Talking Taiwan

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

This week I'm welcoming back Dr. Dafydd Fell to talk about the SOAS Center of Taiwan Studies at the University of London. They just had their summer school program in July, which is free and open to the public. It's a tremendous resource for people interested in learning more about Taiwan. The program included speakers on the topics of Taiwan's anti-nuclear movement, environmental activism and movements, Taiwan's Post New Wave Cinema, how to write about Taiwan for a general audience, the campaign to end the death penalty in Taiwan, just to name a few. You can check out their YouTube channel which has videos from the summer school program and other SOAS Center of Taiwan Studies events. Dr. Fell and I talked about how Taiwan studies has changed over the past 20 years and some of the challenges faced by Taiwan studies programs in general.

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

• The establishment of the SOAS Taiwan Studies Program at the University of London
• How there weren't any other Taiwan Studies programs in Europe when the SOAS Taiwan Studies Program at the University of London was established in 1999
• SOAS Taiwan Studies program was founded by Professor Robert Ash
• Establishment of European Association of Taiwan Studies in 2004
• Taiwan Studies programs in Europe
• How we are currently in a Golden Age of Taiwan Studies
• Taiwan studies programs in Europe vs. the U.S.
• The collaboration between SOAS Taiwan Studies program and the University of Texas at Austin Taiwan Studies program
• The challenges faced by Taiwan Studies programs
• How the SOAS Taiwan Studies program's focuses on Taiwan Studies teaching programs and publication (of books that come out of conferences)
• The types of classes and programs offered at the SOAS Taiwan Studies Program
• Prominent political figures from Taiwan that have been invited to speak at SOAS
• The second world congress of Taiwan Studies at SOAS (with 80 speakers and 500 in person attendees)
• How the SOAS Taiwan Studies Program organizes 50-70 events per year
• How the events present interesting opportunities for students to actually meet some of the figures on their reading lists
• What graduates of the SOAS Taiwan Studies Program have gone on to do
• The major research contributions that have some out of SOAS Taiwan Studies Program
• The challenges of funding Taiwan Studies programs
• Whether more Taiwan Studies degree programs will be developed worldwide
• The relationship between Chinese and Taiwanese studies programs
• The SOAS Taiwan Studies Program Summer School which has been running since 2007

Related Links:

SOAS Centre of Taiwan Studies' website: http://www.soas.ac.uk/taiwanstudies/

SOAS Centre of Taiwan Studies' Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/

SOAS Centre of Taiwan Studies' Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlZZGmE1e_6PI2e-HOPOQw

Professor Robert Ash: https://www.soas.ac.uk/staff/staff30582.php

European Association of Taiwan Studies: https://www.eats-taiwan.eu/

North American Taiwan Studies Association (NATSA): https://www.na-tsa.org/

International Journal of Taiwan Studies: https://brill.com/view/journals/ijts/ijts-overview.xml

Taiwan Studies program at the University of Texas at Austin: https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/eastasia/asian-studies-at-ut/Taiwan-program.php

Brill Series in Taiwan Studies: https://brill.com/view/serial/BSTS

Routledge Research on Taiwan Series: https://www.routledge.com/Routledge-Research-on-Taiwan-Series/book-series/RRTAIWAN

Camphor Press: https://camphorpress.com/

Taiwan Studies Revisited, Edited By Dafydd Fell, Hsin-Huang Michael Hsiao: https://www.routledge.com/Taiwan-Studies-Revisited/Fell-Hsiao/p/book/9780367201722

Taiwan's Contemporary Indigenous Peoples, Edited By Chia-yuan Huang, Daniel Davies, Dafydd Fell: https://www.routledge.com/Taiwans-Contemporary-Indigenous-Peoples/Huang-Davies-Fell/p/book/9780367553579

Tsai Ing-wen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsai_Ing-wen

Peng Min-Ming: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peng_Ming-min

Frank Hsieh: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Hsieh

Su Tseng-chang: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Su_Tseng-chang

