Asian mental health Archives - Talking Taiwan Podcast

Vickie Wang (王宇平) On Who Gets to Be Taiwanese and Stand-Up Comedy Part 2 Ep 344

Felicia Lin — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 11:51:28 +0000

In part two of our interview with Vickie Wang (王宇平), she talked about how the COVID lockdown of 2022 in Shanghai affected her mental health, her thoughts on the Great Recall movement in Taiwan last year, how she questions her Taiwanese-ness i.e. if she’s Taiwanese enough, generative propaganda, and how she got into stand-up comedy.

Vickie Wang a writer, interpreter, and stand-up comedian born and raised in Taiwan. Now based in New City York she co-produces a monthly stand-up show called Wang’s World Comedy.

Vickie will be emceeing this year’s Talking Taiwan Fundraising Gala on Friday, May 1.

As our emcee Vickie will bring her signature wit and energy to the evening. Purchase tickets to the Talking Taiwan

Fundraising Gala or to make a contribution visit: https://events.humanitix.com/talking-taiwan-2026-fundraising-gala/tickets

Dr. Shih-Fen Chen 陳時奮 A Scholar with a Responsibility to Reveal the Truth Ep 341

Felicia Lin — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 14:26:52 +0000

Last July, we brought Talking Taiwan to the 2025 Taiwanese American Conference, West Coast. While we were there, I sat down to speak with Dr. Shih-Fen Chen (陳時奮), who’s also been known by his pen name Wēngdáruì (翁達瑞). Dr. Chen is Professor Emeritus at Ivey Business School, and a Professor at Western Washington University. He’s an outspoken political commentator, self-described as a scholar with a sense of responsibility to reveal the truth.

This episode is sponsored in part by the Pacific Times (太平洋時報).

China’s Alarming Gray Zone Tactics Around Taiwan and its Neighboring Nations in Asia Ep 340

Felicia Lin — Sat, 07 Feb 2026 11:35:06 +0000

Back in April 2021 we covered news about a record breaking 25 Chinese air force aircraft including fighters and nuclear-capable bombers that entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ). At the time 25 seemed like an alarming number. It was the largest incursion by Chinese military planes into Taiwan’s ADIZ to date.

To be clear these sorts of activities had been going on long before this and long before September of 2020 which is about the time that Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense started to publicly report China’s incursions.

China’s People’s Liberation Army has shown no signs of letting up. The PLA’s gray zone tactics have also included the use of drones and balloons. Incursions by warplanes and naval ships into the airspace and waters surrounding Taiwan are now a daily occurrence. And they have completely shattered the record 25 aircraft in Taiwan’s ADIZ many times over.

Major military exercises have included the Joint Sword-2024A. Three days after Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te’s inauguration on May 20 of 2024, China’s PLA conducted two days of military exercises in the air and sea space around Taiwan.

More recently, at the end of 2025 on December 29 and 30, People’s Republic of China (PRC) military forces carried out a large-scale exercise in the air and ocean areas around Taiwan called “Justice Mission-2025.” These two days of PLA military exercises involved at least 200 warplanes.

Unfortunately these types of gray zone tactics by China have become commonplace and while they have been more widely reported on, even more troubling are the other gray zone tactics that the PRC has been levying on Taiwan, which include the presence of Chinese owned and operated oil rigs in Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and on January 16th the New York Times reported that China quietly mobilized thousands of fishing boats twice already, most recently in the first few weeks of this new year.

Quoting from the New York Times, “By January 11, they had assembled into a rectangle stretching more than 200 miles. Maritime and military experts said the maneuvers suggested that China was strengthening its maritime militia, which is made up of civilian fishing boats trained to join in military operations.”

This was not the first time. A month earlier on December 25th the Times reported that “about 2,000 Chinese fishing boats assembled in two long, parallel formations on Christmas Day in the East China Sea. Each stretched 290 miles long, about the distance from New York City to Buffalo, forming a reverse L shape.”

According to the New York Times, “The unusual formations were spotted by the chief operating officer of ingeniSPACE, a company that analyzes data, and were independently confirmed by The Times using ship location data provided by Starboard Maritime Intelligence.”

About ingeniSPACE:

ingeniSPACE is a geospatial intelligence company integrating remote sensing data across multiple phenomenologies. We are an insight-as-a-service platform delivering all weather day-night multi-temporal understanding around the world. Our intelligence extends the “executive decision making time” that public sector and commercial leaders need to make well-informed decisions.

