Talking Taiwan

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

This week's guest is Jason Wang who we've had on Talking Taiwan previously. In Episode 102 Jason spoke with me about how his advisory firm Cypress Rivers started producing PPE to support health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, through an effort called Face Shields for the First Line. At the time he mentioned that Face Shields for the First Line would be transitioning into the making of face masks. So we're welcoming Jason back to tell us what's happened since we last spoke.

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

• The continuing spread of COVID-19 and new variants which necessitates continuing to practice safe hygiene measures such as social distancing, hand washing and wearing masks
• The double mask that STC Next Health is producing which consists of an outer shell and inner filter
• The masks are antimicrobial due to the use of nano-coated silver
• Other products that STC Next Health produces like antimicrobial zinc oxide tape for use on common high touch/high traffic areas such as door handles or hand railings
• Talking Taiwan listeners can use the code: talkingtaiwan at checkout to get a 10% discount off their purchase of items from STC Next Health

Related Links:

STC Next Health: https://stcnext.health/

STC Next Health's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/stcnexthealth/

STC Next Health's Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/stcnext_health/

Talking Taiwan Episode 102 featuring Jason Wang: https://www.talkingtaiwan.com/jason-wang-how-his-advisory-firm-makes-coronavirus-face-shields-for-the-front-line/

Charles Yu is a Taiwanese American writer, author of the novel Interior Chinatown, and winner of the 2020 National Book Award for fiction. He spoke candidly with me about how he and his family are dealing with the pandemic, his writing process, what it was like appearing on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah and how he transitioned from a career as a lawyer to television writing.

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

· How Charles and his family are doing during the pandemic

· The piece that Charles wrote for The Atlantic about life during the pandemic

· How Charles first started writing poetry as a child

· How Charles' Taiwanese parents' reactions to his interest in writing have changed over time

· How Charles recently found some of the poetry that he wrote when at Berkeley

· Charles' connection to Taiwan

· How Charles started writing Interior Chinatown in 2013 and the concept changed over time

· How/why Interior Chinatown is written in a screenplay-type format

· Charles' approach to writing

· His appearance on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah

· Charles' writing for TV

· How Charles was previously a lawyer and quit to work in TV in 2014

· The difference between writing books and for TV

· Charles' interest in writing his own TV series

· How Charles feels about being compared to Franz Kafka, Kurt Vonnegut and Douglas Adams

· Why/What motivates Charles to write

· What themes inspire Charles to write

· Advice Charles has for some struggling to write their first book

· Why it took Charles seven years to write Interior Chinatown

Related Links:

Charles Yu's website: https://www.charlesyuauthor.com/

Charles Yu's Atlantic article " The Pre-pandemic Universe Was the Fiction": https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2020/04/charles-yu-science-fiction-reality-life-pandemic/609985/

Order a copy of Interior Chinatown here: https://www.amazon.com/Interior-Chinatown-Novel-Charles-Yu/dp/0307907198/

TAF (Taiwanese American Foundation): https://www.tafworld.org/

TACL (Taiwanese American Citizens League): https://tacl.org/

Charles' interview on TaiwaneseAmerican.org: http://www.taiwaneseamerican.org/?s=charles+yu

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe | Charles Yu | Talks at Google: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckmJt3AsU4c

Charles' appearance on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0afVYOb4kA

Charles on Twitter: https://twitter.com/charles_yu

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

This is part two of my interview with Tony Coolidge. Tony is the Founder of the Atayal organization, which is named after his mother's indigenous tribe. In this interview Tony talks about his work with Indigenous Bridges through his nonprofit, the Atayal organization, and shares his perspectives on some of indigenous people he's interacted with from around the world.

