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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This is why you must read “THIS IS NOT MY HOME”

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An Interview with Best Friends Eugenia Yoh and Vivienne Chang, and a Review of Their Debut Picture Book This is a totally unbiased review of the greatest debut picture book I’ve ever read. The first time I read This Is Not My Home was, indeed, not at my home—rather, it was at a publishing house. For context, this publishing house was supposed to be a new home for not only myself, but also Eugenia, for we were both newish hires at the time. At the time, the publishing house still felt…

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Coming of Age with Grace Lin’s “Year of the Dog”

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“So, what are you?”  Since childhood, I've had a go-to response: “I’m fifty-percent Taiwanese, twenty-five percent Mexican, and twenty-five percent German.” I was proud to present myself as a unique combination of races and ethnicities, to be “othered” from any and all groups; but this statistical proclamation showed that I only understood myself as a pie chart in which I was part of a whole. I wasn’t allowed full access into any of these identities. I grew tired trying to…

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Gathering Taiwanese American community at Emeryville’s “Good to Eat”

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANNA WU PHOTOGRAPHY [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Ho Chie Tsai with Good to Eat co-founder Angie Lin[/caption] On December 4, TaiwaneseAmerican.org founder Ho Chie Tsai gathered round Taiwanese American foodies, media personalities, and community builders for a special "ja ban bae" (呷飽未 / 吃飽沒) tasting menu at Emeryville's Good to Eat Dumplings. Formerly an acclaimed and deeply beloved pop-up (SF Chronicle refers to owners Tony Tung and Angie Lin…

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Charles Yu celebrates sophomore year of Betty L. Yu and Jin C. Yu Creative Writing Prizes with fellow judges, participants

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[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6n6OZKNfmA[/embed] We are excited to share, with permission, a recording of the 2022 Betty L. Yu and Jin C. Yu Creative Writing Prize "Meet the Judges" event with authors Charles Yu and Shawna Yang Ryan and Little, Brown Brooks for Young Readers Editor-in-Chief Alvina Ling. TaiwaneseAmerican.org founder Ho Chie Tsai and 2021/2022 finalist Jireh Deng shared remarks. , Grand Prize Winners Ian Tseng and Yakuza Baby and Finalist Kira Tang also read from their…

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Architecture student, journalist, designer, musician: Eric Lin is all of these and more

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Welcome back to another interview in TaiwaneseAmerican.org’s “New Creatives” series! For this article, I had the pleasure of interviewing Eric Lin, a 21 year-old rising senior at Princeton University studying architecture and journalism. He is originally from Phoenix, AZ and considers making music to be his passion.  As a child, Eric grew up learning classical piano; he also spent seven years touring with the Phoenix Boys Choir. It was in high school when he started writing his first…

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Charles Yu, Shawna Yang Ryan, Alvina Ling Select 2022 Creative Writing Prize Recipients

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We are pleased to announce the 2022 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 second year, the prize has expanded to include middle school participants and selections. Their work will be published on TaiwaneseAmerican.org throughout the year. The Prizes are named…

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We grieve the May 15th Shooting at Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church

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Editor's note: This is not a think piece or analysis of the situation as it unfolds. We are a small, deeply passionate team of Taiwanese American volunteers and we are grappling with the shock and grief of this tragedy, too. This is not something we were prepared to cover or feature. We only hope that those directed towards our website for support/further resources can find here an organized way to access the Gofundme set up by the church congregation to support victims of the shooting, as…

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“Amah Faraway” celebrates the joys of bravery and gathering at last

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[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Author Margaret Chiu Greanias holding a copy of "Amah Faraway" with TaiwaneseAmerican.org founder Ho Chie Tsai[/caption] If you told Margaret Chiu Greanias two decades ago that she would become a published author one day, telling stories based on her own experiences and sometimes even about herself—she would’ve never believed it. Yet a good number of years into what she proudly dubs her “second career,” Greanias has been able to connect…

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