Talking Taiwan

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:   Taiwan’s Employment Gold Card program has come up in several past episodes of Talking Taiwan. I’ve been wanting to bring someone on to talk about what it is, who might be eligible for it and how to apply for it. In this episode I spoke with Michael Fahey, an American lawyer who’s lived in Taiwan for 30 years. He worked with the Taiwan National Development Council on Taiwan’s Gold Card program. Michael is co-founder of Forward Taiwan, an organization founded to improve Taiwan’s immigration laws as they pertain to foreign professionals.     Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   How people may consider Taiwan small but with its population of 23 million people it could be compared to one of the U.S.’s largest states or a mid-sized European country What is the Taiwan Gold Card How the Taiwan Employment Gold Card is a four-in-one card: visa, work permit, resident permit, and re-entry permit, that is valid for three years After three years Gold Card holders who have been in Taiwan for an average of 183 days can apply for permanent residency in Taiwan How there was an increase in Gold Cards issued during the pandemic The government of Taiwan’s goal of getting to 10,000 Gold Cards issued by the end of the year and a long-term goal of having 100,000 foreign professionals in Taiwan by 2030 How to apply for a Gold Card The eight fields that people can apply to in order to obtain a Gold Card The special category of consultation for those who don’t fit in to any of the eight fields What documentation needs to be provided in order to apply for a Gold Card The importance of providing objective evidence of your professional accomplishments (e.g. an award, a measurable accomplishment) 60% of Gold Card holders have qualified by meeting the salary qualification in the economy field The type of work that Gold Card holders can seek while in Taiwan Singapore’s Employment Pass program and the backlash it’s gotten from Singaporean citizens Recent changes to the Gold Card program including the requirement for applying for permanent residence was lowered from five years to three years and different tax incentives Changes to ordinary work permit requirements which previously required both a college degree and two years of related experience The American Chamber of Commerce Taiwan Business Topics publication Useful resources for people applying for a Gold Card including: the Taiwan National Development Council’s website Foreign Talent, the Taiwan Employment Gold Card Office Help Desk, Taiwan EZ Permit The challenges faced by some Gold Card holders in finding employment in Taiwan It’s not necessary to speak Chinese to live and work in Taiwan If there is something missing or incomplete with a Gold Card application, you will have 30 days to rectify it Currently Gold Card applications are taking 4-6 weeks to get approved What happens if someone’s application for the Gold Card is not accepted The most competitive sub field under arts and culture is popular music/TV/movies Special considerations for people wanting to live and work in Taiwan Considering places to live in Taiwan other than Taipei Michael’s work with Forward Taiwan How Forward Taiwan is working on access to dual nationality for people naturalizing as Taiwanese citizens How Michael is transitioning to working on migrant workers issues The most meaningful accomplishments of Forward Taiwan: an increased number of countries that Taiwan has working holiday agreements with, making it easier for graduates of Taiwanese universities to stay and live and work in Taiwan How the National Development Council came up with Taiwan’s Gold Card program and modeled it after Singapore’s Employment Pass program Taiwan’s independent artist work permit   Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/michael-fahey-of-forward-taiwan-talks-about-the-gold-card-program-ep-182/  

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Yao Huang is funding minority owned businessess to solve the financial inequality problem. I first met and interviewed Yao Huang, in 2013. She is founder and managing partner of The Hatchery. If you want to learn more about her and the Hatchery you can go back and listen to episode 147 of Talking Taiwan.   Last year I looked her up, wondering what she’s been up to and reached out to invite her back on to Talking Taiwan as a guest. A lot can happen in 9 years!   I learned that she had done two TED Talks and a stint of standup comedy.   Yao has been focusing on some very big things like solving the problem of financial inequality through a $100 million dollar fund for minority-owned small to medium-sized businesses. And from her social media posts it looks like she’s living the life and having a ball at these gatherings called the Wonder Women Dinner Series all across the country.   When I asked her what she’s excited about these days she mentioned crypto, blockchain and Web3. To some, these may sound like things of the future but the future is already here. Last year Facebook’s name change to Meta was a nod to the metaverse, and earlier in the year, the buzz over a thing called NFTs hit mainstream media. When it comes to understanding NFTs you’ve got to also understand crypto currency, and blockchain technology. We covered that topic in episode 157: DJ Kaku Trailblazes NFTs in Asia. All of these things together- crypto, blockchain and the metaverse make up Web3.     Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   What the Wonder Women Dinner Series is How the Wonder Women Dinner Series has been going on for 16 years How the Wonder Women Dinner Series is a way for women to network, connect, make friendships, and have fun How Yao did standup comedy at Caroline’s, B.B. King’s and around New York City around 2014 Division One Capital a $100 million fund for women and minority small businesses How venture capital only helps 2% of all companies How Division One Capital’s lending is based on a company’s sales or revenues How it is difficult it is for women and minorities to secure a loan from a bank How loans from traditional banks can be at higher rates than funding obtained from Division One Capital How funding from a fund like Division One Capital can stabilize and allow a business to grow How Division One Capital was previously called Diana Capital How Division One Capital is working with cities’ initiatives to help SMBs (small and medium-sized businesses) How Yao believes there is a lot of wealth that can be more equally distributed and easily accessed The businesses that Yao has helped grow e.g. a Black woman owned HVAC company and a woman-led company in the data security space that has raised $3.5 million How crypto, bitcoin and block chain has revolutionized the fintech sector, banking, credit, currency, stocks, and led the wave of Web3 How important it is to learn about bitcoin and cryptocurrency and how it works The bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami, FL   Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/yao-huang-solving-financial-inequalities-by-funding-minority-owned-businesses-ep-181/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Paolo Lising shares his knowledge on starting a business in Taiwan. In February, I did a follow up interview with Paolo Lising, who I’ve had on as a guest previously along with Ramon Ray in episode 168, which was about solopreneurship. Paolo is the author of Startup Taiwan: Foreigners Business Guide, and the founder of MillionDC.com. Startup Taiwan is the second book written to help foreigners wanting to start a business in Taiwan after How to Start a Business in Taiwan, which was written by Elias Ek in 2013. Elias has also been a guest on Talking Taiwan.   I spoke in depth with Paolo about his early interest in entrepreneurship, what brought him to Taiwan, and how he transitioned from journalism to corporate life and the startup scene. We had an in-depth conversation about what went into his book Startup Taiwan. For those wanting the most up-to-date information they should subscribe to a digital version of Startup Taiwan, which Paolo regularly updates on his website StartupInTaiwan.com. He also has a podcast by the same name Startup Taiwan, that I’d recommend you check out.   Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   Paolo’s background and upbringing Paolo’s career as a journalist covering the Philippines energy sector and banking When and how Paolo became an entrepreneur Paolo’s first business, which was an antique shop in the Philippines How Paolo decided to go from being a journalist to pursing an MBA How Paolo decided to go Taiwan to purse an MBA degree How the MBA program at NTU (National Taiwan University) is taught in English Paolo worked at ASUS and Rayliant Global Advisors in Taiwan before getting into the startup scene Paolo’s current startup in Taiwan, MillionDC.com, which is a learning platform for entrepreneurs from developing countries The special needs of entrepreneurs from developing countries Where the name MillionDC comes from How his bosses at ASUS and Rayliant Global Advisors were supportive of Paolo’s interest in starting his own company on his own time outside of his work hours How one of the problems for people in the Philippines is having stable internet connection and access to information What led Paolo to write Startup Taiwan How to Start a Business in Taiwanby Elias Ek How so much has changed since 2013 when How to Start a Business in Taiwanby Elias Ek was published and Paolo felt a need to write a book with up dated information How Taiwan has changed it policies towards accepting foreigners and allowing them to open up businesses The two ways that foreigners can enter Taiwan and start a business: entrepreneur visa and Gold Card visa The requirements for an entrepreneur visa include submitting a plan of what you will to do in Taiwan, and the growth potential of your business Incubators in Taiwan and the support they provide to entrepreneurs The Gold Card visa is for those with expertise in their fields, similar to an APRC (lien Permanent Resident Certificate) The requirements for a Gold Card The process of writing and doing research for Paolo’s book, Startup Taiwan There are six steps to starting a business in Taiwan How Paolo’s book includes interviews with entrepreneurs and case studies The KPIs (key performance indicator) for grants given by the government of Taiwan The difference and added value of Paolo’s book, Startup Taiwan compared to Elias’ book, How to Start a Business in Taiwan How the interviews in Paolo’s book, Startup Taiwan offer some real life examples of what people go through in the process of trying to start a business in Taiwan How Taiwan is in general very technologically advanced, but its banking system is not Why there aren’t many venture capitalists setting up in Taiwan How a chop aka seal aka stamp is still commonly used by Taiwan’s banks as form of identification The inspiration behind the book cover art for Startup Taiwan The challenges that Paolo has experienced in doing business in Taiwan Common misperceptions that people have about Taiwan or doing business in Taiwan If any of the case studies from the book Startup Taiwanhave been translated into Chinese How Audrey Tang, Taiwan’s digital minister has received a copy of the book and thought the recommendations were helpful informing policies to make Taiwan a startup hub in Asia How Paolo wanted the first version of the print version of Startup Taiwanto look like a coffee