Sunflower Movement Archives - Talking Taiwan Podcast

The Charm of Tainan Taiwan’s Oldest City: A Talk with Author and Historian Jinyu Hsieh (謝金魚) Ep 337

Felicia Lin — Mon, 29 Dec 2025 13:48:55 +0000

In July of 2024, we brought talking Taiwan to the 53rd annual Taiwanese American Conference (TAC), East Coast at Westchester University.

Jinyu Hsieh (謝金魚), one of the speakers at TAC is a writer and a historian. I sat down to talk to her about the charm of Tainan, located in southern Taiwan. It is the oldest city in Taiwan and was founded in 1624. In 2024, Tainan was celebrating its 400^th anniversary.

This episode is sponsored in part by the Taiwanese American Council of Greater New York.

What Taiwan Can Learn from Ukraine: A Panel Discussion Hosted by FAPA (Part 2) Ep 335

Felicia Lin — Sun, 14 Dec 2025 02:00:37 +0000

What Taiwan Can Learn from Ukraine, Part 2.

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 two is the second half of the panel discussion. To listen to the first half of the panel discussion listen to the previous episode, episode 334.

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

https://events.humanitix.com/talking-taiwan-2025-fundraising-gala

For Free Access the Replay of the Talking Taiwan Gala Give Us Your Feedback by emailing podcast@talkingtaiwan.con with the Subject Line: 12 MORE

What can Taiwan learn from Ukraine?

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.

Does Taiwan Have the Will to Fight? Ep 333

Felicia Lin — Sat, 22 Nov 2025 12:51:25 +0000

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

https://events.humanitix.com/talking-taiwan-2025-fundraising-gala

For Free Access the Replay of the Talking Taiwan Gala Give Us Your Feedback by emailing podcast@talkingtaiwan.con with the Subject Line: 12 MORE

Does Taiwan have the Will to fight? I recently sat down with Dr. Raymond Kuo, Director of RAND’s Taiwan Policy Initiative and Catherine Kish, Research Assistant and Chinese Language Specialist at RAND to talk about their War on the Rocks article, “Taiwan’s Will to Fight Isn’t the Problem.” Later on in the interview we also talked about how Taiwan could leverage its diaspora.

Talking Taiwan’s 2025 Inaugural Fundraising Gala! Ep 332

Felicia Lin — Fri, 07 Nov 2025 02:39:55 +0000

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

https://events.humanitix.com/talking-taiwan-2025-fundraising-gala

For Free Access the Replay of the Talking Taiwan Gala Give Us Your Feedback by emailing podcast@talkingtaiwan.con with the Subject Line: 12 MORE

Talking Taiwan’s inaugural fundraising gala was on April 30^th here in New York City at the elegant Eichholtz showroom in Chelsea. The gala was a celebration of Taiwanese American cuisine, culture and community.

We had Peter Lin’s AAPI Jazz Collective perform, and food catered by 886 Restaurant, DAE tea and Taiwan Beer. It was a memorable, magical night and if you’re wondering what you missed out on it, don’t worry, later on in the episode I’ll be sharing how you can watch the replay that we made of the event. We’ll also share the Humanitix link where you can make a donation to watch the replay of the Talking Taiwan Gala.

At the gala I interviewed comedian Esther Chen, Thomas Duh of DAE Tea, artist Kaarina Chu MacKenzie, and Jonny Lee, President of TAP-NY (Taiwanese American Professionals- NY chapter). And that’s what we’ll be sharing in this episode.

3 Perspectives in Taiwan Why the Great Recall Failed Ep 325

Felicia Lin — Sun, 24 Aug 2025 02:38:40 +0000

Here are 3 perspectives why the Great Recall failed.

When we decided to travel back to Taiwan to cover the vote to recall 24 KMT legislators on July 26th we had no idea how things would turn out. The Great Recall (or da ba mian) as it came to be known in Taiwan, was notable not just because it led to a record number of 31 KMT legislators in total being put up for a recall vote. What was most impressive about is that it was a nationwide effort that started at a grassroots level by everyday people.

It’s been incredible to watch everything leading up to the Great Recall. Going back to last May in 2024 during what came to be known as the Bluebird Movement when tens of thousands of people and upwards of 100,000 took to the streets of Taiwan in a series of protests against controversial bills proposed in the legislative yuan. What happened during the Bluebird Movement protests is said to be what in part galvanized citizens to organize the recall campaigns.

I can’t deny that our hopes were high for the results of the July 26th recall vote and after we learned that none of the KMT legislators were successfully recalled, we did our best during the remaining days of our time in Taiwan to try to make sense of the results by talking to a number of our friends and peers.

What you’ll hear in this episode are some sound bites from conversations we had on July 30th with Rath Wang, Safe Spaces Senior Policy Fellow and Dennis Chen, Chairman of Wikimedia Taiwan. They shared their observations and thoughts on why the recalls failed, the recall campaigners and what the results of the recall vote could mean for President Lai.

Later that day I also spoke with Morrison Lee a Taiwanese businessman who went to China on what was supposed to be a 48-hour trip and ended up getting detained and stuck there for nearly 4 years. Morrison talked about his personal involvement in the recall effort also shared his thoughts on why the recall votes failed.

As mentioned, recall campaign groups succeeded in putting up a total of 31 KMT legislators for a recall vote. Another 7 legislators will be up for a recall vote on August 23rd.

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.

Day After Recall Analysis with Dr. Linda Gail Arrigo Ep 322

Felicia Lin — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 03:06:14 +0000

On July 27^th the day after Taiwan’s island wide historic recall vote of 24 Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) legislators, I sat down with Linda Gail Arrigo, Ai Linda (艾琳達) to reflect on the results of the recall vote, and the impact of the civic mobilization behind the recall effort.

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.

Sunflower Movement Archives - Talking Taiwan Podcast

The Charm of Tainan Taiwan’s Oldest City: A Talk with Author and Historian Jinyu Hsieh (謝金魚) Ep 337

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What Taiwan Can Learn from Ukraine: A Panel Discussion Hosted by FAPA (Part 2) Ep 335

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

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Does Taiwan Have the Will to Fight? Ep 333

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Talking Taiwan’s 2025 Inaugural Fundraising Gala! Ep 332

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3 Perspectives in Taiwan Why the Great Recall Failed Ep 325

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A-Mei: The Great Recall Crusader Ep 324

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

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Day After Recall Analysis with Dr. Linda Gail Arrigo Ep 322

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The Day of Taiwan’s Historic Recall Vote Ep 321

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