Talking Taiwan

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:   Earlier this year I went to Books of Wonder (in New York City’s Upper Westside) to attend a book launch event for Loveboat, Taipei. There I heard the book’s author, Abigail Hing Wen speak frankly and openly about her 12-year writing career and journey leading up to getting her first book Loveboat, Taipei published. All too often when we hear of success stories like hers, what gets lost is what it took to get there. I was really impressed by her story of persistence and tenacity. After getting her first book rejected, writing five novels along the way, she wrote four versions and 26 drafts of Loveboat, Taipei, before deciding to make Ever Wong the main character. In her interview with me she was just as candid- talking about all of the hard work behind honing her craft of writing and how Loveboat, Taipei, a story about the rebellion of youth in a safe environment actually brought her closer to her parents.   The latest exciting news is that ACE Entertainment (the producers of Jenny Han’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series) has optioned the film rights to Loveboat, Taipei.   If you’d like to learn more about the Love Boat language study program, be sure to listen to our previous episode, episode 66 [hyper link “episode 66” to: http://www.talkingtaiwan.com/love-boat-taiwan-interview-asian-american-studies-professor-film-maker-valerie-soe-ep-66/], which is about Love Boat: Taiwan, a documentary film made about the Love Boat program.     Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   How Loveboat, Taipeihas benefitted from the growing interest in diverse characters and storylines The Love Boat study program experience When Loveboat, Taipei hit the New York Times bestseller’s list Abigail ‘s decision to step off the path to becoming a law professor and to try writing The first book Abigail tried to get published, but was ultimately rejected Abigail ‘s decision to enter an MFA in writing program How Abigail persisted for over ten years after her first novel was rejected and wrote five novels before Loveboat, Taipeigot published How she wrote Loveboat, Taipei from four different perspectives before deciding to write it from the perspective of Ever Wong The process of shopping around a book to get it published How Loveboat, Taipeihas been optioned for a film by ACE entertainment What Abigail hopes that people will learn from the story of Loveboat, Taipei The announcement that Loveboat, Taipeihas been optioned for a movie by ACE Entertainment, the producers of Jenny Han’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series How important it is for writers to have critique partners Her role as a Senior Director of Emerging Technologies and Artificial Intelligence Abigail’s future book projects What advice Abigail has for people who want to write a book The feedback that Loveboat, Taipeihas received How Loveboat, Taipeihas brought Abigail closer to her parents Related Links:   Abigail’s website: https://www.abigailhingwen.com/   Abigail Hing Wen on social media:   https://www.facebook.com/abigail.hing.wen   https://www.instagram.com/abigailhingwen/   https://twitter.com/abigailhingwen   Confessions of an Undercover Novelist: https://lithub.com/confessions-of-an-undercover-novelist/   ACE Entertainment Acquires Rights To Abigail Hing Wen’s Novel ‘Loveboat, Taipei’: https://deadline.com/2020/02/ace-entertainment-abigail-hing-wen-loveboat-taipei-1202866995/   Getting Unstuck by Robert Butler: https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Unstuck-Discovering-Career-Timothy/dp/B00CAYMXU4

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: For many overseas born Chinese and Taiwanese, the Love Boat Taiwan language culture study program was quite the cultural phenomenon and rite of passage. We are dedicating two episodes of Talking Taiwan to the topic. The first will feature Asian American Studies professor and filmmaker Valerie Soe who’s made a documentary film called Love Boat: Taiwan. Learn more about the Love Boat program, the lasting impact on its participants- college and high school-aged individuals away from home for 6 weeks in Taiwan. It was the quintessential summer camp experience. What’s interesting to me is that the Love Boat program, which was started and run by the Chinese Nationalist government (aka the Kuomintang) set out to aggrandize the Republic of China (which at one time claimed to rule all of China), but instead, what it seems to have done is to solidify the difference between Taiwan and China in the minds of Love Boat participants. In the next episode of Talking Taiwan, I’ll be speaking with New York Times Bestselling author, Abigail Hing Wen, a Love Boat alum herself about her debut young adult novel, Loveboat, Taipei. Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: What the Love Boat program is How the Love Boat got its nickname How the program evolved over time The lasting relationships and Love Boat alumni connections Selection of the Love Boat program counselors Escape routes that Love Boat program attendees used to sneak out at night The Baby Boat or Tugboat program Typical rites of passage for the Love Boat participants Why Valerie had to stop working on the documentary for a year How to raise money for an independent documentary film What advice Valerie has for documentary filmmakers What Valerie would like people to take away from her film The influential alumni of the Love Boat program Related Links: Love Boat: Taiwan website: https://www.loveboat-taiwan.com/ Love Boat: Taiwan Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/LoveBoatTaiwan/ Love Boat Study Tour Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Boat_(study_tour) Love Boat: Taiwan trailer: https://vimeo.com/350256328 Valerie’s blog: https://beyondasiaphilia.com/ Love Boat television show theme song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_wFEB4Oxlo