Collective Memory, Collective Trauma: A Conversation with Dr. Meng Chiang Ep 339

Felicia Lin — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 22:29:48 +0000

At the end of 2024 I sat down with Dr. Meng Chiang, the Executive Director of the 2024 Taiwanese American Conference- East Coast. We had a really wonderful heart-centered conversation about the conference theme Collective Memory and that led to collective trauma as it relates to the Taiwanese and Taiwanese American communities. We talked about the 4 types of trauma responses, the 4 Fs- flight, fight, freeze and fawn and post-traumatic growth.

This episode is dedicated to the memory of Sharon Huang, who passed away in December of 2025. She was a dear friend, mother, wife, sister, auntie, a community organizer and a cornerstone of the Taiwanese American community, especially in New York where she resided. Most notably she and her husband Patrick Huang ran the Brooklyn Artists Studio (BAS) and have supported the Taiwanese American Arts Council (TAAC) and Talking Taiwan. Together they have advocated for Taiwan democracy, human rights, and culture. The loss of Sharon is felt by so many who knew and loved her, she leaves behind family in the U.S. and Taiwan.

Mengchun “Meng” Chiang, PhD (she/her/hers), is a member of the Taiwanese American community. She has served in various community leadership roles, most recently as Executive Director of the Taiwanese American Conference East Coast (TACEC) in 2024.

Professionally, Meng is the founder of CHI Executive Consulting, LLC, where she provides leadership coaching and consulting services, specializing in workplace inclusion and organizational wellness. She is passionate about empowering leaders from diverse backgrounds, helping them enhance their communication, negotiation, and inclusive leadership skills. Meng regularly facilitates workshops to help leaders integrate their identities into effective leadership practices that drive business success and personal growth.

Meng is a licensed clinical psychologist with affiliations to Harvard Medical School, Carnegie Mellon University, the Tepper School of Business, and National Taiwan University. Her experience spans education, training, and leadership roles. She pioneered the Leadership and Connection for Asian Women+ Leaders program and served as Assistant Director of Training at Carnegie Mellon University.

In her free time, Meng enjoys traveling, practicing loving-kindness meditation, listening to music, taking walks, and grocery shopping.

What Taiwan Can Learn from Ukraine: A Panel Discussion Hosted by FAPA (Part 1) Ep 334

Felicia Lin — Sat, 13 Dec 2025 10:37:45 +0000

Get Access to the Replay of the Talking Taiwan Gala Make a Donation at Humanitix

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What can Taiwan learn from Ukraine?

Earlier this year, on March 30, at the Taiwan Center in Flushing NY, FAPA (Formosan Association for Public Affairs) hosted a panel discussion, Lessons from the Battlefield: What Taiwan Can Learn From Ukraine. Representatives from the Ukrainian community, Razom for Ukraine and Dignitas Ukraine and FAPA discussed how NGOs can strengthen advocacy, humanitarian aid, and international collaboration.

It was a very substantive discussion that we wanted to record and share with FAPA’s permission to our listeners. This episode part one is the first half of the panel discussion.

TAIUNA’s White Protest of Taiwan’s Exclusion from the UN Ep 328

Felicia Lin — Thu, 25 Sep 2025 11:04:28 +0000

On Friday, September 12^th at the Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza which is across from the UN Headquarters, in New York representatives from the Taiwan United Nations Alliance or TAIUNA, an NGO from Taiwan, held a press conference urging the UN to include Taiwan in its system. TAIUNA Youth Representatives performed a dance, a white protest of Taiwan’s exclusion from the UN.

September is when the UN General Assembly takes place and delegates from TAIUNA have been coming to New York for the past twenty years to call for Taiwan’s membership in the UN. This year is the 80th anniversary of the United Nations and the 80^th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The General Assembly High-level Week runs from September 22-30^th.

The following day, Saturday, September 13^th was the UN for Taiwan rally and march which has been organized by the Taiwanese American Council of Greater New York since 1992.

The annual press conference and UN for Taiwan Rally are reminders of Taiwan’s long-standing isolation from the international community.

Working in the Intersection of Ceramics Sound and History: Taiwanese American Maker Eugenie Chao Ep 326

Felicia Lin — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 07:05:20 +0000

In this episode of Talking Taiwan we sat down to speak with Eugenie Chao who describes herself as Taiwanese American maker, educator, and musician who works in the intersection of ceramics, sound, and history. Her exhibit at the Taiwanese American Arts Council House 17 on Governors Island aptly named Listening Vessels, features ceramic objects turned musical instruments created by Chao and is on display until September 7th.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

What came first for Eugenie music or working with clay?
What made her combine ceramics with music?
Where did that idea come from?
How did she get interested or start working with clay?
Eugenie’s musical training and what instruments she plays?
What was her early artwork like?
How her artwork has evolved over time?
What does it mean to work at the intersection of ceramics, sound, and history?
What is her creative process is like?
How sound affects her artwork?
How she decides the size of the objects she creates?
The challenges involved with making large scale pieces vs pieces that can be made by hand
How does the size of an object affects the sound it makes
The ceramic instruments from ancient cultures that inspire her, how she discovered them and what was their purpose
What inspires you? Where do you get your inspiration?
Eugenie’s connection to Taiwan
How Eugenie considers herself a maker and not an artist
What can we expect to see and experience from Eugenie’s Listening Vessels exhibit at the TAAC house on Governors Island
The most ambitious or challenging piece of work that Eugenie has made
How Eugenie deals with a creative block
Eugenie’s future projects can we expect to see from you?

