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TaiwaneseAmerican.org

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Posted on Friday, March 28th, 2025 at 11:31 pm.

Written by Leona

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In “Change in Atmosphere,” Evelyn Wu captures

In “Change in Atmosphere,” Evelyn Wu captures the quiet tremble of displacement and the slow, stunning process of finding home. From a Covid-era move from the U.S. to Taiwan, to the steep climb into a new school system, language, and identity, this creative nonfiction piece is both a coming-of-age and a coming-into-language. ⁠
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Read the full piece now at link in bio and here: https://www.taiwaneseamerican.org/2025/04/change-in-atmosphere-creative-non-fiction-by-evelyn-wu/

📚💘 “I remember being in Target a few years

📚💘 “I remember being in Target a few years ago and looking at all the books they had on display. In the mass market (smaller paperbacks for wide distribution) romance section, many of the books had real people/models on the cover, and maybe two or three featured people of color, but not a single book had both people being Asian. I decided that day to set a goal of publishing a mass market romance novel with just that: two Asians on the cover..” — Kristi Hong, author of “The Teacher’s Match”⁠ @kristihongwriter @harlequinbooks
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Author Michelle Young @michelleyoungwriter (“The Art Spy: The Extraordinary Untold Tale of WWII Resistance Hero Rose Valland”) sat down with Kristi, a Taiwanese American author writing under a pen name, to talk about love stories, representation, Michigan, and her Harlequin debut.⁠
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In “The Teacher’s Match,” ⁠Joanna Lin is determined to avoid her mother’s matchmaking. With a new career as an art teacher at a Mandarin immersion school, Joanna refuses to let anything or anyone distract her. Especially her charming new colleague Jack Sun. His kindness and passion for teaching—not to mention those dimples!—are practically irresistible. But anything beyond friendship is impossible, especially when Jack’s moving to Taiwan at the end of the school year. But as spring—and the school’s Dragon Boat Festival—draws closer, love might send all of their careful plans tumbling overboard.⁠
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🎤 Interview now up on TaiwaneseAmerican.org — link in bio and here: https://www.taiwaneseamerican.org/2025/04/kristi-hong-the-teachers-match/

📖 Gathering Taiwanese American Writers at AWP 2

📖 Gathering Taiwanese American Writers at AWP 2025 ✨⁠
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“This has become a tradition.” For the third year in a row, we hosted a Taiwanese American Writers’ Dinner during the AWP Conference—this time at Pine & Crane DTLA, where conversations started in the long line and carried on over shared plates (and mandatory seat rotations 😆).⁠
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Our small world can sometimes feel like a string of coincidences, but we prefer to see it as a web of meaningfully cultivated connections.⁠
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We hope you take some time to read more from these writers, whose bios and published works are linked in the article. These dinners, and all that occurs in between them, remind us that art, though often an individual pursuit, is inextricable from community-building and mutual care. We better resist the temptation to divide ourselves in ceaseless competition when we remember what is possible when we 幫對方夾菜, when we serve others knowing that they’ve got our back, too. ⁠🍜🥢❤️
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Full article linked here and in bio: https://www.taiwaneseamerican.org/2025/03/taiwanese-american-writers-awp-2025/

Looking to get involved with the Taiwanese America

Looking to get involved with the Taiwanese American community near you? 🇹🇼 These organizations all over the country might just be your chance! 🫵🏻😊 TACL-LYF, TAF, and TANG are looking for staff members and their applications close soon so don’t miss out! ➡️ Swipe to learn more 🙂 🚨 Apply now to join the community! 🚨 @tacllyf: Taiwanese American Citizens League - Leading Youth Forward (TACL-LYF)
📍 Alliance Redwoods Conference Grounds (Transportation provided from Fremont, California)
🗓️ July 13th - July 20th, 2025
Staff App Deadline: March 21st, 2025
@tafagram: Taiwanese American Foundation (TAF)
📍Manchester University in Indiana
🗓️ July 26th, 2025 - August 3rd, 2025
Staff App Deadline: April 4th, 2025 @tangeneration: Taiwanese American Next Generation (TANG)
📍 West Chester University of Pennsylvania
🗓️ July 1st - July 6th, 2025
Staff App Deadline: April 15th, 2025 💓 Check the links in their bios for the application links to these amazing opportunities! 🌟

