Talking Taiwan

08/26/2026

FINALLY made it to A Story That Lives Within US: Ada — Volume II at Crossing Art, 559 W 23rd St, NYC on Sunday. Especially enjoyed the Hakka Association’s indigo dyeing workshop 💙 and considering what it means to be Hakka by playing “Hakka Bingo.” The exhibit’s last day is August 26th!

Featuring 17 artists 🎨, the exhibition explores Taiwanese immigrant stories, memory, identity, and belonging.

08/21/2026

Books 📚 for Taiwan, was spearheaded by Amy Lin (賴淑娟). In July the Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce in New York gave Amy the Community Spirit Award and we are sharing her inspiring story in this episode of Talking Taiwan. The concept behind Books 📚 for Taiwan, is pretty straightforward. They collect children’s books and ship them to schools, organizations and businesses in Taiwan.

Books for Taiwan collects books that are stored at a warehouse donated to them located in New Jersey and volunteers gather regularly throughout the year to pack up books to be put on pallets and shipped over to Taiwan. Books for Taiwan has been around for over 20 years and they have already shipped over 1.3 million books to Taiwan.

Want to help out? Their next book packing event is on 8/22.

08/21/2026

📚 for Taiwan, was spearheaded by Amy Lin (賴淑娟). In July the Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce in New York gave Amy the Community Spirit Award and we are sharing her inspiring story in this episode. The concept behind Books 📚 for Taiwan, is pretty straightforward. They collect children’s books and ship them to schools, organizations and businesses in Taiwan.

Books for Taiwan collects books that are stored at a warehouse donated to them located in New Jersey and volunteers gather regularly throughout the year to pack up books to be put on pallets and shipped over to Taiwan. Books for Taiwan has been around for over 20 years and they have already shipped over 1.3 million books to Taiwan.

Want to help out? Their next book packing event is on 8/22.

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08/15/2026

Vincent Hsu talks about Taiwanese writer Chao-Cheng Chung (鍾肇政). Hsu’s composition the Taiwanese Trilogy Music Suite (台灣人三部曲, draws inspiration from the Taiwanese writer (鍾肇政). Vincent Hsu is Taiwanese bassist and composer and the leader of Vincent Hsu & Soy La Ley Afro-Cuban Jazz band. 

Looking forward to his performance Spirits from Both Sides 🌍💫 at Flushing Town Hall THIS Saturday 8/15 with Six-time Grammy Award-winning pianist 🎹, composer, and bandleader Arturo O’Farrill

Spirits from Both Sides brings together two distinct lineages of Afro-Cuban Jazz into a single evening to create an Afro-Taiwanese Jazz Orchestra. Six-time Grammy Award-winning pianist, composer, and bandleader Arturo O’Farrill, a leading voice in Afro-Latin Jazz, will perform with longtime collaborator, bassist and composer Vincent Hsu, whose award-winning music fuses jazz and Afro-Cuban sounds with his Taiwanese roots, for an evening of cultural exploration spanning continents and traditions. We’re pulling out the dance floor for this! Come and dance all night long!�
Stay after the concert for a talk between O’Farrill and Hsu, moderated by former Executive Director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, Tracy Hyter-Suffern.  Vincent Hsu Arturo O'Farrill

08/14/2026

Fascinating conversation with bassist and composer ✍🏼 Vincent Hsu- about how he fuses Taiwanese culture and music into his compositions.🎶 Looking forward to his performance Spirits from Both Sides 🌍💫 at Flushing Town Hall THIS Saturday 8/15 with Six-time Grammy Award-winning pianist 🎹, composer, and bandleader Arturo O’Farrill

Spirits from Both Sides brings together two distinct lineages of Afro-Cuban Jazz into a single evening to create an Afro-Taiwanese Jazz Orchestra. Six-time Grammy Award-winning pianist, composer, and bandleader Arturo O’Farrill, a leading voice in Afro-Latin Jazz, will perform with longtime collaborator, bassist and composer Vincent Hsu , whose award-winning music fuses jazz and Afro-Cuban sounds with his Taiwanese roots, for an evening of cultural exploration spanning continents and traditions. We’re pulling out the dance floor for this! Come and dance all night long!�
Stay after the concert for a talk between O’Farrill and Hsu, moderated by former Executive Director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, Tracy Hyter-Suffern.

