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

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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…

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

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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,…

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The Overlooked Japanese Roots of Taiwanese Americans

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[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…

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Miss Modi celebrates Taiwanese heritage with a Taiwanese Street Food collection

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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…

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

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    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…

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

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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,…

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No, Double Ten Is Not “Taiwan’s Independence Day”

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No, Double Ten is not “Taiwan’s independence day”.  Just bear with me here; I know it looks very much like Independence Day on July Fourth here in the United States. When I was growing up in Taiwan in the 1980s, it certainly felt like it.  It was something I looked forward to. The oppressive summer heat in Taiwan cools down, every house on the block hangs a big flag by the door, the flags gently swaying in the autumn breeze. School would be closed, my parents would have stayed home,…

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Why This Taiwanese American Helped Tell the Story of Chinese Railroad Workers

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Max Chang was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah and is considered one of the first, if not first, Taiwanese Americans born in Utah.  Max is a Board Member of the Spike 150 Foundation which oversaw the sesquicentennial celebration of the completion of the nation’s first transcontinental railroad. May 10, 2019 marked the 150th year anniversary of the driving of a Golden Spike into a polished laurel tie at Promontory Summit, Utah to celebrate the completion of the nation’s first transcontinental railroad. …

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It’s T-Beauty Time! 5 Great Taiwanese Skincare Products To Try

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Jude Chao of the popular Asian beauty blog, Fifty Shades of Snail, recaps her recent beauty takeover on the TaiwaneseAmerican.org Instagram Over the past few years, Korean cosmetics have gotten a lot of attention from the global beauty community, with K-beauty products (and K-beauty-inspired products) showing up on the shelves of stores as mainstream as Walmart and Target. But South Korea isn’t the only player in the Asian cosmetics market. Taiwanese brands make some truly amazing products…

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