Second World Congress of Taiwan Studies held at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) June 18-20, 2015: https://www.soas.ac.uk/news/newsitem94890.html

Reflections on the Second World Congress of Taiwan Studies (held in 2015): https://www.soas.ac.uk/news/newsitem104787.htxml

Academia Sinica: https://www.sinica.edu.tw/en

Hakka singer Lin Sheng-hsiang: https://www.soas.ac.uk/taiwanstudies/events/07jul2016-music-of-lin-sheng-hsiang.html

SOAS Centre of Taiwan Studies 2021 Summer School program: https://www.soas.ac.uk/taiwanstudies/summerschool/

The Fourth World Congress of Taiwan Studies (2022) in Seattle, Washington, USA: https://wcts.sinica.edu.tw/wctsIV/zWelcome.html

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Dr. Dafydd Fell is the author of Taiwan's Green Parties Alternative Politics in Taiwan. He spoke with me about his book, which he started working on in 2012. Topics covered in this episode include the Green Party concept, and the impact that Taiwan's Green Parties have had on Taiwan's other political parties and social movements. Dr. Fell's not only talks about some of the most his most interesting research findings, but how he was personally impacted by the subject matter of his book.

He's also the Director of the SOAS Centre of Taiwan Studies at the University of London and we'll have him back on another episode to talk about the SOAS Centre of Taiwan Studies.

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

• How Dr. Fell got interested in Taiwan's politics
• The Green Party concept and origin
• Global Greens Network
• When Taiwan's Green Party was established
• Dr. Fell's bookParty Politics in Taiwan
• The focus groups with Green Party activists that led Dr. Fell to write Taiwan's Green Parties
• How Dr. Fell is working on a Chinese language version of his book, Taiwan's Green Parties
• The main accomplishments and impact of Taiwan's Green Party
• How Taiwan's Green Party compares to other Green Parties around the world
• The role of Taiwan's Green Party in the anti-nuclear movement in Taiwan
• How Taiwan's Green Party was the first party to advocate same sex marriage and nominate openly LGBT candidates
• How Taiwan's Green Party raises alternative issues (death penalty, euthanasia for terminally ill)
• The Taiwan Green Party's influence on mainstream political parties
• How the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has poached figures from the Green party
• The Taiwan Green Party's electoral performance
• Taiwan's alternative parties
• The splinter Green Parties, the Trees Party and GPT-Social Democratic Alliance
• The most surprising or interesting finding that Dr. Fell discovered in his research for his book, Taiwan's Green Parties
• How Taiwan could participate in the Green Party's global network and gain some international visibility
• The Asia Pacific Greens network
• Keli Yen, Global Greens Convenor (2017-2020)
• How England and Wales Green Party Leader Penny Kemp went to Taiwan in 1996 to show support
• The current status of Taiwan's Green Party
• How Dr. Fell's book offers a different perspective on Taiwan's history through the lens of small political parties and social movements
• How Dr. Fell is now working on the Chinese language version of his book, Taiwan's Green Parties with three Taiwanese scholars who were formerly leaders of Taiwan's Green Party
• How Dr. Fell started working on the book, Taiwan's Green Partiesin 2012

Related Links:

Taiwan's Green Parties by Dr. Dafydd Fell: https://www.routledge.com/Taiwans-Green-Parties-Alternative-Politics-in-Taiwan/Fell/p/book/9780367650315

Dr. Dafydd Fell on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dafyddfell

Facebook Page for Taiwan's Green Parties: https://www.facebook.com/Taiwans-Green-Parties-Alternative-Politics-in-Taiwan-101639718636953

Wild Lily Student Movement: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Lily_student_movement

https://oftaiwan.org/social-movements/wild-lily-student-movement/

1989 Elections in Taiwan: https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/03/world/nationalists-lead-taiwan-elections.html

Global Greens Network: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Greens

