Featured Stories

A Moment With Mree

Written by

TaiwaneseAmerican.org’s Kristina Lin and Ho Chie Tsai ventured to Portland, Oregon to meet with musical artist Marie Hsiao, simply known as Mree. With over 80 thousand subscribers on her YouTube channel, she has carved a niche for herself showcasing her unique and ambient "folktronica" sound. Even if you haven't heard her name before, there's a good chance you have heard her voice. In recent years, her original song "Santa Catcher" was featured in a Target commercial, and her cover of the 80's…

Read More »

228 and the Power of Storytelling

Written by

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="735"] "For those of us who remember that every struggle is for a glory beyond our own." Drawing by Leona Chen, December 2015[/caption] (Amma, I may be studying Walt Whitman, but I am writing my way back to you.) I was born in 1996, the year of Taiwan’s first direct presidential election. Exactly two decades later, we have named the first woman president of Taiwan (and the second female head of state in the history of East Asia). And while we have tremendous…

Read More »

Meet Jack of All Trades: Actor, Writer, Producer Kelvin Yu

Written by

We've been a friend and big fan of Kelvin Yu since his earliest acting roles such as Freddy Gong in the 1999-2001 WB series Popular. He's come a long way since then, accumulating more TV credits with guest spots on Frasier, ER, Las Vegas, Without a Trace, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, CSI: Miami, and Bones. On the big screen, Kelvin can be seen in the 2006 comedy Grandma's Boy and in the 2008 Academy Award-winning biographical political drama Milk. Now, he's gained a larger following than ever…

Read More »

GREEN ISLAND – A New Novel by Shawna Yang Ryan

Written by

A stunning story of love, betrayal, and family, set against the backdrop of a changing Taiwan over the course of the twentieth century. February 28, 1947. Trapped inside their home due to an uprising that has rocked Taipei, Dr. Tsai delivers his youngest daughter, the unnamed narrator of Green Island. A few days later, he is one of the many thousands of people dragged away from their families. Missing for a decade, he eventually returns a haunted man. Feeling a stranger in the midst of his…

Read More »

USC Launches New Taiwanese American Digital Archive

Written by

TaiwaneseAmerican.org is pleased to announce our support for a new Taiwanese American Digital Archive hosted by the University of Southern California's Special Collections and Archives and the East Asian Library. Spearheaded by 2nd generation Taiwanese American Joanna Chen Cham, this initiative intends to collect the history and contributions of our community before it is lost. If you are as excited about this project as we are, we encourage you to spread the word and sign on to this document…

Read More »

Taiwanese Folk Song Re-inspired: Ti-O-O (Dark Dark Skies)

Written by

We recently came across this beautifully re-inspired performance of the traditional Taiwanese folk song Ti-O-O 天黑黑: "Dark Dark Sky (With a Touch of Deep Purple)" performed by concert violinist Charles Morey of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (First Violin section! Our Taiwanese grandparents would be proud!). He's also a frequent substitute violinist with the Cleveland Orchestra. It's an energetic and vibrant version of a familiar folk song to all of us. Check it out: Naturally, we were…

Read More »

The 2016 Taiwanese American Scholarship Fund

Written by

The Taiwanese American community is often seen as a privileged one, so we’re happy to see that this project of the Asian Pacific Community Fund is targeted towards those youth who need a little helping hand to further their educational opportunities. The 2016 Taiwanese American Scholarship Fund (TASF) is focused on helping economically-challenged Taiwanese American youth fulfill their dreams of obtaining higher education. Through a competitive application process, the funds are applied toward…

Read More »

The Top 10 TaiwaneseAmerican.org Facebook Posts of 2015!

Written by

Miss Taiwan, cats, Taiwan making the world's #1 whisky, hot nightmarket vendors, Taiwan's first woman president--and more! Check out 10+ of the most popular TaiwaneseAmerican.org Facebook posts of 2015. Happy New Year! 1. Miss Taiwan takes a stand. // < ![CDATA[ // < ![CDATA[ // < ![CDATA[ // < ![CDATA[ (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3";…

Read More »

Paths and Patterns: experiences in translingualism

Written by

We’ve fallen into a pattern, my new friends. And some of my old friends, in this new context. It’s a new thing, for them, but feels familiar, comfortable, for me. You see, it’s natural for me, because it’s how I grew up. I grew up in the US, in the heart of the Midwest, a daughter of Taiwanese immigrants. Mandarin was my first language, but ceded her position as mother tongue to English early on, in a country where assimilation was survival. My parents, though, my beautifully centered…

Read More »