Ep 282 | Isa Ho: Talks About her Career as a Photographer and her Westbeth Exhibit in NYC

 Isa Ho is a photographer based in Taiwan. Last year I spoke with her about her photography and the Westbeth project, which consists of a series of photos and videos of artists who live at Westbeth Artists Housing, which is located in New York City’s West Village.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/isa-ho-talks-about-her-career-as-a-photographer-and-her-westbeth-exhibit-in-nyc-ep-282/   Westbeth is so named because it sits at the corner of West and Bethune Streets, and was conceived in the 1960's as a partial solution to the acute need to provide affordable housing and studios for artists and their families.   The abandoned 13-building complex that was constructed between the 1860s and the 1930s, was formerly used by Bell Telephone Labs, and was turned into affordable permanent housing and workspace for hundreds of artists, as well as space for arts and cultural organizations. Westbeth was the first subsidized housing for artists in the United States. In 2009 it was added to the National Registrar of Historic Places. And in 2011 the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously designated Westbeth Artists Housing a New York City landmark.   Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: ·       Isa’s exhibit at the Westbeth gallery that features her photos and videos of artists who reside at Westbeth ·       How Isa is working on a documentary about the residents of Westbeth ·       How Isa arrived for a residency at Westbeth in 2013 after Hurricane Sandy ·       The residency project that brought Isa to Westbeth was initially about multicultural New York but as she got to know many of the people who lived at Westbeth, it became the Westbeth project ·       Isa’s connection to Taiwan ·       How Isa is fascinated by people ·       Isa has interviewed over 50 people and what was on display at the Westbeth gallery is only a third of her work ·       The personal stories of several of the artist who live at Westbeth ·       How the photos and videos were displayed at the Westbeth gallery ·       How the Westbeth project has been exhibited in Israel, Italy, Germany and Taiwan ·       How people have reacted to the Westbeth project ·       How one of the pieces of the Westbeth project won an award in Italy ·       How Isa got interested in photography ·       How Isa creates a collage of photos that serve to tell a person’s story ·       How Isa does her photography full-time ·       Isa’s advice to those interested in pursuing photography ·       Isa’s video comparing the movements of Kunqu opera dancer and K-POP dancer ·       Why Isa is planning to go to Ukraine ·       How Isa felt useless as an artist during the pandemic but realized that when facing tragedy or if feeling like there is nothing that we can do, art can connect us with humanity ·       How there aren’t many housing communities like Westbeth in the world ·       The wait list of people who want to live at Westbeth ·       How one of the Westbeth residents George Cominskie has advocated for artists   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/isa-ho-talks-about-her-career-as-a-photographer-and-her-westbeth-exhibit-in-nyc-ep-282/

