Talking Taiwan

This year the Passport to Taiwan will be returning to New York City’s Union Square Park on Sunday, May 28th from 12 noon to 5:00pm. It will be the first in-person Passport to Taiwan in three years since the pandemic, and we are looking forward to it!   Talking Taiwan will be there with a special live on-location podcasting studio. Read on to learn more about what we have planned.    Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/passport-to-taiwan-2023-u-s-largest-taiwan-festival-is-back-in-union-square-ep-239/   Since the first Passport to Taiwan was held in 2002 it’s become the largest outdoor Taiwanese American event in the entire United States. Passport to Taiwan is a celebration of Taiwanese art, culture, music, community, and of course food.   In this episode I mention some of the notable performances, organizations and businesses that will be at Passport to Taiwan. For a full list of performances visit the Passport to Taiwan website at: www.p2tw.org   If you’re going to be in New York City on May 28th stop by Talking Taiwan’s booth to hear clips from some of our most notable guests.   Maybe you’ll catch me interviewing some invited guests like Jilliyeah, who some may recognize for the memorable acceptance speech she made at last year’s Grammy awards on behalf of the Taiwanese designers who won the Best Recording Package Grammy award for the album Pakelan. Jilliyeah put Taiwan in the mind of viewers that night when she said, on behalf of the designers “We are from Taiwan…Taiwan is a beautiful and a peace-loving country.” And then she added, “I hope someday if you can go and visit Taiwan, super welcome.”   Jilliiyeah is now in the U.S. pursuing her own career as a singer musician. She’s going to be stopping by to do an interview with me at the Talking Taiwan podcasting.   Some past guests might be stopping by too. You never know who’ll show up in at our on-location podcasting studio!   We’ll also be doing some giveaways for anyone who comes and sits in the “hot seat” with me and answers my Flash Five Questions, or who wants to pitch themselves, or someone else to be a guest on Talking Taiwan.   For those of you who can’t make it to Passport to Taiwan, we want to let you know that we’ll be livestreaming throughout the day from Passport to Taiwan to our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/talkingtaiwanpodcast   So if you’d like to see what we are up to on May 28th from 12 noon-5pm Eastern Time, just visit our Facebook page to catch our livestream from New York City’s Union Square Park. If you can’t tune in or we experience any technical issues, don’t worry we’ll be recording the event and will post recordings from the event to our YouTube channel and social media.   To learn more about the background and history behind the Passport Taiwan, we’re resharing some of my interview that was done in 2014 with Borcheng Hsu, the event’s organizer.     Here’s a little preview of what’s covered in this podcast episode:   ·      Talking Taiwan will be at Passport with a special live on-location podcasting studio ·      Some of the notable performances including: the featured presentation sponsored by the Overseas Community Affairs Council and performed by the College of Performing Arts, National Taiwan University of Arts, “A Touching Encounter with Music and Dance from Taiwan,” Peter Lin’s band the AAPI Jazz Collective, Jilliyeah, and Taiwan Republic ·      Some of the organizations and businesses that will be at this year’s Passport to Taiwan ·      Some of the individuals or organizations I’ll be interviewing in Talking Taiwan’s booth at Passport to Taiwan ·      2002 was the first time that Passport to Taiwan was held in Union Square Park ·      How Taiwanese American Heritage Week was declared in 1999 ·      Where the idea and the name Passport to Taiwan came from ·      How Passport to Taiwan started with a core group of 10 volunteers ·      How Passport to Taiwan was modeled after the Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival organized by CAPA (Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans) ·      On the day of Passport to Taiwan there are about 200 volunteers helping out ·      How Passport to Taiwan has grown ·      How other Taiwanese American communities participate in, visit and attend Passport to Taiwan ·      How there were only four food booths at the first Passport to Taiwan ·      Folk artists that have been invited to do demonstrations at Passport to Taiwan have included sugar paining, aborigine fabric weaving, clay figurines, straw weaving ·      Artists and performers who have been invited from Taiwan to be a part of Passport to Taiwan ·      How Passport to Taiwan is not just about Taiwan, but the Taiwanese American community and people, the shared democratic values of Taiwan and the U.S. ·      Misconceptions about Taiwan ·      The is most rewarding thing about organizing Passport to Taiwan ·      The challenges of running and organizing Passport to Taiwan ·      The most popular thing about Passport to Taiwan ·      How most of the food booths offering Taiwanese dishes are made by local people in the Taiwanese American community, specifically for Passport to Taiwan, and are not available elsewhere ·      Sponsors of Passport to Taiwan ·      How people can sponsor Passport to Taiwan ·      Future plans for Passport to Taiwan   Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/passport-to-taiwan-2023-u-s-largest-taiwan-festival-is-back-in-union-square-ep-239/