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: February 28th is a national holiday in Taiwan and it’s just around the corner. But how many know the somber significance behind the date and what it commemorates? Author Jennifer J. Chow has written a novel inspired by the 228 Incident (which refers to February 28, 1947). I spoke with her about the 228 Incident and how it relates to her novel, The 228 Legacy. Jennifer has a new book coming out in March, it’s a cozy mystery novel called, Mimi Lee Gets A Clue. We also spoke about that, her other book projects and her writing process. Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: What is the 228 Incident? How the 228 Incident is related to Jennifer's book The 228 Legacy How Jennifer learned about 228 Why she wrote the 228 Legacy Jennifer's upcoming book, Mimi Lee Gets A Clue The cozy mystery genre How her Winston Wong cozy mystery series is a tribute to her late mother Her writing process for the cozy mystery genre  How she approaches writing young adult fiction, adult fiction and cozy mysteries Her writing routine and habits Her advice for people who want to write a book Related Links: Jennifer’s website: http://jenniferjchow.com/ The 228 Incident: https://www.taiwandc.org/228-intr.htm The 228 Hand-In Hand Rally: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2004/02/29/2003100533 Formosa Betrayed: https://www.amazon.com/Formosa-Betrayed-George-H-Kerr/dp/1910736538   Jennifer J. Chow on social media: https://www.facebook.com/JenJChow/ https://twitter.com/jenjchow https://www.instagram.com/jenjchow/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: I conducted an interview with author, musician, and journalist Joe Henley, about his latest book, Bu San Bu Si, and his first book, Sons of the Republic. In writing Bu San Bu Si, Joe clearly drew upon his multi-disciplinary background. The book after all is about a Taiwanese punk band and the struggles that the musicians face in reconciling their punk personas with Taiwan’s societal expectations. Joe, incidentally, has sung in punk rock and metal bands, and much of what he’s written in Bu San Bu Si was inspired by what he experienced in the Taipei punk and metal band scene. We also talked about what motivates people with creative pursuits and how important money and fame might be in that pursuit. I asked him about his writing process and to offer advice to aspiring writers. Joe was unabashedly frank about what motivated him to write his first book, Sons of the Republic and talked about the subject of his next book. Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Joe’s latest novel, Bu San Bu Si What the phrase “bu san bu si” means Joe’s writing process How Joe ended up in Taiwan How Saskatchewan (where Joe is from) compares to Taiwan How Joe adjusted from moving from Saskatoon to Taipei What motivated Joe to write his first novel, Sons of the Republic Joe’s career as a musician and freelance writer The topics of Joe’s future books Joe’s advice for aspiring authors Being a journalist vs. a novelist/author Joe’s two bands: Stench of Lust, and Revilement Related Links: www.jwhenley.com www.facebook.com/jwhenley www.Twitter.com/JoeReviled

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:  In this episode of the Talking Taiwan podcast, I continue my conversation with Gerrit van der Wees about the Taiwan Communique, and how it revealed the truth of Taiwan's White Terror Era. Taiwan Communique is a publication that was started in 1980, during Taiwan’s martial law era, a dark period in Taiwan’s history in which there was extreme censorship and the people of Taiwan were denied their civil liberties. For these reasons Gerrit and his wife Mei-chin felt it was necessary to do something to shed light on the human rights violations that were happening in Taiwan. It is really remarkable to hear how they gathered all of this sensitive information for the Taiwan Communique under these circumstances and in the pre-Internet era. For over 3 decades the Taiwan Communique was one of the most in-depth English-language resources on Taiwan. So I was really excited about doing this interview with Gerrit because I really wanted to acknowledge the lasting contribution of the Taiwan Communique and to let people know that it still remains available online to this day. It is a tremendous resource for anyone wanting to learn about the challenges Taiwan has faced in going from dictatorship to democracy. Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: What precipitated the creation of the Taiwan Communique The Human Rights Day rally on the 10th of December, 1979, which became known as the Kaohsiung incident The origins and formation of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) The election of the first DPP president, Chen Shui-bian How the Sunflower movement (2014) was a reaction to President Ma Ying-jeou’s policies on trade with China and its impact on local elections in 2016 The “Green Wave” of 2014 and 2016 The Regan administration’s position on Taiwan in 1980 The “Gang of Four” (senators in U.S. Congress) who were supportive of Taiwan How the Taiwan Communique reported on the lack of freedom of press treatment in Taiwan, the prison treatment of opposition leaders and other major developments in Taiwan The Taipei Spring of 1991-1992 How they collected and gathered information for the Taiwan Communique in the pre-Internet era when phone calls costed $10/minute How the Taiwan Communique went from a circulation of 40 to thousands and was targeted to key policy makers and news media Gerrit’s proudest moment being acknowledged as the editor of the Taiwan Communique The strict censorship of publications and postal mail in Taiwan the 1980s How Gerrit and his wife Mei-chin got blacklisted by the government in Taiwan Gerrit’s current role teaching the history of Taiwan at George Mason University Related Links: Taiwan Communique: https://www.taiwandc.org/twcom/ The Kaohsiung incident (1979): https://www.taiwandc.org/hst-1979.htm The Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA): http://fapa.org/wp/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: I recently invited Gerrit van der Wees, to share his perspectives on the outcome of the recent 2020 Taiwan presidential election.  Gerrit is the former editor of the Taiwan Communique magazine, a publication that was dedicated to the human rights and democracy of Taiwan. He has also worked for FAPA as a senior policy advisor and currently teaches the history of Taiwan at George Mason University. He’s also a former Dutch diplomat. Gerrit has provided a very concise analysis of how the DPP and Tsai Ing-wen have come back after the disastrous results of the 2018 local elections. He also offered some insight into the reforms that the Tsai administration will now be able to carry out upon re-election and with a DPP majority parliament. Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How the protests in Hong Kong played a role in the outcome of Taiwan’s 2020 presidential election What led to the poor results for the DPP in the 2018 local election results and how Tsai Ing-wen was able to turn that around and make a comeback The unprecedented news coverage of the 2020 presidential election The high voter turnout for the 2020 presidential election The reforms that Tsai Ing-wen initiated in her first term and will now be able to move forward with, including the transitional justice reform urging investigation into many of the political murders that happened during the martial law period and White Terror era of Taiwan Tsai Ing-wen’s economic initiatives and reforms China’s carrot and stick approach in dealing with Taiwan How Tsai Ing-wen was able to attract businesses in China back to Taiwan Related Links: The Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA): http://fapa.org/wp/ Taiwan Communique: https://www.taiwandc.org/twcom/ 1992 Consensus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Consensus Washington Post Editorial by George Will: Time is on Taiwan’s side, as long as the U.S. is, too: https://wapo.st/2uxVK3B 228 Incident (1947): https://www.taiwandc.org/228-intr.htm The Kaohsiung incident (1979): https://www.taiwandc.org/hst-1979.htm Lin Yi-hsiung murder case (1980): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lin_Yi-hsiung https://tw.forumosa.com/t/1979-lin-family-murders-a-first-hand-account/50007 Death of Professor Chen Wen-chen at the National Taiwan University (1981): https://www.taiwandc.org/twcom/tc05-int.pdf

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:   With the Taiwan Presidential Election of 2020 coming up in Taiwan on January 11th,I thought it would be a good idea to do a podcast about this particular topic. Recently I spoke with Chieh-Ting Yeh, the Editor-in-Cheif of Ketagalan Media, Vice-chairman of the Global Taiwan Institute and longtime watcher of Taiwan politics. This episode should give you some interesting perspectives if you aren't up on what's going on with the upcoming presidential election in Taiwan.   Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How the presidential elections in Taiwan work The three presidential candidates: Tsai Ing-wen, Han Kuo-yu, James Soong What’s been the theme of Taiwan’s presidential election? China’s influence on Taiwan’s presidential election Domestic issues being overshadowed by the China issue during the presidential election The influence of Hong Kong’s protests on Taiwan’s presidential election The province of Taiwan under the Republic of China Taiwan’s first peaceful transition of power from the Kuomintang to the Democratic Progressive Party Why the presidential election in Taiwan was moved from March to January How Taiwan’s presidential elections have changed or not over the years What it’s like on presidential election day in Taiwan   Related Links:   How Does Taiwan's Parliamentary Election Work: http://www.ketagalanmedia.com/2015/12/26/how-does-taiwans-parliamentary-election-work/   It's the Constitution, Stupid: http://www.ketagalanmedia.com/2015/11/14/its-the-constitution-stupid/   Taiwan’s Household Registration System Disenfranchises Its Young Voters http://www.ketagalanmedia.com/2020/01/06/taiwans-household-registration-system-is-disenfranchising-young-voters/   Ketagalan Media http://www.ketagalanmedia.com/   Global Taiwan Institute http://globaltaiwan.org/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: This is an interview with Trigg Brown and Josh Ku of Win Son, a Taiwanese restaurant in NYC. Here are comments from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: When I sat down to interview Trigg Brown and Josh Ku about their Taiwanese American restaurant, Win Son, they talked about their shared a love of food, and how they used to trek all the way out to Flushing just to get good Taiwanese food.  They used to get into discussions about what makes food uniquely Taiwanese vs. Chinese or Chinese American, and somewhere along the way they started tossing around the idea of opening up a restaurant together. At first it seemed like just talk, but then Trigg inherited a commercial stove which they decided to keep- initially in the lobby of Josh’s building. The funny thing is that once this stove showed up, talk of Josh and Trigg’s restaurant idea seemed more and more real. Later the stove was moved into a former restaurant space that Josh was dealing with as a property manager. As fate and a Kickstarter campaign would have it, that former restaurant space ended up being where they opened Win Son.

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Learn all about Taiwan’s growing startup community and all of the resources available for budding entrepreneurs in this episode of the Talking Taiwan podcast. If you want to know how to start a business in Taiwan, there’s a book written about it, and not surprisingly, it’s called How to Start a Business in Taiwan. The author of that book, Elias Ek, the CEO and co-founder of Enspyre spoke with me about all of these topics, and more, including the annual Dragons’ Chamber pitch contest, which will be taking place on November 18th of this year. This episode is a must-listen, specifically for non-Taiwanese nationals or anyone who’s ever thought about, is about to embark on, or currently in the midst of starting a business in Taiwan.   Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode What the Dragons’ Chamber is How the Dragons’ Chamber pitch event works What the Dragons’ Chamber does and who is it for Recommended resources for budding entrepreneurs or people with startup ideas in Taiwan How having more foreign business and business owners in Taiwan could be beneficial Startup Weekend in Taiwan Why Startup Weekend is a good testing ground for people with business ideas Common problems faced by foreigners who try to start businesses in Taiwan Where to find Elias’ book, How To Start A Business in Taiwan   Related Links: Dragons’ Chamber: https://dragonschambertaiwan.com/ Enspyre: http://www.enspyre.com Dragon’s Den https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragons'_Den Startup Digest: https://www.startupdigest.com/digests Startup Digest Taipei https://www.startupdigest.com/digests/taipei Startup Digest Southern Taiwan https://www.startupdigest.com/digests/southern-taiwan French Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan: http://www.ccift.org.tw/ Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan: https://www.canchamtw.com/ Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/canadianchamberofcommerceintaiwan/ Meet Taipei: http://eng.meettaipei.tw/ Where to find Elias’ book, How to Start a Business in Taiwan: http://startabusinessintaiwan.tw/ How to Start a Business in Taiwan on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zhsNq0 How to Start a Business in Taiwan in ebook format on Leanpub: https://leanpub.com/startabusinessintaiwan How to Start a Business in Taiwan: An Interview with Elias Ek: learnchinesebusiness.com/2014/10/16/how-to-start-a-business-in-taiwan-an-interview-with-elias-ek Elias Ek's Linked-in link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eliasek  

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: When I heard the historic news of May 24th, that Taiwan’s Constitutional Court had ruled that marriage is not strictly defined as being between a man and a woman, it was exciting to know that Taiwan was poised to be the first country in Asia to legalize gay marriage. Even though I’ve been involved with the Taiwan float in the New York Gay Pride Parade twice before this year’s event, I realize that I still have a lot more to learn about the LGBTQ movement and community in New York and Taiwan. In fact, just last year I attended an orientation session for floats participating in the New York Gay Pride Parade. There I learned that the official name of the event is actually the New York Pride March. Why a march and not a parade? The organizers of New York Pride explained that the term march is a reminder of the origins of the first Gay Pride March in New York, which rose out of the riots that erupted in reaction to the unjust police raids of the Stonewall bar. As for Taiwan’s Gay Pride Parade, it’s the largest one in Asia. But beyond that, and up until the May 24th Constitutional Court ruling, what’s happened in the gay rights movement in Taiwan? I thought this would be the perfect time to cover this topic on the Talking Taiwan podcast.I wanted to interview someone about the gay rights movement in Taiwan. That led me to Wen Liu, gender studies professor at SUNY Albany and my interview with her. I am so pleased to have Wen on as a guest to talk about the LGBTQ movement and the recent ruling in Taiwan on same-sex marriage. What listeners don’t know is that Wen did the interview with me from Taiwan, even though she is usually based in New York. I really appreciate her taking the time out of her schedule to do this interview with me.   Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode The May 24th ruling by the Constitutional Court in Taiwan that same-sex marriage could be legalized Mr. Chi Chia-wei who’s lawsuit led to the May 24th ruling The history of the same-sex marriage battle and family law in Taiwan Major turning points in Taiwan’s LGBTQ movement The history behind Taiwan’s gay pride parade How Taiwan compares to other Asian countries on LGBTQ issues The next steps after the May 24th ruling The marriage equality bill, civil partnership bill, multiple family bill Other work that needs to be done in Taiwan for the LGBTQ community   Related Links: Wen Liu’s writings on New Bloom Magazine: http://newbloommag.net/author/wen-liu/ An article about the LGBTQ movement in Taiwan: https://outreachfortaiwan.org/taiwan-101/social-movements/lgbtq-movement-in-taiwan/