group- Carol, Eric and Acho in episode 316. We were also with A-Mei and the recall group on the day of the recall vote July 26th to watch the results of the recall vote.   Special thanks to Mei-Ling Lin for her translation assistance.   Related Links:  

This is a part of our continued coverage of Taiwan's Great Recall. On July 26th, the people of Taiwan voted on whether or not to recall 24 Kuomintang KMT legislators from all across the island. None of the 24 KMT legislators were recalled. This was a blow to the Democratic Progressive Party that could have benefited from a rebalancing of the legislative yuan since it only has 51 of the 113 seats in the legislative yuan or congress.   Among the concerns that motivated these civil society recall groups to take action were the unchecked visits of KMT legislators with high level officials in China. In April of 2024 KMT caucus convener Fu Kun-chi led a delegation of 17 KMT legislators to China where they met with the head of China's United Front. When asked the delegation has not been transparent about what was discussed in the meetings with Chinese officials.   Two days after the recall vote, on July 28th , I sat down with Jiho Chang, Keelung City Councilor who shared how he faced a retaliatory recall by the KMT. He discussed his thoughts on the outcome of the July 26th recall vote and what this means for the DPP.   On August 23 another 7 KMT legislators will be put up for a recall vote.   Related Links:  

On July 27th the day after Taiwan's island wide historic recall vote of 24 Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) legislators, I sat down with Linda Gail Arrigo, Ai Linda (艾琳達) to reflect on the results of the recall vote, and the impact of the civic mobilization behind the recall effort. Related Links:

On July 26th the day of the historic vote to recall 24 Kuomintang (KMT) legislators we were with the Shān chú wēi hài (山除薇害) recall group in Taipei at Rongxing Garden (榮星花園) Rongxing garden, which is more like a park, for a sort of watch party with about a hundred volunteer recall campaigners. The recall vote results were being televised live on a series of oversized screens that had been set up in the park.   When we finally learned the results of the recall vote It was a shock. 0 of 24 legislators had been recalled. What a sad, disappointing day. I could see it in the faces of the recall volunteers and at the same time it was touching to see how they consoled each other as some could help but burst into tears. The leaders of the recall group asked everyone to join hands and to form a circle in a sign of solidarity and encouragement Carol and Eric shared their initial thoughts with us.   Related Links:

On our first day in Taiwan July 25th we went into the streets of Taipei where recall campaigners from the the Shān chú wēi hài (山除薇害) recall group were doing a last minute push asking people to get out and vote for the recall of 24 KMT legislators on July 26th.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/first-day-in-taipei-day-before-the-great-recall-ep-320/   We previously interviewed 3 recall campaigners from this group- Carol, Eric and Acho in episode 316. Eric explaining the meaning behind the recall group's name.   Later that day we sat down to interview A-Mei the recall group's spokesperson who was doxed by the Kuomintang.   We will be releasing our full interview with A-Mei at a later date so stay tuned for that.   We ended the night at a recall campaign rally so spirited that you'd never guess that we were all standing in the pouring rain getting soaked.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/first-day-in-taipei-day-before-the-great-recall-ep-320/

Summer is upon us and I'm sure that a lot of our listeners especially those in New York will be happy to know that Taiwanese Waves will be returning to Central Park's Summer Stage on August 3 at the Rumsey Playfield. Doors open at 5:00pm   Since 2016 Taiwanese Waves has introduced Taiwanese music to audiences at Central Park's Summer Stage. If you're not familiar with Taiwanese Waves you're in for a treat. In this episode I sat down with Mia, the main organizer of Taiwanese Waves and we are about to walk through and give you a taste of all of the acts that have performed at Summer Stage in the past nine years. You'll also get to hear a preview of what to expect at this year's concert.   Related Links:  

In late June, we met up with YouTuber Bā Jiǒng (八炯) when he was in New York. If you're not familiar with Bā Jiǒng you might want to check out 2 of his most popular videos which expose China's United Front's tactics to target the Taiwanese and to recruit Taiwanese influencers to attack and spread disinformation about Taiwan. Then you'll know why he's had death threats.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/meet-taiwanese-youtuber-ba-jiong-%e5%85%ab%e7%82%af/   Bā Jiǒng is among those spearheading the recall of Fu Kun-chi, the KMT legislator known as “The King of Hualien.” Fu Kun-chi is 1 of 24 Kuomintang KMT legislators who will be up for the mass recall vote in Taiwan on July 26th. To get up to speed on the Great Recall Effort that's been happening in Taiwan checkout our past 2 episodes 316 and 317.    Talking Taiwan is getting ready to head back to Taiwan to cover this historic mass recall vote of 24 KMT legislators, in fact we might already be there by the time you hear this episode. We look forward to having Bā Jiǒng on Talking Taiwan to talk about the recall efforts in Hualien and his videos exposing how the United Front works with Taiwanese influencers   Special thanks to Winston Liao for connecting us with Bā Jiǒng.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/meet-taiwanese-youtuber-ba-jiong-%e5%85%ab%e7%82%af/

