Talking Taiwan

Talking Taiwan is a Golden Crane Podcast Award Winner, and has been shortlisted in the 2024 International Women’s Podcast Awards “Moment of Visionary Leadership” category. In 2025, it was nominated for the 12th Annual T.O. Webfest Awards in the category of "Best Ensemble Cast in a Podcast". Hosted by Felicia Lin, Talking Taiwan is the longest running, independently produced Taiwan-related podcast that covers political news related to Taiwan and stories connected to Taiwan and Taiwan’s global community. To learn more about Talking Taiwan visit: www.talkingtaiwan.com

Ep 356 | Taiwanese Waves Celebrates its 10th Year Anniversary at SummerStage in NYC's Central Park 08/09/2026

Ep 355 | Akio Yaita Outspoken Taiwan Advocate: In Taiwan I Can Make a Bigger Contribution 08/01/2026

Ep 354 | Celebrating TAAC's 10th Anniversary: Island Reverence on Governors Island House 17 07/23/2026

Ep 353 | Birdy Explores Universal Themes of Freedom, Limitation and Identity Relevant to Taiwan 07/17/2026

Ep 352 | Claire Wang (王婉諭) Chairwoman of the New Power Party Talks About Relaunching the Party 07/14/2026

Ep 351 | Dr Hsing-Huan Wang Chairman of the Taiwan State Building Party an Unwavering Voice for Taiwan’s independence 07/07/2026

Ep 350 | Cony Hsieh Kaohsiung Pride President Focuses on LGBTQ+ Issues and Reforming Taiwan’s Military 07/01/2026

Ep 349 | Nymphia Wind Brings Taiwan’s Betel Nut Beauty Culture to the New York Pride March 06/29/2026

Ep 348 | Jotham Hung Ceramic Artist and Educator on Finding Meaning and Fulfillment in Living a Creative Life TUF Part 3 06/23/2026

Ep 347 | John Enger Cheng on his Creative Process and How Inspiration Finds you Working 06/10/2026

Ep 346 | George Yin Arts Advocacy Can be a Lifelong Passion TUF Part 1 05/30/2026

Ep 345 | Passport to Taiwan 2026: Making Our Rounds with Taiwanese Community Organizations FAPA, TCCNY & NATMA 05/27/2026

Ep 344 | Vickie Wang (王宇平) on Who Gets to Be Taiwanese and Stand-Up Comedy Part 2 04/24/2026

Ep 343 | Vickie Wang (王宇平) Surviving the Shanghai COVID Lockdown of 2022 and Attitudes and Perceptions between Taiwanese and Chinese 03/30/2026

Ep 342 | Kita Foundation: Mapping the Path for Trailblazers that Paved the Way for Taiwan's Democracy and Freedom 03/17/2026

Ep 342 | Kita Foundation: Mapping the Path for Trailblazers that Paved the Way for Taiwan's Democracy and Freedom Every year we try to dedicate an episode of Talking Taiwan to 228, an important date in Taiwan’s history, marking the 228 Massacre. 228 stands for February 28 1947. February 28th is now commemorated as a national holiday in Taiwan known as the 228 Peace Memorial Day. Related Links: However, the 228 Massacre is not confined to this single date in history. There were circumstances leading up what happened on February 28th and there were also subsequent events after February 28th which escalated into bloody violence and massacres leading to what some refer to as the March Massacre. Under the authoritarian Chiang regime, and Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang, what followed after 228 was 38 years of martial law and the White Terror era. Anyone could be disappeared, executed or worse for just saying or doing the wrong thing, or for what was seemingly wrong in the eyes of the authorities. The people of Taiwan were horrified and terrified. For decades there was denial and suppression of 228 by authorities in Taiwan, and generations dared not speak of 228. 228 was absent from high school textbooks until relatively recently. To learn more about the specifics of 228 I invite you to listen to some of our past episodes on the topic. We recommend episodes 309, 277, 228, and 172. In an effort to confront its authoritarian past, in recent years Taiwan has taken steps to acknowledge historical sites of injustice such as buildings where military police fired on civilians on February 28, 1947. Around this time of year, around February 28 and leading into March, it’s a time to reflect on the past, and what we can learn from it. So in the vein of reflecting on the past, this year I thought I’d share my interview with Sabrina Liu and Meng Chiang who are part of the team that makes up the KITA Foundation, an organization that was formed as an oral history project to understand who are the trailblazers that paved the way for Taiwan’s democracy and freedom. Related Links: /episode/index/show/talkingtaiwan/id/40510455