Taiwan's Green Party: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Party_Taiwan

Taiwan's first direct presidential election (1996): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Taiwanese_presidential_election

Taiwan's cross strait missile crisis of 1995-1996: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Taiwan_Strait_Crisis#:~:text=The%20Third%20Taiwan%20Strait%20Crisis,1995%20to%2023%20March%201996.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/2626754

Party Politics in Taiwan by Dr. Dafydd Fell: https://www.routledge.com/Party-Politics-in-Taiwan-Partay-Change-and-the-Democratic-Evolution-of-Taiwan/Fell/p/book/9780415650700

Blocking of Taiwan's fourth nuclear power plant: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_Taiwan

Reuters article, "Taiwan to halt construction of fourth nuclear power plant": https://www.reuters.com/article/taiwan-nuclear/taiwan-to-halt-construction-of-fourth-nuclear-power-plant-idUKL3N0NJ08C20140427

Keli Yen, Global Greens Convenor (2017-2020): https://www.asiapacificgreens.org/profile/keli-yen

England and Wales Green Party Leader Penny Kemp: https://greenworld.org.uk/article/obituary-penny-kemp-1949-2021

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

https://www.dpp.org.tw/en/about

Ko Wen-je: https://en.xn--wikipeadia-65a.org/wiki/Ko_Wen-je

Taiwan's People Party: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan_People%27s_Party

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

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

In May of 2020 I interviewed Valerie Soe and Kristina Wong about the Auntie Sewing Squad, a sewing circle that was formed on March 24th during the global Coronavirus pandemic. Initially the group sewed masks for frontline medical and essential workers, and then for vulnerable marginalized communities. From the outset, Kristina described the Auntie Sewing Squad as a stop gap measure, and said that she had no intention of turning it into a nonprofit. In fact, she stated that the nature of what the Auntie Sewing Squad does is not sustainable in the long run and that the goal would be for the group to eventually retire.

The work of the Auntie Sewing Squad, has gone beyond mask making. So, when I learned that the Auntie Sewing Squad had set a date to retire, I had to invite Valerie and Kristina back on to talk about the Auntie Sewing Squad's retirement.

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

• Why and when the Auntie Sewing Squad is going into retirement
• The work that the Auntie Sewing Squad has done aside from sewing masks
• How the Auntie Sewing Squad is spending $10,000 on N-95 masks for farmworkers who have to work during the wildfires
• How Kristina and the Auntie Sewing Squad allocates food and supplies from the L.A. food bank to communities in need
• The Super Aunties of the Auntie Sewing Squad
• How the Auntie Sewing Squad is not the alternative to FEMA
• The other ways that Aunties are trying to support communities in need
• Dealing with the recent passing of Auntie Sally
• Super Auntie Constance Parng's breakout case of COVID
• How Kristina has been able to do more to affect change as an Auntie than an elected official
• The statement that the Auntie Sewing Squad put out after the Atlanta Spa Shootings
• The book about the Auntie Sewing Squad that will be coming out this fall (The Auntie Sewing Squad Guide to Mask Making, Radical Care and Racial Justice)
• The full-length documentary being made about the Auntie Sewing Squad (We Go Down Sewing)
• How COVID hospitalizations have affected people in need of other medical treatments/procedures
• The Auntie Sewing Squad retirement party
• How the Auntie Sewing Squad is nonhierarchical
• The term mutual aid
• The unique community and bonds that have formed amongst the Aunties and members of Auntie Sewing Squad
• What will happen to the group after it retires, and will the community still exist online
• Kristina's show about the Auntie Sewing Squad which is set to be performed in New York in November

Related Links:

The Auntie Sewing Squad's website: http://auntiesewingsquad.com/

The Auntie Sewing Squad on Instagram: www.Instagram.com/AuntieSewing

Auntie Sewing Squad Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2764362993676831/

Auntie Sewing Squad Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/auntiesewing

