Taiwan Sports Archives - Talking Taiwan Podcast

Dr. Chen Chien-jen 陳建仁 Former VP of Taiwan Reflects Upon his Life in Politics and as a Public Servant Ep 327

Felicia Lin — Mon, 01 Sep 2025 01:00:13 +0000

In July of 2024, we brought talking Taiwan to the 53rd annual Taiwanese American Conference, east Coast at Westchester University, where I had the pleasure and honor of interviewing Taiwan’s, former vice President, Dr. Chen Chen (陳建仁). We talked about how Dr. Chen was trained to be an epidemiologist and was initially reluctant to go into politics, but then fate intervened and changed his mind when SARS hit Taiwan in 2003, and his experience handling the SARS outbreak as Taiwan’s Minister of Health played an important role preparing him to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic as Taiwan’s Vice President.

I asked Dr. Chen why it’s important for Taiwan to be a member of the WHO World Health Organization and about the challenges he’s faced as the Vice President and Premier of Taiwan. how he overcame them and why he decided not to run as Vice President with Tsai Ing-wen for a second term.

And finally, for some context, at the time of the interview, the Bluebird movement had emerged in Taiwan a month and a half earlier. I touched upon this with Dr. Chen briefly at the end of the interview.

At the time, more than a hundred thousand people in total had taken to the streets of Taiwan in a series of massive protests. It was a very public objection to controversial bills passed by Taiwan’s opposition controlled Legislative Yuan. After interviewing Dr. Chen, I was left thinking if only the world had more politicians like him with a public service mindset, the world would be a better place.

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

Taiwan on the Margins of CSW 69: Celebrating Women’s Resilience & Progress at Taiwan Main Stage Ep 307

Felicia Lin — Tue, 18 Mar 2025 10:48:23 +0000

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.

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

Team Taiwan’s Historic Gold Medal Baseball Win: Our Conversation with Richard Wang Ep 299

Felicia Lin — Mon, 09 Dec 2024 08:32:39 +0000

After hearing about Team Taiwan’s historic gold medal baseball win at the Premier 12 on November 24^th 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.

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 3^rd, 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.

“Decathalon” The Story of Taiwan’s Greatest Olympian: My Conversation with Award-Winning Journalist Mike Chinoy Ep 290

Felicia Lin — Sat, 24 Aug 2024 09:58:45 +0000

Here’s my conversation with award winning journalist Mike Chinoy on his new film Decathalon about CK Yang and Rafer Johnson in 1960 Olympics.

The recent Paris Olympics has just passed and may already be fading into memory. This year Team Taiwan won 2 gold medals and 5 bronze at the Olympics.

Do you know when and who won Taiwan’s first Olympic medal?

It happened at the 1960 Rome Olympics, which was the first Summer Olympics that was televised in North America. The man who was known as the “Iron Man of Asia,” C.K. Yang won a silver medal in the decathlon. C.K. was of the Amis indigenous tribe from southeastern Taiwan. His Amis name was Maysang Kalimud, but then Japan colonized Taiwan he had a Japanese name when, and then after the Chinese Nationalists the Kuomintang lost the civil war in China to the Chinese Communist and fled to Taiwan, his father gave him a Chinese name, Yang Chuan-kwang. Like many Amis, he used his athletic prowess to gain status and success that might otherwise have eluded him. But not much is known about how heavily he identified as Amis.

The gold medal winner at the Rome Olympics was Rafer Johnson, an African American.

Rafer and C.K. trained together under the same coach at UCLA and then competed against each other in the decathlon at the Rome Olympics. They were not only rivals but also the best of friends.

Their extraordinary and unlikely friendship inspired the making of a documentary film and I sat down recently to speak with Mike Chinoy, the co-creator, co-writer, and co-producer of that film which is called “Decathlon: The CK Yang and Rafer Johnson Story,”

Mike Chinoy is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the University of Southern California’s US-China Institute and is based in Taipei. Previously, he spent 24 years as a foreign correspondent for CNN, serving as the network’s first Beijing bureau chief and as Senior Asia Correspondent.

“Decathlon: The CK Yang and Rafer Johnson Story” is currently streaming on the Taiwan Plus Docs YouTube channel.