Ep 341 | Dr Shih-Fen Chen 陳時奮 A Scholar with a Responsibility to Reveal the Truth 02/23/2026

Ep 340 | China’s Alarming Gray Zone Tactics Around Taiwan and its Neighboring Nations in Asia 02/07/2026

Ep 340 | China’s Alarming Gray Zone Tactics Around Taiwan and its Neighboring Nations in Asia Back in April 2021 we covered news about a record breaking 25 Chinese air force aircraft including fighters and nuclear-capable bombers that entered Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ). At the time 25 seemed like an alarming number. It was the largest incursion by Chinese military planes into Taiwan’s ADIZ to date. Related Links: To be clear these sorts of activities had been going on long before this and long before September of 2020 which is about the time that Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense started to publicly report China’s incursions. China’s People’s Liberation Army has shown no signs of letting up. The PLA’s gray zone tactics have also included the use of drones and balloons. Incursions by warplanes and naval ships into the airspace and waters surrounding Taiwan are now a daily occurrence. And they have completely shattered the record 25 aircraft in Taiwan’s ADIZ many times over. Major military exercises have included the Joint Sword-2024A. Three days after Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te's inauguration on May 20 of 2024, China’s PLA conducted two days of military exercises in the air and sea space around Taiwan. More recently, at the end of 2025 on December 29 and 30, People’s Republic of China (PRC) military forces carried out a large-scale exercise in the air and ocean areas around Taiwan called These two days of PLA military exercises involved at least 200 warplanes. Unfortunately these types of gray zone tactics by China have become commonplace and while they have been more widely reported on, even more troubling are the other gray zone tactics that the PRC has been levying on Taiwan, which include the presence of Chinese owned and operated oil rigs in Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and on January 16th the New York Times reported that China quietly mobilized thousands of fishing boats twice already, most recently in the first few weeks of this new year. Quoting from the New York Times, "By January 11, they had assembled into a rectangle stretching more than 200 miles. Maritime and military experts said the maneuvers suggested that China was strengthening its maritime militia, which is made up of civilian fishing boats trained to join in military operations." This was not the first time. A month earlier on December 25th the Times reported that “about 2,000 Chinese fishing boats assembled in two long, parallel formations on Christmas Day in the East China Sea. Each stretched 290 miles long, about the distance from New York City to Buffalo, forming a reverse L shape.” According to the New York Times, “The unusual formations were spotted by the chief operating officer of ingeniSPACE, a company that analyzes data, and were independently confirmed by The Times using ship location data provided by Starboard Maritime Intelligence. About ingeniSPACE: ingeniSPACE is a geospatial intelligence company integrating remote sensing data across multiple phenomenologies. We are an insight-as-a-service platform delivering all weather day-night multi-temporal understanding around the world. Our intelligence extends the "executive decision making time" that public sector and commercial leaders need to make well-informed decisions. Related Links: /episode/index/show/talkingtaiwan/id/40028010

Ep 339 | Collective Memory Collective Trauma: A Conversation with Dr. Meng Chiang 01/22/2026

