Emceed by three-time Asian literary award winner Ed Lin, this well-attended event featured live jazz music entertainment, catered Taiwanese American food and beverage, and a raffle of six outstanding prizes, while featuring the NYC premiere of the award-winning and longest running Taiwan-related podcast, Talking Taiwan, as a LIVE podcast!

A 2021 Golden Crane Award winning podcast, Talking Taiwan was also shortlisted in the category of Moment of Visionary Leadership by being chosen as one of 15 entries out of over 700 entries from 34 countries for the 2024 International Women’s Podcast Awards.

At the event, Talking Taiwan’s host and co-producer Felicia Lin conducted four live interviews with prominent Taiwanese American guests. This was an unusual divergence from its typical programming, which for more than 12 years has been predominantly online, where the two-person team conducted over 311 remote interviews with Taiwan diaspora and other interesting people from all over the world who share their interesting Taiwan-related stories.

Full disclosure: as the co-producer, editor, and sound engineer of Talking Taiwan, I am the other person of this two-person team.

A Musical Performance by Peter Lin’s AAPI Jazz Collective
Taiwanese American trombonist Peter Lin started the event by leading his quintet in a performance of classic Taiwanese jazz and folk songs, including Longing for the Spring Breeze, Moon Represents My Heart, Forgotten Time, and Tian Mi Mi. The band ended their first set with their own swinging version of Wife, and an authentic version of Rosemary, both sung by special guest, the great baritone Ting Yi-Chen.

Meanwhile, the popular Greenwich Village based Taiwanese restaurant 886 catered all the food for the event, while DAE Tea, a tea company for five generations from Taiwan operating since 1918, provided delicious and authentic freshly brewed Taiwan teas.

The Main Event: The Talking Taiwan LIVE podcast
Lin’s first guest was Taiwanese actor and comedian Esther Chen, who is known for her NYC standup act and appearances on Seinfeld. Notably, last year she posted several disturbing Instagram stories of crowd instances where censorship of Taiwan’s representation was demonstrated by derogatory signs inside the Paris stadium while she was a spectator at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

For decades, the International Olympic committee has not allowed Taiwan to call itself by its actual name, as it does not officially recognize Taiwan as a separate nation, forcing Taiwan to compete under the name “Chinese Taipei,” even though Taiwan has owned its sovereignty and conducted itself as a vibrant democracy since 1996.  Lin and Chen spoke about those jarring visual signs and disturbing audio events that took place inside the stadium, but their conversation was mostly filled with light-hearted and amusing commentary.

Next up was Thomas Duh, the co-owner of DAE Tea, a business that has been in his family for five generations. The American brand DAE (standing for “tea”) is better known as Hwa Gung Tea in Taiwan. He discussed the long family history of the brand, and where it is heading in the future.

Lin’s third interview was with renowned Taiwanese American visual artist and painter Kaarina Chu Mackenzie. She is widely known for her vast works encompassing the immersive Night Market exhibit in Taipei. Chu Mackenzie displays her works in many galleries and exhibits throughout the U.S. and Taiwan.

Lin’s final guest was Taiwanese American Jonny Lee, the current president of TAP-NY, which is the Taiwanese American Professionals – NY Chapter. They bring together a large network of Taiwanese American young professionals throughout the U.S. and host many networking events about New York City.

A Second Set Surprise!
My favorite part of the evening was definitely the AAPI Jazz Collective’s second set, where yours truly performed five songs with the band, including the Sinatra Basie classic, Fly Me to the Moon, Crowd Lu’s Fishes, and two originals.

For me personally, the highlight of the set was my performance of the Taiwanese banger Island’s Sunrise by the Taiwanese rock band FireEx, a song that became the inspiring anthem for the 2014 Sunflower Movement in Taipei.  The most enthralling part of all of this was singing this famous song in Taiwanese – as I do not speak the language! I had to learn this song phonetically, and apparently judging by the reaction of the mostly Taiwanese-speaking crowd, I was thrilled to see my performance was approved with high marks!

What a fun event this was! The night turned out to be such a raving success, we are seriously considering this to be an annual event. If you are curious about the Talking Taiwan podcast, visit talkingtaiwan.com

Read this article on Talking Taiwan’s 2025 Fundraising Gala where I originally wrote it in The Village View:

Talking Taiwan’s 2025 Fundraising Gala at Eichholtz

Kaju Roberto is an accomplished musician, singer/ songwriter, journalist, and an award-winning producer. He is the artist Rad Jet on Spotify

The post Talking Taiwan’s 2025 Fundraising Gala at Eichholtz appeared first on Rad Jet's Historic Jazz Walking Tours.

Through its evocative lens, the film chronicles and examines the presidency of Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan’s first female president and events that happened during her tenure from 2016 – 2023.

Invisible Nation is a deeply penetrating film that shines a light on the spirit and resilience of Taiwan’s democracy in the face of an escalating military threat from China. It portrays President Tsai Ing-wen as an exceptionally smart, wise and tough leader. Unfortunately, it also reinforces the dread many of us feel towards the future of Taiwan as an independent nation.

The film’s length is 85 minutes and there are interviews from key Taiwan political figures and advocates including President Tsai Ing-Wen, Chu Chen, Yu-jie Chen, Bi-Khim Hsiao (Taiwan’s current vice-president), Freddy Lim, Audrey Tang, and Michelle Kuo.

According to IMDB, Invisible Nation gets an 8.4/10 rating.

So far, the film has been nominated for nine film awards, twice winning the 2024 Sun Valley Film Festival Award for One in a Million documentary, and the 2023 Middleburg Film Festival Audience Award.

Attending the First Screening

As host and producer of the longest running Taiwan-related podcast, my partner Felicia Lin and I were invited to attend the debut film screening as part of a larger Taiwanese group at the Woodstock Film Festival. That was a day of 8.65” record-breaking torrential rains in Central Park. We all rode up together in a chartered bus during the morning hours. Conditions on the New York State Thruway were quite treacherous.

What Inspired the Director to Create this Film?

On opening day we met director Vanessa Hope whose life changed in 1996. Hope was living in Taiwan from 1995-1996 when she was a PhD student taking part in a study abroad program during the inauguration of Lee Teng-hui, Taiwan’s first directly elected president.

1996 was indeed a very scary time to be in Taiwan. Scorched by Taiwan’s first direct presidential election and fledgling democracy, China attempted to intimidate Taiwan by firing missiles into the Taiwan Strait. Almost 30 years later, not much has changed.

After talking to her journalist friends, Hope became deeply concerned and obsessively curious about the future fate of Taiwan. She borrowed a newly purchased camera from her Chinese language teacher. Over that weekend, she was determined to film President Lee Teng-hui’s historical inauguration. She succeeded and her first short film embarked her on a film career.

Fast forward to 2016, Hope traveled back to Taiwan with an international delegation to witness the election of Taiwan’s first female president, Tsai Ing-wen. That’s when she came up with the idea to create a full-length feature film about Tsai Ing-wen’s presidency.

If anything, today the threat of a China invasion on Taiwan looms even larger. China President Xi Jinping has stated, “Taiwan is China,” and that reunification is inevitable. He also does not rule out using force. Taiwan is now once again a hot and important topic in international news ever since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022—a move which has only served to embolden China.

Challenges Making Invisible Nation

During our conversations with the director, we also talked about the challenges in making Invisible Nation and her personal motivations for making the film. Invisible Nation was filmed over a seven year period from 2016 thru 2023. This required an ongoing and highly detailed coordinated effort with the President and a great resolve by Hope and her team. They were given unprecedented access to Taiwan’s sitting head of state, which allowed them to investigate the election and Tsai Ing-Wen’s tenure.

This was not Hope’s first full length feature. Her first, All Eyes And Ears, examined relations between the U.S. and China through the stories of U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, his adopted Chinese daughter Gracie Mei, and blind legal advocate Chen Guangcheng.

Invisible Nation is currently playing in select theaters around the U.S.

For more information, go to: https://invisiblenation.net.

Read this article where I originally wrote it in The Village View:

Invisible Nation: A Film That Chronicles Taiwan’s First Female President, Runs for One Week at the Quad Cinema

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KAJU ROBERTO is an accomplished musician, singer/ songwriter, journalist, and an award-winning producer. He is the artist Rad Jet on Spotify.

The post Invisible Nation: A Film That Chronicles Taiwan’s First Female President, Runs for One Week at the Quad Cinema appeared first on Rad Jet's Historic Jazz Walking Tours.

Luchia Meihua Lee is the founding Executive Director of the Taiwanese American Arts Council (TAAC) and the Chief Curator of the exhibition. Since 2014, TAAC has aimed to foster awareness of Taiwanese American Art within the broader community. They have sponsored many events and presented high quality programs in all disciplines of art, while encouraging cross-cultural exchange between Taiwanese Americans and others.

The exhibition will be open free to the public Monday-Thursday from 12-6 p.m. and Saturday from 12-3 p.m. The Institute is closed on Friday and Sunday.

A Cross-Cultural Exhibition of Contemporary Artworks

“Peoples’ Movements” is a cross-cultural exhibition which focuses on the art which embodies and has been borne from particular brave groups of people acting as a whole and taking a stand on contentious issues by refusing to compromise their statements or actions particularly related to corrupt governments and regimes.

This program involves artists’ works celebrating peoples’ political movements — largely youth-led — that took place around the world circa 2014.

TAAC has selected five Movements represented by these artists’ works: Taiwan’s Sunflower Movement, Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement, the Arab Spring, the Chilean Winter, and the Ukrainian Euromaiden Movement. In the interest of space I will present only two movements in detail. I have provided links below for further information on all movements if you care to take a deeper dive.

Taiwan’s Sunflower Movement

In March 2014, students and other youth in Taipei occupied Taiwan’s legislative body in protest of the plan by the ruling government to strengthen trade ties with China.

Ten years ago, on the night of March 18, 2014, students and activists broke into Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan in an effort to block the passage of the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement between Taiwan and China.

The day before, then ruling government the Kuomintang (KMT) led by President Ma Ying-Jeou, had attempted to force passage of the trade agreement in the Legislative Yuan, without giving it a clause-by-clause review.

Those youth knew that a successful clandestine execution of such a plan by the KMT would lead to catastrophic future events that could eventually jeopardize Taiwan’s newfound fledgling democracy. The occupation of the Legislative Yuan lasted over 20 days and came to be known as the Sunflower Movement. In the end, the students and youth activists prevailed with overwhelming support, and a trade agreement between Taiwan and China was blocked.

Most significantly, not only had the Sunflower Movement been successful in blocking the proposed legislation, its byproduct had profound effects, which in time reversed the course of Taiwan’s foreign and domestic policy. The movement led many of its participants eventually to enter formal political life and thus rejuvenating Taiwan’s political culture.

Taiwanese pop punk group Fire EX.’s song Island’s Sunrise became the anthem of the movement.

Participating artists showcasing original works at the Tenri Cultural Institute that embody the indomitable spirit of Taiwan’s Sunflower Movement are:

Island Sunrise Team 島嶼天光團隊 (Portrait painting and video)

Tsung-Jung Liu 劉宗榮 (Paintings and archives)

Enbion Micah Aan 洪延平 (Photography)

Hsin Yi Liu 劉欣怡 (Paintings)

Chia H. Kuo 郭家瑄 (Sculpture)

Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement

Taking place between September 26 and December 15, 2014, this movement led by Hong Kong youth was sparked by China’s proposed changes to Hong Kong’s electoral system – changes that the movement unsuccessfully opposed and were later imposed unilaterally by the government in Beijing.However, this movement was resurrected on its fifth anniversary in 2019 to protest the bill enabling extradition to China – and trial there – of residents of Hong Kong. Beijing eventually imposed this bill on Hong Kong, further eroding the special status of Hong Kong in violation of the 50-year special administrative status of Hong Kong negotiated by the United Kingdom and China in 1997. September of 2024 will mark the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement.The participating artist showcasing his original works at the Tenri Cultural Institute that embody Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement is Kacey Wong (prints, video, helmet, cocktail sculpture)

Exhibition Summary and Links

The “Peoples’ Movements” Cross-Cultural Exhibition demonstrates intriguing installations that celebrate the artworks representing the spirit of youth-led popular movements of approximately 10 years vintage, thus simultaneously highlighting both the similarities and differences between them.

For further listening and reading on all five Movements and their historical impact, below are links:

• talkingtaiwan.com/fireex-10th-anniversary-sunflower-movement-sam-yang-tells-how-island-sunrise-became-its-anthem-ep-278/
• talkingtaiwan.com/eric-chang-on-the-unfolding-situation-at-the-legislative-yuan-during-the-sunflower-movement-ep-231/
• taac-us.org/upcoming-events
• tenri.org/gallery/index.shtml

Link to the Village View article:

“Peoples’ Movements”

KAJU ROBERTO is an accomplished musician, singer/ songwriter, journalist, and an award-winning producer. He is the artist Rad Jet on Spotify.

The post “Peoples’ Movements”: A Cross-Cultural Exhibition Showcasing the Contemporary Artworks of Solidarity and Self-Empowerment appeared first on Rad Jet's Historic Jazz Walking Tours.

This outdoor event which ran from 12 Noon to 5:00 pm celebrating the delicious food, vibrant spirit, and diverse music culture of Taiwan was a jubilant affair. It has been held annually in New York City near the end of May ever since 2002. This outdoor event which ran from 12 Noon to 5:00 pm celebrating the delicious food, vibrant spirit, and diverse music culture of Taiwan was a jubilant affair. It has been held annually in New York City near the end of May ever since 2002.

The Passport to Taiwan Festival is not only about Taiwanese music and food culture. This year it provided even more interesting content. Talking Taiwan,the longest running Taiwan-related podcast and Golden Crane Award winner made its debut there. Felicia Lin, its award-winning podcast host broadcasted a fun and interactive Talking Taiwan Live Stream all day long, while interviewing five notable Taiwan guests, and impromptu Taiwan-related enthusiasts who stopped by wanting to share their interesting Taiwan stories.

I had a chance to interview Felicia and talk to her about the significance of the event and a bit of Taiwan’s history. In full disclosure, I am the Executive Producer of Talking Taiwan.K: Can you tell me about the history and significance of the Passport to Taiwan?

The idea for an outdoor festival celebrating Taiwan dates back to 1999 when the U.S. Congress designated the second week of May Taiwanese American Heritage Week. But it wasn’t until 2002 that the first Passport to Taiwan was held, so it has been around for nearly two decades if you don’t count the pandemic.

Events like this are important, not just as a celebration of our culture and roots, but in the case of Taiwan, it’s especially important for our community’s representation, due Taiwan’s international isolation.

K: Tell me more about that.

F: How is it that Taiwan, with its effective early containment of COVID-19 (that made it a haven for COVID-refugees) has been blocked from joining the World Health Organization? And why is it that Taiwanese athletes have to compete under the name “Chinese Taipei” at the Olympics? It’s the same reason that Taiwan does not have a seat in the United Nations. The People’s Republic of China refuses to recognize Taiwan since it lays claim to Taiwan despite never having ruled it, not for one day.

China also forces countries to choose between having diplomatic relations with Beijing or Taipei. This is what happened recently when Taiwan lost Honduras as a diplomatic ally to China, leaving Taiwan with only 13 diplomatic allies.

K: What is the situation between Taiwan and China?

F: China’s President Xi Jinping has repeatedly stated that China will not renounce the use of force in seeking to reunify Taiwan with China. This is nothing new. During Taiwan’s first direct presidential elections in 1996 China lobbed ballistic missiles across the Taiwan Strait and now nearly three decades later, China sends planes on a daily basis into Taiwan’s ADIZ (air defense identification zone). The record stands at over 90 aircraft in one day.

Taiwan is now the most democratic nation and the first to legalize same sex marriage in Asia. Its path from authoritarianism to democracy was hard won after enduring 38 years of martial law (the second longest period in world history).
Peacefully safeguarding Taiwan’s democracy and human rights is a very real concern as the world witnesses Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s President Xi Ji Ping publicly praising Russia’s President Vladimir Putin for his leadership.

K: What is the state of the U.S. Taiwan relations?

F: I’d say it’s very favorable. In August of 2022, then U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan and when Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen visited the U.S. earlier this year she met with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in April. According to 2022 data, the United States was Taiwan’s second-largest trading partner for goods, while Taiwan was the United States’ 10th-largest trading partner.

Taiwan most notably produces 90% of the world’s semiconductors which are used in most electronics, and TSMC, Taiwan’s largest producer of semiconductors, is building a plant in Arizona.

K: Is there anything else you’d like to add that we haven’t covered?

F: Aside from all of these geopolitical issues related to Taiwan, I do hope that people can get to know more about Taiwan through the vibrant stories and people connected to it, by listening to our podcast Talking Taiwan.Visit our website talkingtaiwan.com or you can find us on all the major podcasting platforms.

The Passport to Taiwan Festival in New York City’s Union Square is definitely a late Spring NYC Cultural Must-Experience Event!

To learn more, go to: https://p2tw.org/

Link to the Village View article: ​

Passport to Taiwan: More Than Just Food, Culture and Music

​​​Kaju Roberto is an accomplished musician, singer/ songwriter, journalist, and an award winning producer. He is the artist Rad Jet on Spotify. https://open.spotify.com/artist/32si7c4nk210HPuqbXvhJg

The post The Passport to Taiwan: More Than Just Food Culture and Music appeared first on Rad Jet's Historic Jazz Walking Tours.