The Auntie Sewing Squad's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQrlwkZu_l6F1d9D_M5ZnGQ

The Auntie Sewing Squad's book, The Auntie Sewing Squad Guide to Mask Making, Radical Care and Racial Justice, 30% off code 17M6662, valid for UC Press website only: https://bit.ly/3iwyEBb

The Auntie Sewing Squad's HQ (list of notable Aunties): http://auntiesewingsquad.com/about/what-is-hq/

FEMA: https://www.fema.gov/

World Harvest Food Bank: https://www.worldharvestla.org/

Mutual Aid: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutual_aid_(organization_theory)

Super Auntie Constance Parng's Talking Taiwan interview: https://talkingtaiwan.com/constance-parng-super-auntie-to-native-nations-of-the-auntie-sewing-squad-ep-108/

Atlanta Spa Shootings: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Atlanta_spa_shootings

The Auntie Sewing Squad's Statement on Rising Anti-Asian Hate and Violence: http://auntiesewingsquad.com/blog-posts/anti-aapi-hate-statement/

Kristina Wong's website: http://kristinawong.com/

Kristina Wong's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ilovekristinawong/

Kristina Wong's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYVB9L

Valerie Soe's blog: https://beyondasiaphilia.com/

Valerie Soe's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Valerie-Soe-1397194727164610

Valerie's previous Talking Taiwan interview about her documentary film, Love Boat Taiwan: https://talkingtaiwan.com/love-boat-taiwan-interview-asian-american-studies-professor-film-maker-valerie-soe-ep-66/

Talking Taiwan Episode 75: Auntie Sewing Squad Combats Covid-19 One Mask at a Time: https://talkingtaiwan.com/auntie-sewing-squad-combats-covid-19-one-mask-at-a-time-ep-75/

Talking Taiwan Episode 107: Auntie Sewing Squad 2: Supporting Communities On the Fringe Through Caring: https://talkingtaiwan.com/auntie-sewing-squad-2-supporting-communities-on-the-fringe-through-caring-ep-107/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

This is part two of my interview with Sergeant Steven Lee, a 16-year veteran of the NYPD, and whistleblower fighting to reform police corruption. Previously, in part one, we talked about Sergeant Lee's undercover work and the police corruption that he's witnessed.

If you haven't had a chance to hear part one, you might want to go back and listen to it first. In part two Steve talks about what happened after his undercover work and the related court case, his thoughts on how to combat corruption within the NYPD, and why he plans to run for State Assembly next year.

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

• What happened to Steve after his undercover work and the related court case
• The corruption that Steve has seen in Internal Affairs Bureau of the NYPD
• Steve's suggestions for how to independently monitor the NYPD and Internal Affairs Bureau
• How Steve believes that the police should identity with culture and customs of the communities they work in, and that there are enough police able to speak the languages spoken in their precincts
• How Steve deals with the pressure of being a whistleblower
• Steve's 2020 run for State Assembly in District 40 and how he's running again next year
• What changes Steve has seen with the NYPD since the murder of George Floyd
• Hoops over Hate
• Ron Kim, Steve's opponent for State Assembly in District 40

Related Links:

Ostracized NYPD whistleblower runs for state office in Queens: https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-steven-lee-ron-kim-assembly-20200211-mp26mhghpnen5altiqxahree3m-story.html

Queens Daily Eagle article, " 'You can't have cops watching cops' — NYPD officer, ex-cop lawyer sue NYC": https://queenseagle.com/all/cops-corruption-harassment-nypd-lawsuit-lee-murray

NYPD 109th Precinct: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/nypd/bureaus/patrol/precincts/109th-precinct.page

https://twitter.com/nypd109pct?lang=en

https://www.facebook.com/NYPD109PCT/

Queens Daily Eagle article, "Flushing assembly race gets ugly with claims of 'cyberbullying' burner accounts": https://queenseagle.com/all/flushing-assembly-race-gets-ugly-amid-claims-of-cyberbullying-burner-accounts