In Taiwan recall bids have been filed against 35 of the 39 Chinese Nationalist Party (the Kuomintang or KMT lawmakers who were directly elected to the legislative yuan in January, 2024. Recall campaigners have said that they want to restore order to Taiwan's legislative yuan, by removing pro-China KMT legislators who have passed amendments to expand the legislature's powers, undermined Taiwan's constitutional order by paralyzing the constitutional court, cut budgets and made Taiwan vulnerable to infiltration by the Chinese Communist Party.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/the-great-recall-explained-by-courtney-donovan-smith-ep-317/   Just a few days ago we learned that a total of 31 KMT legislators will be up for a vote to be recalled from office. 24 on July 26 and another 7 on August 23.   Since my interview with 3 recall campaigners in episode 316, I thought it would be good to follow up with an explainer video with political commentator and analyst Courtney Donovan Smith about how the recall mechanism in Taiwan works and what led to this mass recall effort.   And in a few days from now our two-person team will be heading back to Taiwan to witness and cover the July 26th recall vote. History is being made in the only way it can be in a vibrant democracy like Taiwan!   Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How the recall mechanism works in Taiwan Past cases of politicians who have faced a recall vote Factors leading to the Bluebird Movement and Recall Efforts The expanded powers of the legislative yuan that were ruled unconstitutional What happened to paralyze Taiwan's constitutional court What has motivated the people campaigning to recall KMT legislators Why the KMT's recall efforts against DPP legislators have failed How Ko Wen-je's supporters have reacted to his detainment due to corruption charges DPP involvement with recall efforts How some of the Kuomintang KMT have shifted from being anti-Communist China to pro-Communist China (PRC) The historical significance of Taiwan's mass recall votes of legislators If the DPP is behind the recalls of KMT legislators What happens next after the recall vote The impact of the Sunflower Movement   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/the-great-recall-explained-by-courtney-donovan-smith-ep-317/

Have you heard about the great recall movement that's happening in Taiwan? What's it all about? Related Links:  https://talkingtaiwan.com/the-great-recall-movement-effort-in-taiwan-boots-on-the-ground-ep-316/ 24 lawmakers, or legislators from the Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang KMT party are being put up for a recall vote. I don't think the world has ever seen anything like this happen on a national level in a democracy- 24 lawmakers being recalled from office, and that number is likely to be even higher at the time that this episode gets released. It's truly unprecedented! This recall vote certainly didn't happen overnight. It was through dedicated grassroots efforts, of the everyday people of Taiwan. Questions have been raised as to whether the recall efforts are a partisan politically motivated effort on the part of the Democratic Progressive Party to oust KMT legislators. That's what I wanted to get to the bottom of in this episode as I talked to some of the volunteers who have been boots on the ground in Taiwan's recall effort. As you'll hear in this episode, what's happening in Taiwan is a historic demonstration of the will of the people to exercise their rights in a democracy. The island-wide effort in Taiwan to recall lawmakers has been going on since last year and I sat down to speak to three volunteers Carol, Acho and Eric about how this mass movement has successfully gone through two stages, first signatures from1% of eligible voters in a legislator's district must be collected to initiate a recall. Then in the second stage signatures from 10% of eligible voters in a legislator's district must collect to in order for a recall vote to proceed. The hard part is that the signatures on the 1% and 10% petitions cannot be the same. On July 26 Taiwan's Central Election Commission (CEC) will hold recall votes for now possibly even more than 24 KMT lawmakers. Special thanks to Julien Oeuillet the Founding Editor of IPON (the Indo-Pacific Open News) for his help in making this interview possible.   Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: What the recall movement that's happening in Taiwan is about Why and how Acho, Carol and Eric volunteer their time and energy in the effort to recall legislators How the recall efforts are targeting pro-CCP Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang KMT legislators How the recall is necessary so that Taiwan's parliament/legislature can function normally How the first volunteers for the recall met through a LINE group How what happened after the Bluebird Movement protests motivated people to attempt to recall KMT legislators How the Sunflower Movement compares to the recall movement How they vetted volunteers from outside of Taiwan who wanted to help with the recall effort in Taiwan How they dealt with people trying to infiltrate the recall volunteer groups How the recall effort got started with 10 volunteers and has grown to 500 volunteers globally How A-Mei one of the lead recall movement volunteers was targeted by the KMT who accused her and revealed her personal information and identity How the Taiwanese people feel they are at risk of losing their country to pro-CCP KMT legislators How the KMT has smeared and sued recall movement volunteers including Carol How the KMT has broken up recall movement volunteer groups How Carol has put her job on hold to be dedicated to being a leader of her recall movement volunteer group full-time What Carol does as leader of her recall movement group How Acho volunteers for the recall effort by editing and creating videos How Eric volunteers for the recall effort by dealing with the media The types of videos they produce to promote and create awareness of the recall effort How the majority of recall volunteers are women (60% women, 40% men) How over 100 recall volunteers are dedicated full-time to the effort How the women recall volunteers have been confronted by people who don't support the recall The standard for collecting signatures for the recall Why the KMT's efforts to recall DPP have failed due to forgery or signatures of the deceased on their recall petitions How the KMT is trying to paint the picture that the DPP are orchestrating the recall of KMT legislators How the recall effort is a grassroots effort not about conflict between the DPP and KMT political parties How there could be more than 24 KMT legislators put up for a recall vote The demographics of the districts that Carol, Eric and Acho are volunteers in for the recall How Acho and Eric balance volunteering for the recall effort with their day jobs How KMT legislators have not offered any explanation of what was discussed in a closed door meeting in 2024 with Chinese officials  How public reaction to volunteers of the recall effort has changed over time How the recall volunteers now need to focus on encouraging the public to vote on July 26 How Carol encouraged creativity and idea of the recall volunteers that she manages How the sentiment of the recall volunteers is that we are all in this together How if eight to 10 KMT legislators are recalled there will be a better balance in the legislative yuan How Carol, Eric and Acho feel they are working selflessly for a common goal and that they are taking care of each other How this experience with the recall effort has helped Acho to see how the people of Taiwan can be so united How Carol has seen many recall volunteers evolving How what is happening in Taiwan is important for Asia and other democracies in the world   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/the-great-recall-movement-effort-in-taiwan-boots-on-the-ground-ep-316/  

