Talking Taiwan

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: September is National Suicide Prevention Month. Unfortunately, suicide is a very real issue for the Asian American community. According to the Office of Minority Health, in 2017 the leading cause of death in young Asian Americans in the US was suicide. My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is passionate about promoting emotional wellness and a prevention model for mental health. Dr. Eunice Yuen is, a child and adult psychiatrist who specializes in Asian American mental health. She sat down to speak to me about the stigma of mental health and the reluctance of Asian Americans to seek help. Dr. Yuen noted that prevention through mindfulness of emotional wellness are especially important for teenagers and young adults, which is the age at which mental illness often first manifests. Dr. Yuen is working on an innovative tool called CHATogether that helps to resolve conflicts between Asian American parents and children. More than ever, tools like CHATogether are useful to address heightened child-parent conflicts during COVID-19, and discussions about racism. Please note that any of the advice or content shared in the episode is not meant to be taken as medical advice or psychiatric treatment. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Why Dr. Yuen decided to enter the field of child and adult psychiatry and where her special interest in promoting emotional wellness in the Asian American community comes from The difference between emotional wellbeing and a mental health issue How building emotional resilience is important to help deal with everyday stress How daily routines and structure is important for emotional wellbeing especially during the Coronavirus pandemic How to identify when someone is dealing with a mental health issue and needs to seek help Some individuals may display physical symptoms e.g. a stomachache, diarrhea, headache, while being able to function What should you do if you think that someone you know (e.g. a friend or family member) is in need of help with a mental health issue What the project Dr. Yuen CHATogether is about How CHATogether is based on a paper published by Brazilian theater director, Augusto Boal in the 1980s called "Theater of the Oppressed" What ages CHAT has been developed for The concept of mentalization The CHATogether community What type of feedback CHATogether has gotten from its' participants How Chatogether has addressed child-parent conflict during COVID-19, talking about Black Lives Matter and racism The concept of regulating emotions The 3 R's: Recognize your emotions, Realize where the emotions are coming from, Regulate your emotions The importance of labeling your emotions and talking about your feelings How to overcome the stigma of mental health within the Asian American community Related Links: Dr. Eunice Yuan's bio: https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/eunice_yuen/ CHATogether website: https://yale.edu/chatogether/ CHATogether Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CHATogetherWithUs/ CHATogether Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRX2Nzv65ekzHikAaiyG6YQ QR Code to connect to Cchatogether on social media: A bio of Augusto Boal, the Brazilian dramatist who created the Theatre of the Oppressed: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Augusto-Boal An article about Theater of Oppressed in medical education: http://www.ijme.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/1909-5.pdf Yale School of Medicine Magazine article about CHATogether: https://medicine.yale.edu/news/yale-medicine-magazine/chating-about-problems-before-they-turn-toxic/ Woodblock press article about CHATogether: https://www.woodblock-press.com/asianvoices/chatting-through-vignettes-with-dr-eunice-yuen

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: A relationship between mother and daughter that was so stonewalled that it took 20 years and a camcorder to make a breakthrough- this was the subject of Huang Hui-chen's first feature documentary film, Small Talk. Small Talk is one of two documentary films being screened at the Austin Asian American Film Festival's Prismatic Taiwan (September 4-13), a virtual, six-film series celebrating the past and present of queer Taiwanese cinema. Hui-chen spoke candidly about this deeply personal film that she described as a letter to her mother. She also revealed what's happened in the aftermath of the film. Her film and personal story give hope to others dealing difficult parent-child relationships. Special thanks to the Austin Asian American Film Festival and Stacey Pai for providing translation. To purchase tickets to watch Small Talk and learn about the other films featured in Prismatic Taiwan visit: www.aaafilmfest.org/ Talking Taiwan listeners will get $2 off when they use the code TALKING. The Prismatic Taiwan Queer Film Series, features six LGBTQ Taiwan films spanning from 1970 to 2016. You can watch all six films for under $15. To learn more Prismatic Taiwan check out last week's episode, episode t. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Hui-chen's work as an activist When she got interested in documentary filmmaking How it took her so long (20 years) to make Small Talk into a movie that her mother and relatives didn't think she'd actually be able to do it The footage of her nieces discussing whether their grandma (Hu-Chen's mother) is a boy or a girl How she got her mother to finally talk How she got other family members and her mother's girlfriends to talk in the film The one person who she would have like to interview for the movie, but did not How the film, Small Talk is like a letter to her mother Why Hui-chen's husband doesn't appear in the film While Hui-chen's now ex-husband doesn't appear in Small Talk he will be in her next film which will be about the relationship between love and social activism Hui-chen's mother's reaction to the film after watching it How Hui-chen's mother's reacted when Small Talk was screen at Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards How the film Small Talk has affected her and mother's relationship with their relatives What was Hui-chen's sister's reaction to Small Talk How the film Small Talk has affected Hui-chen's relationship with her mother How Hui-chen's relatives reacted to and dealt with to her mother's lesbianism How Hou Hsiao-hsien took a leap of faith when he got involved and became the executive producer of Small Talk What filmmaking advice Hou Hsiao-hsien gave her How Hui-chen feels about Small Talk having been selected as the Taiwanese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards Hui-chen's book about her mother that reveals more that the film did not Related Links: PURCHASE tickets to watch Small Talk LEARN More About Prismatic Taiwan and the September 5th live, virtual roundtable discussion event with Asian Cinevision and director Zero Chou, entitled "Creating Transnational Queer Asian Spaces": https://www.aaafilmfest.org/prismatic-taiwan Huang Hui-chen's book, about her mother, 我和我的T媽媽 (available in Chinese): https://readmoo.com/book/210085132000101 https://www.books.com.tw/products/E050053049 Austin Asian American Film Festival: https://www.aaafilmfest.org/ Austin Asian American Film Festival Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AAAFF/ Austin Asian American Film Festival on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aaafilmfest/ Austin Asian American Film Festival on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AAAFF

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Prismatic Taiwan, is a virtual, six-film series celebrating the past and present of queer Taiwanese cinema, co-presented by the Austin Asian American Film Festival (AAAFF). I recently spoke with Hanna Huang, the Executive Director of the Austin Asian American Film Festival and Josh Martin of the special programs team about the lineup of films that span 1970-2016. As you'll hear in the interview, a lot of research and thought went into the film selections. The films offer a different perspective on Taiwan's history and insight into Taiwan's LGBTQ history. You can watch all six films for under $15 and Talking Taiwan listeners can also get an additional $2 off when they use the code: TALKING. Next week's episode will feature my interview with one of the film directors, Huang Hui-chen about her film, Small Talk, a deeply personal documentary that was 20 years in the making. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How the Austin Asian American Film Festival has screened many Taiwanese films throughout the years The retrospective of six Hou Hsiao-hsien films at the Austin Asian American Film Festival in September 2018 How a Taiwan Queer Film Retrospective has actually been in the works since 2018 The Austin Asian American film festival started in 2004, but was known as the Austin Asian film festival until 2007 when an Asian American organizer, Masashi Niwano stepped in The mission of the Austin Asian American Film Festival, which is to bring to light Asian and Asian American stories through cinema Their programming is year round The main film festival is usually held in June, but this year they had a short film online festival featuring 36 short films Prismatic Taiwan, a six film retrospective of queer films spanning 1970-2016 A retrospective of Asian American films is being planned for the late fall (November) The meaning behind the name Prismatic Taiwan How they translated the word prismatic with the Chinese word for kaleidoscope, therefore Prismatic Taiwan A Queer Film Series has been translated into Chinese as: 萬花同志電 How the first film of Prismatic Taiwan, The End of the Track from 1970 was thought lost but has been recovered and is being reintroduced to audiences How they narrowed down the film selection from over 20 films to 6 The one film that they couldn't include in Prismatic Taiwan when the Austin Asian American Film Festival went online, Ang Lee's The Wedding Banquet The second film in the series, Outcasts (aka The Outsiders) as made in 1986 right before martial law in Taiwan was lifted How they selected films that were not that easy to find The River, was set in 1997 around the emergence of the gay club scene in Taipei Not Simply a Wedding Banquet, set in 1997 is a documentary Spider Lilies (2007) and Small Talk(2016) feature female gay characters whereas The River and Not Simply a Wedding Banquet feature male gay characters September 5th live event, a Transnational Queer Activism Panel featuring Film Director Zero Chou in collaboration with Asian Cinevision along with others from the U.K. and Taiwan Small Talk (2016) is a documentary film that was 20 years in the making and was executive produced by Hou Hsiao-hsien and Taiwan's submission to the Academy Awards These films tell the story of Taiwan's history and queer history How Director Tsai Ming-Liang, made the film I Don't Want To Sleep Alone in Malaysia but it was banned