Steven Lee on Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Steven_Lee_(New_York)

Edwin Raymond: https://www.edwinraymond.com/

https://nypost.com/2020/06/28/cop-suing-nypd-for-racial-profiling-running-for-city-council/

NY Post article, "Teen assaulted in anti-Asian attack on Queens basketball court": https://nypost.com/2021/03/17/teen-assaulted-in-anti-asian-attack-on-queens-basketball-court/

Hoops over Hate: https://www.facebook.com/events/1811972852291087?ref=newsfeed

https://www.facebook.com/asiansinamericainc/posts/111180254400558

NY Assemblyman Ron Kim: https://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Ron-Kim

Crime + Punishment (the award-winning Hulu original documentary): https://youtu.be/C6lB9HQnSac

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Sergeant Steven Lee is a 16-year veteran of the NYPD. He's a whistleblower fighting to reform police corruption and he shared his story with me.

This is part one of my interview with Steve. In part two, next week, you'll hear what happened to him after his undercover work and the related court case, how he's dealt with the pressure, his thoughts on how to combat corruption within the NYPD, why he ran for State Assembly in 2020 and his plans to run again next year.

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

• What Steve was doing before becoming a police officer
• How Steve became a police officer
• Scandals involving police officers writing fake summons
• What led Steve to go undercover
• The police corruption that Steve saw when he was undercover
• What happened during the two years that Steve was undercover

Related Links:

Ostracized NYPD whistleblower runs for state office in Queens: https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-steven-lee-ron-kim-assembly-20200211-mp26mhghpnen5altiqxahree3m-story.html

Crime+Punishment (the award-winning Hulu original documentary): https://youtu.be/C6lB9HQnSac

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Liz Williams is one of the co-founders of The Afara Collective and Jennifer Ho, heads Afara's film club team. Seeing how the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and others last year sparked Black Lives Matter protests globally, and led to greater dialogue about systemic oppression and anti-racism, Liz and her co-founder Jules Sanders were inspired to create Afara.

Afara invites everyone, regardless of ethnic background to work on their personal biases

Liz and Jen talked about why the work of Afara matters to them, the types of training and programs that Afara will offer, and how Afara is about creating safe, brave spaces to have difficult conversations about systemic oppression, racism and bias.

Liz has been a guest on Talking Taiwan. In episode 88 she and Elissa Russell talked about Being Black in Taiwan and Racism in the United States.

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

• What inspired Liz and her co-founder Jules Sanders to create The Afara Collective?
• What is the mission of The Afara Collective?
• How Afara is about including everyone (regardless of ethnicity, not just Blacks and Whites) in the work of being an anti-racism
• What does the word afara mean?
• What is anti-racism?
• How Afara is about creating safe spaces to discuss racism and bias
• What have been the challenges in running The Afara Collective?
• Their approach to working with and managing their team of volunteers
• Afrara's film club and book club
• Afara's See and Unseen Film Club
• How Afara creates safe brave spaces for people to discover personal biases
• The types of training, courses and programming that Afara offers
• Afara's Go Fund Me crowdfunding campaign
• Afara's vision of empathy in action

Related Links:

The Afara Collective's Go Fund Me campaign: https://www.gofundme.com/f/The-Afara-Collective-antiracism?qid=68c382c4dac86653f790901ee54ada06&fbclid=IwAR1DTLBW2pLMC5Brdt2KwsNwdqgpYm34KqIL9r4ZLh9epnXzI-RoIFH-A-U

The Afara Collective: http://www.weareafara.org/

The Afara Collective on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weareafara/

The Afara Collective on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/weareafara

George Floyd: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Floyd

Breonna Taylor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Breonna_Taylor

https://www.nytimes.com/article/breonna-taylor-police.html

BBC News article, "Ahmaud Arbery: What do we know about the case?" https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52623151