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

• The work of Indigenous Bridges
• Why Tony moved back to Taiwan in 2009
• How Indigenous Bridges serves to connect indigenous people from all over the world
• How the mission of the Atayal organization shifted from sharing the culture of indigenous people to connecting indigenous people with each other
• How Indigenous Bridges is about building trusted relationships based on shared cultures and cultural exchange
• The sister city relationship between Orlando, Florida and Tainan, Taiwan
• Sister tribe programs that are being developed
• The indigenous youth ambassador program of Indigenous Bridges
• Virtual cultural exchanges and conferences that are now being developed due to the onset of COVID-19
• The common experiences and challenges of indigenous people
• Possible solutions to the economic hardship that is often experienced by indigenous people around the world
• How the rights of indigenous people in the U.S. compares to Taiwan and other parts of the world
• The connection between the Maori indigenous people of New Zealand and the indigenous people of Taiwan
• The migration of Austronesian people and how they originated from Taiwan
• What Tony learned from the Maori indigenous people of New Zealand
• How the Maori are a source of pride for New Zealand
• The government's role in preserving indigenous culture
• How indigenous rights are protected by the United Nations and indigenous people can create treaties with each other
• The struggles in trying to return property to the indigenous people of Taiwan
• How the recognition of tribes gives them access to resources
• The fight over resources between the different indigenous people of Taiwan
• How Tony hopes that his work reveals that Taiwan is a far more diverse and interesting place than people have originally thought
• How former President Lee Teng-hui's role in changing the perception of indigenous people in Taiwan
• Tony's experience representing indigenous people at the UN headquarters in New York

Related Links:

Indigenous Bridges programs of the Atayal organization: https://www.indigenousbridges.org/

Voices in the Clouds, the documentary based on Tony's 2004 trip to Taiwan: https://www.cultureunplugged.com/documentary/watch-online/play/5485/Voices-in-the-Clouds?fbclid=IwAR1qjJPdz9cglu_NIK3X399mbSiZiAsTT4hztaHXbRDbYX1nZBo_vbqbk2A

A link to the "Village in the Clouds" article about Tony's trip to Taiwan in 1996 that led him to discover his indigenous roots: https://indigenousbridges.blogspot.com/2021/01/village-in-the-clouds.html

Video footage from indigenous language competitions: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpdlwzeeA3YU19JZsJMbYqA/videos

General information about Taiwan's indigenous people: https://oftaiwan.org/taiwan-101/taiwan-indigenous-people/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Did you know that there are 16 indigenous tribes officially recognized in Taiwan and up to 29 self-identified tribes? Also, Taiwan's current President Tsai Ing-wen's paternal grandmother was from the Paiwan tribe.

My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Tony Coolidge. Tony is the Founder of the Atayal organization, which is named after his mother's indigenous tribe. In this interview Tony talks about finding his indigenous roots and the indigenous people of Taiwan. This is part one of a two part interview.

In part two of our interview, Tony will talk about his work with Indigenous Bridges through his nonprofit, the Atayal organization.

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

• How Tony discovered his indigenous roots
• Tony memories of his mother and the lessons she taught him
• Tony's mother's connection to Taiwan and her indigenous roots
• The first time that Tony visited Taiwan and met his mother's family
• Tony's mother's village Wulai
• The documentary film that was made about Tony's month-long trip to Taiwan with his brother during which time he met with several indigenous peoples and learned more about the culture
• Tony's mother's struggles as an indigenous person and why she may have hidden her indigenous background from him
• The pressure that Tony's grandfather (his mother's father, who was the chief/mayor of Wulai) had to show allegiance to the Chinese under the Kuomintang regime
• How the indigenous peoples' identity was suppressed under the Kuomintang regime and led to discrimination and abuse of indigenous people
• The discrimination that indigenous people faced under the rule of the Kuomintang and Japanese
• How the discrimination and abuse of indigenous people has changed over time
• Tony's desire to preserve indigenous culture
• How policies of former President of Taiwan, Chen Shui-bian and the changing attitudes of the media contributed to changing people views of the indigenous peoples of Taiwan
• Some key facts about the Atayal tribe (that Tony's mother belonged to)
• The mountainous and lowland indigenous tribes of Taiwan
• How many indigenous tribes are presently recognized in Taiwan
• The story of how the Atayal tribe's custom of headhunting was ended
• How Tony's sons are learning the Atayal language
• Tony started his nonprofit organization in 2001
• In 2004 Tony's nonprofit had its first indigenous cultural festival in Orlando, Florida
• Alice the teacher of indigenous cultures that Tony met in 2004 and how she was instrumental in arranging the trip during which much of the documentary about Tony's life was filmed
• Tony's trip to Taiwan in December 2004- January 2005 with his brother and the documentary film crew
• How the trip to Taiwan affected Tony's brother
• How the death of Tony's father-in-law happened in the middle of the trip and film
• The challenges that Tony and his brother faced during the trip
• The similarities and differences amongst Taiwan's indigenous tribes
• How the lives of indigenous peoples changed overnight when the Japanese removed them from their villages in the mountains
• How have the indigenous peoples of Taiwan have adjusted over time
• Social issues facing young indigenous peoples
• The story of an indigenous policeman, Sakino who created a hunting, survival club through with he passed down indigenous knowledge
• The most memorable moments of Tony's 2004 trip to Taiwan
• The abandoned village in the mountains (in Pintung) that Tony visited in the documentary film
• How the 16 tribes now recognized in Taiwan were mostly originally mountainous tribes because the lowland tribes have been assimilated so long ago
• Research has shown that more than 70% of Taiwanese have some indigenous DNA