table art book with grey paper vs. white or off-white How there are three versions of the book, Startup Taiwan 1)the print book released in 2020, 2) the online version available at StartupInTaiwan.com which is regularly updated 3) the 2022 version which is available on Amazon Kindle and print (updated up to January 31, 2022)   If you go to StartupInTaiwan.com you can get a digital version of the book with real time updates based on current events and news How it is more challenging for foreign entrepreneurs in Taiwan to get access to funding than local Taiwanese entrepreneurs How helpful it is for startups in Taiwan to have at Taiwanese co-founder How Startup Taiwan includes both failed and successful case studies How Taiwan is a welcoming place for foreigners How foreigners need to do research to make sure they are prepared with realistic expectations before coming to Taiwan 9 out of 10 startups in Taiwan fail What opportunities there are for people who want to do business with Taiwan rather than to do business in Taiwan   Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/paolo-lising-startup-taiwan-author-shares-his-knowledge-on-starting-a-business-in-taiwan-ep-180/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:   So much has happened since I interviewed John Fan, one of the co-founders of PicCollage back in December. PicCollage is an app that allows you to create fun things with your photos and videos. It is one of the most popular apps in the photo and video app category in the app store.   We actually spoke the day after Talking Taiwan won a Golden Crane Podcast Award. It was a fascinating conversation not only about PicCollage, but about what it was like for John being in Taiwan when it was one of the few places in the world relatively unaffected by COVID at the beginning of the pandemic, and how it attracted COVID refugees that included some of Taiwan’s most talented influential diaspora. John also talked about how the startup scene in Taiwan has changed in the ten years that he’s lived there.   Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   How PicCollage is an app that allows you to create fun things with your photos and videos How PicCollage as a company that creates a variety of apps related to greetings, video editing, and wellness The WOWSHI app inspired by Japanese washi tapes designed to mimic the tactile experience of applying washi tape, which can be a form of relaxation The idea for the WOWSHI app came out of the realization that during the pandemic people were looking for ways to de-stress How PicCollage was started 10 years ago and was initially designed primarily for the iPad 10 years ago apps like Uber, Instagram and Snapchat were still relatively new How PicCollage was started in Silicon Valley but has much of its operations in Taiwan John’s experience as a Taiwanese American having moved to Taiwan and lived there for 10 years The challenges of running a business in multiple time zones The advantages of running a business in Taiwan The freedom and creativity in Taiwan The popularity of bubble tea and cat cafes of Taiwan How Taiwan is connected to and influenced by China, Japan and the U.S. Taiwan’s kawaii i.e. cute aesthetic which has been influenced by Japan Kawaii culture in the in the campaign for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Chen Shui-bian How Bitmoji was created in 2007 PicCollage’s Silicon Valley values and Taiwanese employees How PicCollage has offered its team members U.S. $3,500 to spend on learning about or getting training on something of their own choice How PicCollage’s values are a mix from Silicon Valley and Taiwan: Always Be Learning. Be Proactive and Overcommunicate. Win As A Team. How PicCollage has changed and evolved over time John’s work experience prior to PicCollage What it has been like starting and running PicCollage How PicCollage values user feedback and has invited users to come in for user interviews on Fridays What they have learned from user feedback e.g. the ability to save/back up the collages on their phone in the cloud Artist collaborations with PicCollage have included collaborations with individual artists, Sanrio, and tokidoki What it’s been like being in Taiwan when it was relatively unaffected by COVID at the beginning of the pandemic, and attracted COVID refugees How Taiwan was one of the first countries to be aware of the threat of COVID early on in the pandemic and was prepared due to its prior experience with SARS How Taiwan was able to maintain zero COVID cases up until April/May 2021 and attracted COVID refugees, like the founders of Rotten Tomatoes, Twitch and YouTube The use of Gather and Kumospace as Taiwan has gone into partial lockdown and adopted working remotely How has the startup culture in Taiwan changed in the 10 years that John has been in Taiwan How software startups exist in the shadows of Taiwan’s two major industries: the semiconductor industry and ODM (Original Design Manufacturer) industry or contract manufacturing industries How Taiwan can play a role in the software industry How people in Taiwan vs Japan and Korea, are more willing to take a risk and work for smaller companies instead of large companies and conglomerates How the startup Gogoro has been able to get a lot of funding How Appier went public in Japan There’s been greater investor interest in Taiwan startups than in the past 500 Startups has set up a branch in Taiwan How there are more VCs (venture capital) in Taiwan now How there are more VCs investing in software How Taiwan can excel in creativity and design Pinkoi. “the Etsy of Asia” that was started in Taiwan GagaOOLala, an LGBTQ+, “Netflix for Asia” that was started in Taiwan How Taiwan needs people with senior level experience with product marketing, and