March 16, 2021 Atlanta Spa Shootings: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Atlanta_spa_shootings

Liz Williams and Elissa Russell's Talking Taiwan interview about Being Black in Taiwan and Racism in the United States: https://talkingtaiwan.com/being-black-in-taiwan-and-racism-in-the-united-states-ep-88/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

When Taiwan went in to soft lockdown in May, a group of diaspora who had moved there decided a Covid 19 Taiwan fundraiser for organizations assisting society's most vulnerable was needed. They created the Taiwan Covid Relief Fundraiser and before they launched it, I spoke with three of the seven organizers- Catherine, Kevin and Jane.

We talked about how the charities benefitting from the fundraiser provide direct assistance to the homeless, disabled, migrant workers and survivors of domestic violence, and how all donations will go directly to the participating organizations. The fundraiser's organizing team has pledged to match the first $10,000 donated. The team's novel approach to organizing the Taiwan Covid Relief Fundraiser has given the charity organizations greater exposure to English language speakers and international donors.

The #TaiwanCovidRelief Fundraiser Organizing Team:

Catherine Chou is a second-generation Taiwanese-American who writes on Taiwanese history and identity, and tweets at @catielila.

Kevin Lin is the Co-Founder and former Chief Operating Officer of Twitch. He was born and raised in New Orleans. Through co-founding groups like Gold House, Kevin is giving back to communities that he cares about through sustainable investing, hoping to support creators of all shapes and sizes. @kevinlin

Jane W. Wang is founder of Build Great Bridges Around Taiwan (BGBAT) and a self-actualization coach who helps multiculturalites navigate their Multicultural Hero's Journey, so they can find home within and live their joy & purpose.

Remaining Members of the #TaiwanCovidRelief Fundraiser Organizing Team (not shown):

Jonathan Liao

Kathy Cheng @trickytaipei

Laura Huang @laurahuangla

Tait Sye

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

• How Catherine, Kevin and Jane, three of the organizers of the Taiwan Covid Relief Fundraiser met and their connection to Taiwan
• How they came up with the idea for the fundraiser
• Who's on the organizing team
• What it's been like being under soft lockdown in Taiwan
• How the fundraiser is meant to benefit vulnerable communities affected by COVID in Taiwan
• The five charity organizations that that will benefit from the fundraiser: Homeless Taiwan, Hsichulun Hpme, 1919 Foodbank, Serve the People, and Garden of Hope
• Donations will go directly to the organizations
• How the Taiwan COVID Relief Fundraiser committee will be matching the first $10,000 of donations made
• How Catherine approached 15 organizations initially about being a part of the fundraiser
• How the five charity organizations had to build English landing pages to receive foreign donations
• NetiCRM, the company that worked with the charities to create new landing pages and donation websites
• How the Taiwan COVID Relief Fundraiser will help the five charities to internationalize their donor market
• The fundraiser was initially targeted at diaspora, but it is also for one who may not be able to read Chinese language websites, are primarily English speakers, and friends of Taiwan around the world

Related Links:

The Taiwan Covid Relief Fundraiser: www.taiwancovidrelief.com

ITASA (Intercollegiate Taiwanese American Students Association): https://itasa.org/

TaiwaneseAmerican.org feature about ITASA - Inspire, Empower, and Activate: ITASA's "Coming of Age": https://www.taiawaneseamerican.org/2011/01/inspire-empower-and-activate-itasas-coming-of-age/

BGBAT (Build Great Bridges Around Taiwan): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1798268263828078/

Articles related to the April 2, 2021 Hualien train crash:

NPR article, "More Than 50 Dead, Dozens Injured As Taiwan Train Derails Inside Tunnel": https://www.npr.org/2021/04/02/983763089/nearly-50-dead-as-taiwan-train-derails-inside-tunnel

The News Lens article, "Taiwanese American Investors Hold Fundraiser To Support Taroko Train Crash Victims" (about the fundraiser Kevin organized for the April 2, 2021 Hualien train crash): https://international.thenewslens.com/article/149825

GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/

Tiltify: https://tiltify.com/

NetiCRM, a Taiwanese constituent relationship management system for non-profits: https://netivism.com.tw operated by NETivism: https://neticrm.tw

A few months ago, before Taiwan went on COVID alert level 3, I spoke with Michael Turton, about biking around Taiwan. I remember when there was a push to make Taiwan more bike-friendly and it became popular for people to bike around the island or along the coast. Michael shared why he loves biking around Taiwan and how it is one of the best places to bike in the world. Surprisingly he advised avoiding cycling route number 1, which is the bicycle route around the island of Taiwan developed by the Taiwan Ministry of Transportation and Communications. He also talked about what he's learned about Taiwan's history and aborigines by biking around Taiwan.

Michael is a political commentator, Taipei Times columnist and blogger. We've had Michael on Talking Taiwan previously in episode 119 when he spoke with me about China's ban of Taiwan's pineapples.

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

• What brought Michael to Taiwan
• How/why he started biking
• Michael's website about Taiwan in the 1990s which led to his blog
• Blogs that have inspired him
• How he's learned things about Taiwan's local history and aborigines while biking around Taiwan
• How interacting with the land is a way to get to know the land
• How biking is a way to discover and learn about Taiwan
• Why Taiwan is one of the best places to bike
• Tips on how to get around the island easier with a bike
• How long it takes to bike around the entire island
• The lighthouse to lighthouse bike ride
• How he's able to track changes in Taiwan by regularly biking certain routes
• The difference between driving around in a car vs. riding around on a bike
• How Taiwan and Madagascar are the only tropical places in the world that have Badlands
• Where he recommends you should bike or not
• Taiwan's steep bike routes

Related Links:

Michael Turton's blog: http://michaelturton.blogspot.com/

U.S. Peace Corps: https://www.peacecorps.gov/

Michael Fahey: http://www.winklerpartners.com/?page_id=622

Scott Sommers/Summers: https://www.intellectbooks.com/scott-sommers

TC Lin's blog: http://poagao.org/pjournal/

Roland Soong's blog East West North South: http://www.zonaeuropa.com/weblog.htm

Andrew Kerslake's blog: https://taiwanincycles.blogspot.com/

The award winning Wikipedia page on Taiwan aborigines that Andrew Kerslake wrote: https://bit.ly/3qSTFbS

Bunun tribe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunun_people

The film, Island Etude: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_Etude

Yushan aka Jade Mountain (Taiwan's highest peak): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Shan

Sun Moon Lake Swim: https://www.sunmoonlake.gov.tw/en/event/calendardetail/673

Sun Moon Lake: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Moon_Lake

Taroko: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taroko_National_Park

https://wikitravel.org/en/Taroko_Gorge

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

Moonscape area of Tainan aka Taiwan's Badlands: https://spectralcodex.com/exploring-the-badlands-of-southern-taiwan/

Taiwan Cycling Route 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan_Cycling_Route_No.1

Taipei Times article, "Ride to the clouds" by Mark Roche: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2021/03/11/2003753620

Mark Roche's Blue Sky Adventures: http://www.blueskiestaiwan.com/

Alishan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alishan_National_Scenic_Area

Alishan tea farms: https://www.teafromtaiwan.com/blog/alishan-tea-districts/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Lee Wong, is an elected official and Chairman of the board of trustees in West Chester Township, Ohio. During a meeting of the West Chester Township Board of Trustees on March 23rd he stood up and literally bared his chest to make a point about the discrimination and hate that Asian Americans have experienced. That moment was caught on video and went viral. Mr. Lee spoke with me about what compelled him to speak up that day and what's happened since.

