It’s Prep Time for Actor Dyana Liu!

I recently heard about up and coming actor Dyana Liu through our friends over at 8asians.com and reached out to her when I discovered she was Taiwanese American. Dyana is one of the stars of a new Cartoon Network live-action series, Tower Prep. She plays Suki Sato, a "tech and gadget expert" who also possesses a unique skill of mimicry. Tower Prep is a promising new TV series aimed for the Harry Potter and Heroes generation. Set in a mysterious castle-like boarding school with a futuristic laser-security…

Reflecting on the Taiwanese American Citizens League’s 25 Year History and Legacy

by Erica Ling On a recent summer’s night, over 300 members of the Taiwanese community gathered to celebrate the 25th birthday of the Taiwanese American Citizens League (TACL). At the request of Ben Ling (TACL National President), who had been working tirelessly in directing the entire event, several mentors, interns, and board members arrived early to help set up. As we walked through the doors of Café Pinot, it was clear that the hustle and bustle of preparation was well underway (and…

Taiwanese American Comic Book Artists at Comic-Con 2010

TaiwaneseAmerican.org’s Ho Chie Tsai takes you to Preview Night of Comic-Con 2010 in San Diego, CA to meet with four amazing Taiwanese American comic book artists as they share about their careers, projects, and influences. We follow artists Jerry Ma (Epic Proportions, Secret Identities), Cliff Chiang (DC Comics, Secret Identities), Bernard Chang (Marvel Comics, DC Comics, the BLVD studio), and Sean Chen (Marvel Comics, the BLVD studio) as they prepare for opening day of Comic-Con, a four-day…

An Interview with the Owners of an Atlanta Original: The Flying Biscuit Cafe

Check out the video interview above as TaiwaneseAmerican.org's Ho Chie Tsai stops through Atlanta, GA to meet up with two young entrepreneurs and brothers, Joseph and Matthew Hsiao. They now own and operate the very popular all-day breakfast spot, The Flying Biscuit Cafe. Joseph manages the original historic Candler Park location, while Matthew manages the popular Midtown location. There are currently 12 franchise locations in total, but these first two original locations are most often…

Back Stage with Taiwanese American Pop Star Evonne Hsu at APAHM 2010 Concert

TaiwaneseAmerican.org's founder, Ho Chie Tsai, takes you on location to San Francisco's recent APAHM 2010 Concert featuring Taiwanese American musical artist Evonne Hsu, as well as Taiwan-based pop singer JJ Lin and Asian American DJ, Mike Relm. APAHM Concerts took place in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington DC during May 2010 in celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Watch as we take you to the concert and behind-the-scenes to meet with Evonne. We also…

Through the Eyes of Designer-Director Warren Fu

“Sorry I’m late!” my cousin Warren apologized when he showed up for our interview. “The Jimmy Fallon taping with Julian [Casablancas, lead singer of The Strokes] ran a little long.” I wish I could have that kind of excuse whenever I’m late to an engagement. This was, however, simply another day in the life of Warren Fu, director and designer. One of Warren's most notable designs is of General Grievous, the villain in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.  He also designed…

True Fusion: BaoHaus NYC

Like most other Taiwanese Americans, I love food. But I hate fusion cuisine. The term implies something equally Asian and Western, but have you ever been to a Wolfgang Puck’s, perhaps at an airport? Beyond the superficial addition of some exotic ingredient to some random dish we could find at Applebee’s, there’s nothing Asian about it. Tuna with Miso Sauce? Meh. Wasabi Mashed Potatoes? No thanks. Taste aside, these dishes represent another Western appropriation of Asian culture…food created…

In Step with Alice Tong: Prelude to Progression

A look into the past year and a half of a talented singer-songwriter's passionate journey through life & music. by HoChie Tsai photos courtesy of Anna Wu & Shu-Jon Mao Part I. Prelude January 25, 2009. Somewhere on the Internet. Sometime in early 2009, I am introduced by email to singer-songwriter Alice Tong through one of our close friends and collaborators, Jason Lee, of TurtlistMedia.com, who at that time was helping to organize the Midwest Intercollegiate Taiwanese…

Girl Power Leading the Way for Taiwanese American Collegiate Conferences!

Each year, the Intercollegiate Taiwanese American Students Association (ITASA) hosts three regional conferences throughout the country bringing together hundreds of Taiwanese Americans for cultural, educational, and identity-focused programming and community-networking. The ITASA East Coast conference recently took place at MIT, and now the ITASA Midwest conference at UT Austin and the West Coast conference at UCSD are quickly approaching. At the helm this year is a group of amazing women leaders…

Filmmaker Arvin Chen Greets the World with “Au Revoir Taipei”

Back in 2007, I watched a short film entitled Mei, created by a young Taiwanese American filmmaker by the name of Arvin Chen. The production was memorable for the heartfelt and endearing emotions captured through the simple fleeting expressions between boy and girl working in a Taipei night market stand. What struck me even more was finding out that Arvin was able to direct his short film without having full command of Mandarin language skills. Three years later, his first feature-length film, Au…