Talking Taiwan

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:   Ed Lin is a native New Yorker of Taiwanese and Chinese descent. He is the first writer to win three Asian American Literary Awards. The last time we had Ed on Talking Taiwan (in 2014) we spoke about “Ghost Month” his first book in the Taipei Night Market Series of mysteries. Since then, he’s written a YA novel and now four books in the Taipei Night Market Series. "Death Doesn't Forget," Is the latest book in the series and it will be published in July.   This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.   NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:   to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.   To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com   Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   Ed Lin’s Taipei Mysteries books series and how he went about planning and writing them The main character of Ed Lin’s Taipei Mysteries book series, Jing-Nan and how he’s evolved The premise and what inspired Ed to write Death Doesn’t Forget How the indigenous tribe that Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei is named after is not officially recognized as a tribe in Taiwan The lack of representation of indigenous people in Taiwan’s government The way Ed has described Taipei in his novel The neighborhood of Guangzhou Street west of Longshan Temple and why he described it as seedy The training center located near Longshan Temple in Taipei for aborigine people and why the program was unsuccessful The inconsistent romanization of streets in Taipei How the stops on Taiwan’s MRT system are announced in four languages: Mandarin, Taiwanese (Holo), Hakka and English How safe Taipei and Taiwan is The role of organized crime, good and bad in Taiwan’s society How the population of Taiwan is not monoethnic as some would assume Taiwan’s new immigrants from Southeast Asia The plight of Taiwan’s migrant workers The “island mentality” of Taiwan that Ed describes as people’s kindness and helpfulness Ed’s interactions with complete strangers and gangsters in Taiwan How the characters in Death Doesn’t Forget represent different ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds How Taiwan’s White Terror era has affected the people of Taiwan and its lasting trauma Some of the intriguing characters of Death Doesn’t Forget The abuse of migrant fishermen and migrant workers in Taiwan and Ed’s interest in writing about it The “orphan brigade” of Death Doesn’t Forget and Taiwanese baseball teams from the Japanese occupation period (similar to what was portrayed in the film Kano) How Japan used baseball as a form of soft power in its colonies How Taiwan’s Little League baseball team is a form of its soft power Green Island and how one of the characters of Death Doesn’t Forget in spent time at the prison there Why murder is the crime featured in many of Ed’s novels Ed’s observations and thoughts on the intermingling of religions in Taiwan How Ed would immerse himself in the time period of 1976 when writing his Chinatown Mysteries series Ed’s thoughts on how the war in Ukraine may or may not be giving China ideas about attacking Taiwan Ed’s approach to his book readings How/why the narration of Death Doesn’t Forget was switched to third person, instead of first person for all of the other novels in the Taipei Mysteries series How the writing James T. Farrell, Irish-American author of the Studs Lonigan trilogy and Danny O'Neill pentology, inspired Ed to write Death Doesn’t Forget in third person Ed’s foray into YA (young adult) novel writing with David Tung Can’t Have A Girlfriend Until He Gets Into An Ivy League College How Ed came up with the title Death Doesn’t Forget   Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/ed-lin-winner-of-three-asian-literary-awards-talks-about-his-new-book-death-doesnt-forget-ep-197/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:   July is BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) Mental Health Month, which is also known as Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, named for the mental health advocate who brought awareness to the unique struggles that underrepresented groups face in regard to mental illness in the US.   I’ve invited Susan Chung on to Talking Taiwan to talk about her career in mental health, and BIPOC Mental Health Month. Susan is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, who provides psychotherapy specifically to BIPOC students. We also spoke about key statistics and research findings that inform us about the mental health of Asians, some of the unique challenges facing BIPOC communities and individuals, the racism that Susan has experienced as a mental health professional, and the importance of managing our own mental health.   This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.   NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.   