Talking Taiwan

If you've been following our social media, you might already know that Talking Taiwan is participating in the Podcasthon which is a global movement calling on as many podcasts as possible to dedicate one episode of their show to a cause of their choice. The idea is to release these episodes simultaneously, from March 15-21, 2025 and by doing so this will create a massive and international wave of inspiring audio content. We are proud to represent Taiwan in the Podcasthon and to dedicate this episode to FAPA, The Formosan Association for Public Affairs. FAPA was established in 1982, during Taiwan's 33rd year of martial law. In this episode you'll soon learn about all of the important, hard work that FAPA does in order to advocate for Taiwan in the U.S. For many Taiwanese Americans, friends of Taiwan and supporters of democracy, FAPA's work will probably resonate with you. Here's something that will hit home especially for Taiwanese who have immigrated to the United States. Did you know that before 1994 Taiwanese Americans were forced to list "China" as their place of birth on U.S. passports? I'm old enough to remember this happening to my parents and some of my relatives. This misrepresentation fueled a policy campaign by FAPA advocating to correct this oversight and affirm the rightful identity of Taiwanese Americans. As a result, Taiwan was allowed to be listed and recognized as a place of birth on U.S. passports. This is just one of FAPA's lasting achievements and an example of how FAPA is a leading voice for Taiwan in America. If this is the first time you are hearing about FAPA you might be wondering about FAPA's name and where it comes from. Once upon a time, Taiwan was known as Formosa. The name goes back to the Portuguese who named Taiwan "Iha Formosa!" which means Beautiful Island when they discovered it in the 16th century, back when Portugal was known for its exploration prowess. But even knowing this, I still wondered why Formosa or Formosan was used instead of Taiwan or Taiwanese, so I asked around and FAPA's current President Dr. Su-Mei Kao shared some stories that Taiwanese Hokkien speakers who are listening to this episode are going to be able to appreciate. The early founders did try to come up with a name that used Taiwan, the Taiwanese Association on Public Affairs, but the acronym, TAOPA or when pronounced in Taiwanese Hokkien "TAOPA" sounds like "help hit" and then a shorter alternative, TAPA, "TAPA" sounds like the word for a Spanish appetizer. It turns out, the acronym for The Formosan Association for Public Affairs, FAPA when pronounced in Taiwanese Hokkien "huapa" sounds like "calling to hit or attack." The name has stuck and has served the organization well. Last July while we were at the Taiwanese American Conference, we sat down to interview FAPA's Executive Director, Anny Hsiao, President Dr. Su-Mei Kao, and Vice-President Chia-chun Chung. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Dr. Su-Mei Kao, Vice President Chia-chun Chung's connection to Taiwan How and why Executive Director, Anny Hsiao, President Su-Mei Kao, Vice President Chia-chun Chung each got involved in FAPA The 1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis and Taiwan's first direct presidential election FAPA's major accomplishments and achievements FAPA's Passport Place of Birth Campaign (1992-1994) that allowed the Taiwanese to list Taiwan as their place of birth on U.S. passports How has FAPA's work changed since it was founded in 1982 How U.S.-Taiwan relations have changed since FAPA was founded FAPA's programs and initiatives Why it's important to change the name of TECRO (Economic and Cultural Representative Office) Why Taiwan should not have to compete at the Olympics under the name "Chinese Taipei" How Taiwan should be allowed to compete in the Olympics using the flag and anthem of its choice FAPA's mission FAPA's Song Yea Lee Memorial Fund FAPA's most famous intern is Hsiao Bi-Khim, Taiwan's current Vice President What happens during FAPA's annual national advocacy training How overseas Taiwanese are in a unique position to advocate for Taiwan Anny, Su-Mei and Chia-chun's hope and vision for the Taiwan American community How to get involved with FAPA or to donate Related Links:

If you've listened to our most recent episode of Talking Taiwan, you'll know that the sixty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women or CSW69 is now taking place at United Nations Headquarters in New York. It began on March 10th and runs until March 21st. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiwan-on-the-margins-of-csw-69-celebrating-womens-resilience-progress-at-taiwan-main-stage-ep-307/ On March 12th the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York (TECO-NY) hosted an event called "Taiwan Main Stage: Celebrating Women's Resilience & Progress on the margins of CSW 69." This smartly worded event title is undoubtedly a soft reference the fact that Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations, and therefore on the margins of CSW69. We were there at TECO-NY's fully packed event on the 12th where we heard from Po-Chun Sophiyah Liu and Chia-Hui Lu. Sophiyah is Ambassador-at-Large for Sports Diplomacy of Taiwan, and she is Taiwan's first female umpire. Chia-Hui Lu is a classical musician, cross disciplinary artist and an associate professor at National Taiwan University of Arts. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: · How Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations · Sophiyah Liu's remarks at TECO-NY's event called "Taiwan Main Stage: Celebrating Women's Resilience & Progress on the margins of CSW 69" · How the Global Sports Mentoring Program that set Sophiyah on the path to sports diplomacy · How when Sophiyah won the IOC and UN Women: Women and Sport World trophy in 2019, a special arrangement was made for her to enter the UN building to receive the award · When Sophiyah was invited to attend the UN Global Sport Program working group which met in a conference room in the United Nations building but when it came time to attend the meeting, she was told she couldn't enter the UN building because she has a passport from Taiwan · Sophiyah's thoughts on the controversy over questions about the gender eligibility of female boxer Lin Yu-ting at the Paris Olympics · Sophiyah's thoughts on gender eligibility testing in sports · Chia-Hui Lu's remarks at TECO-NY's event called "Taiwan Main Stage: Celebrating Women's Resilience & Progress on the margins of CSW 69 · The technology, AI training and experimentation involved in creating the real-time music recognition system that captures melodies from Chia-Hui's piano playing and transforms it into a surreal visual story · The mission and past projects of the Egret Cultural and Education Foundation · How the Egret Cultural and Education Foundation's cross art productions combine theater, music, dance, technology, culture, and history · How the Egret Cultural and Education Foundation was published books about Taiwan's history, nature, music, and art Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiwan-on-the-margins-of-csw-69-celebrating-womens-resilience-progress-at-taiwan-main-stage-ep-307/

March is Women's History Month and in this episode of Talking Taiwan I'll be speaking with the Angela Feng, the organizer of the Empowering Women Through Education and Community Action panel, a UN CSW69 Parallel Event that's going to be held here in New York City on Friday, March 14th from 4:30pm-6:00pm. CSW69 stands for the 69th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Also with me in this interview are the other two panelists Cindy Wu who's been a previous guest on Talking Taiwan and Dr. Remi Duyile. There are quite a few acronyms tossed around in this conversation so I thought I'd mention them upfront here like SDG goals, which stands for Sustainable Development Goals which were adopted by United Nations Member States. There are 17 SDGs because ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests. The other acronym you'll hear is BPW which stands for Business and Professional Women. The theme of the panel is how education and community initiatives equal empowerment. The session will dive into how education and grassroots programs can transform lives. Angela, Cindy and Dr. Remi not only talked about the panel, and work of their respective organizations, but I ask each of the women who were their earliest role models who helped to shape who they are today, and to share about challenges that they've had to overcome in their careers thus far. If you'd like to know how you can attend the Empowering Women Through Education and Community Action panel visit TalkingTaiwan.com where we'll share a link to register for it on Eventbrite. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: · Angela Feng, Cindy Wu, and Dr. Remi Duyile are the organizers and panelists for the Empowering Women Through Education and Community Action Panel. · The panel's theme is "How Education and Community Initiatives Equal Empowerment." · The session will explore how education and grassroots programs can significantly transform lives, particularly for women and girls. · Angela Feng is the president of Soroptimist Taipei International, Girls Power, a female non-profit organization recognized by the UN and Taiwan. · Cindy Wu is a trilingual financial management professional, singer-songwriter, and motivational speaker, involved with the International Federation of Business and Professional Women (BPW). · Dr. Remi Duyile is a Nigerian-American, a UN ambassador of peace, and the founder of Legacy Premier Foundation, a global developmental non-profit. · The discussion will delve into the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how these goals relate to women's empowerment · Angela, Cindy and Dr. Remi the work that they have done with each of their respective organizations · Angela, Cindy and Dr. Remi talked about their early role models and the challenges they have overcome in their careers. · The panel aims to provide practical insights and inspire action, moving beyond abstract concepts of women's empowerment. · The women want to provide action steps, and resources to the audience · Soroptimist International of Taipei Girls Power focuses on education for young women, from elementary school through college. · The Legacy Premier Foundation focuses on financial literacy, and providing access to resources to underserved communities, and teaches skills that are needed in the market place. · The International Federation of Business and Professional Women works to create opportunities for women through promoting employment, and protecting rights. Related Links:

In July of 2024, we brought Talking Taiwan to the Taiwanese American Conference at West Chester University and I sat down to interview Sherry Chou, the Director of Dr. Chen Wen-chen Memorial Foundation. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-sherry-chou-remembers-dr-chen-wen-chen-and-circumstances-surrounding-his-mysterious-death-ep-305/ Dr. Chen Wen-chen was an assistant professor of statistics at Carnegie Mellon University when he and his family returned to his native Taiwan for a vacation in the summer of 1981. Dr. Chen's permit to leave the country to return to the U.S. was rejected and so the Taiwan Garrison Command called in Dr. Chen for questioning regarding his political beliefs and activities in the United States. They questioned him on June 30th and July 2nd, but then on July 3, 1981, Chen's body was found on the campus of National Taiwan University (NTU) in Taipei. At the time the autopsy reported that his death was due to a fall. Chen's mysterious death shed light on how the work of Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang spies on U.S. campuses led to Chen's interrogation by the Garrison Command. Sherry and I talked about how and why it took 10 years to establish the Dr. Chen Wen-chen Incident Memorial Square at National Taiwan University (NTU), and the Rainbow Taiwan Independence Flag. Sherry also shared some memories of the Sunflower Movement, which you'll hear Sherry refer to as sān yī ba, which is three one eight in mandarin Chinese, and a reference to March 18, 2014, the date that activists and students occupied Taiwan's legislative yuan which became known as the Sunflower Movement. Dr. Chen Wen-chen's memory was honored at Taiwanese American Conference's 2024 memorial concert. This episode is sponsored in part by the Taiwanese American Council of Greater New York. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Who Dr. Chen Wen-chen was The events leading up to the mysterious death of Dr. Chen Dr. Chen's body was found on July 3, 1981, on the ground at National Taiwan University Initial autopsy reported his death as a fall, but circumstances were suspicious His death shed light on the activities of Kuomintang (KMT) spies on U.S. campuses Why it took 10 years to establish the Dr. Chen Wen-chen Incident Memorial Square at National Taiwan University Sherry also talked about the Rainbow Taiwan independence flag project Sherry discussed her memories of the Sunflower Movement Dr. Chen Wen-chen was honored at the Taiwanese American Conference's 2024 Memorial Concert Dr. Chen fundraised for Formosa Magazine, which drew the attention of KMT agents Formosa Magazine is linked to the Formosa Incident, also known as the Kaohsiung Incident Recent findings by the Transitional Justice Commission revealed that Dr. Chen had been under surveillance since 1979 Forensic evidence confirmed that Dr. Chen died before falling from a building The Lin family murders occurred on February 28, 1980; Lin Yi-hsiung's mother and his twin daughters were stabbed and killed and his oldest daughter survived The death of Chen Wen-chen angered both local and overseas Taiwanese people Sherry talked about a photo of protestors in the 1980s wearing paper bags over their heads to disguise their identities The idea for the memorial started in 2011 with professors and students co-signing a petition The initial proposal was just to place a sign on campus, not a square, but the university didn't want even a sign The social atmosphere in 2011 was different, with Taiwan moving closer to China under President Ma Ying-jeou There were many ridiculous objections to the sign The turning point came in 2014 when Dr. Yang Pan-chyr, a more progressive president, agreed to set up the memorial square There was uncertainty about whether the university would change its stance after Dr. Yang left and Kuan Chung-ming became president Kuan Chung-ming was unpopular, especially among the DPP and progressive community, due to his conservative views and ties to China Dr. Yang tried to push for the sign before he left After Kuan Chung-ming became president, he withdrew support for funding, and the Dr. Chen Wen-chen Foundation covered the costs The public contributed to fundraising efforts through social media Around 2016, there was a surge in advocacy for gender equality in Taiwan and its connection to Taiwanese sovereignty and identity In 2016, Taiwan's marriage equality movement gained attention with people protesting on the streets On May 24, 2017, Taiwan's Constitutional Court ruled that same-sex couples had the right to marry Someone used photoshop to combine the rainbow flag and Taiwanese independence flags Funds were raised through social media and distributed 1300 flags at events The flags allowed people to express support for both marriage equality and national issues 2016 marked the beginning of more people expressing concern for both gender equality and national issues LGBTQ individuals were more actively engaged in the Bluebird Movement, possibly due to increased mobilization since 2016 Sherry was previously the marketing director for Watchout, a media company Watchout started at the end of 2013, around the time of the Sunflower Movement, capturing many photos from then The company shifted focus to issues related to Taiwan's independence and civil defense Watchout published two books: Civil Defense Guide (covering disasters and war) and Active Civil Defense Guide (focused on war) How Sherry got interest in feminism She admires figures like Professor Fan Yun and Liu Wen for their feminist contributions Sherry emphasized the importance of efforts from both Taiwanese communities in Taiwan and those outside of Taiwan in order to make significant change happen Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-sherry-chou-remembers-dr-chen-wen-chen-and-circumstances-surrounding-his-mysterious-death-ep-305/

Grace Loh Prasad's debut memoir, is The Translator's Daughter. I spoke with her about how she started off writing it and how it evolved over the two decades it took to write it. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/a-conversation-on-the-translators-daughter-a-debut-memoir-by-author-grace-loh-prasad-ep-304/ A lot can happen in two decades. One by one Grace started losing her family members- her brother, mother and father. Her memoir is very much about loss, not just the loss that Grace experienced of her family members, but also her lost connection to Taiwan. When Grace was just two years old her family left Taiwan and moved to the U.S. and then Hong Kong. Her parents didn't return to Taiwan until Grace was in college in California. I found the book moving and appreciated how Grace was able to take her grief and personal experiences and put them into this beautifully written book. If you'd like to hear Grace reading an excerpt from The Translator's Daughter, check out the episode right before this one, episode 303. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: · What motivated Grace to start writing her memoir · How the memoir evolved and changed over the twenty years it took to write and complete it · What changed in her life during those two decades · How Grace lost her brother to cancer, her mother to Alzheimer's and father to Parkinson's · The challenge of maintaining a connection with Taiwan and relatives there due to language barriers · The unconventional style of the book which is a mix of narrative chapters and essays · Grace's writing process and how she put the book together · What Grace learned in the process of writing the book · How her family's migrations due to her father's work affected Grace and her brother Ted · How to find belonging in a place that you don't intend to stay · How Grace feels about being a third culture kid · How much of the writing in the book comes from Grace's diary entries · What Grace left out of the book · People who have reached out to Grace about her book because they knew her father and his work translating the Bible · Grace reflects on her father's education and career compared to her own · How Grace's family's story doesn't fit the typical immigrant or model minority story · The op ed Grace wrote about Taiwan's 2000 presidential election · How important Taiwanese Americans have been in highlighting issues in Taiwan · How Taiwan is excluded from international organizations and events like the UN, WHO, Olympics · The authors and books that have influenced Grace · How her book touches on mythology, film, music, and art · Her family's connection to the Thornberries and Milo Thornberry who wrote Fireproof Moth: A Missionary in Taiwan's White Terror · Grace's advice for someone struggling with writing their first book · Feedback and reactions that Grace has gotten to the book · How it's worthwhile to make the effort to pass on specific things from one's culture or family to children or the next generation Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/a-conversation-on-the-translators-daughter-a-debut-memoir-by-author-grace-loh-prasad-ep-304/

For the first episode of 2025, we've decided to share an excerpt from The Translator's Daughter, a personal memoir written by Grace Loh Prasad. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/an-excerpt-from-the-translators-daughter-by-grace-loh-prasad-ep-303/ The book opens on the eve of the Lunar New Year in February of 2000 and so it seems like the right time of year to be sharing this as we approach another Lunar New, the Year of the Snake. Here's a taste of The Translator's Daughter read by its author, Grace Loh Prasad, to pique your interest before we release our interview with Grace in the next episode of Talking Taiwan. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/an-excerpt-from-the-translators-daughter-by-grace-loh-prasad-ep-303/

Here's our 2024 Top 5 Award Winners. 2024 was an eventful year! Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/talking-taiwan-2024-top-5-award-winners-end-of-year-end-of-year-review-ep-302/ In January we headed to Taiwan to cover the Presidential election, thanks to the generous support of donors. While we were there, we covered the election from Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung. We were also able to hold two in-person podcast events where we met several of our Taiwan-based podcast guests in person for the very first time. In May we were shortlisted in the International Women's Podcast Awards Moment of Visionary Leadership category. Then in July we brought Talking Taiwan to the 53rd annual Taiwanese American Conference East Coast (TAC-EC) where we created an on-location podcast studio and conducted 12 interviews in 3 days. We are grateful to have interviewed many of TAC-EC's wonderful speakers. And it we had the honor of interviewing Taiwan's former Vice President Dr. Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) who is best known for his excellent handling of the COVID pandemic in Taiwan. After speaking with him I came away thinking that the world would be a much better place if we had more politicians like Dr. Chen. We'll be giving first listening access to this and other select interviews to anyone donating $50 or more to Talking Taiwan. We never know what episodes are going to make the top 5 of the year and in this episode you'll hear the story behind number 1 episode of 2024. 2024 marked a big change in the way we do things. Previously nearly all of our interviews were done remotely, but in 2024, we did a number of interviews in person, most notably the one with Dr. Linda Gail Arrigo that got shortlisted in the International Women's Podcast Awards Moment of Visionary Leadership category. We will be incorporating more in person interviews in 2025, and Talking Taiwan will be embarking on a North American Tour taking the podcast to communities on the East Coast, West Coast and Canada. In July we will be returning to the Taiwanese American Conference East Coast, and then heading to the Taiwanese American Conference on the West Coast in San Francisco. Later on in the year we will also head north to Taiwanfest in Toronto, Canada. Your donation can help make all of this happen. Right now It's a great time to make a contribution because all contributions made will be doubled. The first $11k we raise will be doubled thanks to our generous matching donors. To support Talking Taiwan you can make donation by PayPal or Zelle using our email address talkingtaiwanpodcast@gmail.com or Venmo @talkingtaiwan. You can also send us a check at our PO box that you'll find on our website talkingtaiwan.com/support. Thank you for listening. Wishing you a Happy New Year in 2025 and beyond! Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/talking-taiwan-2024-top-5-award-winners-end-of-year-end-of-year-review-ep-302/

In this episode of Talking Taiwan, I started off speaking with Taiwanese American documentary filmmaker Hsuan Yu Pan about how she got interested in documentary filmmaking. As we talked about her films, we covered a broad range of topics from the COVID-19 pandemic to parallels between the 2017 travel bans that barred people from seven Muslim majority countries from entering the U.S. and internment of Japanese Americans in the1940s. Time and time again entire groups of people have been targeted and blamed groups. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/documentary-films-on-the-pandemic-immigration-and-human-rights-issues-our-talk-with-taiwanese-american-filmmaker-hsuan-yu-pan-ep-301/ This led us back to the pandemic and recalling the high incidence of Asian hate that happened at that time. Her current film project Hear, Eat, Home touches on many of these topics including the Syrian Revolution and Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. After speaking to Hsuan Yu I get the sense that through her documentary filmmaking she wishes to create understanding so that history doesn't repeat itself and to foster more empathy in the world. Below in the Related Links section is a link where you can support and watch a work in progress version of Hsuan Yu's film Hear, Eat, Home. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: Hsuan Yu's upbringing and how she initially had aspirations to be a visual artist How Hsuan Yu got interested in documentary filmmaking How Hsuan Yu's early experiences editing wedding videos taught her how to use video footage to tell a story How her work at Bric TV taught her how to find stories How she came up with the concept for her documentary film Alone Together that was shot during the pandemic How footage for Alone Together was gathered and planned How Alone Together featured footage from 11 different countries What Hsuan Yu learned from making the film Alone Together Hsuan Yu views her filmmaking as being about telling people's stories How she met the Taiwanese puppeteer, Mr. Tsai who is the subject of her documentary film project I, Puppet How Hsuan Yu was able to encourage Mr. Tsai to do some impromptu puppetry in New York's Washington Square Park How Mr. Tsai attended a Puppet Slam event in Coney Island, NY and brought the puppet slam concept back to his puppet museum in Taipei, Taiwan The relationship between Mr. Tsai and his father who is also a puppeteer How and why Mr. Tsai's parents didn't want him to become a puppeteer What Hsuan Yu loves about making documentaries Her documentary film project Hear, Eat, Home How two of the subjects of the film Hear, Eat, Home, Kinan Azmeh and Kevork Mourad are members of Yo-yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble How the internment of Japanese Americans and the travel bans of 2017 (aka Muslim bans) are examples of how the U.S. government has labeled certain groups of people as a threat and discriminated against them How Kinan Azmeh was affected by the travel bans of 2017 (aka Muslim bans) How different groups have been blamed such as the Japanese Americans, Muslim Americans and Asian American How as a documentary filmmaker Hsuan Yu feels that sne should document history so that people can learn from history Kevork Mourad's background and family story What the film Hear, Eat, Home is about Hear Eat Home tells the story of Syrians, Japanese Americans and Ukrainians What Hsuan Yu believes makes a good documentary How Hsuan Yu was trying to finish working on Hear, Eat, Home in 2020, but she wasn't satified with it When the Russian invasion of Ukraine happened in 2022 Hsuan Yu felt that she should include stories of her Ukrainian friends in to the film Hear, Eat, Home Hsuan Yu plans to complete Hear, Eat, Home me next year Hear Eat Home is available for view as a work in progress until January 5th Anyone wishing to support the completion of Hsuan Yu's film Hear, Eat, Home can make a donation on the link provided on TalkingTaiwan.com for this episode Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/documentary-films-on-the-pandemic-immigration-and-human-rights-issues-our-talk-with-taiwanese-american-filmmaker-hsuan-yu-pan-ep-301/

NATWA (the North America Taiwanese Women's Association) has been around since 1988 and for this episode about NATWA I interviewed Elena Ling, one of NATWA's founding members, Hui-Na Lin, a past NATWA national president, Susan Liao, two-time president of NATWA's Toronto chapter, and Sue Kuo NATWA's current vice president and president elect for 2025. It is impossible to properly acknowledge the unique contributions of each NATWA national president, or all of NATWA's board and committee members, NATWA's supporters, donors, and countless others who have made NATWA what it is. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/the-history-of-natwa-unique-contributions-by-three-national-presidents-ep-300/ As I reflect on this, I'd like to share a poetic analogy that Hui-Na Lin, 2022-2023 NATWA national president shared with me to describe the essence of NATWA. It's from a short story she wrote "Fly Together Over Mountains" which she told me was inspired by the Canadian geese's migration down south for the winter each year. A single goose could not make the trip as efficiently alone. Several geese fly together as a group in a V formation. There is one bird that leads the group initially, but when the lead bird gets tired, it moves to the back for a rest, and another bird takes the lead. The birds all take turns leading the group to their final destination. Like the Canadian geese NATWA's members work together to support each other in turn. It's not about one single leader. As you listen to this episode you'll learn more about how NATWA meets its five point mission statement which is: 1. to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity, 2. to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality, 3. to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs, 4. to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan, 5. to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all. Special Thanks to Elena Ling and Alvina Ling for providing useful details about NATWA's formation and history for this episode. And a very special thank you to NATWA and its members for all of the encouragement and support that you've given to our two-person team here at Talking Taiwan. Thank you for making our work possible. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How and why NATWA (the North America Taiwanese Women's Association) was founded Annette Lu's (former Vice President of Taiwan) connection to NATWA How Annette Lu was one of the Kaohsiung Eight (one of eight people arrested as a result of the Kaohsiung aka Formosa incident) The first meeting with the 30 founding members of NATWA How NATWA has a President-elect who serves as Vice President the year before becoming President How NATWA started off as a national organization The early formation of NATWA How progressive it was at the time to form NATWA How NATWA has grown from 30 to 1,000 members How NATWA became a 501(c)(3) organization How NATWA has 2 major events a year, an annual convention (in April) and a mid-year leadership meeting (in October) The impact that NATWA has made in the lives of its members How Hui-Na Lin and Susan Liao got involved in NATWA initially and later took on leadership roles in the organization NATWA's early struggles in attracting members due to pressure from Taiwan's Kuomintang (KMT) government at the time NATWA's early successful fundraising efforts Why NATWA avoided accepting any government funding NATWA's early successful projects NATWA's charitable fundraising efforts How NATWA's members are aging How NATWA's membership and programs grew during the pandemic What made NATWA's WebEx programs during the pandemic successful What types of WebEx programs NATWA offered during the pandemic Major activities organized by NATWA Toronto The first NATWA event that Felicia Lin, the host of Talking Taiwan was invited to attend How Hui-Na and her team got NATWA's members to attend the first in-person mid-year meeting and annual conventions that took place after restrictions on COVID were eased How NATWA addresses women's issues and promotes women's dignity The formation of NATWA II an organization for second generation Taiwanese American women Questions about the future direction of NATWA What Elena, Hui-Na and Susan have each gotten out of their involvement with NATWA Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/the-history-of-natwa-unique-contributions-by-three-national-presidents-ep-300/

After hearing about Team Taiwan's historic gold medal baseball win at the Premier 12 on November 24th I reached out to Richard Wang who I previously interviewed in 2020 about how Taiwan was the only place on the planet where professional baseball was being played during the COVID pandemic and since the entire world was watching, it led to English broadcasts of Taiwan's baseball games. Related Link: https://talkingtaiwan.com/team-taiwans-historic-gold-medal-baseball-win-our-conversation-with-richard-wang-ep-299/ Well, it turns out that Richard was at the Tokyo Dome for Premier 12 and even had the honor of calling out all the names of Team Taiwan's players as they were awarded their gold medals. In the spirit of Giving Tuesday, which was on December 3rd, I thought it would be fun to celebrate Team Taiwan's win by inviting others to be "in the audience" during my online interview with Richard, so I put out the word on social media. Special thanks to all those who attended the online event on such short notice. Related Link: https://talkingtaiwan.com/team-taiwans-historic-gold-medal-baseball-win-our-conversation-with-richard-wang-ep-299/