engineering management, and this void could be filled by Taiwan’s diaspora or those interested in working with Taiwanese companies How PicCollage is hiring   Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/john-fan-pic-collage-cofounder-creating-jobs-for-taiwans-most-talented-since-2011-ep-179/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:   Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has put the reality of war on display for the world, especially for Taiwan, which like Ukraine, has been under the constant threat of military aggression of an unfriendly neighbor. Because of the war that’s been happening in Ukraine there’s been talk of how Taiwan must improve its military defense capabilities and preparedness, but beyond this, there are people in Taiwan wondering what they themselves can do to be prepared, should Taiwan come under attack.   My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan, T.H. Schee, a representative of Open Knowledge Taiwan, is one of those people asking these important questions.   We’d like to dedicate this episode to the memories of David Kilgour, who passed away on April fifth at the age of 81 and Peng Ming-min who passed away on April eighth at the age of 98. Mr. Kilgour, who I interviewed recently, was a human rights activist, and a former Member of Canada’s Parliament, having served in the House of Commons for nearly 27 years, as Secretary of State for Latin America & Africa from 1997-2002, and Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific from 2002-2003.   Dr. Peng Ming-Min was a pro-Taiwan independence/pro-democracy activist. In 1964 he was arrested for sedition for drafting and printing a manifesto advocating for democracy in Taiwan, he served as president of the Formosan Association of Public Affairs from 1986 to 1988, and in 1996 he ran as a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate in Taiwan's first direct presidential election.   This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by the Taiwanese United Fund.   The Taiwanese United Fund is an arts and culture foundation that celebrates the cultural heritages of Taiwanese Americans. Established in 1986, the foundation's mission is to facilitate cultural exchange between the Taiwanese American community and other American cultural communities, hoping to enrich and expand our cultural experiences. To learn more about TUF visit their website  http://www.tufusa.org/    Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   How T.H. became interested and involved with civil defense The 9/21 earthquake in Nantou His work with Open Knowledge Taiwan What is civil defense Great Britain’s Air Raid Wardens Service How T.H. has been dealing with disaster response for over ten years How Taiwan has to deal with disaster response year round due to typhoons and earthquakes What is digital first aid Taiwan’s history of civil defense programs in Kimen and Matsu What is covered in Open Knowledge workshops The last time that preparedness for war was treated as a priority in Taiwan The 1995-1996 missile crisis in Taiwan aka the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis What Taiwan can learn from what’s happening with the war in Ukraine The challenge of evacuating from Taiwan since it is an island How prepared Ukrainian civilians were for war How people can prepare for different levels of crisis: 1) emergency preparation (e.g. power outage/ blackout) 2) natural disaster 3) an attack/invasion/war The importance of establishing several reliable sources of information in case of a natural disaster The emerging discussion about how to handle an attack on Taiwan The importance of being able to identify friend from foe in case of a war in Taiwan The importance of first aid knowledge How civil defense in Taiwan is mandated by the national police agency/law enforcement in Taiwan An explanation of infographics from Open Knowledge that were recently shared on Twitter How general citizens could seek to improve their preparedness by enrolling in courses offered by hospitals Preparedness for military reservists The importance of having secure lines of communication in times of crisis Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense has published a handbook that outlines the roles and responsibilities of the local and central government in times of crisis; the handbook is irrelevant for civilians T.H.’s thoughts on how the government of Taiwan can better prepare its citizens for war How the past civil defense programs in Kimen and Matsu prepared and trained civilians for war and what we can learn from them How the defense sector is a closed circle and Open Knowledge Taiwan is trying to address civilians’ lack of access to defense related information Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces How it’s important for Taiwan to improve bi-lateral and tri-lateral exchanges of information Michael Turton’s piece in the Taipei Times about Taiwan’s preparedness for war How it’s important to be able to resist the first 72 hours of an attack How critical points identified at Open Knowledge Taiwan workshops could be turned into policy recommendations for Taiwan’s government   Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiwans-civil-defense-preparedness-t-h-schee-on-how-to-prepare-for-the-threat-of-an-attack-ep-178/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:   April fourth is Children’s Day in Taiwan, which is great timing for this interview with children’s book author Margaret Chiu Greanias. She spoke with me about her latest book Amah Faraway, which has many of its scenes set in Taipei, Taiwan. Margaret shared how she became a children’s book author, what she loves about picture books, how they get created and what she’s working on next.   