The Roots of Disney’s “American Born Chinese”

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Maybe it's our vantage point from TaiwaneseAmerican.org that allows us to appreciate every product and project - especially a mainstream one like this - as a hard-won triumph, as a member of a lineage where people had doors opened for them, and in turn opened doors for others. As much as "representation" is a buzzy and flashy accomplishment, "opportunity" is its accompanying, more profound feat. We get to celebrate friends who have worked hard, who have overcome doubt and rejection, who have…

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Charles Yu, Shawna Yang Ryan, Alvina Ling Select 2023 Creative Writing Prize Recipients

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We are pleased to announce the 2023 cohort of honorable mentions, finalists, and grand prize winners of the Betty L. Yu & Jin C. Yu Creative Writing Prizes, established in partnership with TaiwaneseAmerican.org in honor of Yu’s parents, who are longstanding Taiwanese American community leaders. In its third year, the prize has expanded to include adult writers of all life stages. Their work will be published on TaiwaneseAmerican.org throughout the year. The Prizes are named in honor…

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Fantuan Discourse

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I would not consider myself an aggressive person, but I tend to find myself getting into petty arguments with my friends. One recent argument occurred right after a dinner in which I was introducing my new boyfriend to my friends Phillip and Lily.[1] It began innocently enough: we had dinner at a nice Turkish restaurant, then retreated to Phillip’s apartment for dessert and tea. During the conversation, it came to light that we are all of Taiwanese descent, which naturally led to a discussion…

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“Until The Sun Rises”: Q&A with Artist & Curator Vanessa Chen

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Vanessa Chen (陳詠昕) was born and raised in Taipei. Currently finishing up the last stretch of grad school (MFA Social Practice) in D.C., she is a curator/artist who uses art as a form of advocacy and to influence policy change. Outside of art school, she is a human rights advocate and a multilingual translator for refugees, asylum seekers, victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse, and many more who are experiencing crises.  We're pleased to share this Q&A with Vanessa on her…

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Director’s Picks: Ten Films from Taiwan to Watch

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By guest contributor Brian Hu, a film curator and educator with a focus on Asian and Asian American cinema. Where does one start with Taiwan cinema? While it was barely scraping by with a couple dozen features per year in the early 2000s, the Taiwanese film industry had once been one of the world’s biggest, churning out a combination of local Taiwanese-language productions, big propaganda epics, and Hong Kong co-productions. This is a formidable history, one that has chronicled Taiwanese…

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Now accepting submissions: 2023 Betty L. Yu and Jin C. Yu Creative Writing Prizes celebrate Taiwanese American student and adult writers

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TaiwaneseAmerican.org is pleased to announce the 2023 Betty L. Yu and Jin C. Yu Creative Writing Prizes. Created in 2021 in collaboration with Taiwanese American author Charles Yu, the Prizes are intended to encourage and recognize creative literary work by Taiwanese American students, and to foster discussion and community around such work. In 2022, the prize expanded to include a separate middle school category for 6th-8th grade applicants, judged by Alvina Ling. This year, we have added an…

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‘A Tale of Two Islands’ & Fire EX Ignite Community

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Taiwanese Americans had back-to-back reasons to gather this weekend in the Bay Area.  A Tale of Two Islands: Hong Kong x Taiwan Fair In San Leandro, Formosan United Methodist Church, one of the most longstanding Taiwanese churches in the United States, played host to the Hong Kong x Taiwan Fair 台港交流日, named 雙島: A Tale of Two Islands. This was the inaugural collaboration between the Taiwanese American Federation of Northern California, a primary first-gen coalition of organizations…

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Jiaozi and Gyoza

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Jiaozi and Gyoza.  The average person might not see a difference between them– they're just dumplings, and dumplings taste good. Still, the differences are important. Jiaozi is a historical dish from Taiwan and China, eaten by Chinese people as far back as the Tang Dynasty. Its Japanese counterpart, however, is a more recent creation. It is said that while Japanese soldiers occupied countries like Taiwan and China, they enjoyed the local Jiaozi so much that when they returned to Japan,…

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Meet the Miss Taiwanese American 2022 Queen, Tiffany Chang

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When Tiffany Chang entered the Miss Taiwanese American Pageant, she embarked on an experience many alumni have described as “life-changing.” The Miss Taiwanese American (MTA) Pageant (台美小姐選拔 ) is an annual competition held by the Taiwan Center Foundation of Greater Los Angeles (大洛杉磯台灣會館基金會) to “find and encourage the next generation of leaders for the Taiwanese American community.” The Pageant offers a seven-week cram course. Chang spent hours each…

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