How is it that I haven’t done an episode about bubble tea? It’s surprising that of all the things related to Taiwan, that I’ve covered on this podcast, I haven’t covered this one.  Last year I heard that April 30th was National Bubble Tea Day when I saw a tweet by President Tsai Ing-wen. So I got to work planning to release an episode about bubble tea for this year’s April 30th. Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below:  https://talkingtaiwan.com/kristen-mccoy-ward-everything-about-bubble-tea-with-the-bobba-queen-ep-238/   I started off speaking to New York-based bubble tea shop veteran Sam Lin who brought the Quickly bubble tea brand from Taiwan to New York. His first Quickly shop was in Flushing near the public library on Kissena. Now he runs 22 Coco bubble tea shops in New York, New Jersey and Boston. Sam’s mother is a street vendor in Taiwan selling douhua (a sweet dessert tofu) and Sam grew up eating douhua with tapioca balls long before there was this thing called bubble tea. Sam had some interesting things to say about the origins of bubble tea and who invented it.  As I was getting this episode ready for the end of April, I also spoke to Borcheng Hsu, organizer of the Bubble Tea Festival in New York, who clarified the origins of National Bubble Day.  And finally, I came across a YouTube channel called Bubble Tea Kristin. It’s an amazing resource for almost everything related to bubble tea. Kristin has recipes for those wanting to make bubble tea drinks at home. In the past she’s owned and run several bubble tea shops and what she does now is help people who dream of opening their own bubble tea shop. I wanted to find out why she’s been called the “Boba Queen,” so I looked her up and invited her to be a guest on Talking Taiwan. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.   NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: 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.   To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com   Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:                 ·         The origins of bubble tea and who invented it ·         Why National Bubble Tea Day is on April 30th ·         What should New York City celebrate as bubble tea day ·         Kristin the “Boba Queen” ·         Where Kristin’s love and interest in bubble tea comes from ·         How she learned about the bubble tea business and opened her own bubble tea shops ·         How she sold her bubble tea business at the beginning of the pandemic and now mentors and helps other people to open bubble tea shops ·         How her past experiences and childhood prepared her for being an entrepreneur and business owner ·         How it’s difficult to be profitable in the first year of running a bubble tea shop ·         What it takes to have a successful bubble tea shop ·         How to get the right texture for the tapioca pearls in bubble tea ·         The different types of tapioca pearl balls and toppings ·         How long tapioca pearls last after they are cooked ·         Kristin’s visit to Taiwan in 2018 ·         How bubble tea shops are popping up all around the world ·         The different flavors of bubble tea that Kristin created for her shops ·         How bubble tea has evolved over the years since Kristin opened her first bubble tea shop ·         The reactions from people that Kristin has gotten since she is not from Taiwan or Asia ·         How she was once the only white female bubble tea shop owner in the U.K. ·         Any backlash she’s experienced as a bubble tea shop owner ·         How Kristin works with her bubble tea shop clients and advises them ·         Her recommendations of what to do in the first year of running a bubble tea shop ·         How the approach of business owners in the U.S. differs from those in the U.K. ·         How the pricing of bubble tea is important ·         How Kristin has helped bubble tea shop owners who have already started their business but run into some problems and need help ·         How Kristin sees her role in the world of bubble tea ·         What Kristin misses about running a tea shop ·         A drink recipe that people can make at home   Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/kristen-mccoy-ward-everything-about-bubble-tea-with-the-bobba-queen-ep-238/

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and my guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan, Peter Lin is here to talk about the Asian American Pacific Islander or AAPI Jazz Fest which is coming up on May 20th in Newark, NJ. The AAPI Jazz Fest celebrates the diversity of the pan-Asian jazz community with a full day of performances and panels. Peter is Founder of Yardbird Entertainment and Producer of the AAPI Jazz Fest.   Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/aapi-jazz-fest-2023-celebrating-the-diversity-of-the-pan-asian-jazz-community-with-peter-lin-ep-237/   This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.    NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: 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.   To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com    Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: The AAPI Jazz Collective’s performance at the Metropolitan Museum for the Lunar New Year How AAPI Jazz Fest got started How the first AAPI Jazz Fest last year (in 2022) was organized in a month What it's like being an Asian American jazz musician The mission of AAPI Jazz Fest The AAPI Jazz Fest is a 10 hour event with performances and panels The artists performing at the festival At the end of the night there will be a jam session during which time any musicians are invited to join in Local organizations and vendors that will also be at the festival Peter’s band the AAPI Jazz Collective, and their recent performance opportunities How to support, attend, donate to, or volunteer for the AAPI Jazz Fest    Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/aapi-jazz-fest-2023-celebrating-the-diversity-of-the-pan-asian-jazz-community-with-peter-lin-ep-237/