This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by the Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 and the Taiwanese United Fund.   The Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 was established in 2000 to promote Taiwanese and Taiwanese American arts and literature, and to protect and enhance the human rights, freedom and democracy of the people in Taiwan.     The Taiwanese United Fund is an arts and culture foundation that celebrates the cultural heritages of Taiwanese Americans. Established in 1986, the foundation's mission is to facilitate cultural exchange between the Taiwanese American community and other American cultural communities, hoping to enrich and expand our cultural experiences. To learn more about TUF visit their website  http://www.tufusa.org/      Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   How Amah Faraway is written as a reverse poem What is a reverse poem The reverse poem, “The Lost Generation” by Jonathan Reed that inspired Margaret to write Amah Faraway as a reverse poem What inspired Margaret to write Amah Faraway How much of the book was based on Margaret’s relationship with her amah and on her children’s relationship with their amah (Margaret’s mother) How Margaret’s children react to reading her books Margaret’s memories of visiting Taiwan as a child How Margaret got connected with the illustrator of Amah Faraway Tracy Subisak the illustrator of Amah Faraway who is half Taiwanese and her special contributions to the book, which included the use of Mandarin Chinese The Two Tigers nursery rhyme that amah sings to Kylie in Amah Faraway How children’s picture books can be written first without an illustrator or written with a specific illustrator, in which case the manuscript and sketches would be sent together to an editor How Margaret’s first book Maximillian Villainous was created with illustrator Lesley Breen Withrow, and the manuscript and sketches were sent together to an editor How the movie Despicable Me inspired the idea for Margaret’s first children’s book Maximillian Villainous When the editor chooses the illustrator for a picture book usually the author and illustrator aren’t introduced to each other, and the illustrator works independently to interpret the words of the story in their own way How picture books are half about the words and half about the art How Margaret decided to become a children’s book author What Margaret was doing before she became a children’s book author Margaret’s favorite books as a child How Margaret decides to write about Margaret’s writing process Margaret writes picture books for ages 3-8 but would like to also write chapter books for middle grade (8-12 years old) What Margaret loves about picture books and writing for the 3-8 year old age group World Read Aloud Day The Five Chinese Brothers, an American children's book written by Claire Huchet Bishop What’s involved in the process of getting a children’s book published The challenge of writing a story in 500 words or less Children’s books that Margaret recommends Margaret’s next book, Hooked on Books that will be coming out next summer   Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/celebrating-childrens-day-in-taiwan-margaret-chiu-greanias-talks-about-her-latest-book-amah-faraway-ep-177/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:   As she watched the humanitarian crisis unfold due to the war in Ukraine, S. Chien wanted to do something to help. She came up with the idea for the Taiwan Cares project and together with Dr. Monty Wang and Dr. Bo-Chheng Lin, mobilized the efforts of over 30 Taiwanese Americans from New Jersey to raise over $9000 in 24 hours. The funds were used to purchase and ship urgently needed medical supplies and baby formula to people in Ukraine.    Chien is the President of New Jersey Chapter of North America Taiwanese Women's Association.   Dr. Monty Wang is a retired physician.   [INSERT photo of Dr. Bo-Chheng Lin]   Dr. Bo-Chheng Lin, is cofounder of New Jersey Living Well Club and an elder of the New Jersey Taiwanese American Fellowship Presbyterian Church (TAFPC).   I learned about their project Taiwan Cares from an email that was forwarded to me with a touching video created by Shi Chien about how over $9,000 was raised in 24 hours in order to send humanitarian relief to people in Ukraine.     With everything that’s been happening in the world today, I think that we need to tell more stories of the good that people are doing in the world.   The Taiwanese Care project team will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukrainian refugees in cooperation with the Taiwanese American Council of Greater New York (TAC-GNY) which has set up the Ukraine-Taiwan Humanitarian Fund Drive.  Donors may contact them for details and/or send checks to:   Taiwanese American Council (TAC) of Greater New York   TAC / Taiwan Center 137-44 Northern Blvd, Flushing, NY 11354   Make checks payable to TAC/GNY.  Please write the following as the check’s memo:  Ukraine – Taiwan Cares   TAC-GNY is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. After receiving a donation check, TAC-GNY will send the donor a tax-deductible receipt.  The fundraising drive ends mid-April.     This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by the Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 and the Taiwanese United Fund.   The Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 was established in 2000 to promote Taiwanese and Taiwanese American arts and literature, and to protect and enhance the human rights, freedom and democracy of the people in Taiwan.     