08/10/2026

This year Taiwanese Waves 🌊 🎶 is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year and will be back at SummerStage in New York City’s Central Park’s Rumsey Playfield on Sunday August 16th. Doors open at 5:00pm. When Taiwanese Waves debuted in 2016, it set an all-time record for the highest single-day attendance at SummerStage. And since then it’s continued to introduce audiences to Taiwanese Music.

This year’s lineup includes Golden Melody Award 🏆 regulars 9m88, YELLOW and ØZI.
You’ll also be hearing the psychedelic sounds of Mong Tong and from Taiwanese American singer-song writer Chance Emerson, and finally New York’s Chinatown Records will spin tracks from past Taiwanese Waves alumni. Taiwanese Waves 9m88 ØZI YELLOW YELLOW黃宣 Chance Emerson 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐠 Rochelle ☆ yiuyiu 瑤瑤 Chinatown Records 華埠錄音
Taipei Cultural Center in New York

08/07/2026

Puma Shen (沈伯洋), the DPP candidate for Taipei mayor, shares his thoughts on affordable housing at an event in New York City last month. Puma is a criminologist, lawyer, legislator in Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan and Associate Professor at National Taiwan University. He’s also known for co-founding Doublethink Lab and the Kuma Academy. Now he's running as the Democratic Progressive Party's candidate for Taipei mayor. It's shaping up to be an exciting mayoral race in Taipei!
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08/04/2026

Puma Shen (沈伯洋) has been on our radar since we learned about his work as the co-founder of Doublethink Lab. Then he co-founded the Kuma Academy, became a Democratic Progressive Party legislator and now he's running as the Democratic Progressive Party's candidate for Taipei mayor!

So we were really excited to hear him speak recently in New York City and wanted to share this clip of Puma sharing his personal thoughts about the impact of overseas Taiwanese when it comes to advocating for Taiwan. We hope this resonates with many of our listeners who care about Taiwan! May it be encouragement that even if you are living outside of Taiwan, your efforts can make a difference. ✊🏼

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08/03/2026

While we were at last year’s Taiwanese American Conference West Coast in July of 2025 which was hosted in San Francisco Silicon Valley, we sat down with Akio Yaita (矢板明夫), the keynote speaker of the conference. As a senior journalist at Sankei Shimbun Akio has covered Beijing and Taipei. He’s been a strong advocate for Taiwan. In 2024 Akio obtained citizenship in Taiwan and founded the Indo-Pacific Strategy Thinktank.

As we were working on translating and editing our interview with Akio we were disturbed to learn that on July 6th Akio was assaulted after a speaking engagement in Taichung. While Akio was in the lobby of a hotel, a Chinese man approached him and punched him in the face. The man, surnamed Liao (廖) was later arrested at the Taichung International Airport. Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council described the attack as the “first case of transnational repression” in Taiwan since China’s Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law took effect on July 1. After the attack Akio has said that he will not be intimidated.✊🏼

07/30/2026

HUGE Congratulations 🥳👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 to 6 recipients of the TCCNY (Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce New York) Community Spirit Award 🏆 who were honored at this year’s Taiwan Day 😎 Mets Day 🧢⚾️:

Jacy Chen (陳彩雲)
Jordan Hu (胡國琳)
Patrick Huang (黃再添)
Amy Lin (賴淑娟)
Shih-Pao Lin (林世寶)
Eason Wu (吳丞峻)

Some have dedicated themselves to education for many years, some to philanthropy, some to the arts, and some to life in their different roles. As outstanding examples of Taiwanese Americans in New York, they quietly illuminate the community with warmth and strength. The power of a community often comes not from momentary applause, but from years of unwavering dedication. Thank you for showing us through your actions that loving Taiwan can be a gentle, enduring, and powerful practice.

TCCNY Shih Pao Lin