Related Links:

A link to the "Village in the Clouds" article about Tony's trip to Taiwan in 1996 that led him to discover his indigenous roots: https://indigenousbridges.blogspot.com/2021/01/village-in-the-clouds.html

Film Director Wei Te-sheng:

Voices in the Clouds, the documentary based on Tony's 2004 trip to Taiwan: https://www.cultureunplugged.com/documentary/watch-online/play/5485/Voices-in-the-Clouds?fbclid=IwAR1qjJPdz9cglu_NIK3X399mbSiZiAsTT4hztaHXbRDbYX1nZBo_vbqbk2A

Indigenous Bridges programs of the Atayal organization: https://www.indigenousbridges.org/

Video footage from indigenous language competitions: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpdlwzeeA3YU19JZsJMbYqA/videos

General information about Taiwan's indigenous people: https://oftaiwan.org/taiwan-101/taiwan-indigenous-people/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

When I first interviewed Elena in 2013, she had just won the Entrepreneur Challenge and Competition. She was launching her Taiwanese tea business Té online. Since then, I've wondered how she was doing and a couple of years later, I learned that Elena had opened a tearoom in the West Village.

I've visited the tearoom and it is a place of pure zen where tea drinking becomes a ritual. A true ambassador of tea, Elena sees the tearoom as a way to connect with others, to experience tea, and to demonstrate how it is brewed. Many of her customers are dedicated tea drinkers who first cultivate their tea drinking habits there. In this space, tea drinking is an activity of tranquil introspection.

In October of 2017 I invited Elena back on to Talking Taiwan for an update.

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

• What's happened since the last time Elena was interviewed on Talking Taiwan in 2013
• What it was like opening and running the tea shop
• The tea education and tea tastings that Té offers
• How Elena was able to get press for Té
• Advice for people who want to open a brick and mortar store like Té
• What's next, her future plans for Té

Related Links:

Té Company: https://www.te-nyc.com/

Té Company on Instagram: www.instagram.com/tecompany/

Té Company on Facebook page: www.facebook.com/tecompany

Té Company on Twitter: www.twitter.com/tecompany

Elena's 2013 interview on Talking Taiwan: https://www.talkingtaiwan.com/tt027-elena-liao/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

The last time I had my guest Supei Liu on was six years ago to talk about her work with Nomi Network. Supei is the VP of Global Initiatives and Co-founder of Nomi Network. Nomi Network combats human trafficking by creating pathways to safe employment, empowering women and girls to break cycles of slavery in their families and communities.

After spending seven years based in Cambodia and India, she's relocated to the U.S. Last week we got caught up and talked about what's she's learned from her experience working with Nomi Network, and how she's come to see herself as an entrepreneur. She also shared some thoughts on how to navigate parent-child relationships.