📢 Calling all Taiwanese American Writers! ✍️
TaiwaneseAmerican.org is excited to announce the 2025 Betty L. Yu and Jin C. Yu Creative Writing Prizes! 🎉 Open to writers of Taiwanese heritage or those with significant ties to Taiwan, this prize celebrates creativity across fiction, poetry, personal essays, and creative nonfiction. 🏆 Prizes:
💰 Grand Prize: $500 (one per age category)
💰 Finalists: $200 (three per age category)
💰 Honorable Mention: $75 (at judges’ discretion) 📌 Categories:
📖 Middle School (6th-8th grade)
📖 High School
📖 College
📖 Adult (beyond college)
✨ Winners & finalists will be published online. All participants will also be invited to a virtual group session with the judges! 👩‍⚖️ Meet Our 2025 Judges:
📚 Charles Yu (National Book Award winner, Interior Chinatown) – College & Adult categories
📚 Grace Loh Prasad (The Translator’s Daughter) – High School category
📚 Alvina Ling (VP & Editor-in-Chief, Little, Brown Books) – Middle School category
📝 Submit your work by April 18, 2025 (11:59 PM PT): https://bit.ly/2025-ta-writing-prize Full announcement & guidelines: https://www.taiwaneseamerican.org/2025/03/2025-creative-writing-prize/ We can’t wait to read your stories! 💙 #TaiwaneseAmerican #CreativeWriting #WritingContest #taiwanesediaspora

From cozy supper clubs to pop-ups to one of the mo

From cozy supper clubs to pop-ups to one of the most beloved Taiwanese restaurants in the Bay to, most recently, a well-attended and widely praised roadside banquet in Taiwan—Good to Eat’s Chef Tony Tung and GM Angie Lin have been tirelessly championing the depth and breadth of Taiwanese cuisine. 🥢✨⁠
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For nearly a decade, the wife-wife duo has crafted dishes that go beyond street food, honoring both night market classics and the rich, full-bodied flavors of Taiwanese cooking. From grilled whole squid 'Yi Yeh Gan' to clay pot rice soup, their menu is a love letter to Taiwan’s culinary traditions.⁠
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Our food features editor, Tiffany Ran, sits down with them to talk about their journey, the flavors they fight to preserve, and what’s next for Good to Eat. Read the full interview at the link in bio! #TaiwaneseCuisine #GoodToEat ⁠
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We also link their recent #TaiwanPlus feature, "Taiwan's Roadside Banquet Chefs: Keeping Tradition Alive." So in awe of you, Chef Tony and Angie! Thank you for sharing your story with Tiffany and our community. ⁠
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🔗: https://www.taiwaneseamerican.org/2025/02/good-to-eat-owners-look-back-and-ahead-at-eight-years-of-sharing-taiwanese-cuisine/⁠
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🌞 Looking for a summer camp in the SoCal area f

🌞 Looking for a summer camp in the SoCal area for your child this summer? Look no further! TACL LID @lid_camp is making a comeback this year after a long hiatus and is holding their camp from June 26-29! 🧑🏻 Any child that has finished 5th grade and higher is eligible for registration.
💛 RSVP to a Virtual Parent Info Session, where they’ll be going over the logistics and details on the camp itself, as well as answer any questions you may have.
🎥 For those that miss the info session, there will be a recording available.
🔗 https://tr.ee/JtojAjXqO8