To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com   Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   How Susan got interested in studying mental health and social work How Susan realized that there’s a need to have more Asians represented in mental health Susan’s work with forensic social work and how it is different from social work Susan’s work with survivors of human trafficking Susan’s career path Susan has worked with middle school-aged kids in addition to college kids How Susan manages the impact that dealing with victims of human trafficking could have on her own mental health How Susan continues to do forensic social work since moving from New York to North Carolina by accompanying police on raids How Susan felt about being the only Asian-identifying therapist among Black-identifying therapists at the University of North Carolina counseling center Work-related trauma that Susan has experienced Susan’s work experience at the University of North Carolina Susan’s experiences living in Irvine, California, New York City and North Carolina In 2017, according to the Office of Minority Health, the leading cause of death in young Asian Americans in the US was suicide. Citation: Matsuoka, J. K., Breaux, C., & Ryujin, D. H. (1997). National utilization of mental health services by Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders. Journal of Community Psychology, 25(2), 141-145. doi:10.1002/(sici)1520-6629(199703)25:23.0.co;2-0 Susan’s research at University of California, Irvine about the higher rate of depression and suicidal thoughts amongst Asian-identifying students The rates of reported and diagnosed mental illness are low for Asian Americans compared to Euro-Americans, averaging between 5-12% Citation: https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=4&lvlid=54 According to the nonprofit organization Mental Health America, Asian Americans are the least likely racial group in the United States to seek mental health services Susan’s work in the children’s psychiatric department of a hospital and how many of the students referred to her were Asian, and none had voluntarily sought help for themselves Challenges that BIPOC experience that could affect their mental health Resources provided by Mental Health of America’s web page for BIPOC Mental Health Month How the 2021 BIPOC Mental Health Month tool kit acknowledged that the Western medical model is based on evidence-based approaches (which can be problematic especially for BIPOC) Susan talked about how her Asian-identifying clients often have psychosomatic symptoms that are indicative of a mental health-related issue Mental illness doesn’t have to be about an illness or having a condition like depression, being bipolar, having PTSD, etc. The stigmatization of mental health De-stigmatizing mental health by changing the language we use or referring to it as mental wellness How the pandemic has impacted people’s mental health and the research that Susan did related to this Susan’s thoughts on the Atlanta spa shooting in March of 2021 Tips to manage and assess our own mental health What can we do to support friends and family who may be struggling with their mental health The racism that Susan has experienced as a mental health professional The vicarious trauma Susan felt in dealing with a student who was the target of an Asian hate crime at UNC How racial injustice and systemic injustice can affect BIPOC communities Challenges faced by indigenous communities and how they may have some nonevidence-based practices that are therapeutic While Susan has dealt with Black and Latinx students, she doesn’t want to make any generalizations about BIPOC communities or their mental health   Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/susan-chung-talks-about-her-career-in-mental-health-and-bipoc-mental-health-month-ep-196/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:   John Eastwood is a partner at the law firm Eiger. He was previously interviewed for Talking Taiwan in 2012 and we’ve invited John back on to Talking Taiwan to talk about some of the changes he’s seen in Taiwan from a legal perspective, in the 20 years that he has resided in Taiwan.   We touched upon how Taiwan’s WTO accession improved the protection of intellectual property rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, migrant worker rights, and laws that should be reformed like the Parade an Assembly law.   This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women’s Association.   NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:   to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.   