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

• How Nomi Network has grew and developed up to 2014
• What learnings there have been for Nomi Network since 2014
• How Nomi Network focused on providing job skills training
• How Nomi Network faced a bottle neck after 2016 and switched from trying to create employment opportunities to partnering with businesses or organizations that have employment opportunities
• How world view and the definition of success varies depending on cultural context
• What Supei has learned about happiness, fulfilment and success (from working and living in Asia for seven years)
• Supei's return and relocation from Asia to the U.S.
• Personal stories of how women have grown and been helped by Nomi Network's training
• How Nomi Network started doing virtual training through Zoom
• How the Coronavirus pandemic affected Nomi Network
• How Nomi Network selected 240 graduates of their training programs to become community outreach workers; these community outreach workers were trained to become contact tracers, and they would educate and inform the community about the best health and safety practices related to COVID-19
• Since May of 2019 Nomi Network has been able to reach 160,000 people through its 240 community outreach workers and staff
• Supei's upbringing and background
• How Supei was able to work through parent-child issues with her mother when she lived with Supei in Cambodia for three years
• Supei's transition from the corporate to nonprofit world in 2008
• When Supei realized that she's an entrepreneur
• Entrepreneurship as the pursuit of solving problems
• How Supei worked with a distillery to create liquor from a cashew apple fruit
• Supei's proudest accomplishments
• How Supei's work is going to change now that she's relocated to the U.S.
• Why Supei has decided to return to the U.S.
• What Supei is working on beyond and outside of Nomi Network
• How courage is not the absence of fear

Related Links:

Nomi Network: https://nominetwork.org/

Nomi Network products: https://www.buyherbagnotherbody.com/

Nomi Network on Facebook: www.facebook.com/nominetwork

Nomi Network on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nominetwork/

Nomi Network on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nominetwork

Nomi Network on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7UaUlyqMy2B1KL1S2_l5HQ

Supei's previous interview on Talking Taiwan: https://www.talkingtaiwan.com/nomi-network-cofounder-supei-liu-discusses-human-trafficking-ep-104/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Since March of this year, we've been publishing new episodes of Talking Taiwan on a weekly basis, so for our last episode of 2020, we thought it would be fun to look back and see which were the top five episodes of the year. It comes as no surprise that 2 of the episodes are related to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Through it all, it's been amazing to see our listenership grow. In fact, I've really enjoyed hearing from listeners who've reached out to tell me how much they've enjoyed listening to Talking Taiwan. Thanks for all of the positive feedback. We look forward to continuing to deliver new episodes about interesting people and stories connected to Taiwan.

Which episode was your favorite of 2020? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Don't forget to check out our new feature starting in the new year called "Talking Taiwan Shorts." We will be creating 100 short one-minute videos for our YouTube channel highlighting a GREAT segment from one of our podcast episodes. Be sure to check out Talking Taiwan's YouTube channel, or go to our website here for "Talking Taiwan Shorts."

Below are links to the top five Talking Taiwan episodes of 2020. Wishing you a wonderful rest of 2020, and a Happy New Year!

CORRECTION: At the 15:32-minute in the interview, Dr. Keating remarks, "We are 75 years at the end of World War I." What he meant to say is that, "We are 75 years at the end of World War II."

Related Links:

Number 5 Talking Taiwan Episode of 2020

Number 4 Talking Taiwan Episode of 2020

Number 3 Talking Taiwan Episode of 2020

Number 2 Talking Taiwan Episode of 2020

Number 1 Talking Taiwan Episode of 2020

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Constance Parng, an actress, writer and healer who's earned the title of Super Auntie to Native Nations of the Auntie Sewing Squad. Constance spoke with me about her work to support the highly vulnerable Native American communities and her connection to Taiwan. Through this conversation she reveals that the lack of access to basic things like running water and proper health care on reservations have deeply rooted origins. COVID-19 has exposed this reality that existed pre-pandemic. She hopes that bringing awareness to systemic injustices like this can lead to more people taking action to rectify the situation.

As Constance put it "by doing acts of compassion we are not only helping and saving others but also helping and saving ourselves."