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

Team Taiwan’s performance during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris
How flags and signs in the shape of Taiwan or with the word Taiwan on them were confiscated from fans during the men’s doubles badminton finals at the Paris Olympics
How China’s state-run broadcaster CCTV cut the feed during parts of the men’s badminton doubles match and did not broadcast the medal ceremony
Why Taiwan has to compete under the name “Chinese Taipei” at the Olympics
The “Iron Man of Asia”
The man that won Taiwan’s first Olympic medal
C.K. Yang was Amis and had three names, an Amis name (Maysang Kalimud), a Japanese name and a Chinese name (Yang Chuan-kwang, 楊傳廣)
How C.K. first met Rafer Johnson at the Melbourne Olympics in 1956
How C.K. and Rafer were trained by the same coach at UCLA and became close friends
The International Olympic Committee (I.O.C) told the government of Chiang Kai-shek that the team sent to participate at the 1960 Rome Olympics could not be called the Republic of China
Chiang Kai-shek almost boycotted the Olympics but didn’t because he realized that C.K. Yang could possibly win a medal and bring glory to Taiwan
How Taiwan competed under the name Formosa during the 1960 Rome Olympics
C.K. Yang was the first person with a Chinese surname to win an Olympic medal
At the opening ceremony of the 1960 Rome Olympics Rafer Johnson was the first African American to carry the American flag at the Olympics
At the opening ceremony of the 1960 Rome Olympics, the Taiwan team marched in carrying a placard that said under protest, which was the first overt political protest by a team in Olympics history
Where the idea for “Decathlon: The CK Yang and Rafer Johnson Story” came from
How Mike’s co-creator, co-writer, and co-producer, John Krich sought out, befriended and interviewed C.K. Yang in 2006
How Mike met and befriended Rafer Johnson and C.K.’s widow Daisy in Los Angeles
Taiwanese Canadian film director of “Decathlon: The CK Yang and Rafer Johnson Story,” Frank W. Chen also directed “Late Life: The Chien-Ming Wang Story”
How C.K. Yang, Rafer Johnson and athletes have become political symbols
How C.K. Yang and Rafer Johnson were intense athletic rivals and close friends
The close personal friendship between C.K. Yang and Rafer Johnson
How C.K. Yang and Rafer Johnson had the same coach, Ducky Drake at UCLA
How C.K. Yang and Rafer Johnson joked that they were the “Two-Man United Nations”
How C.K. Yang’s story tells the story of Taiwan in an unconventional way
Why C.K. was sent to UCLA to train for the Olympics
The 1958 Kinmen Matsu Crisis (aka The 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis)
How C.K. Yang and Rafer Johnson’s coach, Ducky Drake showed no favoritism
When U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1968, Rafer was next to him, Rafer grabbed the assassin, tackled him and grabbed the gun
Rafer’s involvement in the Special Olympics
What happened to C.K. at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics
C.K. later became the coach of the Taiwan track team for the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Canada
Why the team from Taiwan was barred from participating in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal
Rafer Johnson lit the flame at the 1984 Olympic games in L.A.
How C.K. went into politics briefly in Taiwan, switching from one party to another
The Iron Man house that the government of Taiwan built for C.K.
How statues of C.K. are in a locked fourth floor room of the National Sports Training Center in Kaohsiung
There cover of Sports Illustrated magazine in 1963 with the headline “ C.K. Yang, the world’s greatest athlete.”
The tremendous sportsmanship and loyalty that C.K. and Rafer exemplify
C.K.’s performance at 1954 Asian Games in Manilla
The use of animation in “Decathlon: The CK Yang and Rafer Johnson Story,”
The National Sports Training Center in Kaohsiung
How the film addresses the Taiwan, China conflict, and the fight for social justice and equality in the United States; 64 years later the world is still wrestling with these issues
Mike’s future projects

Decathlon: The CK Yang & Rafer Johnson Story 奧運傳奇：楊傳廣與強森 | Full Documentary: https://youtu.be/usbdC5v3LX8?si=FgQKZkFaJh-eutGj

C.K. Yang: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yang_Chuan-kwang

Rafer Johnson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafer_Johnson

Decathlon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decathlon

What’s in a Name? A Chinese Taipei Story | Full Documentary: https://youtu.be/p8pYnsnq8x0?si=Ddksa2SSZJDWCbGG

Amis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amis_people

Japanese invasion of Taiwan (1895): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_invasion_of_Taiwan_(1895)

Taiwan under Japanese rule: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan_under_Japanese_rule

History of the Kuomintang: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Kuomintang

Flags banned, signs ripped up: Why you can’t mention Taiwan at the Olympics: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/flags-banned-taiwan-olympics-chinese-taipei-rcna165502

Taiwan asks for investigation into a fan at Olympic badminton having a sign taken away and ripped up: https://apnews.com/article/2024-olympics-taiwan-china-273274375d4ae6221b0aa17d1dfe2e7e

Security guard snatches bubble tea sign from Taiwanese fan at Olympic badminton final: https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/news/5914949

