Taiwan ‘Zhiguang’: Taiwanese & Taiwanese American Athletes to Root For

The term “Taiwan zhiguang,” or “the pride and glory of Taiwan,” has been used to describe the likes of Chien-Ming Wang, Yani Tseng, and Jeremy Lin, among other Taiwanese and Taiwanese American athletes. Their accomplishments range from World Series titles to Olympic gold medals, and in addition to playing their respective sports, these athletes have also become cultural ambassadors for Taiwanese and Taiwanese Americans throughout the world. With professional sports beginning to resume under…

[中英版參考資料] Understanding ‘Black Lives Matter’: Chinese & English Resources

  Editor's Note: This post will be updated frequently. https://twitter.com/TaiwaneseAm_org/status/1269718346460614656 [中英版] The Taiwanese American Conversation about #BlackLivesMatter | 文章+中文資源 | 情點閱此連結 LINK HERE [Master Database] Black Lives Matter 小補帖 (h/t Jocelyn Yang) | 中文資源 | 情點閱此連結 LINK HERE [Graphics Database] TaiwaneseAmerican.org Chinese/English Infographics | 情點閱此連結 LINK HERE COMMUNITY-TRANSLATED…

We interviewed “The Half of It” writer & director Alice Wu

  FEATURE PHOTO OF ALICE WU BY K.C. BAILEY When Netflix dropped its trailer for The Half of It almost a month ago, it rocked the internet. People quickly attached themselves to the film’s universally relatable main character Ellie Chu. Ellie is a shy and smart student who devotes her screen time to helping her best guy friend, Paul Munsky, win over Aster Flores, the hottest girl at their high school. Though The Half of It begins with a seemingly conventional premise, it quickly subverses…

An Open Letter to my Hafu Grandfather: My Taiwanese American Story

PHOTO OF DEREK SHAO & HIS GRANDFATHER Dear Ah Gong,  Mom didn’t tell me that you were a hāfu until I was about seven years old, and like most second graders at the time, I was too preoccupied with Wii Sports tennis and Cartoon Network to really think about what that meant. It wasn’t until I had learned more about the history of Taiwan and its relationship with Japan that I began to understand the circumstances surrounding your childhood, while also starting to make sense of experiences…

Glowie Co on Bubble Tea Masks & The Best of Taiwanese Beauty

If you had told me, ten or twenty years ago, how popular and how ubiquitous Asian beauty products and Asian beauty concepts would become in the West, I wouldn’t have believed you. I don’t think many of us would have predicted the rise of Asian cosmetics here. But it’s happened. Luxury, mid-range, and budget Korean and Japanese brands have found their way onto shelves at both specialty retailers like Sephora and at mainstream, mass-market chains like Walgreens. Taiwanese brands have benefited,…

The Overlooked Japanese Roots of Taiwanese Americans

[embed]https://open.spotify.com/episode/6s3umRithl6eQr9trOdCYk[/embed] Ever wonder why old Taiwanese people pick Japanese songs at karaoke (shouldn’t they be picking Chinese songs)? Or perfectly line up their shoes with toes facing out? How about a general affinity for Japanese culture, and their inability to speak Mandarin despite being from Taiwan?  That’s because they’re more Japanese than Chinese, and they should be, if they were born and spent formative years in Taiwan before 1945…

Miss Modi celebrates Taiwanese heritage with a Taiwanese Street Food collection

10% of proceeds from Miss Modi’s “Taiwanese Street Food Collection” will be donated to TaiwaneseAmerican.org My name is Casey (Hsiu-Wan) Yui, founder of Miss Modi (@missmodi2018).  I immigrated to New York from Taiwan with my family at the age of 17.  Like all new immigrants, I barely spoke English and struggled to learn the language and different culture.  After graduating high school, I worked hard to obtain a degree in Interior Design at Pratt Institute, NY. After 20 years…

Being in Taiwan During COVID-19: A Taiwanese American Student Perspective

    Editor's Note: Joyce was already living in Taiwan when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. If you are fleeing the states and traveling to Taiwan, or have recently done so, please practice self-isolation for at least 14 days - no matter how much you want to go out! Tricky Taipei has a great guide on life in Taipei during COVID-19, as well as an archive of coronavirus home quarantine stories. As I write this on April 28, Taiwan has announced its third day in a row of no reported new…

April 1 is Census Day: This is Who We Are. Make It Count.

FROM THE TAIWANESE AMERICAN CITIZENS LEAGUE To all Taiwanese Americans and Taiwanese living in United States: Today is April 1st, and it is Census Day! If you have not finished your 2020 Census Form, we want to give you a friendly nudge to complete it TODAY.  https://www.instagram.com/p/B9Zn5R8Bcl-/ The United States Census is a count of everyone living in the United States mandated by the U.S. Constitution.  It only happens every 10 years! A few key things to remember: You count,…