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

• Constance's connection to Taiwan
• How Constance got involved with the Auntie Sewing Squad
• Why Constance prefers to use the term Native Nations instead of First Nations, Native American, Tribal Nations, Indigenous Nations, Native Communities
• The living conditions of the Navajo Nation reservation
• How 35-40% of the Navajo Nation reservation does not have running water
• Families need to travel a distance to get water which they must then ration for cooking, drinking or washing their hands
• How violations of treat rights and Systemic racism have contributed to the current living conditions on reservations
• Why the Lakota Well Being Project is fundraising for an additional ambulance
• How reservations are like third world nations within the United States
• How people can donate to the Lakota Well Being Project
• Medshare providing medical supplies to Standing Rock
• Constance estimates that she's been responsible for getting 60,000 masks too indigenous communities
• Winter coat drive for Standing Rock
• The conditions at Standing Rock
• The discrimination that exists in the border towns outside of reservations
• Constance's call out to people who have supported the Dakota Access Pipeline Protests to support Standing Rock now in their time of need during COVID
• South Dakota has one of the lowest life expectancy rates in the U.S.
• The Dakota Access Pipeline Protests
• The lack of adequate health care and the long term effects on the native peoples who live on the on a reservation
• The April 20th conversation Constance had a with Bettina who was connected to a group of seamstresses who sew for Navajo Nations
• The uranium mining that has happened on native reservations and its hazardous health effects
• How people can help by donating to the ambulance fund, the Auntie Sewing Squad, art supplies for kids, winter coats
• How Constance has been connected to many amazing people from all walks of life through this work she's been doing for the Native Nations
• The difference between the Navajo Nation and Hopi Nation
• How deliveries of supplies and essentials are coordinated
• The "fortress of gratitude" where donations can be dropped off
• How acts of compassion not only help others but actually can serve to help ourselves
• How the mother of one of Constance's contacts at Navajo Nation has COVID-19
• The impact of curfews that have been imposed on reservations
• The CARES Act
• Mutual aid and nonprofit groups that Constance has worked with have told her that the Auntie Sewing Squad and Lakota Well Being Project have done more for them than their own tribal government or the federal government

Related Links:

Ways to donate to Lakota Well Being Project and Standing Rock:

Lakota Well-Being Project (Thanks to a generous matching gift, every dollar you give will be matched up to $10,000): https://bit.ly/3mBMYHn

Donate to Standing Rock via Donorbox: https://donorbox.org/standingrockrelief

The Lakota Well Being Project on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lakotawellbeing

Dakota Access Pipeline Protests: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakota_Access_Pipeline_protests

The Fortress of Gratitude where items to be donated to the Navajo and Hopi Nations via the Auntie Sewing Squad are dropped off

Portable handwashing stations being delivered to Navajo Nations by the Auntie Sewing Squad

Ways to donate to the Auntie Sewing Squad:

Tax-deductible donation link thanks to Art2Action who has waived the fiscal sponsor fees: https://donorbox.org/auntie-sewing-squad

Kristina Wong PayPal General Donations using (Friends & Family): [email protected]

Kristina Wong Venmo General Donations HERE: "GiveKristinaWongMoney"

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

The Auntie Sewing Squad's Core Values: http://auntiesewingsquad.com/about/#ourcorevalues

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 Tom's model: https://bit.ly/3oPzNUJ

World Harvest Food Bank (LA)

Siwa Murti Healing Institute: www.siwamurtihealing.com

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Kristina Wong and Valerie Soe are back to talk about the Auntie Sewing Squad. When they were last here (on episode 75) the Auntie Sewing Squad was about two months old with over 600 members. A lot has happened with the Auntie Sewing Squad since then.

As you listen to the episode, you might be wondering why is there a dog crying in the background as Kristina talks to us? And what major announcement is Valerie going to make about yet another off-shoot project? You might want to go back and listen to episode 75 first or at least read this description of the Auntie Sewing Squad from their website:

The Auntie Sewing Squad was founded on March 24, 2020 by performance artist and comedian Kristina Wong as a casual effort to connect with other friends sewing homemade masks for essential workers due to the Federal Government's failure to prepare them with proper personal protective equipment.