This past Saturday, April 29th was the first TaiwanFest of the year in New York City. So we decided to go check it out and see what businesses and community organizations were there. Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiwanfest-nyc-2023-talking-taiwans-live-stream-coverage-in-the-rain-ep-236/  For this episode we tried out something different by livestreaming and talking to people on location. It was a test run for May when Talking Taiwan will be at this year’s Passport to Taiwan on Sunday, May 28th from 12-5pm in New York City’s Union Square Park. We’ll be having an outdoor on location podcasting studio. So if you’re in New York, drop by, I’ll be interviewing people in the booth throughout the day. Come and talk to us. Hear highlights from some of our most notable episodes. Suggest someone to be a guest on Talking Taiwan. We’ll be doing giveaways for anyone who willing to sit in the hot seat to answer my flash five questions or better yet, anyone who wants to pitch themself to be a guest on Talking Taiwan. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.   NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:   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.   To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com   Related Links:   TaiwanFest.NYC: https://taiwanfest.nyc/   Sweeeet NYC: https://www.instagram.com/sweeeetnyc/   Passport to Taiwan: https://p2tw.org/   Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiwanfest-nyc-2023-talking-taiwans-live-stream-coverage-in-the-rain-ep-236/

 This episode is a follow up on episode 233 that covered Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen’s 48-hour transit through New York from March 29-31 en route to Central America.   When Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen left Taiwan to go on a ten-day state trip to Central America to meet with Taiwan’s diplomatic allies Guatemala and Belize. She first transited through New York from March 29-31 en route to Central America. At the end of her trip she transited through Los Angeles from April 4-5th, where she met with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/tim-chng-and-borcheng-hsu-the-day-president-tsai-ing-wen-met-protesters-from-the-peoples-republic-of-china-ep-235/    In this episode of Talking Taiwan I started off speaking with Tim Chng (who was previously on Talking Taiwan in episode 159) and Borcheng Hsu (a community organizer based in New York City) about how Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen was met with protestors representing the PRC, People’s Republic of China on the first day of her arrival in New York City. All three of us were all there that day, on the afternoon of March 29th at the first major site of the protests, the Lotte New York Palace Hotel where President Tsai was staying.   Our discussion raised a lot of questions, like: How organized the PRC protestors were. How did they know President Tsai’s itinerary in New York? As you’ll hear from our conversation, the protestors seemed to know when and where to show up and make a scene.   On the other hand, how prepared was the Taiwanese American community? What did community do in response? And what can concerned Taiwanese Americans do to be better prepared in the future when a similar situation arises?   After President Tsai’s 48-hour transit in New York, she headed to Central America to meet with Taiwan’s diplomatic allies Guatemala and Belize.   At the end of her she transited through Los Angeles from April 4 to 5th and met with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy before returning to Taiwan. While in L.A. she was once again met with PRC protestors. Tim, Borcheng and I also talked about what happened in L.A.   This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.     NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:   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.   To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com   Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: ·         How Tim and Borcheng were involved in self-determination and pro-democracy demonstrations for Taiwan in the 1990s, when a thousand people or so could easily be gathered to show support ·         What motivated Tim to drive up from Baltimore to be in New York in time to welcome Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen when she arrived at the hotel she was staying during her 48-hour transit through New York ·         Why the bus from DC with Taiwanese American supporters of President Tsai wasn’t able to make it to New York in time for President Tsai’s arrival at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel where she was staying ·         What the scene was like and what happened prior to President Tsai Ing-wen’s arrival at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel on March 29th ·         How Tim and Chi Chun Wang, the President of the Taiwanese Association of America Baltimore chapter spoke to some pro-democracy Chinese activists who said that the PRC (People’s Republic of China) protestors were being paid $30 an hour ·         What happened outside of the Lotte New York Palace Hotel on March 29th before and when President Tsai Ing-wen arrived ·         How the PRC (People’s Republic of China) protestors were organized and seemed to know President Tsai’s itinerary while she was in New York ·         How Borcheng worked with TECRO and the NYPD (New York Police Department) on March 29th ·         How sound permits are required for the use of amplified sound in New York City ·         The NYPD’s handling of the situation on March 29th ·         What the PRC protesters were saying about President Tsai and Taiwan ·         How prepared the Taiwanese American community was to respond by organizing counter protests ·         What happened on March 30th when President Tsai accepted the Global Leadership Award from the Hudson Institute ·         What happened on March 31st when President Tsai left her hotel in New York to go to Central America ·         What happened with the protests of President Tsai’s visit to New York in 2019 ·         How one of Tim’s tweets about the protests of President Tsai in New York on March 29 was misconstrued by someone ·         The questions about why pan-green supporters were waving ROC (Republic of China) flags and not green flags or other flags ·         Former President Ma Ying-jeou’s visit to China ·         The protests during President Tsai’s transit in Los Angeles (from April 4-5) ·         What happened when President Chen Shui-bian visited New York in 2000 and later years ·         What can concerned Taiwanese Americans, and supporters of Taiwan’s democracy do to be better prepared in the future when a similar situation arises ·         How the NYPD and LAPD handled protests against President Tsai and Taiwan in New York and Los Angeles    Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/tim-chng-and-borcheng-hsu-the-day-president-tsai-ing-wen-met-protesters-from-the-peoples-republic-of-china-ep-235/  

In part two of our interview with T.H. Schee we talked about what concerns in particular that Taiwan should have about AI, ChatGPT and Baidu’s chatbot Ernie.   ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI in partnership with Microsoft, which is its largest investor. It was released in November of 2022. And in case you’re wondering, GPT stands for: generative pre-trained transformer.   Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/t-h-schee-what-concerns-should-taiwan-have-about-a-i-chatgbt-and-baidus-chatbot-ernie-ep-234/   ChatGBT is quite versatile. It can mimic human conversation, and do a whole range of things from drafting email to writing essays, taking tests and writing and debugging computer programs.   On February 7th Chinese company Baidu announced it would be creating a Chinese language ChatGPT, Ernie Bot. A week later, Taiwan’s Science and Technology Minister, Wu Tseng-tsong announced that Taiwan will be developing its own Chinese language chatbot due to fears of bias that could be created by China’s chatbot.   And on March 16th the Ernie Bot was publicly unveiled.   T.H. Schee is a digital veteran with twenty years of experience in the private and NGO sectors. He was a founding member of the Taiwan Internet Governance Forum and provided his expertise on digital crisis response to the UN Global Geospatial Information Management group. He has served as an adviser to government agencies and the city of Taipei (2016–18) and is a stalwart writer on the intersection of digital and tech policies.   This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.   NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:   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.   To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com   Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: ·       Comparing people’s concerns about the Internet in 1995-1996 with concerns about AI today ·       Yams.com the first Chinese language search engine which was created in Taiwan ·       ChatGPT ·       Baidu’s Chinese chatbot Ernie ·       Baidu’s demo of Ernie ·       How and open, free Internet is key to the successful development of chatbots like Ernie or ChatGPT ·       How the government of Taiwan is supporting developing its own Chinese language chatbot ·       T.H. Schee’s thoughts on ChatGPT ·       How different generations use and access the Internet ·       How ChatGPT is similar to a search engine ·       If ChatGPT can produce responses in Chinese should Taiwan be concerned ·       T.H. estimates that 30-40% of the results written in traditional Chinese characters that show up on page one of a Google search are actually sources from China ·       Whether or not it’s a good idea for Taiwan to try to develop its own version of ChatGPT and if it will reap any benefits from doing so ·       How to combat bias in ChatGPT or similar chatbots ·       T.H’s thoughts on how Taiwan should approach developing its own version of ChatGPT Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/t-h-schee-what-concerns-should-taiwan-have-about-a-i-chatgbt-and-baidus-chatbot-ernie-ep-234/

On March 29th Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen left Taiwan to go on a ten-day state trip to Central America to meet with Taiwan’s diplomatic allies Guatemala and Belize. In a pre-departure speech, President Tsai shared that the theme of her trip "Meeting Democratic Partnership, Fostering Shared Prosperity” expresses our determination to foster deeper exchange and cooperation between Taiwan and our allies. Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/president-tsai-ing-wens-48-hour-transit-through-new-york-en-route-to-central-america-ep-233/   This episode of Talking Taiwan is about first leg of President Tsai’s trip that brought her to New York for a 48-hour transit from March 29-31, 2023.  This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.   NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:   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.   To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com   Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/president-tsai-ing-wens-48-hour-transit-through-new-york-en-route-to-central-america-ep-233/

