Anita Chang’s Tongues of Heaven Screens in SF/Bay Area

Taiwanese American filmmaker Anita Chang's most recent documentary film, Tongues of Heaven, revolves around the issue of language loss and asks the essential question: “what do you lose when you lose your native language?” Her film explores the challenges of young indigenous peoples of Taiwan and Hawaii in learning the heritage languages of their ancestors — languages that are endangered or facing extinction. TaiwaneseAmerican.org is proud to be a Co-presenter of this limited theatrical…

Why I Fight to “Keep Taiwan Free”

      Keep Taiwan Free. Three simple words but keep Taiwan free from what? China? Why do we need to Keep Taiwan Free? Wait, but I thought Taiwan is free? These are just some of the common questions asked when people see the slogan Keep Taiwan Free. As most people know, Taiwan’s history is quite complex. It took several decades and the sacrifice of tens of thousands of citizens to get to the democracy that Taiwan is today. Yet, this young democracy is still a fragile one. Even just in…

September 13th | Keep Taiwan Free Movement in NYC!

[caption id="attachment_11876" align="alignnone" width="610"] Photo Credit: MengLing Hsieh[/caption] Despite being one of the world's youngest successful democracies, Taiwan continues to be excluded from the United Nations. Among many consequences, that means Taiwan is unable to fully participate in and contribute its resources to global institutions such as the World Health Organization and forced to enter international competitions under the name of “Chinese Taipei." Keep Taiwan Free and…

ART FOR ADVOCACY: Bringing Taiwan's Sunflower Movement to Brooklyn

By Dana Ter On a damp New York evening on May 22, just a stone throw away from Bushwick Collective on Troutman Street – a street filled with graffiti murals turned into an art gallery of sorts, the open-air Bat Haus Coworking Space was abuzz with artsy hipster types. They were holding Brooklyn Brewery beers and admiring photographs and paintings of sunflowers. Speaking in Mandarin with a smattering of English, the attendees, mostly young people in their 20s and 30s, were discussing the role of…

Beyond Boundaries: What makes us Taiwanese?

What makes you Taiwanese? Is there an answer that’s more right than others? What terms make up that definition? I’m tempted to begin this article by listing what I feel qualifies me to claim Taiwanese identity, as if somewhere out there, there’s a scale and the more Taiwanese I can be, the more my writing here matters. Nonsense. When we create definitions of identity based on looks, language, or legalese, we use a whole host of criteria to tell people if they are enough or not. We…

Reflections on 228

To strangers who don’t know the history, 228 is just a bunch of numbers.  However, 228 actually refers to February, 28, 1947. It marks the date of the massacre of around 30,000 people and the imprisonment of over 140,000 Taiwanese citizens who were suspected of opposing the Kuomintang (KMT) government.  To certain Taiwanese people, it’s a date where blame is put on the government for what happened. To others, it’s just an incident in history where thousands died.  But to me, 228 is what…

Kathy Cheng and Thankful Registry: Giving with Heart

TaiwaneseAmerican.org's Managing Editor, Anna Wu, speaks with Thankful founder Kathy Cheng to find out more about her innovative start-up that is helping to personalize the gift-giving traditions around weddings, birthdays, and other events. Anna has also found success as a professional wedding photographer, so both she and Kathy have much in common when it comes to celebrating life's special moments. Read on to find out more behind the motivation and success of Thankful. Anna: Thank you for talking…

Making History Happen

By Felicia Lin When I first heard about Su Beng, a lifelong Taiwan independence activist, former undercover Chinese Communist agent, would be assassin of Chiang Kai-shek, historian and author of Taiwan’s 400 Years of History, in 2003, I was intrigued. I wondered what would motivate a man like this and quickly decided that I wanted to meet him because I knew that his was a story to be told. What began as a simple idea to write a story based on his life has grown into a project to document it.…

Michelle Wu – On Campaigning, Boston, and Pig Ears

Michelle Wu is one of the newly elected at-large councilors for Boston City Council, and the first Asian American female to hold the position. About a year ago, I received a random Facebook invite to one of her first campaign events, where I was inspired by her story. On an especially windy day in a cozy South End Starbucks, I had the privilege of hearing more about her journey and plans for a better Boston. Congrats on your victory! Thanks! I am very humbled to have been elected. Tell…

Going Where No Taiwanese American Has Gone Before: Stephanie Chang Representing Detroit

I met with my friend, Stephanie Chang, at our alma mater in Ann Arbor, Michigan for an interview over ramen and pork buns. We talked about her decision to run for Michigan State Representative next year, what it is like being Taiwanese American in the city of Detroit, and her journey as an Asian American woman in public service. A: Hi, Steph! Can you tell our readers a little bit about yourself? S: I'm Stephanie Chang. I grew up in Canton, Michigan. I came here to Ann Arbor to attend the University…