To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com     Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   What brought John to Taiwan John was a journalist before becoming a lawyer John spent time in China as a visiting scholar Eiger has branches in both Taipei and Shanghai John’s experience with COVID-19 in Taiwan What John has been up to since his last interview for Talking Taiwan in 2012 John’s involvement with the Democratic National Convention and Democrats Abroad How John feels its important for people to understand the situation and what’s going on in Taiwan Taiwan’s health restrictions in things like pork imports The early days of COVID in Taiwan How mask wearing is perceived in Taiwan How Taiwan has changed from a legal standpoint with respect to intellectual property in the last 20 years, since John has lived in Taiwan How Taiwan’s WTO accession improved the protection of intellectual property rights Human rights issues in Taiwan that could be improved include: LGBTQIA+ adoption and reproductive rights, How manufacturing of counterfeit goods has moved to China How people in Taiwan often call on the police to resolve domestic disputes How public insult laws in Taiwan need to be reformed Misuse of the public insult law and how it can be used against foreigners How the police in Taiwan are often used to harass people How the police in Taiwan don’t necessarily stop people from pursuing frivolous cases The Assembly and Parade Law How migrant workers in Taiwan have been mistreated Other issues in need of legal reform like abortion   Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/john-eastwood-talks-about-the-legal-changes-in-taiwan-over-the-past-20-years-ep-195/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:   This lost episode of Talking Taiwan features John Eastwood, co-managing partner at Eiger Law. In the original interview with John which was recorded October 2012, John talks about attending the Democratic National Convention of 2012, his involvement with the Democratic National Committee and Democrats Abroad, and the significance of the Japanese Taihoku prison wall in Taipei.   Stay tuned for my follow up interview with John next week as we check in with him 10 years later to get an update from him.   For the month of June we’ll be slowing things down by sharing lost episodes every other week, and in July we’ll be taking a break from the lost episodes. We’ve got a lot of great new content planned and we just can’t fit it all into our weekly publication schedule.   Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   At the time of the interview Eiger Law had won Taiwan’s law firm of the year for two years in a row At the time of the interview Eiger Law had won awards for employment and compliance practices, for investment and employment practices (from Acquisition International), for corporate and MNA practices Eiger Law was named Employer of Choice for 2012 (which was based on responses given by Taiwanese lawyers) The Democratic National Convention in September of 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina How John is the first resident from within Taiwan to be elected to be a member of the Democratic National Convention How John spent the summer of 2012 trying to get American citizens living abroad registered to vote on a nonpartisan basis The politicians who spoke at the Democratic National Convention of 2012 The different events that Democrats Abroad Taiwan organizes including Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day activities to remember Americans who served and sacrificed for the freedom of the U.S.A. The Japanese Taihoku prison wall in Taipei where 14 American airmen who held there as prisoners of war were executed in the final weeks of World War II Who can join Democrats Abroad Taiwan   Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/ep-194-lost-episodes-john-eastwood/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:   It’s been three years since Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize same sex marriage in 2019.   My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Joyce Teng, the Deputy Executive Director of Taiwan Equality Campaign, previously known as the “Marriage Equality Coalition Taiwan.” We talked what’s happened since 2019. Surveys and polls conducted over the past three years indicate growing support for LGBTQIA+ issues within Taiwan’s society.   However, there are still some additional struggles that same sex married couples experience as opposed to heterosexual married couples in Taiwan. Joyce also touched upon a few issues concerning transgender and nonbinary individuals.   She mentioned three areas in which same sex married couples face some challenges, the first being transnational couples; problems arise for couples of different nationalities when their marriage cannot be legally recognized in Taiwan; the second issue is co-adoption and dealing with Taiwan’s adoption procedures, and finally reproductive rights. It’s been eye-opening for me to learn about all of this.   These are all complex issues and many of them they could also pose challenges for heterosexual married couples in Taiwan. I only recently learned about a woman’s reproductive rights in Taiwan when it comes to freezing her eggs. We’ll include some articles on this topic in the Related Links section of this episode.   This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.   NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:   to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.   