Last year I spoke with T.H. Schee about Taiwan’s civil defense preparedness in episode 178. This was a hot topic of discussion in Taiwan after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February of 2023. It made the military threat that the people of Taiwan face from the People’s Republic of China very real. A year has passed since Russia’s invasion and I wanted to bring T.H. back for a follow up conversation about this and how the government and people of Taiwan have adjusted and continue to deal with the situation there. We also touched upon some recent news stories in Taiwan that are related to the topic of internet security. Next week we’ll be sharing the second part of my interview with T.H. about AI.  We’ll be talking about ChatGPT, Baidu’s chatbot Ernie and what concerns in particular that Taiwan should have about AI. Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/th-schee-on-taiwans-civil-defense-preparedness-one-year-later-after-the-war-in-ukraine-ep-232/   T.H. Schee is a digital veteran with twenty years of experience in the private and NGO sectors. He was a founding member of the Taiwan Internet Governance Forum and provided his expertise on digital crisis response to the UN Global Geospatial Information Management group. He has served as an adviser to government agencies and the city of Taipei (2016–18) and is a stalwart writer on the intersection of digital and tech policies.    This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.   NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:   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.   To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com   Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   ·       The situation in Taiwan since we last spoke to T.H. last year ·       Thoughts from T.H.’s March 3 talk with New Bloom Magazine “Lessons from Ukraine for Taiwan?” ·       What the government in Taiwan is doing regarding Taiwan’s military preparedness ·       Proposed changes to Taiwan’s Mobilization Act that include the military taking control of the media during wartime and the mobilization of people as young as 16 years old ·       The importance of allies and partners for Taiwan ·       The submarine cables that were cut and affected the internet access of people on Matsu ·       How Vietnam had four out of five of its submarine cables cut which meant that there were no ships available to repair the cables that were cut and affected Matsu, so Matsu was without internet access for two to three months ·       How the people of Matsu were impacted by the cut submarine cables ·       The Taiwan government responded by providing a microwave transmission for Matsu ·       How some people of Matsu purchased SIM cards from China to be able to access the internet, and what is problematic about that ·       The Taiwan Internet Governance Forum ·       How/why the submarine cables in the Taiwan Strait have gotten cut 25 times in five years ·       The hi-resolutions photos from the National Palace Museum got hacked and ended up for sale online    Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/th-schee-on-taiwans-civil-defense-preparedness-one-year-later-after-the-war-in-ukraine-ep-232/

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/eric-chang-on-the-unfolding-situation-at-the-legislative-yuan-during-the-sunflower-movement-ep-231/   The Sunflower Movement in Taiwan, which started in protest to the passage of the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement (CSSTA), happened nine years ago, on the night of March 18, 2014. I was in Taipei when the Legislative Yuan, which is the equivalent of the parliament in Taiwan, was occupied by students and activists in an effort to block the passage of the trade agreement between Taiwan and China. It was the beginning of what became known as the Sunflower Movement. The day before, on March 17, the Kuomintang (KMT) had attempted to force through passage of the CSSTA in Taiwan's Legislative Yuan, without giving it a clause-by-clause review.   Several days later at a press conference on March 23rd Taiwan’s then President Ma Ying-jeou stated his resolve in passing the trade agreement. That night, students and activists attempted to occupy the Executive Yuan in protest. A few days later, on March 28th I spoke with Eric Chang who joined students and protestors outside of the Executive Yuan on the 23rd. He was there when police started breaking up the students and protestors, himself among them, and he shared what he saw and experienced that night in episode 121.   At the time I spoke to Eric it had been only 10 days since the occupation of the Legislative Yuan, so the situation at the Legislative Yuan and the Sunflower Movement was still unfolding and this of course was before we knew what the outcome would be. It's interesting to look back on it and hear my conversation with Eric in pre-COVID times, and way before the insurrection of the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021. We talked about the role of social media in the occupation of the Legislative Yuan, how the Sunflower Movement galvanized young people in Taiwan at the time, and the atmosphere outside the Legislative Yuan while it was occupied; every day there were thousands of people from all walks of life gathered outside in the streets surrounding the Legislative Yuan.   Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: ·       What the occupation of the Legislative Yuan by students and activists means for Taiwan’s democracy ·       What the scene/situation around the occupied Legislative Yuan was like ·       Comparisons between the occupation of Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan with what would happen if people tried to occupy the U.S. Capitol Building ·       How peaceful and organized the student protestors are; they have set up a variety of stations for supplies, to charge mobile phones, for recycling, first aid ·       Professors have given lectures outside in the perimeter of the Legislative Yuan ·       A sausage vendor that’s set up outside of the Legislative Yuan and is giving out sausage for free ·       Medical and legal professionals who have volunteered to help the student protestors ·       How Eric and his friend Dwagie (Taiwanese hip hop artist/rapper) have visited the Legislative Yuan area since the occupation ·       The March 30th Rally in support of the Sunflower Movement that took place globally ·       The Taiwan Voice Facebook page ·       How people can speak publicly or perform in the area surrounding the occupied Legislative Yuan ·       Lazy Habits, a jazz hip hop band performed outside of the occupied Legislative Yuan ·       High school students in Tainan (in southern Taiwan) are speaking out publicly about the occupation of the Legislative Yuan ·       How the Sunflower Movement has galvanized people across Taiwan ·       How Eric has seen friends who are KMT supporters come out in support of the Sunflower Movement and occupation of the Legislative Yuan ·       How young people learn about news through social media, Facebook and PTT, a popular local bulletin board founded by a National Taiwan University student in 1995 ·       Whether or not the pact (Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement) will get passed ·       How the Sunflower Movement has made people feel more comfortable to free to speak out publicly   Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/eric-chang-on-the-unfolding-situation-at-the-legislative-yuan-during-the-sunflower-movement-ep-231/

Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/rur-architecture-what-inspired-the-team-to-design-the-taiwan-music-center-and-kaohsiung-port-terminal-ep-230/ The Kaohsiung Port Terminal just opened on March 6th and I had a chance to speak with Jesse Reiser AR’81 and Nanako Umemoto AR’83 of Reiser+Umemoto, RUR Architecture, the architects behind its design. They are the team that also designed the Taipei Music Center which opened on September 5, 2020. We spoke about their 35-year-long careers in architecture, how they landed both of these projects in Taiwan, the inspiration behind the design of the projects, and what contributed to delays in completion. Both projects were expected to be completed and in operation by 2014. Also with us when we spoke was Jasmine Lee, the project manager for the Taipei Music Center and Kaohsiung Port Terminal projects at RUR Architecture.   We will be bringing back Jesse, Nanako and Jasmine to show us the Kaohsiung Port Terminal, Taipei Music Center and other architecture projects via video. That video will be posted on Talking Taiwan’s YouTube channel at a later date. This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association. NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is: 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.   To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com   Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:   ·      How Jesse, Nanako and Jasmine ended up choosing their careers in architecture ·      How things have evolved in Jesse and Nanako’s 35-year-long careers in architecture ·      How Jesse and Nanako started teaching and how that has shaped their careers in architecture ·      How Jesse and Nanako started entering architecture competitions, and things transpired from there ·      The Dubai tower project that Jesse and Nanako worked on ·      The AIishan Mountain project that Jesse and Nanako won ·      The inspiration behind the Taipei Music Center ·      How and why the Taipei Music Center project changed over time ·      The purpose/function of the Taipei Music Center ·      How other projects like the stadium in Taipei aka the Taipei Dome have been delayed and not completed ·      How Aldo Rossi, Jesse’s teacher and employer influenced the design of the Taipei Music Center ·      The indoor and outdoor performance space of the Taipei Music Center ·      Why it took over 10 years to complete the Taipei Music Center ·      The Taipei Music Center opened on September 5, 2020, and on October 3rd the 31st Golden Melody Awards were hosted there ·      The three functions of the music center: performance, history, production ·      Social media’s impact on the visibility of the Taipei Music Center ·      What a surprise it was to win the design competition for the Kaohsiung Port Terminal ·      Why the Kaohsiung Port Terminal project took 13 years to complete and the adjustments that had to be made over time ·      How the Taipei Music Center and Kaohsiung Port Terminal projects were inspired by Jesse and Nanako’s work in New York ·      Jesse and Nanako’s work in New York ·      How teaching affects their approach to architecture projects ·      The O-14 tower in Dubai that Jesse and Nanako worked on ·      What it is like seeing one’s architectural projects completed and come to life ·      Jesse, Nanako and Jasmine’s thoughts on being architects and their advice for those interested in going into architecture   Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/rur-architecture-what-inspired-the-team-to-design-the-taiwan-music-center-and-kaohsiung-port-terminal-ep-230/