Boxer Lin Yu-ting says she blocked out gender dispute en route to gold: https://www.reuters.com/sports/olympics/boxing-taiwans-lin-says-she-blocked-out-gender-dispute-en-route-gold-2024-08-10/

Boxer from Taiwan shakes off gender questions to win fight and assure medal: https://www.nbcnews.com/sports/olympics/lin-yu-ting-chinese-taipei-boxer-taiwan-shakes-gender-questions-wins-b-rcna165051

1960 Rome Olympics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_Summer_Olympics

https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/rome-1960

1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Tiananmen_Square_protests_and_massacre

How covering June 4 Tiananmen Square crackdown kicked off ‘CNN Effect’: https://www.cnn.com/2014/06/01/world/asia/tiananmen-chinoy/index.html

Chiang Kai-shek: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiang_Kai-shek

Republic of China: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_China_(1912%E2%80%931949)

People’s Republic of China: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China

Formosa: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Formosa

Frank W. Chen: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9748617/

Late Life: The Chien-Ming Wang Story: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8234502/

Le Bron James: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeBron_James

1958 Kinmen and Katsu crisis (aka The 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis): https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_memoranda/RM4900.html

https://history.state.gov/milestones/1953-1960/taiwan-strait-crises

https://taiwantoday.tw/news.php?unit=4&post=754

UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles): https://www.ucla.edu/

Senator Robert F. Kennedy: https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/the-kennedy-family/robert-f-kennedy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_F._Kennedy

Eunice Kennedy Shriver: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eunice_Kennedy_Shriver

1964 Tokyo Olympics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_Summer_Olympics

https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/tokyo-1964

Special Olympics: https://www.specialolympics.org/

National Sports Training Center in Kaohsiung: https://web.nstc.org.tw/English/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Sports_Training_Center

An article about C.K. Yang from the 1963 Sports Illustrated cover with the headline “The World’s Greatest Athlete” and C.K. Yang’s photo on it: https://vault.si.com/vault/1963/12/23/the-cobra-and-c-k-yang

Asian Games: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Games

1956 Melbourne Olympics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1956_Summer_Olympics

https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/melbourne-1956

This Week in China’s History: October 25, 1971: https://thechinaproject.com/2020/10/21/when-the-prc-won-the-china-seat-at-the-un/

Kuomintang (KMT): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuomintang

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Progressive_Party

Taiwan Strait Risk Report Newsletter: https://taiwanrisk.com/

David Kilgour Author and Human Rights Advocate: Why 2022 is the China Genocide Olympics Ep 170

David Kilgour Author and Human Rights Advocate: Why 2022 is the China Genocide Olympics (Episode 170): https://talkingtaiwan.com/david-kilgour-author-and-human-rightd-advocate-why-2022-is-the-china-genocide-olympics-ep-170/

The post “Decathalon” The Story of Taiwan’s Greatest Olympian: My Conversation with Award-Winning Journalist Mike Chinoy Ep 290 appeared first on Talking Taiwan Podcast.

Our Live Podcast Event @ Pic Collage: Highlights and Interesting Stories of 10 Guests in Taipei Ep 276

Felicia Lin — Mon, 19 Feb 2024 12:19:30 +0000

On January 25th we held the second in-person event during the Talking Taiwan Election Tour at the PicCollage office in Taipei thanks to John Fan, who was a guest on episode 179 of Taking Taiwan. Many of our past guests, friends and supporters were in attendance at the event, and what made the event extra special for us of course was the chance to meet some of our past guests in-person for the very first time.

In this episode you’ll hear me speaking with our previous podcast guests and a few people from the audience also came up and spoke with me at our impromptu on-stage podcasting booth. Previous guests featured in this episode include: Eric Chang (episodes 121, 127 and 231), Jane W. Wang (episode 150), Karen Chung, (episodes 217 and 219), Elias Ek (episode 59), Brian Foden (episodes 184 and 185), Richard Wang (episode 77), Jerome Keating (episodes 97, 98 and 186).

This episode bookends the Talking Taiwan Election Tour episodes, but we do have some other interviews that we recorded while in Taiwan. Those will be released at a later date.

We are extremely grateful to our supporters and donors who made the Talking Taiwan Election Tour possible.

By the way, if you’d like to listen to the episode featuring our first in-person on January 19th at 4SC Crossfit thanks to T.H. Schee, check out episode 273 and if you want the full visual experience, visit Talking Taiwan’s YouTube channel where you can watch video footage from both of our in-person events.