The Taiwanese United Fund is an arts and culture foundation that celebrates the cultural heritages of Taiwanese Americans. Established in 1986, the foundation's mission is to facilitate cultural exchange between the Taiwanese American community and other American cultural communities, hoping to enrich and expand our cultural experiences. To learn more about TUF visit their website  http://www.tufusa.org/      Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   How the Taiwan Cares Project was initiated Dr. Monty Wang talks about how he’s visited both Ukraine and Russia and his impressions Why they only had 24 hours to raise funds How the Taiwan Cares Project team partnered with a Ukrainian Orthodox Church in New Jersey to deliver the supplies to people in need in Ukraine Why they decided to purchase urgently needed baby formula and medical supplies to send to Ukraine rather than sending a cash donation How Dr. Wang planned what items to order and the quick turnaround time in order to get them delivered to the Ukrainian church The Taiwan Care project will be a continued and continuous effort How Taiwan has made disaster relief contributions to Japan (Fukushima earthquake) and Indonesia How Ukraine’s situation is similar and different from Taiwan’s China’s incursions into Taiwan’s ADIZ How people from Taiwan have donated around $240 million U.S, dollars to Ukraine The Holodomor, Ukraine’s Great Famine Possible future initiatives of the Taiwan Cares project The YouTube video S. Chien created about the Taiwan Cares project and the music she used for it The Ukrainian folk instrument, the bandura that was banned by Russia How they purchased 900 pounds of supplies to send as humanitarian relief to Ukraine The design of the Taiwan Cares label and how it includes the Ukrainian words for “Help from Taiwan”   Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiwan-cares-humanitarian-efforts-for-ukraine-raise-9000-in-24-hours-ep-176/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:   Will China attack Taiwan given the current circumstances surrounding the war in Ukraine? My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Kuan-Ting Chen, the CEO of Taiwan NextGen Foundation, which is an NGO (a non-governmental organization) founded in Taipei that focuses on various issues such as Taiwan’s soft power, promoting democracy, educational policy research, public advocacy and issues related to domestic and foreign policy. He shared his thoughts on Russian’s invasion of Ukraine and the comparisons being made between Ukraine and Taiwan. I asked him how people in Taiwan have been reacting to the situation.   Prior to serving as CEO of Taiwan NextGen Foundation Kuan-Ting served at the Taipei City government as the chief research officer and deputy spokesperson. He was in charge of various issues related to public affairs, international affairs, and student affairs.   Before that Kuan-Ting served on Taiwan’s National Security Council. In that capacity he was responsible for Taiwan-Japan relations.   This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by the Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 and the Taiwanese United Fund. The Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 was established in 2000 to promote Taiwanese and Taiwanese American arts and literature, and to protect and enhance the human rights, freedom and democracy of the people in Taiwan.     The Taiwanese United Fund is an arts and culture foundation that celebrates the cultural heritages of Taiwanese Americans. Established in 1986, the foundation’s mission is to facilitate cultural exchange between the Taiwanese American community and other American cultural communities, hoping to enrich and expand our cultural experiences. To learn more about TUF visit their website  http://www.tufusa.org/    Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   Some of the history of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia The famine that Ukraine endured during the early 20thcentury due to the policies of the Soviet Union The Budapest Memorandum Why people are drawing comparisons between Ukraine and Taiwan How the situation in Ukraine and Taiwan are similar and different How the invasion and conflict in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas has been going on for 7-8 years already Comparing China with Russia Kuan-Ting’s thoughts on the relationship between China and Russia How the international reaction to Russia can send a message to China The weaknesses of Russia and China militarily and economically China’s reactions to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine The role that China could play to possibly deter Russia’s invasion of Ukraine Why Kuan-Ting doesn’t think that China will try to attack Taiwan at this time What Taiwan can do as deterrence What has been the reaction in Taiwan to what’s been happening to Ukraine Taiwan’s military preparedness A recent survey of how many Taiwanese would be willing to fight to defend Taiwan The rallies in support of Ukraine in Taiwan How the sunflower is the national flower of Ukraine How thousands have showed up to rallies in support of Ukraine How the government of Taiwan has shown support for Ukraine The Taiwan Can Help campaign How the U.S. has responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and what we could infer, if anything about how the U.S. might respond if Taiwan was to be attacked by China What Taiwan can realistically expect in terms of military assistance from the U.S. How Taiwan needs to be better prepared in case China attacks What Taiwan can learn from what’s happening in Ukraine What Kuan-Ting learned about how Ukrainians are reacting to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine when he interviewed a Ukrainian minority   Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/will-china-attack-taiwan-kuan-ting-chen-discusses-ramifications-of-the-war-in-ukraine-on-taiwan-ep-175/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:   Jiho Chang tells us the inside story first hand by reliving the Sunflower Movement from Ground Zero. March 18th will mark the eighth anniversary of the beginning of the Sunflower Movement during which time activists occupied Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan in order to protest the passing of the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement, which was a treaty between Taiwan and China. The roots of the Sunflower Movement go back much further, years before 2014. My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan, Jiho Chang, shares his perspectives on the Sunflower Movement as he looks back upon it, and talks about his involvement with the movement.   