Auntie Sewing Squad has been featured on CNN, NBC, KCRW, Washington Post, Good Morning America and many more. We Go Down Sewing, a cross between an anthology, memoir, and a visual record of the work of the Auntie Sewing Squad will be published in Fall 2021 by University of California Press. The Aunties also collaborated with the Kronos Quartet on the film "Radical Care: The Auntie Sewing Squad" which uses music by Kronos and testimony and footage provided by the Aunties. We are a college course at San Francisco State University. We also have hosted two rounds of an online summer mask sewing camp for kids. Our relationship with various First Nations has extended to include fundraising and sending them sewing and relief supplies. We have sent several vans filled with sewing and hygiene supplies to the Seamstresses United Navajo & Hopi Nation for distribution throughout both reservations.

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

• How the Auntie Sewing Squad has developed and changed since we last spoke
• How Kristina's role has changed
• How masks, mask wearing and mask making have become a political statement
• How the Auntie Sewing Squad's work is about supporting communities forgotten by the federal government such as first nations, incarcerated communities, poor communities of color, migrants at the border
• How sewing masks is a political statement for many of the aunties
• The Auntie Sewing Squad's Core Values
• The Auntie Sewing Squad's fiscal sponsor Art2Action which allows donations received by the Auntie Sewing Squad to be tax deductible
• Historian Shakedown Auntie Rebecca Solnit
• The Karl Marx quote that applies to the Auntie Sewing Squad
• How Auntie Care started with an offering of hand salve
• The Auntie Sewing Squad's collaboration with the Kronos Quartet on the eight-minute short film, "Radical Care: The Auntie Sewing Squad"
• The press that the Auntie Sewing Squad has received
• Kristina's Good Morning America appearance
• The coat and clothing drives that the Auntie Sewing Squad has organized for Lakota Nation and the Navajo Nation
• The book about the Auntie Sewing Squad, We Go Down Sewing
• The full-length documentary film about the Auntie Sewing Squad that's in the works
• The crazy requests for masks that the Auntie Sewing Squad still receives
• Monk robe fabric that was donated to make masks
• How the Auntie Sewing Squad has become a sort of national network that supports various communities in need- from people affected by California wildfires to migrants in need of masks in Tijuana
• How Kristina's show and live tour "Kristina Wong for Public Office" became a Zoom and an online experience
• The Auntie Sewing Squad's Kid Sewing Summer Camp

Related Links:

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

The Auntie Sewing Squad's Core Values: http://auntiesewingsquad.com/about/#ourcorevalues

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

Ways to donate to the Auntie Sewing Squad:

Tax-deductible donation link thanks to Art2Action who has waived the fiscal sponsor fees: https://donorbox.org/auntie-sewing-squad

Kristina Wong PayPal General Donations using (Friends & Family): [email protected]

Kristina Wong Venmo General Donations HERE: "GiveKristinaWongMoney"

Kristina Wong with set pieces from her show "Kristina Wong for Public Office"

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/UCYVB9LCGQewhp4LxlachKPQ

Kristina and Valerie's previous Talking Taiwan interview about the Auntie Sewing Squad: https://www.talkingtaiwan.com/auntie-sewing-squad-combats-covid-19-one-mask-at-a-time-ep-75/

Valerie with a screen shot of "Radical Care: The Auntie Sewing Squad"

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

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

We Go Down Sewing, a cross between an anthology, memoir, and a visual record of the work of the Auntie Sewing Squad will be published in Fall 2021 by University of California Press

The Tom's model: https://bit.ly/3oPzNUJ

Art2Action's website: http://www.art2action.org/

Art2Action's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/art2action/

Kronos Quartet musician wearing a mask made by the Auntie Sewing Squad

Kronos Quartet musicians wearing masks made by the Auntie Sewing Squad

The Kronos Quartet: https://kronosquartet.org/

Historian Shakedown Auntie Rebecca Solnit's article for The Guardian, "The way we get through this is together: the rise of mutual aid under coronavirus," which features a mention of the Auntie Sewing Squad: https://bit.ly/2LDuK8d

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

My guests on this episode of Talking Taiwan are Gary Reloj and Bonnie Chan, co-founders of the PPE Relief Initiative (PRI). I had Gary on as a guest previously in episode 79, only a couple of months into the COVID-19 pandemic. He talked about his own personal battle with COVID and the PPE Relief Initiative's crowdfunding campaign. Since then, the PPE Relief Initiative has surpassed its goal of raising $30,000, and has also been selected by GoFundMe to be a featured campaign on their COVID page.