On April 3, 2024 at 7:58am (in Taiwan) an earthquake that’s been reported as measuring 7.2 and 7.4 hit Hualien which is located on Taiwan’s east coast. The last major earthquake of similar magnitude was 25 years ago on September 21st, 1999 in Nantou, which is located in central Taiwan. The earthquake also referred to as the 921 earthquake killed over 2,400 people, and left over 100,000 people homeless. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/th-schee-survivor-of-taiwans-most-powerful-earthquakes-gives-a-lesson-on-preparing-for-natural-disasters-ep-281/ In this episode I’m bringing back one of our previous guests onto this podcast, T.H. Schee, who I interviewed about civil defense in Taiwan. In that interview T.H. mentioned that it was his firsthand experience with the 921 earthquake that made him concerned about disaster preparedness and civil defense. I asked T.H. to share his recollection of the 921 earthquake and thoughts on how Taiwan’s disaster response has improved since then. By most reports the death toll from the Hualien earthquake was around 13 at the time of this interview.   Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: ·       Where T.H. was during the Hualien earthquake on April 3, 2024 and during the earthquake on September 21, 1999 in Nantou ·       The situation in Puli, after the earthquake on September 21, 1999 in Nantou ·       How around 5,000 buildings collapsed and another 5,000 buildings were damaged in Nantou ·       How people in the mountainous area of Nantou were stuck there for a month ·       How a volunteer guard patrol group was formed to protect people who were camped outside ·       How the damage in Puli was so extensive that navigation assistance needed to be provided to volunteer assistance groups ·       How a state of emergency was declared on the fourth day of the earthquake ·       Most of the deaths from the Hualien earthquake have been due to landslides and rockfalls rather than building collapses whereas most of the deaths in 1999 were due to building collapses ·       How there were around 10,000 aftershocks within a month after the 921 earthquake ·       Why people needed to camp outside after the 1999 earthquake in Nantou ·       How police station and schools collapsed (in Nantou) and students had to relocate to another building as a temporary school ·       How T.H. witnessed the death of three of his neighbors in Nantou ·       How it took three years for buildings to be rebuild in Nantou ·       Lessons from the 921 earthquake included a change in building codes, changes in laws regarding disaster response ·       How businesses including TSMC in the Hsinchu Science park had to be shut down for five days in 1999 ·       How the stock market had to be shut down in 1999 ·       How Tai Power had to make improvements to the power grid to make it more resilient in case of natural disasters ·       How Taiwan has offered humanitarian assistance to others e.g. the earthquake in Turkey in 2023 ·       How medics who went to Nantou were poorly prepared because they did plan on bringing enough food for themselves ·       How ATMs didn’t work in Nantou after the earthquake ·       The first response to the Hualien earthquake ·       How the train between Yilan and Hualien was repaired within a day ·       How notifications after the Hualien earthquake were not sent to people in New Taipei ·       How well prepared people in Taiwan are for earthquakes ·       How the Tzu Chi foundation has been providing support to those affected by the earthquake in Hualien ·       Do’s and don’ts after an earthquake ·       How it is important to get buildings checked after an earthquake ·       How aftershocks can cause landslides and it not advisable to go into the mountains ·       The earthquake that happened in New York on April 5th and comparing the notification system in New York with the notification system for earthquakes in Taiwan ·       How to be prepared for an earthquake (have a flashlight, whistle and bottled water) ·       Do’s and Don’ts during an earthquake and aftershocks ·       How Taiwan’s government used to be a strong party state system in 1999, but after the 921 earthquake they learned the value of working with civil society and there were legal reforms ·        A few months after the 1999 there was a change in government when people voted for Chen Shui-bian in 2000   ·       How TSMC resumed 80% of its capacity within a day after the Hualien earthquake ·       T.H.’s gym 4SC Crossfit and the training and workshops the support and offer related to disaster preparedness and civil defense   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/th-schee-survivor-of-taiwans-most-powerful-earthquakes-gives-a-lesson-on-preparing-for-natural-disasters-ep-281/

Earlier this year when we were in Taiwan, we traveled down to Kaohsiung where we met with Wan-jen Lin the architect who worked on Weiwuying (衛武營國家藝術文化中心), Kaohsiung’s performing arts center and the Echo Across the Harbor, which up to now is the largest public art project in Taiwan. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/wan-jen-lin-architect-for-echo-across-the-harbor-largest-public-art-project-in-taiwan-ep-280/ She shared how the design of the Echo Across the Harbor was inspired by the history of Kaohsiung harbor. We will have Wan-jen back on for a more in-depth interview at a future date.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/wan-jen-lin-architect-for-echo-across-the-harbor-largest-public-art-project-in-taiwan-ep-280/

Last September we had the pleasure of interviewing actor, writer and director Michelle Krusiec. Her IMDB page displays an impressive list of acting roles dating back to 1992. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/michelle-krusiec-acclaimed-actor-writer-and-director-talks-about-dealing-with-institutional-racism-and-her-sources-of-inspiration-ep-279/ We talked about the different phases of her career starting with her one-woman show, Made in Taiwan, which earned her much critical acclaim. She wrote, directed and acted in it in her 20s. Then there was her first main character role in a feature film, Saving Face, a film that put her on my radar and so many others’ in 2004. In 2020 she portrayed the legendary Anna May Wong in the Netflix series Hollywood. Stepping into that role helped her to rethink the institutionalized racism that she’s experienced as an actor. Michelle also talked about her directorial projects, and expressed her thoughts on the SAG-AFTRA strike, and so much more. March is Women’s History Month and so we thought this would be the perfect time to release the first episode of the Trailblazing Taiwanese Women’s series sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women’s Association, which was founded in 1988. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com     Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: ·       How she got on the path of acting ·       The stereotypical Asian roles she took on early in her career ·       The struggles she’s faced in her acting career ·       How playing the role of Anna May Wong helped her to rethink the institutional racism that she’s faced as an actor ·       Her first leading role in a feature film (Saving Face) ·       How she grew up she didn’t see many people who looked like her on television and longed to change that ·       How Michelle prepared for her role in Saving Face by going to Taiwan to learn Mandarin ·       How Michelle prepared for her role as Anna May Wong in the Netflix series Hollywood ·       Michelle’s directing projects ·       Michelle’s one woman show Made in Taiwan and how it opened doors for her and got her a deal with ABC TV ·       How anti-Asian hate became more prevalent during the pandemic but was around long before ·       Her upbringing and how it impacted her early career ·       Michelle’s Washington Post op ed piece ·       How a fortune teller impacted Michelle’s adoption ·       The connection between Made in Taiwan and Michelle’s short film, Bite ·       Michelle’s short film Nian ·       Michelle’s thoughts on motherhood and parenthood ·       The writing/directing projects that Michelle is working on ·       Michelle’s thoughts on the SAG-AFTRA strike ·       Michelle’s support for SB 805, a bill that supported funding for nonprofit theaters ·       How Michelle was affected by the BLM (Black Lives Matter) demonstrations that arose during the pandemic ·       Michelle’s advice to others who want to pursue acting or directing ·       Michelle’s connection to Taiwan   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/michelle-krusiec-acclaimed-actor-writer-and-director-talks-about-dealing-with-institutional-racism-and-her-sources-of-inspiration-ep-279/