Julien Oeuillet is an independent journalist, who has produced content for Radio Taiwan International and TaiwanPlus. He is the Founding Editor of IPON the Indo-Pacific Open News. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/julien-oeuillet-the-voice-of-south-taiwan-shines-a-spotlight-on-kaohsiung-ep-315/   Back in November of 2024 we interviewed Julien about a broad number of topics including: How he is very much at home in Kaohsiung How he got his start in broadcasting and media What he thinks makes a good and bad journalist especially in Taiwan How he focuses on putting a spotlight on Kaohsiung and southern Taiwan through his  Radio Taiwan International show, The Voice of South Taiwan His documentary Taiwan's Little Big Friend about Luthania and its relationship with Taiwan   Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Why Julien saw the need to start IPON (Indo-Pacific Open News) Julien's upbringing How Julien got started in broadcasting and media How Julien was taken under the wing of veteran journalist and documentary filmmaker Philippe Dutilleul How Julien sees himself as a Kaohsiung resident How Julien has seen Kaohsiung transform How Julien thinks that Kaohsiung should receive more international attention Julien's Radio Taiwan International show, the Voice of South Taiwan What Julien thinks makes someone a good or bad journalist especially pertaining to Taiwan Julien's thoughts on English and education in Taiwan Julien's observations on the Taoist nature of people in Taiwan What is Taiwanese identity Julien's connection to Lithuania Parallels between Lithuania and Taiwan Julien's documentary, Taiwan's Little Big Friend If Lithuania will keep its Taiwan Representative Office Julien's thoughts on China's fear mongering   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/julien-oeuillet-the-voice-of-south-taiwan-shines-a-spotlight-on-kaohsiung-ep-315/

