A Reflection on 228, from Taiwanese America in 2026

Written by

Dear community, Some of my earliest work for TaiwaneseAmerican.org (indeed, ten years ago to this date!) was published in commemoration of the 228 Incident and the period of White Terror that followed. In 2016, I wrote: I urge us to reaffirm our own agencies in the patchwork of the Taiwanese American experience... to be the involuntary ambassador of a threatened identity is both a privilege and an exhausting responsibility. But personal pursuits of disorientation, investigation, and storytelling — wanting…

Read More »

The First Meal (Of Many): Creative Nonfiction by Ruth Lee

Written by

Finalist, College Category Numbed by the thirty-hour travel warp of three connecting flights, I gaze out the car window with muffled fascination at the world before me. I grew up here, but it doesn’t feel quite real. Window views transient like movie scenes pass as my father drives down winding alleys: a cozy corner church; a wall of papery fuchsia flowers, sunlight filtering through their veins. I barely register my dad pulling into the driveway of his parents’ house and the engine rumbling…

Read More »

‘A Tale of Two Islands’ & Fire EX Ignite Community

Written by

Taiwanese Americans had back-to-back reasons to gather this weekend in the Bay Area.  A Tale of Two Islands: Hong Kong x Taiwan Fair In San Leandro, Formosan United Methodist Church, one of the most longstanding Taiwanese churches in the United States, played host to the Hong Kong x Taiwan Fair 台港交流日, named 雙島: A Tale of Two Islands. This was the inaugural collaboration between the Taiwanese American Federation of Northern California, a primary first-gen coalition of organizations…

Read More »

interWellness: The women-led startup representing Taiwan at the Hult Prize global accelerator

Written by

Just last week, the Hult Prize—a global startup challenge that has been dubbed the “Nobel Prize for students” and awards US$1 million to the winning team—wrapped up its accelerator and penultimate round of business pitches in London. Among the competitors was Joyce Chen, a Bay Area native, recent graduate of the National Taiwan University, and second-generation Taiwanese American.  [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1102"] interWellness co-founders with Minister of Health and Welfare,…

Read More »

On Clubhouse, ‘臺kanda’: Taiwan’s Wakanda Fantasies

Written by

Are semiconductors Taiwan's vibranium? "Actually," offers one speaker, "it's the Taiwanese people's ethics and heart." Aw. There's a scene in the Marvel franchise where T'challa disrupts the meta-fiction of Wakanda's unremarkable, third-world pretense, grandly revealing their true nature in a gesture of humanitarian aid. That both Wakanda and Taiwan can be categorized as global fictions is sad. But, crucially, there is a difference between hiding and being ignored. [caption id="" align="alignnone"…

Read More »

What to Watch: Taiwanese Shows & Movies on Netflix Now

Written by

From the ICONIC 2005 Taiwanese series 王子變青蛙 (The Prince Who Turns into a Frog) with its ambitious fulfillment of all classical elements (two exceptionally hot guys, collision-based amnesia) to the highest-grossing LGBTQ+ film in Taiwanese history, Your Name Engraved Herein, we can't wait to watch our way through Netflix's lineup of Taiwanese shows and movies. TV SHOWS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MppKF564QEk Triad Princess 極道千金 (Netflix Original Series)  Language:…

Read More »

For a Better Life, Move to Taiwan: My Taiwanese American Story

Written by

When my mom was twenty, she moved from Taiwan to the United States. Now I’m twenty, and I’m doing everything I can to get back.  There are practical reasons for this, of course. I applied for dual citizenship in high school, and since coronavirus has pushed everything, including my college classes, into the virtual world, Taiwan has become my fabled “land of opportunity.”  But there’s something deeper going on. I’ve spent my whole life trying to prove my “Americanness,”…

Read More »

Introducing Taiwan Mixed: An Aggregator for English-Language Taiwan News

Written by

L: Hi Salina! Thanks for taking the time to chat. Tell us about this aggregator project.  S: Taiwan Mixed is a platform that aggregates English content on Taiwan. In particular, the aggregator seeks to support Taiwan-based independent media outlets that release English articles related to developments on the island and beyond. It also seeks to support organizations that share the same mission of sharing Taiwanese culture with an international audience and disseminating information about Taiwan…

Read More »

Taiwanese and Taiwanese American Film Festival Guide: Fall 2020

Written by

FEATURE IMAGE: HELLO FROM TAIWAN, dir. TIFFANY FRANCES We are beaming with Taiwanese American pride as our stories come to life and are being projected across the country! A global pandemic may have paused in-person film festivals and gatherings in America, but that hasn't stopped organizers from creating virtual film festivals accessible to a wider audience. Lucky for us because there are more than a handful of excellent Taiwanese and Taiwanese American films being showcased by several organizations…

Read More »

[中英版] At Home in the Library: My Taiwanese American Story / 圖書館裡的家

Written by

Twenty years after we moved from Ohio to California, my parents received a letter from the children’s librarian in our old town. She had addressed it to “Resident,” not knowing if she had the right address for our family. “The other day while uncluttering a box in my basement,” she wrote, “I discovered a letter written by a girl named Cindy Lee. It was dated 12/30/00.” She asked for news of us, wished us well, and closed by noting, “The fear of the virus has kept us all close…

Read More »