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

• Lee's upbringing in Malaysia (previously British Borneo)
• What brought him to the U.S.
• The Asian hate incident that happened to Lee in 1972 and how that changed the trajectory of his life
• Lee's 20 years of service in the U.S. army and the chest injuries he sustained during that time
• How Lee first got elected to the West Chester Township Board of Trustees
• What prompted him to speak up at the March 23rdmeeting
• The feedback and reaction that Lee has gotten since the video clip of him went viral
• The problem with Asians being perceived as a model minority
• How Lee works with the Midwest USA Chinese Chamber of Commerce to promote Asian culture and to build more bridges between Asian Americans and the community at large
• Lee's message of hope to Asian Americans in these times of increased Asian hate incidents
• How Lee is now working on writing his memoir
• The website for Lee Wong that is in the works: wwe.LeeWong.us
• The voicemail that Lee received from another military service man that recognized Lee after his March 23rdvideo went viral

Related Links:

The video of Lee Wong speaking at the March 23rd meeting of the West Chester Township Board of Trustees that went viral: https://abc7ny.com/lee-wong-scars-asian-american-hate-west-chester-ohio-military-service/10454881/?fbclid=IwAR0tx9rs7QdKwaANPO0wwohb3UJA3_n0CLchV4sEu_qekuAsJSbK6WE68rA

Atlanta Spa Shootings: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Atlanta_spa_shootings

The voicemail Lee received from another military service man who recognized Lee after his March 23rd video went viral: https://www.facebook.com/759509573/posts/10159651061469574/?d=n

Midwest USA Chinese Chamber of Commerce on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/midwestchamber

The Sun Poem by Sara Ting: http://worldunityinc.org/thesunpoem.html

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Minnie Sun is one of the co-founders of Taiwan Mixed, a platform that aggregates English content on Taiwan. She was in Taipei when I spoke with her recently about Taiwan Mixed and her perspectives on how Taiwan or the Taiwanese Can Help when it comes to the stigmatization of COVID-19 which has been attributed to the recent rise in anti-Asian sentiment. How #CanTaiwanHelp #StopAsianHate?

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

• Where the idea for Taiwan Mixed came from
• Project Taiwan
• How Taiwan Mixed provides TLDR (too long didn't read) articles in English about Taiwan
• How Taiwan Mixed got started
• The 228, Decolonization and Transitional Justice event that Taiwan Mixed hosted on Clubhouse in March
• The challenges they've experienced with Taiwan Mixed
• How Taiwan Mixed chooses its partners and news sources to feature
• What feedback Taiwan Mixed has gotten so far
• What she hopes to accomplish with Taiwan Mixed
• The future of Taiwan Mixed
• The origin of the hashtag #TaiwanCanHelp
• The CommonWealth article, #TaiwanCanHelp curb anti-Asian sentiment: stop saying "Wuhan pneumonia" written by Minnie Sun
• The #StopAsianHate community forum hosted by Taiwan Mixed
• What the Taiwanese can do to combat anti-Asian sentiment
• The criticisms of and reactions to Minnie's CommonWeath article
• How to apply to be a partner of Taiwan Mixed

Related Links:

Taiwan Mixed: https://www.taiwanmixed.org/

Taiwan Mixed on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/taiwanmixed

Taiwan Mixed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tw.mixed/

Taiwan Mixed on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tw_mixed

Project Taiwan: https://www.projecttaiwan.org/

Taiwan Can Help: https://taiwancanhelp.us/

The article, #TaiwanCanHelp curb anti-Asian sentiment: stop saying "Wuhan pneumonia" written by Minnie Sun: https://english.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=2962

Video of a DPP Representative, at a forum in Dubai on COVID-19, explicitly using the term "Wuhan Virus" in English: https://twitter.com/tw_mixed/status/1385142073188229122

Taiwan Mixed's Twitter Conversation Thread about the article, #TaiwanCanHelp curb anti-Asian sentiment: stop saying "Wuhan pneumonia" written by Minnie Sun: https://twitter.com/tw_mixed/status/1385140250922557440