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, a trade agreement between Taiwan and China. The day before, on March 17, the Kuomintang (KMT) had attempted to force through passage of the trade agreement in the Legislative Yuan, without giving it a clause-by-clause review. The occupation of the Legislative Yuan lasted over 20 days, until April 10 th and Fire EX.’s song Island’s Sunrise became the anthem of the movement, which came to known as the Sunflower Movement. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/fireex-10th-anniversary-sunflower-movement-sam-yang-tells-how-island-sunrise-became-its-anthem-ep-278/ To commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Sunflower Movement, I sat down and spoke with Sam Yang, the lead singer of the band Fire EX. about how the opportunity to write the song Island’s Sunrise came about. As it turns out there’s a New York connection to the story and an exhibit and event to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the Sunflower Movement be taking place in New York on March 15 and running until April 15. Sam and I also spoke about where he gets his musical inspiration and how the band nearly broke up in 2015, the same year that Island’s Sunrise was named Song of the Year at the Golden Melody Awards. Fire EX. now has its own music production company and since 2017 they have been organizing something called Fireball Fest. The band is now on a North American tour and most notably will be performing at this year’s South by Southwest in Austin Texas. We’ll share their tour dates below. This interview was a real treat for me because I happened to be in Taiwan in 2014 when the Sunflower Movement happened. I remember all of the events that unfolded and being so moved when I heard the song Island’s Sunrise. Special thanks to Katie Wei for her translation and May Wu for her help in making this interview possible. Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:  How Sam got interested in music  How Fire EX. got started and where its name comes from  Fire EX.’s musical influences  Sam’s path to becoming a full-time musician  Sam’s advice for young aspiring musicians  How the opportunity for Fire EX. to write a song for the Sunflower Movement happened  The New York connection to the story of how Fire EX. was asked to write a song for the Sunflower Movement  How there will be a month-long exhibit in New York to commemorate the 10- year anniversary of the Sunflower Movement from March 15-April 15 at the Tenri Cultural Institute in New York City  March 18, 2014 the night students and activists broke into and occupied the Legislative Yuan  The March 23, 2014 attempt to occupy the Executive Yuan  The rallies that happened worldwide on March 30, 2014 in support of the students and activists’ actions to block the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement  How students who occupied the Legislative Yuan often listened to Fire EX.’s song Good Night Formosa before falling asleep  Why students of the Taipei National University of the Arts approached Sam to writ a song for the Sunflower Movement  Sam’s approach to writing the song Island’s Sunrise  How Sam decides to write songs in Holo Taiwanese or Mandarin Chinese  Sam’s thoughts on the differences and challenges of the twenty-somethings who were involved in the Sunflower Movement vs. the twenty-somethings who just voted in Taiwan’s recent election (January 13, 2024)  How Sam’s sense of social activism was influenced by his roommate Wu Zhining (吳志寧) whose father Wu Sheng (吳晟) is a famous Taiwanese poet  How Fire EX. almost broke up in 2015  The Fireball Festival  How Fire EX. will be touring in North American in March and performing at South by Southwest in Austin, TX  One of the most touching things that Sam has heard from one of the band’s fans  What we can expect from Fire EX. in the future, a concert in Taipei on June 15 and Fireball Festival at the end of November Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/fireex-10th-anniversary-sunflower-movement-sam-yang-tells-how-island-sunrise-became-its-anthem-ep-278/