there Previously Tsai Ming-Liang had said that he wasn't comfortable having his films in a queer film festival but that has changed since the legalization of gay marriage in Taiwan How there were film distributors or filmmakers who didn't want their film to be a part of the queer series The background of Mou Tun-Fei the director of The End of The Track How the design of the poster for Prismatic Taiwan was inspired by Kaohsiung's Love River Prismatic Taiwan is offering a SPECIAL DISCOUNT to listeners of Talking Taiwan, just use the code: TALKING to get $2 off when you purchase your tickets from August 38-September 13 Related Links: Austin Asian American Film Festival: https://www.aaafilmfest.org/ Purchase tickets to Prismatic Taiwan and for more info on the September 5th live event, virtual roundtable discussion event with Asian Cinevision and director Zero Chou, entitled "Creating Transnational Queer Asian Spaces": https://www.aaafilmfest.org/prismatic-taiwan Austin Asian American Film Festival Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AAAFF/ Austin Asian American Film Festival on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aaafilmfest/ Austin Asian American Film Festival on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AAAFF

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Jaleea Price, spoke with me about a broad range of topics beginning with her arrival and time in Taiwan. While in Taiwan she worked on the ICRT morning news show, co-founded D.A.P. (Descendants of African Peoples) with Elissa Russell (who was a guest on episode 88), and had two daughters. Now an arts educator based in Thailand, Jaleea she had recently gone through quarantine in Thailand and the U.K. when we spoke. She also spoke to me about TCKs, the racism that she's experienced in the U.S. and Taiwan as a biracial woman and her thoughts on the Black Lives Matter movement. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Jaleea talks briefly about quarantining in Thailand and the U.K. What brought her to Taiwan Her connection to the Cloud Gate Dance Theater of Taiwan Arriving in Taiwan alone without a cell phone and going to Internet cafes to communicate with her friends and family What it was like working on the ICRT morning show What it was like having young children in Taiwan People's reactions when they asked where she was from and she said that she was American Her involvement with D.A.P. The Descendants of African Peoples group The different ways that Black people from other parts of the world (e.g. Canada, France) identify themselves vs. American The racism and discrimination that she's experienced in the U.S. and Taiwan Her thoughts on the murder of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter Her experience of the Black Lives Matter movement in the U.K. and Thailand Her privilege as a light-skinned woman of color K-pop group BTS's support of Black Lives Matter and takeover of #whitelivesmatter What a TCK is The Eastern and Western cultural differences in the birthing process What she misses most about Taiwan Related Links: Jaleea on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jaleea-price Jaleea on Instagram: instagram.com/jaluthegreat Jaleea on Facebook: www.facebook.com/jaleeajoie Taipei Times article about D.A.P. (Descendants of African Peoples): https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2004/07/12/2003178672 BBC New article about the K-pop group BTS that donated $1m to the Black Lives Matter movement and took over the hashtag #whitelivesmatter: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-52960617

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: In this episode of Talking Taiwan, we'll be sharing two different perspectives on the Taiwan quarantine experience in this time of the Coronavirus pandemic. I spoke with Diana Lee, the co-founder and president of Asian in New York and one of the founders and organizers of Hello Taiwan. She recently traveled back to Taiwan with her two young children and was quarantined with them in Kaohsiung at her parents' home. We'll also hear from JD Chang who went back to Taiwan earlier this year. JD was a guest on Episode 80 of Talking Taiwan. He had a very different experience since he traveled and quarantined alone. He spoke with us about his quarantine experience back in May. Special thanks to Jane Wang for providing the recording of JD. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Hello Taiwan and what it does How Diana prepared for her trip back to Taiwan with 2 young kids (the travel and quarantine preparations) Permits required for entry into Taiwan at the time The Facebook group Diana consulted for advice on how to prepare for her trip back to Taiwan The PPE Diana prepared for her and her kids to wear during their travel back to Taiwan JD's travel preparations and quarantine experience as a solo traveler The different types of quarantine accommodations that people can opt for The most important tip for anyone traveling back to Taiwan and undergoing quarantine, which Diana mentioned and that ended up delaying JD for an extra hour at the airport The procedure upon arrival at the airport and before getting transported in a quarantine taxi or bus to your final destination What happens once you're in quarantine How Diana kept her kids occupied during quarantine How JD kept himself occupied during quarantine The US $33,000 fine for breaking quarantine Related Links: Asian In New York: http://www.asianinny.com/ Asian In New York Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AsianInNYFans Hello Taiwan: http://www.hellotaiwan.us/ Hello Taiwan Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/HelloTaiwanWorld/ Taiwanese COVID-19 Traveling Back to Taiwan Facebook Group (台灣海外Covid-19自救會): https://www.facebook.com/groups/889736338130271/?ref=share Episode 80 with JD Chang Founder of Crushing The Myth: https://www.talkingtaiwan.com/jd-chang-founder-of-crushing-the-myth-ep-80/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Elissa Russell and Elizabeth Williams are my guests on this episode of Talking Taiwan. We spoke about their experiences of living in Taiwan, the racism that they've experienced in Taiwan vs. the U.S. and Black Lives Matter. One thing that's abundantly clear is that Taiwan has a very special place in their hearts. Liz and Elissa spoke candidly on the topic of Black Lives Matter and the state of race relations in the United States. Thank you Liz and Elissa for your open-heartedness and for inviting my audience to continue the conversation with you. Contact info for Elissa and Liz is listed below in the Related Links section. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: What brought Elissa and Liz to Taiwan Elissa and Liz talk about their experiences living in Taiwan The racism that Liz and Elissa have experienced in Taiwan vs. the United States, and how they have handled it Elissa and Liz share their perspectives on the segregation in Atlanta, Chicago and Los Angeles Liz and Elissa offer their perspectives on Black Lives Matter Elissa and Liz discuss how the killing of Ahmaud Arbery felt especially personal The anti-racism initiative that Liz is working on Being an ally vs. an accomplice What actions people can take to support the Black Lives Matter and too educate themselves How to have conversations with others about the Black Lives Matter movement Related Links: Elissa Russell's contact info: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janquilrussell/ https://www.instagram.com/im_readi/ https://www.facebook.com/elissa.j.russell Elissa Russell's business info: www.consultreadi.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/consultreadi/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/readi-consulting-llc Elizabeth Williams' contact info: Personal website: https://www.theycallmeliz.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-williams-370510/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizzyworld/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/liz.williams.52090 An article about the arrest and jailing of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.: https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/21/us/21gates.html An Open Letter for Black Lives Matter (which has been translated into over 30 different languages): https://lettersforblacklives.com/ An article about the arrest and jailing of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.: https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/21/us/21gates.html Liz's appearance on the Taiwan TV show Super Idol: https://youtu.be/vzQpANhYAeI Liz singing a bit of Peking Opera during her appearance on the Taiwan TV show Super Idol [Start watching at 4:09]: https://youtu.be/cFEz19varyo

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: July is Black, Indigenous, People of Color Mental Health Awareness Month, so I thought this would be good time to invite Dr. Ilene Wong, who writes as I.W. Gregorio on to Talking Taiwan to talk about her latest novel, This is My Brain in Love. Dr. Wong has described the novel as a happy book about mental illness across cultures. We spoke about how she balances her medical and writing careers and her first book, None of the Above. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Why she writes under the pen name "I.W. Gregorio" How she went from being a doctor to a YA author and which came first How she balances her career in medicine with her writing How her medical career informs her writing How much of her novel draws from her personal life Her thoughts on the model minority myth and stereotypes What she thinks of the media's focus on suicide as the endpoint of depression YA books and movies that romanticized death by suicide The difference between being down in the dumps and clinically depressed How difficult was it for Ilene to come out about her mental health issues Why she felt compelled to write this book now How her family dealt with her depression The paradoxical views that some doctors have about medicating for mental health issues How we might de-stigmatize mental health The difference between passive and active suicide ideation Her writing process and the importance of having critique partners The feedback that she's received on the book Her first book None of the Above What the term "intersex" means Why she writes for YA audiences Her advice for aspiring authors Ilene's connection to Taiwan Related Links: Ilene's website: www.iwgregorio.com I.W. Gregorio on social media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/IWGregorio Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iwgregorio/ Tumblr: https://iwgregorio.tumblr.com/ Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) Mental Health Awareness Month: https://www.mhanational.org/BIPOC-mental-health-month Suicide hotlines: Crisis Text Line (Text HOME to741741 from anywhere in the USA, at any time) National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) The Trevor Project (1-866-488-7386) For suicide hotlines by country: International Association for Suicide Prevention https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/ Mental Health Resources: Mental Health America https://screening.mhanational.org/screening-tools Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (1-800-662-4358 https://findtreatment.samhsa.gov/) The Anxiety and Depression Association of America https://adaa.org/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: In 2015, I spoke with Gordon Chang, author and political commentator about his views on China and his books, The Coming Collapse of China, and Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes On the World. I recently invited him back on Talking Taiwan, to listen to that episode, check out episode 85. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How Gordon went from practicing law to writing The Coming Collapse of Chinaand becoming a political commentator who focuses on news about China How Gordon's views of China changed after he worked and lived there from 1996-2001 How the Chinese Communist Party is going in the wrong direction What kind of reactions Gordon's book, The Coming Collapse of Chinareceived What's going to happen if China does collapse? China's predatory trade policies How China's ban of certain websites and social media platforms delegitimizes the Chinese Communist Party Gordon's impressions of Taiwan How Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement was inspired by Taiwan's Sunflower Movement Dissent in Hong Kong, Tibet and the Uighurs in Xinjiang Gordon's book Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes On the World How Gordon believes that the U.S. should be calling out China on North Korea Gordon's thoughts on the premise of the film The Interviewand the cyber hacks on Sony If Gordon has another book in the works Related Links: Gordon Chang on Twitter: https://twitter.com/gordongchang Gordon Chang's website: www.gordonchang.com Gordon's book Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes On the World: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400062942/qid=1134270260/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-9747648-7111228?s=books&v=glance&n=283155 Gordon's book, The Coming Collapse of China: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/037550477X/qid=1134270217/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i2_xgl14/002-9747648-7111228?n=507846&s=books&v=glance Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement: https://qz.com/1714897/what-was-hong-kongs-umbrella-movement-about/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbrella_Movement Taiwan's Sunflower Movement: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-asian-studies/article/inside-taiwans-sunflower-movement-twentyfour-days-in-a-studentoccupied-parliament-and-the-future-of-the-region/DB4A7B57538A6F06DC6C8CF0058C8040 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunflower_Student_Movement The Interview: https://www.netflix.com/title/70305895 https://www.cnn.com/2014/12/27/world/asia/north-korea-the-interview-reaction/index.html https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/08/-sp-north-koreans-review-the-interview

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Gordon Chang is an author and political commentator. I first learned of him when I heard about his book The Coming Collapse of China. Then in 2015, I met and interviewed him for the Talking Taiwan podcast. We will re-share that episode at a later time. Recently, I invited Gordon back on to share his thoughts on the Hong Kong Security Law, India's ban of TikTok, Zoom's ties with China and the confirmed case of bubonic plague in China's Inner Mongolia. Will the U.S. ban Tiktok? At the time this interview was recorded that question was unanswered. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: What is the Hong Kong Security Law? What does the Hong Kong Security Law mean for Hong Kong and its democracy movement? What has happened since the law was enacted? What has been the reaction to the law by people in Hong Kong and around the world? China's violation of the Sino-British Joint Declaration signed on December 19, 1984 How can the international community hold China accountable for what's happening to Hong Kong? British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's offer to give British citizenship to up 3 million people from Hong Kong Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen's offer to provide refuge to the people of Hong Kong What the Hong Kong Security Law means for Taiwan How willing and able is China to take Taiwan by force? India's ban of 59 different Chinese apps including Tiktok and WeChat Why the concern over Chinese apps? The Chinese Communist Party's 2017 National Intelligence Law How Tiktok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company which is subject to the National Intelligence Law How Zoom has sent information back to China, and canceled the accounts of activists who used Zoom to commemorate the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square The confirmed case of bubonic plague in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and the G4 Swine Flu China's handling of COVID-19 Related Links: Gordon Chang on Twitter: https://twitter.com/gordongchang Gordon Chang's website: www.gordonchang.com The Hong Kong Security Law: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/30/world/asia/hong-kong-security-law-explain.html