Jiho has been a guest on Talking Taiwan previously, talking about his work as Keelung City Councilman (episode 149), and remembering the late revolutionary Su Beng (史明) (episode 156).   This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by the Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 and the Taiwanese United Fund.   The Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 was established in 2000 to promote Taiwanese and Taiwanese American arts and literature, and to protect and enhance the human rights, freedom and democracy of the people in Taiwan.   The Taiwanese United Fund is an arts and culture foundation that celebrates the cultural heritages of Taiwanese Americans. Established in 1986, the foundation's mission is to facilitate cultural exchange between the Taiwanese American community and other American cultural communities, hoping to enrich and expand our cultural experiences. To learn more about TUF visit their website  http://www.tufusa.org/    Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   Why the Sunflower Movement happened in Taiwan How the Sunflower Movement had roots in protests that started in 2008 How former President Ma Ying-jeou tried to “re-sinicize” many things in Taiwan Jiho’s involvement with the Sunflower Movement How there had been an attempt to occupy the Ministry of the Interior a year before the Sunflower Movement in 2014 The power struggle between former President Ma Ying-jeou and Speaker of the Legislative Yuan, Wang Jing-ping at the time of the Sunflower Movement Factions between the Kuomintang Jiho’s account of what happened the night activists broke into the Legislative Yuan How the length of the occupation was unexpected The public support for the movement, with crowds of people surrounding the Legislative Yuan for the duration of the occupation How Jiho has to testify in court about the attempted occupation of the Executive Yuan How there was a livestream of what was happening inside of the Legislative Yuan during the occupation How nothing was planned but people (such as doctors and other professionals) stepped up The documentary about the Sunflower Movement that featured Jiho and his colleagues How the Sunflower Movement has affected Taiwan’s political landscape and directions The conditions inside of the Legislative Yuan during the occupation There were 500-600 people occupying the Legislative Yuan How another headquarters of operations was set up at a NTU (National Taiwan University) social sciences building nearby The attempt at occupying the Executive Yuan on March 28, 2014 The end of the occupation of the Legislative Yuan March 30thrally in Taipei in which hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in support of the Sunflower Movement Rallies organized globally on March 30thin support of the Sunflower Movement Hong Kong’s protests (in 2014 aka the Umbrella Movement and 2019-2020) In the end as a result of the Sunflower Movement the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement was not approved and many young activists went on to serve in politics    Related Links:   To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/reliving-the-sunflower-movement-from-ground-zero-jiho-chang-tells-the-inside-story-ep-174/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:   On March 9th Taiwan Post will be issuing a stamp commemorating the 150th anniversary of the arrival of Canadian missionary George Leslie Mackay in Northern Taiwan. Mackay was unlike most 19th century missionaries. He has been referred to as the “son-in-law of Taiwan,” and was a forward thinker. He was one of the first to oppose the Head Tax imposed on Chinese in Canada.   To help understand who George Leslie Mackay was and the significance of his contributions, I’ll be speaking with Reverend Michael Stainton, the founder of the Canadian Mackay Committee. Reverend Stainton has worked for the last 25 years to promote the recognition of Mackay in Canada and on several campaigns for Canada Post to issue a stamp to commemorate George Leslie Mackay.   Those interested in contacting the Canadian Mackay Committee can email Canadianmackay@gmail.com   This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by the Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 and the Taiwanese United Fund.   The Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 was established in 2000 to promote Taiwanese and Taiwanese American arts and literature, and to protect and enhance the human rights, freedom and democracy of the people in Taiwan.   