To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com   Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   Taiwan Equality Campaign was previously the “Marriage Equality Coalition Taiwan” How the rights of heterosexual married couples differ from the rights of same sex married couples in Taiwan How heterosexual married couples and single individuals can adopt in Taiwan, but same sex married couple cannot adopt in Taiwan Earlier this year there was a court case that ruled that one of the spouses of a same sex couple, could adopt his spouse’s child who had been adopted when the was still single, however this is only one case, and according to the law in Taiwan a same sex spouse is unable to adopt the adopted child of their spouse What is involved with the adoption process in Taiwan and how it could take up to 3-5 years The gap when it comes to reproductive rights for heterosexual women and lesbian women who want to freeze their eggs in Taiwan Reproductive rights of same sex couples in Taiwan How Taiwan has one of the lowest birth rates in the world The government in Taiwan offers subsidies for heterosexual couples to do IVF but not for same sex couples How birth rates in Taiwan tend to be low during the year of the tiger (February 1, 2022 – January 21, 2023 is a tiger year) How Taiwan has changed in the time that Joyce has been working for the Taiwan Equality Campaign and since same sex marriage was legalized in Taiwan Surveys done by the Taiwan Equality Campaign over the past three years indicate increasing support by the general public for same sex couples to adopt, do IVF Surveys done by the Taiwan Equality Campaign show that over time more of the general public have indicated that they have friends identifying as LGBTQIA+; this indicates that LGBTQIA+ individuals are more willing to come out to their family, friends and peers Surveys have also indicated that since the legalization of same sex marriage in Taiwan, LGBTQIA+ individuals are more comfortable to talk about their personal lives and spouses The different types of survey questions asked to gage people’s acceptance of same sex couples in Taiwan Whether the general public in Taiwan supports teaching school-aged children about gender equality, sexual orientation and expression How attitudes and acceptance of LGBTQIA+ individuals and issues may be indicative of generational differences The film Small Talk, a documentary film about the filmmaker’s difficult relationship with her mother who was a lesbian If having a nonbinary “Digital Minister” in Taiwan, Audrey Tang has had any impact on the general public’s views or acceptance of LGBTQIA+ individuals How there is work to be done when it comes to awareness and understanding of transgender and nonbinary individuals in Taiwan The challenges faced by transgender and nonbinary individuals in Taiwan The question of how transgender and nonbinary individuals would like to be identified on their identification cards/documents How the Taiwan Equality Campaign works with local government officials How Taipei’s MRT bathroom signs will be gender neutral How Thailand may be the next country in Asia to legalize same sex marriage Advocacy to support LGBTQIA+ activists in other Asian countries How Taiwan can serve as a case study of how the legalization of same sex marriage has impacted society Difficulties faced by same sex transnational couples in Taiwan How the Taiwan Equality Campaign has worked with local levels of government to train civil servants how to deal with LGBTQIA+ identifying individuals How the Taiwan Equality Campaign approaches local governments about implementing LGBTQIA+ sensitivity training   Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/joyce-teng-the-struggles-facing-couples-of-same-sex-marriage-in-taiwan-ep-193/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:   Edouard Roquette was at the beginning of his experience as an entrepreneur when he was previously interviewed for Talking Taiwan, as you may have heard in the previous lost episode of Talking Taiwan (episode 191) featuring Edouard. We’ve invited Edouard back on as a guest to talk about what he’s been up since then. Edouard talked to us about his clean tech startup and why it failed, and the challenges that many foreign entrepreneurs experience in Taiwan. He also had a life changing accident which we will talk about in a follow up interview, in a future episode.   Edouard is currently the founder of Rooms.Taipei a co-living business. If you’d like to check out their COVID newsletter that Edouard mentioned in his interview, the one that provides updates to help people keep up on the visa and immigration situation in Taiwan during COVID, check out the related links section below.   Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   Edouard’s clean-tech start-up CityVolt and why it failed The differences between a gas vehicle and electric vehicle Battery sources for electric vehicles Exchangeable, rechargeable batteries for scooters How Edouard won a competition and was invited to speak at The Economist’s Carbon Economy Summit in Washington D.C. in 2009 Eduoard’s thoughts on what makes Gogoru successful The accident that changed Eduoard’s life and led him to consider a co-living business that he started in 2014 Edouard’s co-living business, Rooms.Taipei The problems that Edouard’s co-living business aims to solve How Rooms.Taipei is an accelerator for the experiences that a foreigner can have in Taiwan Why it’s difficult to scale a business like this or to differentiate it How businesses in Taiwan are not protected from extreme rent increases that negatively impact their businesses, causing them to close How rent increases can lead to many other “costs” aside from causing businesses to close, these costs include: environmental costs, human costs (jobs lost), economic cost (when companies are constantly closed and new ones started) Edouard’s thoughts about Taiwan’s plans to attract 100,000 foreign workers by 2030 Edouard’s business strategy of reaching out to and collaborating with his competitors How difficult it is for foreign entrepreneurs to do business in Taiwan How most of Edouard’s customers are people who have just arrived in Taiwan or are new to Taiwan How housing and banking are two of the most difficult things for foreigners in Taiwan to deal with The E. Sun Bank branch that offers English service and where Edouard is encouraging foreigners to open bank accounts Problems that people have encountered with negligent landlords How Edouard has reached out to the office of the mayor of Taipei through the French Chamber of Commerce about creating a standard of accommodations and contracts How most housing projects in Taipei are luxury apartments targeted to investors but not to the average resident of Taipei Last year Taipei city lost inhabitants Edouard’s thoughts on what to do when the odds are against you Edouard’s private entrepreneur group of business owners who meet regularly and support each other’s businesses Katie Moves Taipei, a business that offers Zumba online classes Taiwan Impact Entrepreneurs Facebook group and what they are doing for foreign entrepreneurs in F&B (food and beverage) The kombucha beverage company, Daoori Elias Ek’s efforts to improve things for foreign entrepreneurs in Taiwan How there needs to be better representation for foreign employees, migrant workers, foreign students How things have changed for entrepreneurs in Taiwan in the past 10 years since Eduoard’s “lost” episode of Talking Taiwan interview Edouard’s advice for foreigner entrepreneurs considering doing business in Taiwan What Edouard loves about Taiwan which includes cycling and being a Tiger Man for the goddess Matsu’s birthday How Edouard founded one of the biggest sports groups for foreigners in Taiwan Outdoor sports groups in Taiwan to check out   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/edouard-roquette-todays-challenges-facing-foreign-entrepreneurs-in-taiwan-ep-192/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:   This lost episode of Talking Taiwan features Edouard Roquette, a member of the French Chamber of Commerce talking about entrepreneurship and Taiwan’s foreign entrepreneur community. Next week we’ll be bringing Edouard back on to find out what he’s been up to since then.   For the month of June we’ll be slowing things down by sharing lost episodes every other week, and in July we’ll be taking a break from the lost episodes. We’ve got a lot of great new content planned and we just can’t fit it all into our weekly publication schedule.   Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   Edouard was a finalist for the French Chamber of Commerce’s Innovation award in 2010 and 2011 Edouard is a member of the French Chamber of Commerce’s SME (Small and Medium Enterprises) committee Edouard’s involvement with the Founder’s Club that meets monthly How to raise money for a business that doesn’t involve equity The different approaches that foreign entrepreneurs in Taiwan take to raising funds Why Edouard has chosen to start his business in Taiwan and not China The variety of ideas that come out of the Taiwan’s foreign entrepreneur community Advice Edouard would give to people on the beginning of their entrepreneurial paths What people should not do when starting a business Why it’s important to consider who you decide to work with and accept money from Local Taiwanese entrepreneurs vs. to foreign entrepreneurs How Edouard learned about entrepreneurship before coming to Taiwan through a program developed jointly by the MIT Sloan Business School and the University of Cambridge called the SEEDA (South East England Development Agency) Enterprisers The lack of support, programs or resources available for entrepreneurs in Taiwan   Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/ep-191-lost-episodes-edouard-roquette/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:   May 15 to June 15th is Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month. To learn more about what Tourette syndrome is, I encourage you to listen to the episode that we did last year with Peter Zhao, episode 129. Peter is a Tourette Activist and has been a guest on Talking Taiwan several times. He’s also spoken up about Asian hate crimes.   