Two Perspectives on Late Life: The Chien-Ming Wang Story

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https://www.instagram.com/p/B0AKwjfFE1u/ Editor's Note: I'm thrilled to present two perspectives on LATE LIFE: The Chien-Ming Wang Story - both from bay area-raised college students who chose to pursue college in the Midwest. Derek is a student at the University of Michigan, and Vivienne is a student at Washington University in St. Louis. DEREK SHAO In baseball, the term “late life” is used to describe sudden and unexpected movement as a pitch crosses home plate. It is a fitting metaphor…

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The Thrill of the Chase: Get to Know Taiwanese Canadian Actor Chase Tang

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Chase Tang’s press coverage has the makings of a fully-fledged biography. From the headlines alone, we get a glimpse of the many communities that take pride in this Taiwanese Canadian actor: his hometown of Bedford; his alma mater, the University of Guelph; Mandarin-speaking netizens clamoring over a new heartthrob to call their own. It’s not surprising (I mean, just look at him) that each wants a claim to Tang’s rising Hollywood fame. IMAGE CREDIT: JUSTIN WU FOR CHASE TANG Born in Taipei,…

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Where to Watch LOVE BOAT: TAIWAN

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LOVE BOAT: TAIWAN examines one of the longest-running summer programs in the world. This feature-length documentary revisits the program's participants and explores the history and popularity of this well-known trip, sponsored by the Republic of China (Taiwan) government, which takes place every summer in Taiwan.  Despite its high-minded aspirations that include classes in Mandarin-language study, martial arts, and brush painting, the program’s popularity stems from another source: its…

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Our Youth in Taiwan: Fall Screenings Nationwide

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We’re looking forward to nationwide screenings of “Our Youth in Taiwan,” the award-winning documentary about the personal and political implications of student activism. Find the screening nearest you below. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_62AfanuI5Q&t=3s[/embed] OUR YOUTH IN TAIWAN x UC BERKELEY (SEP 27) - https://www.facebook.com/events/2107969306166314/ OUR YOUTH IN TAIWAN x SAN JOSE (SEP 28) - https://www.facebook.com/events/2395673993885778/ OUR YOUTH IN TAIWAN x SAN…

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Ties that (Un)Bind: Q&A with Filmmaker James Y. Shih

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James Y. Shih is a filmmaker currently working on a short film entitled Ahma & Alan--a drama about a Taiwanese grandmother who travels from her rural small town to Taipei to get her American-born grandson out of jail. TaiwaneseAmerican.org's Ho Chie Tsai speaks with James about his path in film-making and this current project now in post-production. Ho Chie: Hi James. Good to chat with you today. What an interesting project you've been working on lately! James: Hi Ho Chie! Thank you…

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New Age, Old Ways: Peter Lin Crosses Artistic Mediums and Cultures through Taiwanese American Jazz

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Hey Peter! We last spoke in 2016 about your jazz band, The Lintet. What’s been new with you? My work is always a reflection of my own personal life experiences, and my personal life has been quite a roller coaster to say the least! After finishing my graduate work for jazz studies at Rutgers University, I had the pleasure to work and study with Slide Hampton for about two years, an NEA Jazz Master and my musical hero in terms of the trombone and compositions / arrangements. This experience…

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The First Taiwan Film Festival in Boston Puts Documentaries Front and Center

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These past few years have been full of cinematic milestones for Asian Americans. Fresh Off the Boat season six hit TV screens (and laptops), while Crazy Rich Asians insisted on some long overdue decadence and romance, finally free of Orientalist tropes or tokenization. Despite the commercial success and generally good reception of both, I couldn’t help but still feel unrepresented. As a third culture kid, I could connect with bits and pieces of the Asian American topics, but the other side…

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Sharing Spaces: Taiwanese Indigenous Art Connects Tradition with New Audiences

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Djanav Zengror’s greeting flies through the air, and then the rest of the Ayi-Yanga troupe fills the cozy lounge of the Hearst Museum of Anthropology with harmonies. Within the intimate room, the music transports us to a wide-open space and readily calls to mind the verdant mountains of Taiwan. Their song, “Home Direction” (指路), starts with the hunter’s call. When his people hear him, they run to welcome him home. Through the interpreter, UC Berkeley student Cynthia Ji, Zengror explains…

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Hello from Taiwan: Q&A with Filmmaker Tiffany Frances

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We typically share the contributor bios at the end, but Tiffany Frances has such a dazzling background, we thought we'd open this Q&A with a little bit about her. Tiffany Frances is a Taiwanese American director and writer working in music videos, branded content and narrative film. She was selected for SHOOT Magazine's 2018 New Directors Showcase, where a trailer of her short film, WHAT I WISH YOU SAID, screened at the Directors Guild Theater in New York. Her short film MOVEMENT for…

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Interview with Joyce Bergvelt, Lord of Formosa

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Editor's Note: When I call for diversity in Taiwanese American literature, or English-language works on Taiwan, I mean books like Lord of Formosa. Taiwan, originally an Austronesian island, is colonized land. The hallmark of great literature about Taiwan, then, is perhaps sensitivity to this fraught crystallization of elements,  the way they arrived together under fire and pressure, and the complex ways they coexist today. Among these waves of colonizers were Dutch settlers, whose little-known…

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