Remembering 228. On this day, we remember February 28, 1947, a sad tragic date in Taiwan’s history that marks the murder of tens of thousands. Some estimates put the number as high as 28 30 thousand. Two years earlier, in 1945, the Chinese Nationalists or Kuomintang had fled from China to Taiwan. After Japan’s occupation of Taiwan had ended and since the arrival of the KMT, discontent had been brewing for some time. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/remembering-228-tragic-stories-and-the-march-massacres-ep-277/ So on the night of February 27, 1947 when Tobacco Monopoly Bureau agents tried to confiscate contraband cigarettes from a 40-year-old woman and brutally knocked her out, an angry crowd gathered in protest. Then one of the agents fired a shot into the crowd killing a bystander. What followed was a bloody crackdown by authorities, widespread violence and what some have called the March Massacres since most of the killings actually happened in March.   In this episode, is an account that James Shau, chairperson of the Taiwanese American Association of New York shared at last year’s 228 commemoration at the New York Taiwan Center. Mr. Shau’s account is a reminder of how widespread the violence was at that time. And while we now know that intellectuals and community leaders were among those who were specifically targeted, there were many unknown, unnamed who also senselessly lost their lives.   228 led to 38 years of martial law and an even longer period of White Terror in Taiwan. Let us also remember those who suffered during those subsequent periods of time.   In more recent news related to 228, Taiwan’s Transitional Justice Commission has identified 42 historical sites where injustice related to 228 have happened.   On Monday, February 26 just a few days ago, the Executive Yuan compound was designated as a historical site of injustice. 77 years ago, it was the Taiwan Provincial Administrative Executive Office when the Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang KMT military police fired indiscriminately on protestors on February 28, 1947.   Other historical sites of injustice that have been unveiled include the Jing-mei White Terror Memorial Park which used to be the Taiwan Garrison Command’s detention center and military court, the Ankang Reception House, and the Tang Te-chang Memorial Park in Tainan.   Special thanks to Meiling Lin for her translation assistance for this episode. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/remembering-228-tragic-stories-and-the-march-massacres-ep-277/

On January 25th we held the second in-person event during the Talking Taiwan Election Tour at the PicCollage office in Taipei thanks to John Fan, who was a guest on episode 179 of Taking Taiwan. Many of our past guests, friends and supporters were in attendance at the event, and what made the event extra special for us of course was the chance to meet some of our past guests in-person for the very first time.   In this episode you’ll hear me speaking with our previous podcast guests and a few people from the audience also came up and spoke with me at our impromptu on-stage podcasting booth. Previous guests featured in this episode include: Eric Chang (episodes 121, 127 and 231), Jane W. Wang (episode 150), Karen Chung, (episodes 217 and 219), Elias Ek (episode 59), Brian Foden (episodes 184 and 185), Richard Wang (episode 77), Jerome Keating (episodes 97, 98 and 186).   This episode bookends the Talking Taiwan Election Tour episodes, but we do have some other interviews that we recorded while in Taiwan. Those will be released at a later date.   We are extremely grateful to our supporters and donors who made the Talking Taiwan Election Tour possible.   By the way, if you'd like to listen to the episode featuring our first in-person on January 19th at 4SC Crossfit thanks to T.H. Schee, check out episode 273 and if you want the full visual experience, visit Talking Taiwan’s YouTube channel where you can watch video footage from both of our in-person events.   Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: ·       Jenny Luo talked about the Taiwan Plus show she’s producing called, Anything Goes with JL ·       Eric Chang shares his thoughts on the January 13th election in Taiwan, and talked about his work at Taiwan News and enjoying Taiwan’s natural beauty ·       Jane W. Wang talked about her interest in permaculture and degrowth ·       Karen Chung talked about an app she’s been working on to improve the listening skills of those learning English called Ear Bug ·       Elias Ek talked about how his early career in radio shaped him as an entrepreneur, Dragon’s Chamber and his latest business venture Keego ·       Brian Foden talked about his podcast, If the Phrase Fits ·       Richard Wang shared how he’s helping to bring baseball games to the Taipei Dome, that the Yomiuri Giants (Japanese baseball team) will be celebrating their 90th anniversary with games at the Taipei Dome, and starting this year, the local baseball league will have six teams ·       John Fan made introduced and explained what PicCollage does ·       Jerome Keating shared his thought on the future direction of Taiwan and where Taiwan is headed ·       Nancy Baldwin talked about her book, One Thousand Layers of Water and Clouds: The Tale of a Taiwanese Daughter ·       Elias Ek shared a few pet peeves that he has about terms and phrases commonly used in Taiwan ·       Felicia acknowledged Gus Adapon the original producer of Talking Taiwan who was in the audience ·       Dylan Black a Canadian who has lived and taught English in Taiwan for many years talked about how he is now doing so in China, and how life China compares to life in Taiwan so far   Related Links:

While in Taipei, we were able to meet up with Keelung City Councilor Jiho Chang who’s been a guest in episodes 149, 156 & 174. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/jiho-chang-his-thoughts-about-new-speaker-legislative-yuan-and-taians-vice-president-elect-ep-275 We spoke about the recent announcement that Daniel Han Kuo-yu of the Kuomintang had become the speaker of the Legislative Yuan and Bi-khim Hsiao’s role as vice president of Taiwan.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/jiho-chang-his-thoughts-about-new-speaker-legislative-yuan-and-taians-vice-president-elect-ep-275/

As part of Talking Taiwan’s Election Tour, we spoke with Courtney Donovan Smith a week after Taiwan’s presidential and legislative elections. Lai Ching-te of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was elected president with 40.05% of the vote. Hou Yu-ih the Kuomintang’s (KMT) presidential candidate got 33.49% of the vote and Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) got 26.46%. It was the first time in Taiwan’s history that any political party has been elected for three consecutive four-year terms in office. Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/our-post-presidential-election-analysis-2024-with-courtney-donovan-smith-ep-274/   The DPP won an unprecedented third presidential term but lost its majority in the legislature. We talked about how ballot counting in Taiwan is highly transparent and also about how the Taiwan People’s Party could have a crucial role in the legislature, and if the TPP will suffer the same fate as Taiwan’s other third parties   Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: ·       Reflections on the 2024 election compared to past elections ·       How the election of Lai Ching-te has earned the DPP an unprecedented third term in office ·       How Terry Guo had expressed interest in running for president ·       The opposition unity ticket deal that fell through ·       Taiwan’s first direct presidential election in 1996 ·       How ballots are counted in Taiwan ·       How voting is done in Taiwan ·       Donovan’s thoughts on if the Taiwan People’s Party will survive as a third party ·       Taiwan’s third political parties and what has happened to them ·       The 2000 election in which Lien Chan was the KMT presidential candidate and James Soong ran as an independent presidential candidate ·       The origin of the terms “Pan Green” and “Pan Blue ·       The possibility that Hou You-yi could be recalled as mayor of New Taipei City ·       Comparing the recall of Hou You-yi with the recall of Han Kuo-yu ·       What the election results tell us about how people feel about the Democratic Progressive Party ·       How Ko Wen-je has managed to attract many young voters ·       How voting results may have differed if the presidential election were not a three-way race ·       What could happen with the Legislative Yuan speaker and deputy speaker positions   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/our-post-presidential-election-analysis-2024-with-courtney-donovan-smith-ep-274/

During the Talking Taiwan Election Tour we planned to host two in-person events for our guests, supporters and friends. The first event was held on January 19th at 4SC CrossFit’s Xindian branch in New Taipei, thanks to T.H. Schee who’s been a guest on Talking Taiwan several times. Related Links:  https://talkingtaiwan.com/live-conversations-with-our-past-guests-at-4sc-crossfit-in-new-taipei-city-taiwan-ep-273/ In fact episode 234 with T.H. is one of the Top 5 episodes of 2023. On January 19th we had a chance to meet some of our past guests in-person for the first time in person. We started off talking to JD Chang from episode 80 about Crushing the Myth. Next up was John Eastwood who talked about legal reforms needed in Taiwan in episode 203. We talked about the election results in Taiwan’s legislature that had the KMT with 52 seats, the DPP with 51 seats and the TPP with 8 seats and 2 seats going to Independents We next spoke with Jerome Keating who talked about understanding the history of Taiwan in episode 97. Jerome explained why he wrote in his recent Taipei Times article that he doesn’t expect the TPP, the Taiwan People’s Party to survive to the next presidential election in 2028. And finally at the end of the night Kaju and I talked to TH Schee who’s been on Talking Taiwan several times, and who’s one of the investors of 4SC Crossfit where we held our January 19th event. Related Links:  https://talkingtaiwan.com/live-conversations-with-our-past-guests-at-4sc-crossfit-in-new-taipei-city-taiwan-ep-273/