Ep 339 | Collective Memory Collective Trauma: A Conversation with Dr. Meng Chiang At the end of 2024 I sat down with Dr. Meng Chiang, the Executive Director of the 2024 Taiwanese American Conference- East Coast. We had a really wonderful heart-centered conversation about the conference theme Collective Memory and that led to collective trauma as it relates to the Taiwanese and Taiwanese American communities. We talked about the 4 types of trauma responses, the 4 Fs- flight, fight, freeze and fawn and post-traumatic growth. Related Links: This episode is dedicated to the memory of Sharon Huang, who passed away in December of 2025. She was a dear friend, mother, wife, sister, auntie, a community organizer and a cornerstone of the Taiwanese American community, especially in New York where she resided. Most notably she and her husband Patrick Huang ran the Brooklyn Artists Studio (BAS) and have supported the Taiwanese American Arts Council (TAAC) and Talking Taiwan. Together they have advocated for Taiwan democracy, human rights, and culture. The loss of Sharon is felt by so many who knew and loved her, she leaves behind family in the U.S. and Taiwan. Mengchun "Meng" Chiang, PhD (she/her/hers), is a member of the Taiwanese American community. She has served in various community leadership roles, most recently as Executive Director of the Taiwanese American Conference East Coast (TACEC) in 2024. Professionally, Meng is the founder of CHI Executive Consulting, LLC, where she provides leadership coaching and consulting services, specializing in workplace inclusion and organizational wellness. She is passionate about empowering leaders from diverse backgrounds, helping them enhance their communication, negotiation, and inclusive leadership skills. Meng regularly facilitates workshops to help leaders integrate their identities into effective leadership practices that drive business success and personal growth. Meng is a licensed clinical psychologist with affiliations to Harvard Medical School, Carnegie Mellon University, the Tepper School of Business, and National Taiwan University. Her experience spans education, training, and leadership roles. She pioneered the Leadership and Connection for Asian Women+ Leaders program and served as Assistant Director of Training at Carnegie Mellon University. In her free time, Meng enjoys traveling, practicing loving-kindness meditation, listening to music, taking walks, and grocery shopping. Related Links: /episode/index/show/talkingtaiwan/id/39842595

Ep 338 | Talking Taiwan Top 5 of 2025 Award Winner End of Year Review 01/02/2026

Ep 338 | Talking Taiwan Top 5 of 2025 Award Winner End of Year Review It’s time to reveal the Top 5 episodes of Talking Taiwan in 2025. What’s notable about these 5 episodes is that they are among the most popular Talking Taiwan episodes of all time. Related Links: But before revealing the Top 5 episodes of 2025, let’s take look back on 2025, which was a busy year for Talking Taiwan! We hosted the inaugural Talking Taiwan Fundraising Gala at the elegant Eichholtz showroom in New York City in April. It was truly a magical memorable night. In April we were also invited to speak at the North American Taiwanese American Women Association’s (NATWA) Annual Conference. For sometime we’ve been watching what was happening with the Great Recall in Taiwan which ultimately led to 24 legislators being put up for a recall vote on July 26th and another seven on August 23. The world had not seen anything like this happen on a national level in a democracy! And after Felicia interviewed a group of highly dedicated recall campaigners, she learned firsthand about the grassroots mobilization efforts that resulted in over one million signatures being collected in support of the recall vote, and she felt this was a historic moment that Talking Taiwan should be in Taiwan to cover. Thanks to an anonymous donor who offered to pay for our flights back to Taiwan and others who made generous donations we were able to travel back to Taiwan for a week to cover the first recall in vote on July 26th. We left shortly after returning from the Taiwanese American Conference- West Coast (TAC-WC) which was held in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was the first time we were invited to speak at TAC-WC about our work. While we were at the conference, we also set up an on-location podcasting studio where we interviewed several of the conference’s speakers. We look forward to releasing those episodes very soon in the New Year. It's been an extremely eventful year for Talking Taiwan with many ups and downs. Spending only a week in Taiwan to cover the Recall Vote in July, and trying to conduct interviews, and edit and produce them in that time period proved to be a bit unrealistic and we’ll need to pace ourselves better in the future. It was also crushing to witness the results of the Recall Vote on July 26th with none of the 24 legislators successfully recalled from office. While still recovering from that ordeal in July, we traveled to T.O. Webfest awards in September where Talking Taiwan was nominated in the Best Ensemble Cast category. While we didn’t win, it was our second nomination after being shortlisted at the International Women’s Podcast Awards in 2024 and winning a Golden Crane Award in 2021. As we go into the 13th year of Talking Taiwan, I’d like take a moment to especially thank everyone who has supported Talking Taiwan over the years and made a contribution to help fund our trip to return to Taiwan to cover the Great Recall in July. We also want to thank each and every one of all of our amazing guests for being a part of the Talking Taiwan podcast. Special thanks to our listeners. We remain committed more than ever to producing content that matters to people who care about Taiwan. For links to the top 5 episodes of 2025 visit our website TalkingTaiwan.com. Wishing everyone a Happy Healthy New Year 2026! I’m your host Felicia Lin. Related Links: /episode/index/show/talkingtaiwan/id/39589760