United States
Poet, Book of Cord @ Tinfish Press
VP, Taiwanese American Federation of Northern California
Editor-in-Chief, TaiwaneseAmerican.org
（中央社記者張欣瑜舊金山4日專電）加州灣區台美人社團連續兩個週末舉辦228追思紀念活動，美國出生長大、27歲的社團副會長陳文羿扮演早期移民和年輕人的橋梁，她認為透過認識歷史可以瞭解台灣民主的珍貴。 舊金山灣區約有20萬台灣人，僑界今年於228前後連兩個週末放映馬來西亞導演廖克發的紀錄片「野番茄」，透過台灣新移民的影像敘事，紀念這段曾為禁忌的歷史傷痕。 ...
"I say this often, but I mean it and I think it’s important. We are someone's descendants, and we will become someone's ancestors. What has been sacrificed for us, matters. And now, what we sacrifice matters as well. Everything we have received from our elders, we must sustain and defend and we will share it with those around us and those to come."
"奶茶聯盟之所以強大，部分原因是我們把台灣作為民主實踐的證據，證明人民不但能夠，並且將相互支援，走向民主的路上，我們會勤奮不懈，不抛棄任何盟友." "The milk tea alliance is powerful in part because we hold onto Taiwan as evidence of what is possible, as proof that the people can and will liberate each other, that we are willing to do the hard work, that we will not leave anyone behind."
"We cope with natural disasters by working together. But we create political tragedies when we make decisions about who matters, and who doesn’t; about who should be helped and who gets left behind; about who can help and who is shut out. We cannot avoid natural disasters. But we can make better human decisions. Despite a long history of being bullied and belittled on the global stage, Taiwan has reached out, again and again, promising and delivering help."
A new report from the Pew Research Center estimates that between 195,000 and 697,000 people of Taiwanese descent live in the United States, rectifying a previous analysis that conflated Taiwanese and Chinese Americans and drew fierce backlash from the Taiwanese diaspora. The study, which was released earlier this month, draws on desegregated data from the 2019 American Community Survey.
Leona Chen is the editor-in-chief of TaiwaneseAmerican.org and author of Book of Cord. She'll be keynoting about intergenerational Taiwanese American community building, serving the diaspora, and everyday civic engagement as the core of "Taiwan Soul."
IMAGE SOURCE: PEW RESEARCH CENTER Recently published reports by the Pew Research Center analyzing Asian American communities have included footnotes that data for "'Chinese' includes those identifying as 'Taiwanese.'" As of today (May 1 - the start of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month), the methodology for Pew Research Center's Asian American fact sheets makes no reference to why explicitly "Taiwanese" data points were merged with "Chinese."
There's a scene in the Marvel franchise where T'challa disrupts the meta-fiction of Wakanda's unremarkable, third-world pretense, grandly revealing their true nature in a gesture of humanitarian aid. That both Wakanda and Taiwan can be categorized as global fictions is sad. But, crucially, there is a difference between hiding and being ignored.
One of the opportunities of sitting at the masthead of TaiwaneseAmerican.org is continually engaging with the borders and expectations of this community. What does it mean to be Taiwanese, American, and Taiwanese American? What is our role as citizens of the diaspora?
"When a young girl and her family emigrate from Taiwan to America, she leaves behind her beloved popo, her grandmother. She misses her popo every day, but even if their visits are fleeting, their love is ever true and strong."