We recently sat down with Wen-Jen Deng one of the artists in residence at the Taiwanese American Arts Council's House 17 on Governors Island and Ming Turner, curator of Wen-Jen's art exhibit :The Embedded Stitch- Contemporary Fiber Art, which is currently showing at Tenri Cultural Institute until June 28th Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/a-conversation-with-wen-jen-deng-taiwanese-fiber-artist-and-curator-ming-turner-ep-314/   According to Deng's curator Ming Turner, “Deng is a core member of the influential Taiwanese artist collective, Hantoo Art Group. Her early works were primarily oil paintings which incorporated embroidery and collage using traditional Taiwanese floral fabrics. Deng often draws inspiration from Taiwanese food culture— her earlier pieces explored the island's distinctive betel nut culture, while more recent works have focused on everyday culinary traditions and the cultural heritage of the Sirayu Pingpu people.”   Special thanks to Ming Turner for translation assistance during this interview.   Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   Wen-Jen's upbringing in Taiwan and how she knew she wanted to be an artist What Wen-Jen thinks an artist's role in the world is Why Wen-Jen studied art in France and how she was inspired by Marc Chagall How Wen-Jen started off doing oil painting as an artist How Wen-Jen switched from using oil paint as her medium to fiber and textiles How Wen-Jen worked in a textile shop making Chinese dresses while she was a student in France Why her early source of inspiration was food Her series of work that focused on lotus shoes and pig's hooves (pigs feet), betel nuts, and other everyday Taiwanese cuisine How Wen-Jen discovered her mother's was from the Siraya tribe during her 2017 residency at Soulangh Cultural Park in Tainan, and that inspired her to move her focus from food to indigenous culture How Wen-Jen learned indigenous weaving techniques How Wen-Jen's mother was a seamstress but Wen-jen did not pick out any of those skills from her mother How Wen-Jen taught herself to embroider when she was working in the textile shop in France How all of the embroidery and sewing on Wen-Jen's works are done by hand How in the process of weaving and embroidering Wen-Jen gets in a focused state of meditation The field work that Wen-Jen does related to her artwork Ming shared some of her thoughts on the significance of Wen-Jen's artwork Wen-Jen's artwork “Oyster Noodles” which will be on display at the TAAC Governors Island House 17 How Taiwan's transition from authoritarianism to democracy has impacted artists in Taiwan How artists in Taiwan get funded How Wen-Jen's sculptural piece which is shaped like the island of Taiwan and shows its topography will be displayed at the TAAC House 17 on June 21       

This past Sunday, May 26th we stopped by the annual Passport to Taiwan that's held in New York City's Union Square Park. The first Passport to Taiwan was held in 2002 and it's become the largest outdoor Taiwanese American event in the entire United States. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/passport-to-taiwan-2025-ben-hedges-a-laowais-view-of-china-and-ambassador-lee-of-teco-ep-313/ While there I spoke with the Taiwanese American Arts Council's (TAAC's) Executive Director Luchia Meihua Lee, Ambassador Tom Lee of TECO-NY, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York, and Ben Hedges, host of Lao Wai Kan Zhongguo also known as the A Laowai's View of China & Taiwan YouTube channel. Passport to Taiwan is a celebration of Taiwanese art, culture, music, community, and of course food. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: ·   The Taiwanese American Arts Council's (TAAC's) house on Governors Island, House 17 is twice the size of last year's house ·   The theme of the Taiwanese American Arts Council's (TAAC's) House 17 on Governors Island is Eco Art on Island ·   How the Taiwanese American Arts Council's (TAAC's) House 17 on Governors Island will be open from May 17 to November 2 ·   Ambassador Tom Lee mentioned this is the first time that TECO-NY (Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York) has had a booth at Passport to Taiwan ·   Ben Hedges, host of the YouTube channel, Lao Wai Kan Zhongguo has emceed Hello Taiwan events ·   How 7-11 stores in Taiwan sponsored travel videos on Lao Wai Kan Zhongguo's YouTube channel ·   How Ben will be relaunching the Lao Wai Kan Zhongguo's YouTube channel   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/passport-to-taiwan-2025-ben-hedges-a-laowais-view-of-china-and-ambassador-lee-of-teco-ep-313/

Since May is both Mental Health Awareness Month and Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, we think it's fitting to reshare this episode with Jane W. Wang. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/jane-w-wang-navigates-a-multicultural-heros-journey-classic-ep-312/ What we really appreciate about this interview with Jane back in 2021 is how she spoke so openly about how she dealt with her bouts of depression. She also shared how getting back in touch with her roots in Taiwan had a part in leading her to start her coaching practice. While she no longer offers the Multicultural Hero's Journey course that she refers to in this episode, she is still actively coaching clients. It's our hope that Jane's personal story can help destigmatize mental health and create more understanding about the coaching profession.   Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   Jane's connection to Taiwan How being a third culture kid (TCK) has shaped her identity and life purpose Her career path before becoming a coach Why she wanted to become a coach Her personal journey, the struggles and depression that she dealt with along the way before she became a coach Why she decided not to get a degree in counseling from Columbia University and instead got certified in coaching What is coaching and how it differs from counseling or psychotherapy Jane's own experiences with coaching, being the person being coached by someone else Jane's advice on how to pick a coach to work with The challenges Jane faced in becoming a coach The depression and imposter syndrome she experienced in the process of becoming a coach How Jane dealt with her self-judgment and learned to love herself How Jane dealt with three bouts of depression What she learned from going through depression How someone can identify whether or not they themselves or someone they know is experiencing depression How Jane created her Multicultural Hero's Journey coaching program Who would benefit the most by going through the Multicultural Hero's Journey coaching program Jane's advice for people who are interested in becoming a coach What it takes to be a good coach   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/jane-w-wang-navigates-a-multicultural-heros-journey-classic-ep-312/