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

Jenny Luo talked about the Taiwan Plus show she’s producing called, Anything Goes with JL
Eric Chang shares his thoughts on the January 13^th election in Taiwan, and talked about his work at Taiwan News and enjoying Taiwan’s natural beauty
Jane W. Wang talked about her interest in permaculture and degrowth
Karen Chung talked about an app she’s been working on to improve the listening skills of those learning English called Ear Bug
Elias Ek talked about how his early career in radio shaped him as an entrepreneur, Dragon’s Chamber and his latest business venture Keego
Brian Foden talked about his podcast, If the Phrase Fits
Richard Wang shared how he’s helping to bring baseball games to the Taipei Dome, that the Yomiuri Giants (Japanese baseball team) will be celebrating their 90^th anniversary with games at the Taipei Dome, and starting this year, the local baseball league will have six teams
John Fan made introduced and explained what PicCollage does
Jerome Keating shared his thought on the future direction of Taiwan and where Taiwan is headed
Nancy Baldwin talked about her book, One Thousand Layers of Water and Clouds: The Tale of a Taiwanese Daughter
Elias Ek shared a few pet peeves that he has about terms and phrases commonly used in Taiwan
Felicia acknowledged Gus Adapon the original producer of Talking Taiwan who was in the audience
Dylan Black a Canadian who has lived and taught English in Taiwan for many years talked about how he is now doing so in China, and how life China compares to life in Taiwan so far

TaiwanFest at Culture Lab: A Night Market Comes to Long Island City Ep 250

Felicia Lin — Tue, 22 Aug 2023 07:35:25 +0000

On August 6^th we stopped by the TaiwanFest at the Culture Lab in New York City’s Long Island City and what a treat it was!

You may remember that back in April we stopped by the first TaiwanFest of the year which got rained out and talk about night and day! This time we were happy to see that there were long lines and many of the food vendors got sold out early. There were also vendors selling all sorts of things from trinkets to T-shirts. To learn more about the different vendors at TaiwanFest just visit their website at Taiwanfest.nyc. We’ve been to several of the TaiwanFest’s throughout New York City this summer but what made the one on the 6^th really special was the live music, and since it ran from 3-9pm it really took on a night market like atmosphere by the end of the night.

I spoke to a few of the community organizations that were there, like the Hakka Association of New York and FASCA (Formosa Association of Student Cultural Ambassadors).

Borcheng, TaiwanFest’s organizer also talked about how TaiwanFest is bringing more of Taiwan to New York City.

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

the Hakka Association of New York
the Hakka Association of New York’s Leicha experience at TaiwanFest
FASCA (Formosa Association of Student Cultural Ambassadors)
How TaiwanFest is bringing more of Taiwan to New York City
The musicians that performed at TaiwanFest on August 6^th
The next TaiwanFest on August 26 will be a Bubble Tea Festival

Passport to Taiwan 2023: U.S. Largest Taiwan Festival is Back in Union Square! Ep 239

Felicia Lin — Wed, 24 May 2023 13:14:39 +0000

This year the Passport to Taiwan will be returning to New York City’s Union Square Park on Sunday, May 28^th 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.

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 28^th 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 28^th 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

SPARK Accel: A Virtual Accelerator for Taiwanese American Entrepreneurs Ep 225

Felicia Lin — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 01:11:15 +0000

SPARK Accel is a personalized 4-week virtual accelerator for Taiwanese American entrepreneurs. At the end of the program there will be a virtual pitch competition and a chance for participants to win up to $15,000. SPARK Accel is an initiative under the Taiwanese American Citizens League (TACL). TACL is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of Taiwanese Americans.

Stacey Pai, one of the founding team members of SPARK Accel, spoke with me about how SPARK Accel supports entrepreneurs, and what stage of entrepreneurs are eligible to participate in its accelerator program. As SPARK Accel grows, it is looking to recruit a volunteer program manager, fundraising manager, community manager, marketing manager, and startup mentors. This is a great opportunity for budding Taiwanese entrepreneurs.

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:

to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women’s dignity,
to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
to fully develop women’s potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
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:

What is Spark Accel?
What stage of entrepreneur Spark Accel serves
When Spark Accel launched
The first cohort in the summer of 2021 had 6 startup participants and 10 ppl on the leadership team, and over 30 mentors
Spark Accel plans to launch 2 cohorts in 2023, one in April/May, and the other in Sep/Oct.
How to apply and qualify for the Spark Accelerator program
What will happen during the 4-week program and what participants will learn
Spark Accel’s in-person mixers San Francisco, New York, Boston, and Taipei
Future locations that will host Spark Accel in-person mixers
How Spark Accel is run by volunteers and supported by fundraising and donations
How many participants there are in each accelerator cohort
At the end of the 4-week program there will be a pitch contest in order to win a cash prize of up to $15,000
The “audience component” at the end of the program, which involves a video recording of pitches that will be shared online and via social media, and friends and family will be invited to vote
The startups and mentors associated with Spark Accel
Spark Accel is looking for volunteer mentors
Spark Accel is recruiting for a volunteer program manager, fundraising manager, community manager, and marketing manager