💕 “Ex” marks the perfect Valentine’s Day

💕 “Ex” marks the perfect Valentine’s Day read! 💕⁠
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We were so excited to chat with one of the most prolific Taiwanese American writers of our generation @gloriacchaowrites about her latest YA novel, Ex Marks the Spot—a heart-racing treasure hunt that unearths family secrets, Taiwanese heritage, and maybe even true love. ⁠
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We are always drawn to the depth and sincerity of Chao’s characters, particularly her female protagonists, who navigate complex romantic and familial relationships with nuance and heart. What moves us even more is how she seamlessly weaves entire families into each other’s schemes, dreams, and desires, creating stories that feel both intimate and expansive.⁠
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Ex Marks the Spot takes this a step further, adding even greater depth to each generation by threading together political trauma, migration, and an unexpected twist (no spoilers!) that binds grandparent, parent, and child. ⁠
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You'll love her clever pinyin puzzles (reader, we could not solve them on our own) and this exceptional love letter to Taiwan.⁠
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Check out our full interview (link in bio) 💌 #ExMarksTheSpot #GloriaChao #TaiwaneseAmerican #YALit #Bookstagram #OwnVoices⁠
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💌 https://www.taiwaneseamerican.org/2025/02/gloria-chao-ex-marks-the-spot/

✨ How do we turn our secrets into stories? ✨⁠
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We are so pleased to share this dream conversation between fellow Taiwanese American illustrator-writers, Jocelyn Chung and Cindy Chang on Cindy's debut graphic novel, HOW TO DRAW A SECRET. ⁠
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For many of us who grew up Taiwanese American, keeping up appearances—saving face—was second nature. But what happens when we let those secrets surface? When we transform the most painful parts of our memories into storytelling?⁠
In this semi-autobiographical story, a Taiwanese American girl named Cindy is caught between crafting the perfect image and confronting the truth about her family. As she embarks on an unexpected journey to Taipei, long-buried secrets unravel, forcing her to redefine what family—and honesty—truly mean.⁠
The conversation is a powerful reminder that storytelling can be a path to healing—and that our vulnerabilities can help others feel less alone.⁠
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🎧 Tune in to our conversation on YouTube! A full transcript is also available for those who prefer to read. 📖💛⁠
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🔗: https://youtu.be/hOFrcF7NURo

🌏✨ Looking for a summer camp where your child

🌏✨ Looking for a summer camp where your child can explore their Taiwanese heritage while building lifelong memories? Enroll in @tacllyf’s LYF Camp! 🏕️🌸
📅 LYF Camp 2025 will take place from Monday, July 14th, to Sunday, July 20th, 2025, at the beautiful Alliance Redwoods Conference Grounds, in Occidental, CA.
🗓️ General registration opens on Saturday, February 1st, at 12:00 PM PST!
At LYF Camp, campers will:
- Learn about Taiwanese heritage, language, and culture through workshops
- Connect with other campers and role models in the Taiwanese American community
- Experience night markets and tsua bing side-by-side with leadership development workshops and campfire s’mores!

In celebration of Lunar New Year, our food editor

In celebration of Lunar New Year, our food editor Tiffany Ran asked some of our recently featured chefs how they like to celebrate and what they like to cook. 🍜🥟⁠
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✨🥢 Tell us in the comments how you like to spend the festivities -- or if you'll be trying something new this year!

“Tell a child nothing, and she will become obses

“Tell a child nothing, and she will become obsessed with knowledge.”
Join Taiwanese American author Kim Liao for a virtual keynote address and Q&A, moderated by Taiwanese American community leaders Kristie Wang and Tim Chng and writer Rebecca Liu. The webinar includes a keynote by Kim Liao, moderator reflections and dialogue, audience Q&A, and a short brainstorming session for audience members to begin reflecting on their own stories and histories. Attendees are invited to submit their inspired work for publication on TaiwaneseAmerican.org (selected pieces will be compensated). This event is hosted by the Taiwanese American Federation of Northern California as part of their annual 228 Commemoration and is co-presented by TaiwaneseAmerican.org. 🔗: http://bit.ly/tafnc-kimliao Free and open to the public; registration required for link to participate.

Out today— Brian Hioe’s @brian.hioe “Taipei

Out today— Brian Hioe’s @brian.hioe “Taipei at Daybreak” from @repeaterbooks is an extraordinary Taiwanese American coming-of-age novel set amongst social protests of the early 2010s in East Asia. In 2014, a veteran of Occupy Wall Street, QQ arrives in Taiwan and finally finds what he’s been looking for in the Sunflower Movement — a grassroots campaign of militant young people that looks set to overthrow the existing government. Setting up an online newspaper, Daybreak, to represent the movement to the outside world, QQ also battles with self-destructive, violent impulses that drive him to the frontlines of protests. His nihilistic streak is fed by those around him, a host of other citizens, activists and journalists who travel together through the depths of the Taiwanese night, when the ghosts of its repressive history loom large. Will QQ manage to outrun his own self destructive impulses on the streets, or will the emptiness he feels eventually consume him? Will he find the connection he needs, or will V, the mysterious, destructive partner who haunts his dreams, claim him as her own? Will QQ be able to confront and survive his own family’s complicity in the era of the White Terror? A unique blend or reportage, memoir and meditation on the unseen forces, personal and political, that propel people to the very edge, Taipei at Daybreak is a coming-of-age novel like no other, following tumultuous conflict both outside and in, and told through a spare style with flashes of dark poetry.

Just a few months we ago, we shared a fascinating

Just a few months we ago, we shared a fascinating inquiry from writer Amy Chen. She'd been writing her father's story: Born into poverty as the eldest son of a farmer, he defied the odds to learn English and graduate from National Taiwan University. He then served as a translator for the Air Force in Taiwan, where he got to know Americans who were stationed there. With Amy's mother’s help, he launched a Taipei-based language publishing company in the '70s. Her father wrote dozens of textbooks (paired with audio recordings on vinyl records, then cassette tapes, CDs, and MP3s) that taught English to hundreds of thousands of Mandarin speakers. After immigrating to the U.S. in '80, he continued publishing while trying (and failing) to launch a second career. Amy was born a few years later.⁠
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David Frazier (Taipei Times) has the background story, linked here and in bio: https://bit.ly/taipei-times-amy-chen⁠
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If you are a part of her father's legacy, please reach out!⁠
From Amy:⁠
1️⃣ Anyone recognize these books written by my father Chen Borong 陳伯榕? Even better: Did you use any of the books/audio recordings to learn English yourself? (Some books are still available at libraries in SF, LA, San Jose, and even Cleveland, so it could be present-day learners...) ⁠
2️⃣ Anyone recall using this Mandarin-English dictionary? With input from 100+ English teachers, my father spent five(!) years editing this 470-page dictionary that was originally published in 1979.⁠
3️⃣ Anyone familiar with the Rotary International Club of Taipei East in the late '70s? Pictured: My father at Rotary Club events in '79 and '80.⁠

Join us for a #TaiwaneseAmericanBingo challenge an

Join us for a #TaiwaneseAmericanBingo challenge and tag us in your endeavors this year!⁠
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(1) Read a book by a Taiwanese American author (hint: we have a fantastic collection organized at bookshop.org/shop/taiwaneseam_org)⁠
(2) Watch a Taiwanese movie (hint: @taiwanplus has a great, free collection to choose from, including the gorgeous documentary "Beyond Beauty: Taiwan from Above" and "Untold Herstory," a film about the women political prisoners in Taiwan's martial law era⁠)
(3) Develop/refine your language skills! We love @realyoumandarin as a self-paced online language course for Mandarin and Taiwan School of TAC's virtual Taigi classes (learn more at https://etaiwanschool.org/ for their Spring 2025 course catalog)⁠
(4) Try a new recipe from a Taiwanese American cookbook (available in our bookshop)⁠
(5) Read translated Taiwanese literature⁠
(6) Gather friends for a teach-in about a Taiwanese social or political issue that interests you⁠
(7) Volunteer at a Taiwanese American summer camp or attend a TAP event near you - if these are not accessible, keep your eyes out for virtual programming!⁠
(8) Shop our #TaiwaneseAmerican gift guide for a special occasion or everyday gifting

About

Founded in 2006, TaiwaneseAmerican.org is a web portal site highlighting many of the interesting people, events and organizations that make up Taiwanese America. It is both a volunteer-driven website and a non-profit organization that intends to connect and promote those who identify with the Taiwanese identity, heritage, or culture. By establishing our niche within the broader Asian Pacific American and mainstream communities, we hope to collectively contribute to the wonderful and diverse mosaic that America represents.

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