When asked about the mistakes they've made and lessons they learned, Gary responded that he's not afraid of failure and embraces it as long as there's something that can be learned from it. Gary and Bonnie talked how they've tweaked things since phase one of the crowdfunding campaign and shared some of the work productivity tools that PRI uses. Bonnie offered some general advice for people interested in doing crowdfunding for a cause. The two also shared a lot of exciting updates.

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

• What's happened with the PPE Relief Initiative (PRI) since we first interviewed Gary about it
• Bonnie's role in creating a strong brand identity for the PPE Relief Initiative
• How the PPE Relief Initiative got selected by GoFundMe to be a featured campaign and what it means for the campaign
• The PPE Relief Initiative's next fundraising goal is $15,000 to support an additional 1,000 healthcare workers
• How the PPE Relief Initiative has grown and recruited new volunteers
• How the support that the PPE Relief Initiative is not only supplying healthcare workers with PPE but giving them emotional and moral support
• Some of the biggest challenges they faced in trying to reach their initial fundraising goal of $30,000
• The failures and lessons learned during phase one of the PPE Relief Initiative's crowdfunding campaign
• How some of the healthcare workers that PPE Relief Initiative has worked with who have had to resort to wearing garbage bags, bed covers, and men's old clothing as PPE
• How important it is to have the right team of people working together to achieve goals together
• What they did when contributions to the GoFundMe Campaign plateaued and stalled
• How they tell and capture the stories of healthcare workers through their "Stories from the Frontlines" videos
• The note that went viral - written by KP Mendoza, a healthcare worker featured in one of PRI's "Stories from the Frontlines" videos
• The shift from first focusing more on individual donors, to phase two in which they are planning to focus more on partnerships with e.g. community organizations, businesses, and student groups
• Why Gary embraces failure
• How PPE Relief Initiative learned from the mistakes it made during its first phase and has improved its processes
• The work productivity tools that PPE Relief Initiative uses
• The importance of organization and setting up an infrastructure
• The goals of the second phase of PPE Relief Initiative's Go Fund Me campaign
• The difference between GoFundMe and GoFundMe Charity
• The Promise Society, fiscal sponsor of the PPE Relief Initiative
• General advice for anyone interested in running a crowdfunding campaign
• The importance of email campaigns and data to PRI's fundraising campaign
• PPE Relief Initiative's plans to partner with a local politician to hold a virtual roundtable with healthcare workers giving testimony on their experiences
• PRI's plans to make an impact on policy regarding healthcare worker protection

Related Links:

PPE Relief Initiative's (PRI) website: https://pperelief.org/

PRI's social media accounts:

PRI on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ppe.relief/

PRI's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ppe.relief.initiative/

PRI's LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ppe-relief-initiative/

PPE Relief Initiative's Go Fund Me crowdfunding campaign: https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/every-superhero-needs-armor-ppe-relief-for-healthcare-workers-fighting-covid-19

PPE Relief Initiative's volunteer page: https://pperelief.org/join-our-team/

Healthcare workers (in New York and New Jersey) who'd like to apply for PPE can STILL do so here: https://pperelief.org/apply

Belinda and Mary (Mother & Daughter share their stories) with PRI: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNlmUL6iAMo

The note from healthcare worker KP Mendoza that went viral: https://helphopehonor.org/thank-you-to-our-heroes/kp-mendoza---do-not-call-me-a-hero-listen-to-an-icu-nurses-plea-for-fighting-the-coronavirus.html

PPE Relief Initiative's YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/channel/UC_ncFI3RKutGY1D6QQL8cow

Recommended websites to recruit volunteers from:

Idealist: https://www.idealist.org/en/

Volunteer Match: https://www.volunteermatch.org/

Productivity tools that PPE Relief Initiative uses:

Workplace: https://www.workplace.com/

Asana: https://asana.com/

Google Drive: https://www.google.com/intl/en_in/drive/

The Promise Society: http://www.thepromisesociety.org/