The History of Mets Taiwan Day with Diana Lee of Hello Taiwan Ep 202

Felicia Lin — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 06:49:32 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

On this episode of Talking Taiwan I’m speaking with Diana Lee, one of the founders and organizers of Hello Taiwan about Mets Taiwan Day which is in its 17^th year. It’s coming up soon on August 28th. We talked about how the event got started, some of the celebrities and notable people who have appeared at Mets Taiwan Day in the past and what sorts of activities and things people will experience at the event. Among the most exciting news for Taiwanese baseball fans is who will be throwing the first pitch of the game, and how to get a limited edition MetsTaiwan No. 1 jersey. Hello Taiwan also sponsors other sporting and cultural events throughout the year.

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:

to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women’s dignity,
to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
to fully develop women’s potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
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 and when Mets Taiwan Day started
How the NY Mets have several celebration of different culture events in the month of August
Activities at Mets Taiwan Day include the Formosan Black Bear mascot, Third Prince, diabolo performance
Peng Cheng-min (aka Chia Chia) former Taiwanese baseball player and coach will be throwing the first pitch at this year’s Mets Taiwan Day
The Mets Taiwan No. 1 jersey and how to get one
How the Mets Taiwan No. 1 jersey will be available in kids sizes for the first time this year
Celebrities and famous, notable Taiwanese who have made appearances or thrown the first pitch at past Mets Taiwan Day events
Other sports events sponsored by Hello Taiwan include: Rhode Island Dragon Boat Festival, Hello Taiwan Night at Dodgers’ Stadium, Hello Taiwan Night Lunar New Year event with the Long Island Nets
Other events that Hello Taiwan has planned throughout the year for Halloween, a Taiwanese night market, Easter, Christmas

Shu-Ying Chung Talks About Filmmaking and her Award-Winning Short Ep 201

Felicia Lin — Wed, 17 Aug 2022 08:31:40 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Shu-Ying Chung is a indie filmmaker based in New York. Her short film Removable has been making the rounds at film festivals. It’s won several awards for best story, best short, best actress, and best director, to name a few. I spoke with Shu-Ying about what motivated her to write, direct and produce the film and how she can identify with the subject matter of the film due to her own past immigration status issues. She also talked about some of the highlights of her career in film and offered some advice for those interested in filmmaking.

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:

to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women’s dignity,
to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
to fully develop women’s potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
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:

What it was like growing up in Taiwan for Shu-Ying
Her interest in music, television and film and her parents’ reaction
Her short film Removable that is currently making the rounds at several film festivals, which has earned many awards for best short, best actress, and best director, to name a few
What inspired her to write, produce and direct her short film Removable
Shu-Ying’s own experience with being forced to leave the U.S. due to work visa issues
What happened when Shu-Ying had to leave the U.S. to return to Taiwan due to a visa issue and ended up staying there for 1.5 years
How she wrote the script for Removable with her husband
The research involved in writing the script for Removable
How Shu-Ying and her husband did everything required for pre-production of the film in four weeks and a five-day shoot to make the short film, Removable
How Removable was self-funded by Shu-Ying and her husband
If Shu-Ying has plans to expand Removable into a full-length film
Shu-Ying’s career path in film so far and her work at Hearst Magazines
How Shu-Ying’s immigrant/work status has been a barrier in her career path
How English language proficiency can be a barrier for foreigners to overcome in the U.S.
Shu-Ying’s dream of being able to direct full length films full-time
What it takes to be a good film director
Shu-Ying’s approach to filmmaking
The most memorable film/video projects (shown on Shu-Ying’s website) that she has worked on
Shu-Ying’s first experience shooting with 35 mm film
The difference between shooting on film vs. digitally
Shu-Ying’s work on the Artists’ Den documentary series
What Shu-Ying misses about Taiwan
Some of Shu-Ying’s favorite films
One of the films that influenced her short film Removable
What Shu-Ying thinks she would be doing if she wasn’t a filmmaker
The dream film project that Shu-Ying would like to make about her grandmother
How Shu-Ying would like to be remembered
What advice Shu-Ying has for others interested in being a filmmaker

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Shu-Ying Chung Talks About Filmmaking and her Award-Winning Short Ep 201

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

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

Related Links: