cóng mei guo lai de, by Vanessa Wan

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FEATURE PHOTO PROVIDED BY VANESSA WAN When I was little, I thought I was Chinese. That’s what my parents said when we were asked the inevitable question: “What are you?”  I later learned we were not Chinese.  Assigned to research the flag of my parents’ home country for class, I went home to find out that I needed to check out books not on China but on Taiwan. As it turned out, my parents simply went along with people’s assumptions that we were Chinese because it was “easier.”…

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LATE LIFE: The Chien-Ming Wang Story in Theaters

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The first and only Taiwanese player for the New York Yankees, Chien-Ming Wang held many titles: American League Wins Leader, World Series Champion, Olympian, Time 100 Most Influential, and The Pride of Taiwan. He had it all--until a 2008 injury forever altered the course of his career. LATE LIFE: The Chien-Ming Wang Story--named after the late sinking action on his signature pitch--follows the rise and fall of the international icon as he fights his way back into the Major Leagues through endless…

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Intersection of Poetry and Movements: An Interview with Author Kenji Liu

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As we celebrate Taiwanese American Heritage Week and Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, TaiwaneseAmerican.org is pleased to feature accomplished individuals of Taiwanese descent who have used their voices and talents to highlight the histories and legacies of our community. Kenji C. Liu is author of Map of an Onion, national winner of the 2015 Hillary Gravendyk Poetry Prize. His poetry is in, among other places, American Poetry Review, Action Yes!, Split This Rock’s poem of the week series,…

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Tongues like Swords: American Privilege in Taiwan

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Being an American is a funny thing. Because, being an American carries some serious cultural currency in most parts of the world, mostly due to the fact that since the end of WWII the US has held hegemonic power, both militarily and economically. (Not to say we are or are not necessarily well-liked, but that’s a different question altogether). In many parts of the world, the sort of idea that “West is best” has been very pervasive, and this manifests itself in all facets of life. This is…

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An Interview with Julie Wu, Author of The Third Son

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Author Julie Wu has crafted a beautiful story in her debut novel The Third Son. It’s a compelling tale of a boy named Saburo set against the backdrop of occupied Taiwan and America at the dawn of the space age. TaiwaneseAmerican.org’s editorial director Anna Wu sat down with Julie to talk about the book, her inspirations, and her path to becoming an author. * * * Anna Wu: Julie, you have written an absolutely beautiful novel. For our readers who haven't read the book yet, could you give…

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Celebrate Taiwanese American Heritage Week and Asian Pacific American Heritage Month!

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Asian Pacific American Heritage Month is celebrated nationwide during the month of May to honor the cultures, traditions, and achievements of Asian Pacific Islanders in the United States. In June of 1977, Congressmen Frank Horton (NY) and Norman Y. Mineta (CA) introduced a House resolution that called upon the President to proclaim the first 10 days of May as Asian/Pacific Heritage Week. May was chosen because in 1843 during the first week of the month, the first Japanese immigrants arrived in…

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“Other Asian”

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Check out this article by Dmae Roberts, a two-time Peabody award-winning independent radio artist and writer who has written and produced more than 400 audio art pieces and documentaries for NPR and PRI programs. She has written an essay titled "Other Asian" for The Asian Reporter about how our recent Census 2010: Write in "Taiwanese" campaign re-inspired her to identify as a biracial Taiwanese American. From The Asian Reporter, V20, #14 (April 19, 2010), pages 6 & 7. "Other Asian" When…

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Taiwanese American/Canadian Women’s Conference in Toronto

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The North American Taiwanese Women's Association 2nd Generation (NATWA II) invites you to attend the 2010 NATWA Annual Convention in Toronto, Ontario, Canada! Dates: April 16-18, 2010 Location: Marriott Hotel @ Toronto Airport For more information: http://natwa.com/natwa2/ To register: http://natwa.com/natwa2/2010ConventionRegistrationForm.doc Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=363240256649 *Early registration ends March 15! SCHEDULE: Friday, April 16 6-10pm:…

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Taiwanese Americans Presenting at New Communities Symposium at Purdue

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If you're in the area, be sure to check out some of these Taiwanese American artists who are breaking ground in their respective fields: singer-songwriter Dawen, filmmaker and founder of TurtlistMedia.com Jason Lee, and spoken word artist Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai! The New Communities Symposium is an event intended to: raise awareness of the growth and reconceptualization of the field of Asian American Studies in the Midwest; explore unique characteristics of Asian American Midwestern identity; discuss…

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San Jose Mercury News: “Taiwanese-Americans spread word to increase 2010 census numbers”

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By Joe Rodriguez jrodriguez@mercurynews.com When Grace Hwang Lynch fills out the census questionnaire that arrived at her San Jose home recently, she will think back to how her father greeted a census taker 30 years ago and follow his lead: She will ignore the box marked Chinese, and carefully write in "Taiwanese." "He felt that strongly about his Taiwanese identity," Hwang said, "and he's told every census since then that he's Taiwanese." Hwang is joining a growing Taiwanese-American movement…

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