I really appreciate the openness and candor with which he speaks about his personal struggles with mental health. It’s not an easy thing to do. Peter spoke about the challenges he’s faced in dealing with Tourette and bipolar I, and his concerns with the side effects of medication, which he noted has made him lose his “edge.” Dealing with mental health is a process that requires assessment, evaluation, and self-reflection.   To learn more about Peter, you can find him on social media as @fabulouslytourette or check out his podcast Fabulously Tourette Radio.   Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   Peter’s podcast Fabulously Tourette Radio Peter’s diagnosis of manic depression, bipolar I with major depressive episodes How Peter is considered neurodivergent How podcasting is a form of talk therapy for Peter The term neurodivergent What happened to lead Peter to get officially diagnosed with bipolar I Peter’s previous struggles in taking an anti-psychotic drug Orap (generic name Pimozide), which he shared in detail in Talking Taiwan episode 129 Peter’s Op Ed on AsAm News about dealing with bipolar disorder Peter’s struggles with his mood swings and comorbidities How Peter’s depression affected his job performance and family life The difficulties and challenges of Peter’s day job How Peter has experienced greater anxiety after working remotely since the beginning of the pandemic Peter’s candid posts about mental health on social media What happened after Peter was diagnosed with bipolar I and started taking a new medication The approach Peter took to starting this new medication How the medication stopped many of Peter’s tics and how he feels about that How Peter feels after being on this new medication for four months The side effects of the medication that Peter is taking and how he’s dealing with them The support of Peter’s partner How Peter came to the decision to take a leave of absence from work How Peter handled his leave of absence and used it as a mental health reset Peter’s considerations when it comes to job satisfaction and his career path Peter’s advocacy for Tourette syndrome and bipolar disorder Peter’s tip, the 50-50 mindfulness technique for people dealing with anxiety   Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/peter-zhao-tourette-syndrome-awareness-and-his-own-personal-struggles-with-mental-health-ep-190/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:   In this episode of Talking Taiwan, my guests are Richard Pearson, the Executive Director of the Western Pacific Fellowship Project and Professor Shelley Rigger. We will be talking about the Taiwan Fellowship Act, a bill which has been decades in the making, and was inspired by the Mansfield Fellowship. This bill which has gotten bipartisan support in both the U.S. and Taiwan. It has been added to the COMPETES Act, and has also passed through both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate in slightly different versions. Now the House and Senate are in conference committee to resolve differences in order to come up with a final version of the bill.   Learn more about what the Taiwan Fellowship Act is, how it serves to strengthen U.S.-Taiwan ties, why you should care about it, and how you can support passage of this bill in to law.   About Richard Pearson:   Richard Pearson is Executive Director of the Western Pacific Fellowship Project and Managing Director, Taiwan Fellowship. He has roughly two decades of experience in U.S.-Asia economic relations and the political-economy of the Asia-Pacific largely in the public service sector.   Mr. Pearson’s professional experience includes time as a business reporter based in Taipei and in public service focusing on the Indo-Pacific. From 2010-2014 Mr. Pearson was an Associate Director at the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation during which time he originally conceived and explored the Taiwan Fellowship concept. Along with Ryan Shaffer and former AIT Director and Chairman Ambassador Raymond Burghardt, Mr. Pearson founded the Western Pacific Fellowship Project in late-2019 to operationalize the Taiwan Fellowship.   Mr. Pearson received his undergraduate degree from St. Olaf College and his graduate degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Immediately after college, he held a Fulbright scholarship to Taiwan. His essays on U.S.-Asia relations have been published in various outlets in the U.S. and East Asia including the Taipei Times and The Diplomat.   About Shelley Rigger: Shelley Rigger is the Brown Professor of East Asian Politics at Davidson College. She has a PhD in Government from Harvard University and a BA in Public and International Affairs from Princeton University. She has been a Fulbright scholar at National Taiwan University (2019), a visiting researcher at National Chengchi University in Taiwan (2005) and a visiting professor at Fudan University (2006) and Shanghai Jiaotong University (2013 & 2015). She is a non-resident fellow of the China Policy Institute at Nottingham University and a senior fellow of the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI). She is also a director of The Taiwan Fund, a closed-end investment fund specializing in Taiwan-listed companies. Rigger is the author of two books on Taiwan’s domestic politics, Politics in Taiwan: Voting for Democracy (Routledge 1999) and From Opposition to Power: Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (Lynne Rienner Publishers 2001). She has published two books for general readers, Why Taiwan Matters: Small Island, Global Powerhouse (2011) and The Tiger Leading the Dragon: How Taiwan Propelled China’s Economic Rise (2021). She has published articles on Taiwan’s domestic politics, the national identity issue in Taiwan-China relations and related topics. In 2019-20 she was a Fulbright Senior Scholar based in Taipei, where she worked on a study of Taiwan’s contributions to the PRC’s economic take-off and a study of Taiwanese youth.   Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   The COMPETES Act and the Taiwan Fellowship Act, what they are and the background The Western Pacific Fellowship Project How the China Bill in the COMPETES Act aims to strengthen the U.S. response and monitoring of China’s economic activity, and political and security moves globally How the COMPETES Act aims to strengthen the U.S. semiconductor industry How the COMPETES Act contains a bill to change the name TECRO (Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office) change to Taiwan Representative Office is a part of the Competes How the Taiwan Fellowship Act fits into the larger question of the U.S.’s response to China What the Taiwan Fellowship Act is The Mike Mansfield Fellowship Why Americans should care about getting the Taiwan Fellowship Act passed Why Taiwan matters on its own, apart from China What is the procedure for an Act to get passed and what stage the Taiwan Fellowship Act is currently at The many Taiwanese American civic groups that support the Taiwan Fellowship Act For those who’d like to support the Taiwan Fellowship Act and see it get passed in to law, now is a crucial period; they should contact their members of congress to express their support for getting it passed You can write an email to your member of congress through an automated form on FAPA’s (Formosan Association of Public Affairs) website How the Mansfield Fellowship came from congress vs. the Taiwan Fellowship which has been a more grassroots effort U.S. sentiment toward Japan in the mid-1990s How Richard worked at the Mansfield Foundation and learned the value of the Mansfield Fellowship in strengthening the U.S.-Japan relationship How Richard spent time in Taiwan in 2000 and realized that there could be value in creating a fellowship program similar to the Mansfield Fellowship with Taiwan How Richard has been working on the Taiwan Fellowship Act since 2010 How now seems to be the one chance to get the Taiwan Fellowship Act passed If passed the Taiwan Fellowship could endure for decades like the Mansfield Fellowship What will happen if the Taiwan Fellowship Act doesn’t get passed Reaction and support for the Taiwan Fellowship Act in Taiwan How the Taiwan Fellowship Act had gotten bipartisan support in both Taiwan (pan-Green and pan-Blue) and in the U.S. (Democrats and Republicans) How the Western Pacific Fellowship Project is a volunteer-led organization and its funding needs How there are a lot of the leading figures in US-Taiwan relations among the Western Pacific Fellowship Project’s directors and advisors Shelley’s support of the Taiwan Fellowship Act Why there has been such broad support for the Taiwan Fellowship Act   Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/why-you-should-care-about-the-taiwan-fellowship-act-a-discussion-with-richard-pearson-and-shelley-rigger-ep-189/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:   This lost episode of Talking Taiwan features blogger Michael Turton. At the time Michael had written over 5000 blog posts for his blog The View From Taiwan. Michael began writing his blog in 2005 and I remember how popular Michael’s blog was. That’s how I learned about him when I was living in Taiwan, back in the days before social media.     Michael has been a guest twice on Talking Taiwan. in episode 119 he spoke with me about China’s ban on Taiwan’s pineapples. And in episode 138 he spoke about his love of biking in Taiwan.  That episode earned Talking Taiwan a Golden Crane Podcast Award. Be sure to give those episodes a listen to learn more about Michael.   For the month of June we’ll be slowing things down by sharing lost episodes every other week, and in July we’ll be taking a break from the lost episodes. We’ve got a lot of great new content planned and we just can’t fit it all into our weekly publication schedule.   Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   Michael’s blog the View From Taiwan How Michael has written over 5000 blog posts How long it takes him to write a blog post on average What keeps him going with his blog writing How his blog posts are fact based and he’s been quoted by journalists How being based in Taichung, gives him a different perspective than those living in Taipei Michael’s love of biking in Taiwan The most active English language bloggers in Taiwan   Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/ep-188-lost-episodes-michael-turton-5000-blog-posts/