The Taiwanese United Fund is an arts and culture foundation that celebrates the cultural heritages of Taiwanese Americans. Established in 1986, the foundation's mission is to facilitate cultural exchange between the Taiwanese American community and other American cultural communities, hoping to enrich and expand our cultural experiences. To learn more about TUF visit their website  http://www.tufusa.org/    Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   How and when Reverent Stainton first learned about Dr. George Leslie Mackay How Reverend Stainton was a student radical at York University and was involved in the anti-Vietnam War movement and interested in China How Reverend Stainton became disillusioned with the friendship work with China that he was doing How Reverend Stainton was initially reluctant to go to Taiwan to work with the Presbyterian Church in 1979 How the Kuomintang had cancelled elections in response to U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s switch in recognition from the Republic of China to the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal government of China (in 1978) The Tangwai movement in 1979 How Reverend Kao Chun-ming, who was the guarantor on Reverend Stainton’s visa to Taiwan (in 1979) had gotten arrested for helping to hide Shih Ming-teh How things in Taiwan were in chaos when Reverend Stainton arrived there in 1980 Upon arriving in Taiwan Reverend Stainton was assigned to the Aboriginal Student Center At the time the Kuomintang believed the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan was a cat’s paw of the Chinese Communist Party Reverend Stainton was warned that he would be watched and under surveillance with his phone calls tapped and letters opened How Reverend Stainton was asked to play the part of Dr. George Leslie Mackay in a play was put on for the 100th anniversary of the Mackay Memorial Hospital in 1981 In 1992 after Reverent Stainton had returned to Canada, he saw the importance of promoting the recognition of Dr. George Leslie Mackay in Canada How Dr. George Leslie Mackay breaks the stereotypes of 19th century missionaries How Joseph Steere a professor of Zoology at the University of Michigan who met Mackay in Taiwan in 1873 wrote that he observed that Mackay treated the Chinese as equals rather than an inferior race How Mackay learned Taiwanese culture and language from his students How Mackay accepted his students’ suggestion and arrangement for him to marry a Taiwanese woman, Tiuⁿ Chhang-miâ (aka Minnie) How Mackay was criticized about his marriage and why he got married at the British Consulate How Mackay told the Foreign Mission Board of his marriage only after he had already gotten married Why Mackay is so beloved in Taiwan and is called the “son-in-law of Taiwan” How Mackay’s upbringing influenced his values Mackay was the youngest son of a Scottish Evangelical Presbyterian family Mackay and his family had gone to Canada as refugees from the Sutherland Highland Clearances in northern Scotland because aristocratic landlords had pushed peasants off their land due to the English Industrial Revolution Mackay along with other refugees had been sent to Oxford county which is present-day South Central Ontario in Canada How highlanders (people from northern Scotland) were also looked down upon in Canada because they weren’t civilized Scots from the south How the early injustice Mackay and his family experienced shaped him How he learned frontier medicine and developed strong resilience from growing up in the frontier The Zorra pioneers and how Zorra refers to part of the province of Ontario How Mackay became known for pulling teeth and was able to gain the trust of local people in Taiwan but he was not a dentist or doctor Mackay was given an honorary doctorate degree in 1881 Misconceptions about Mackay How Mackay discouraged foreign women missionaries from coming to teach (sewing and English) in favor of having local Taiwanese women converts teach in his school The great numbers of the Kavalan indigenous people who converted and joined Mackay’s mission The ethnic revitalization among the Kavalan How the Kavalan used a patronymic name system, rather than surnames, but under Chinese rule they were assigned Chinese names and surnames, so some Kavalan adopted Mackay's Taiwanese surname “Kai” (偕) as their own What has changed in terms of what is known about Mackay Up until the 1990s much of what had been written about Mackay was hagiography The first international academic conference on Dr. George Leslie Mackay that Reverend Stainton organized in 1997 and how it boosted the study of Mackay How Mackay ended up in Taiwan and settling near Tamsui How the Taiwanese called foreigners like Mackay and indigenous people “barbarians,” and this created camaraderie between Mackay and the Kavalan people Reverend Stainton’s efforts to try to get Canada Post to issue a stamp commemorating George Leslie Mackay which have included two previous campaigns in 2001 and 2022 Comparisons between getting a stamp approved by Canada Post vs. Taiwan Post In 2001 a stamp commemorating Mackay was issued in Taiwan Why Canada Post didn’t approve a stamp commemorating the 150th anniversary of George Leslie Mackay’s arrival in Taiwan The issues that Reverend Stainton has with the stamp that Taiwan Post is issuing on March 9 Why Mackay’s wife was given the English name Minnie Mackay’s lasting contributions in Taiwan Mackay’s title of doctor was due to an honorary doctor of divinity Mackay’s opposition of the Head Tax Mackay’s lasting contributions in/to Canada Woodstock, Ontario’s sister city relationship with Tamsui, Taiwan Mackay’s intellectual curiosity and love of nature, astronomy, and botany Mackay’s use of traditional Chinese medicine in his medical work The complete Kavalan people’s bridal outfit on display at the Royal Ontario Museum, which was among the 16 crates of artifacts that Mackay brought back from Taiwan to Canada in 1893 Many of the items that Mackay collected are among the oldest collection of indigenous artifacts from Taiwan in the world   Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/george-leslie-mackay-canadian-missionary-iconoclast-and-his-contributions-to-taiwan-with-rev-michael-stainton-ep-173/