https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-52765838 Articles about concerns that the Chinese Communist Party could be mining the data of Tiktok users: https://qz.com/1613020/tiktok-might-be-a-chinese-cambridge-analytica-scale-privacy-threat/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2020/06/26/warning-apple-suddenly-catches-tiktok-secretly-spying-on-millions-of-iphone-users/#69134f8934ef https://theprint.in/tech/tiktok-caught-spying-on-iphone-users-in-india-and-around-the-world/450339/ Zoom's data has gotten routed through China: https://www.businessinsider.com/china-zoom-data-2020-4 https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2020/04/03/warning-zoom-sends-encryption-keys-to-china-sometimes/#4a901a0d3fd9 Why Zoom closed an account of a group that held a Zoom event commemorating the 31st anniversary of the June 4 Tiananmen Square Massacre: https://www.axios.com/zoom-closes-chinese-user-account-tiananmen-square-f218fed1-69af-4bdd-aac4-7eaf67f34084.html?fbclid=IwAR2-8R2Jz9bb_iskXAJcO4mmBXrAeltYKs7CfZNna4h0Ko7TakrLB1sgH7k U.S. Secretary of State Mike's appearance on Laura Ingram's Fox News Show stating that the US is considering banning Tiktok: https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2020/07/07/tiktok-app-china-us-pompeo.cnnbusiness/video/playlists/business-news/ https://www.foxnews.com/media/mike-pompeo-tik-tok-china-communist-social-media-spying-fox-ingraham

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Stefanie Davis and Patrick Springer are the founders of the Black Lives Solidarity Global Initiative, which organized a rally in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement on June 13th in Taipei's 228 Peace Park. I spoke to Stefanie and Patrick about their experiences living as people of color in Taiwan and the U.S., the activities planned for the rally and their personal views of Black Lives Matter. Here's a description of the Black Lives Solidarity Global Initiative rally from their Facebook event page: We cannot sit around as the stories of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Iyanna Dior, Sandra Bland, Philando Castile, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown Jr., Pamela Turner, Atatiana Jefferson, and countless others become common occurrences- background noise to the daily news, their lives summarized as sound bites between the weather and sports updates. We cannot sit idly by and watch as police brutality against innocent black and brown bodies continues to go unchecked around the world. It is time for us to take a stand and make our voices known that we demand action against racism both abroad and at home. That injustice against one of us, is an injustice to all. Join us in a legal and peaceful rally Saturday, June 13th, at 228 Peace Memorial Park in Taipei as we come together to lend our support and our voices to those around the world fighting for equality and for others right to simply breathe. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: What brought Stefanie and Patrick to Taiwan and how long they have been here The racism that they have experienced in Taiwan and how it compares to what they've experienced in the U.S. How they talk to their students about race and nationality Patrick's bar Arts & Crafts (in Taichung) How the Black Lives Solidarity Global Initiative (BLSGI) came about The events and activities planned at the June 13 BLSGI rally The Taipei Is Listening Forum How the BLSGI rally has put Taiwan on the map as one of the countries that has had a rally about the injustices happening to Black people in the U.S. The feedback they've received about the rally What Stefanie and Patrick hope that people take away from the experience of being at the rally or what they learned at the rally Common stereotypes that people have about Black people Facts and statistics that demonstrate some of the discrimination that Blacks in the U.S. experience The shooting of Atatiana Jefferson and arrest of Sandra Bland Where the funds raised at the rally went Patrick and Stefanie's personal experiences with Black Lives Matter What advice Stefanie or Patrick have for non-Black people who want to understand the Black experience or who want to be allies What Black Lives Matter means to Stefanie and Patrick Facts and statistics based on US data and research that were shared at the BLSGI rally: More than 1/2 of young Black Americans know someone, including themselves, who has been harassed by the police. Black students are 3 times more likely to be suspended than white students for similar infractions. Black drivers are 30% more likely than white drivers to be pulled over by the police. For every $100 earned by white families -> Black families earn $57.30. Blacks Americans make up 13% of the nation's population. Blacks Americans make 40% of prison populations. Related Links: Black Lives Solidarity Global Initiative Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BLSGlobal/ Brothas & Sistas of Taiwan Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1728788584038273/ Taipei Is Listening Forum: https://www.facebook.com/events/2570056726428424/ An article about the Taipei Is Listening Forum: https://ketagalanmedia.com/2020/06/11/is-taipei-listening-black-lives-matter-taiwan-gears-up-for-weekend-rally/ Patrick's bar Arts & Crafts' Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ArtsAndCraftsBar/ To follow Patrick's bartending recipes, videos, photos and his Virtual Happy Hour booking information visit: https://www.inhousebartender.com/