A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

In this episode I’m welcoming back Peter Yang Zhao and Steve Lee to continue talking about the topic of Asian hate picking up after part 1, episode 125. Both have been active in fighting crimes against Asians and have lots to share on the topic of Asian hate. Peter Yang Zhao, is an anti-Asian hate crime activist, and Tourette’s syndrome activist. Sergeant Steven Lee is a 16-year vetera...

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Eric Chang, a writer for Taiwan News. On April 18th we spoke about China’s April 12th incursion into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, the largest one to date at the time. We also spoke about the longstanding military threat that China poses for Taiwan and the Asia Pacific region, what this means for Taiwan, how Taiwan has responded...

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Dr. Jeng Yen is a NASA scientist and the “driver” of the Perseverance Mars rover. I initially interviewed Dr. Yen on April 9th. We spoke about how he was first inspired to join NASA by the first Mars rover Sojourner, what’s been discovered about Mars since then, the work of Mars rover Perseverance and the Mars helicopter Ingenuity which is poised to be the first aircraft to fly on Mars...

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

My guests on this episode of Talking Taiwan about the topic of Asian hate are Peter Yang Zhao and Steve Lee. Both have been active in the fighting crimes against Asians and have lots to share on the topic of Asian hate. Peter Yang Zhao, is an anti-Asian hate crime activist, and Tourette’s syndrome activist.

A quick glance at his Instagram handle @fabulously_tourette reveals how out...

A Note From Talking Taiwan Host Felicia Lin:

I just interviewed Dr Yen the driver of Mars Rover Perseverance for Talking Taiwan and he shared some exciting news with me. 

My full interview with Dr. Yen will be published Monday April 19th.

Talking Taiwan is pleased to be the first podcast to interview the NASA scientist.

Don’t miss this important and historic interview!

Related Links:

6 Things to know about NASA's Inge...

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

It’s been nearly a year since we started publishing episodes of Talking Taiwan on a weekly basis at the beginning of this pandemic, and I’ve really enjoyed seeing the listenership grow.

I’d like to acknowledge our listeners here, especially those who have reached out to me directly. One listener who reached out, said that episode 99 with Professor Scott Simon was particularly eye ope...

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Since the beginning of the pandemic I’d been hearing about more and more cases of Asian hate attacks that seemed to be related to blaming the Chinese for spreading COVID.  It’s been a year so you could say that I’m kind of late to the game in addressing it here.

Perhaps it’s because there wasn’t a single galvanizing event like the murder of George Floyd that mobilized the Black Lives...

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

March 23rd will mark the seventh anniversary of the short-lived occupation of the Executive Yuan by students involved in the Sunflower Movement of 2014. The Sunflower Movement began when students and activists occupied the Legislative Yuan on March 18, 2014 in an effort to block the passage of a trade pact between Taiwan and China. At a press conference on March 23, then President Ma Y...

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Learn about the Taiwan connection (namely a physician, publisher and supermodel) that made Monster Dance children’s book story come to life. Monster Dance was created to help children deal with and understand the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Karen Tsai is a physician based in Los Angeles who has spearheaded the creation of the children’s book, and she spoke with me about ...

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Michael Turton is a political commentator, writer and Taipei Times columnist based in Taichung, Taiwan.  I first learned about him through his long running blog, The View From Taiwan when I lived in Taiwan myself and started blogging about living there. I’ve invited him on to the podcast to talk about China’s recent ban of pineapples from Taiwan. We talked about what’s really behind th...

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Dr. Michi Fu is a professor, psychologist, writer, public speaker and experience creator. She spoke with me about how her mother’s decision to retire in Taiwan led her to decide to take a one-year sabbatical in Taiwan and to apply for Taiwan citizenship- which proved to be an arduous process but well worth it in the end. It has allowed her to more easily travel and straddle between liv...

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

This week we welcome back Anthony Kao, the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Cinema Escapist to Talking Taiwan. I’ve asked him to recommend films that help familiarize people with Taiwan. He’ll be recommending films about Taiwan that best represent certain decades, eras or significant historical events.

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

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Anthony Kao is Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Cinema Escapist, which is often the first or only publication that covers Taiwanese film or television shows. I’ve found it has some really great reviews and recommendations of films from and about Taiwan. Cinema Escapist also covers films from all around the world and takes a look at their social and political context. Anthony spoke with m...

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...

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’...

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 littl...

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 i...

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 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...