A-Mei: The Great Recall Crusader Ep 324

Felicia Lin — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 07:49:37 +0000

A-Mei, the great recall crusader.

As part of our great recall coverage in Taiwan, on July 25th the day before the vote to recall 24 Kuomintang (KMT) legislators, we sat down to interview A-Mei the spokesperson for the Shān chú wēi hài (山除薇害) recall group.

We talked about why she got involved in the recall effort, how she got doxed by the Kuomintang (KMT) and how the recall effort was supported by overseas Taiwanese in over 38 cities from over 20 different countries. We previously interviewed three recall campaigners from this group- Carol, Eric and Acho in episode 316. We were also with A-Mei and the recall group on the day of the recall vote July 26th to watch the results of the recall vote.

Special thanks to Mei-Ling Lin for her translation assistance.

Jiho Chang: Why Did the Recall Fail, and How Can the DPP Do Better? Ep 323

Felicia Lin — Sun, 03 Aug 2025 15:47:11 +0000

Why did the recall fail, and how can the DPP do better in the future?

This is a part of our continued coverage of Taiwan’s Great Recall. On July 26th, the people of Taiwan voted on whether or not to recall 24 Kuomintang KMT legislators from all across the island. None of the 24 KMT legislators were recalled. This was a blow to the Democratic Progressive Party that could have benefited from a rebalancing of the legislative yuan since it only has 51 of the 113 seats in the legislative yuan or congress.

Among the concerns that motivated these civil society recall groups to take action were the unchecked visits of KMT legislators with high level officials in China. In April of 2024 KMT caucus convener Fu Kun-chi led a delegation of 17 KMT legislators to China where they met with the head of China’s United Front. When asked the delegation has not been transparent about what was discussed in the meetings with Chinese officials.

Two days after the recall vote, on July 28th , I sat down with Jiho Chang, Keelung City Councilor who shared how he faced a retaliatory recall by the KMT. He discussed his thoughts on the outcome of the July 26th recall vote and what this means for the DPP.

On August 23 another 7 KMT legislators will be put up for a recall vote.

The Day of Taiwan’s Historic Recall Vote Ep 321

Felicia Lin — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 02:41:51 +0000

On July 26^th the day of the Taiwan’s historic recall vote to recall 24 Kuomintang (KMT) legislators we were with the Shān chú wēi hài (山除薇害) recall group in Taipei at Rongxing Garden (榮星花園) Rongxing garden, which is more like a park, for a sort of watch party with about a hundred volunteer recall campaigners. The recall vote results were being televised live on a series of oversized screens that had been set up in the park.

When we finally learned the results of the recall vote It was a shock. 0 of 24 legislators had been recalled. What a sad, disappointing day. I could see it in the faces of the recall volunteers and at the same time it was touching to see how they consoled each other as some could help but burst into tears. The leaders of the recall group asked everyone to join hands and to form a circle in a sign of solidarity and encouragement Carol and Eric shared their initial thoughts with us.

Asian mental health Archives - Talking Taiwan Podcast

Vickie Wang (王宇平) On Who Gets to Be Taiwanese and Stand-Up Comedy Part 2 Ep 344

Related Links:

Dr. Shih-Fen Chen 陳時奮 A Scholar with a Responsibility to Reveal the Truth Ep 341

Related Links:

China’s Alarming Gray Zone Tactics Around Taiwan and its Neighboring Nations in Asia Ep 340

Related Links:

Collective Memory, Collective Trauma: A Conversation with Dr. Meng Chiang Ep 339

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What Taiwan Can Learn from Ukraine: A Panel Discussion Hosted by FAPA (Part 1) Ep 334

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TAIUNA’s White Protest of Taiwan’s Exclusion from the UN Ep 328

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Working in the Intersection of Ceramics Sound and History: Taiwanese American Maker Eugenie Chao Ep 326

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Related Links:

A-Mei: The Great Recall Crusader Ep 324

Related Links:

Jiho Chang: Why Did the Recall Fail, and How Can the DPP Do Better? Ep 323

Related Links:

The Day of Taiwan’s Historic Recall Vote Ep 321

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