By: Winnie Wang, Ph.D.
Director of Sponsored Research, Claremont McKenna College
Lecturer, University of California, Los Angeles
Setting: Westin Bonaventure Hotel, Los Angeles April 19, 2008
Director of Sponsored Research, Claremont McKenna College
Lecturer, University of California, Los Angeles
Setting: Westin Bonaventure Hotel, Los Angeles April 19, 2008
(a big THANKS to Shu-Jon Mao for the amazing photos used in this article!)
On April 19th, 2008, I arrived at the Bonaventure Hotel’s Japanese Restaurant with Freddy Lim for lunch. This lunch and receiving a generous scholarship from the North American Taiwanese Women’s Association 2 (NATWA2) were transformative experiences that have affected my sense of identity. I was born in Taipei, Taiwan and came to Los Angeles when I was seven years old. At the time, my neighborhood was largely Caucasian with a handful of Asians and Latinos. Now it is heavily populated by Asians and Latinos. My best friends in elementary and high school were Korean and Cantonese and I did not know any other Taiwanese person in my class. It was only in my graduate school at the age of twenty four that I began to have an awareness of my own cultural identity. I finally found my own voice, identity, and understanding of who I am and where I came from.
When I was little, my father spoke to me about Taiwanese history, politics, and his love for Taiwan and I would nod and feign interest in what he was talking about. That led to many arguments and unhappiness. He didn’t understand why his daughter had become so “Americanized” and didn’t seem to care about Taiwan or know anything about Taiwanese history. Since I would only see my dad for four months of the year, every year, he felt that it was very important for him to educate his daughter about Taiwan. I only became interested in the conversation when I started delving into Asian American history myself.
(drawn by Carolyn Jao)
I began reading about Asian American history because of a class in UCLA during my fourth year in college. I continued that interest in graduate school and eventually graduated with a Ph.D. in Higher Education with an emphasis in Asian American Studies. Then, I began teaching undergraduate and graduate classes at UCLA that were cross-listed in both Asian American Studies and Education Department. Don’t you just hate it when your parents turn out to be right about certain things in life? All those lectures from my parents turned out to be extremely useful in my teaching.
One day, I was debating with my father whether I should go back to Taiwan before the Presidential election or after the Presidential election. My father’s response was if you do not arrive here before the Presidential election, do not bother coming back! I was shocked by my father’s response and gave the issue some serious thought. My father counts down the days before my arrival to Taiwan every year and looks forward to the visits with eager anticipation. Why would he respond like that? I came to understand on March 15, 2008; the day of my arrival. We immediately took the high speed train from Taiwan to Kaohsiung to participate in the Presidential rally in Frank Hsieh’s mayoral city. My parents are not the most active people in the world, but when it comes to Taiwan’s future, they get up and participate in street rallies that form a human chain from the northern tip of Taiwan to the southern tip of Taiwan. I was moved to tears from the passion and plight of my people.
One day, I was debating with my father whether I should go back to Taiwan before the Presidential election or after the Presidential election. My father’s response was if you do not arrive here before the Presidential election, do not bother coming back! I was shocked by my father’s response and gave the issue some serious thought. My father counts down the days before my arrival to Taiwan every year and looks forward to the visits with eager anticipation. Why would he respond like that? I came to understand on March 15, 2008; the day of my arrival. We immediately took the high speed train from Taiwan to Kaohsiung to participate in the Presidential rally in Frank Hsieh’s mayoral city. My parents are not the most active people in the world, but when it comes to Taiwan’s future, they get up and participate in street rallies that form a human chain from the northern tip of Taiwan to the southern tip of Taiwan. I was moved to tears from the passion and plight of my people.
Freddy Lin was the most inspirational figure to me. I saw him on TV every day campaigning for Frank Hsieh. While about forty TV stations and all the major newspapers supported the Kuo Min Tang (KMT), only two TV stations and one newspaper spoke for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Freddy came out in support of Taiwanese Independence, by giving back all the money he raised to support the DPP party.
Freddy Lin is the leader of a popular Taiwanese black metal band called Chthonic. The band’s mission is to bring to light the tragic history and unique myths of Taiwan to the modern era. The themes of the songs revolve around the defiant spirit of the early indigenous Taiwanese people, fictional war between aboriginal gods with Han gods, Taiwanese folklore and mythology, and historical events such as the 228 incident. For more information about the 228 incident, please visit
Freddy Lin is the leader of a popular Taiwanese black metal band called Chthonic. The band’s mission is to bring to light the tragic history and unique myths of Taiwan to the modern era. The themes of the songs revolve around the defiant spirit of the early indigenous Taiwanese people, fictional war between aboriginal gods with Han gods, Taiwanese folklore and mythology, and historical events such as the 228 incident. For more information about the 228 incident, please visit
The text, “Formosa Betrayed” written by George H. Kerr, has been made available free for download. Freddy stated that, “95% of the youth in Taiwan do not know about the historical events that occurred less than 60 years ago.” He believes that without educating the youth about these events, history is bound to repeat itself. In 2007, Freddy along with other artists organized an international music festival to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the 228 incident. The festival was entitled, “Spirit of Taiwan: with justice we cure this nation.”
Thanks to my good friends Lee-May Huang and Linda Kuo, I got to sit next to Freddy during lunch and had the opportunity to interview him for this article. I asked Freddy, “Why would you fly all the way from Taiwan and come to Los Angeles for only a day to meet with us?” He candidly replied, “Because I love Taiwan. I want Taiwan to prosper. I have no intentions of leaving Taiwan. I will be living in Taiwan for the next 40-50 years and I plan to have children there as well. This is what motivates me for greater change. I want Taiwan to prosper.” He asked me, “Why do you care about Taiwan? You live in America. You found an avenue to leave Taiwan, so why do you still care? I’m not so sure I would care if I lived in America.” I said, “I care because it is my homeland. My parents live in Taiwan. For me, even though I live in the U.S. and am an American citizen, I do not identify as being American. I’m Taiwanese American.” I asked him what does he think needs to be done in the future? He said, “So many DPP politicians keep asking me to recruit more DPP youth to join the party. My belief is that the DPP party needs to clean itself out and get rid of the corrupt self-serving politicians before new blood comes into the party.”
He continued, “I believe in Taiwan independence. I’m very open to any kind of new ideas on how to achieve that goal. I believe that Taiwan should be a sovereign nation and we need to have entrance into world organizations such as the United Nations and the World Health Organization. We may have different ideas on how to get to that end goal but the common denominator is that, as long as we all believe in that goal, any avenue in which we reach that goal is a possibility that needs to be explored. I’m willing to collaborate with people with different ideas and work together to reach that goal.” Freddy stated, “I’m encouraged to meet so many young Taiwanese professionals who care and love Taiwan. No matter whichever profession you are in, we can cooperate and make Taiwan prosper.”
Thanks to my good friends Lee-May Huang and Linda Kuo, I got to sit next to Freddy during lunch and had the opportunity to interview him for this article. I asked Freddy, “Why would you fly all the way from Taiwan and come to Los Angeles for only a day to meet with us?” He candidly replied, “Because I love Taiwan. I want Taiwan to prosper. I have no intentions of leaving Taiwan. I will be living in Taiwan for the next 40-50 years and I plan to have children there as well. This is what motivates me for greater change. I want Taiwan to prosper.” He asked me, “Why do you care about Taiwan? You live in America. You found an avenue to leave Taiwan, so why do you still care? I’m not so sure I would care if I lived in America.” I said, “I care because it is my homeland. My parents live in Taiwan. For me, even though I live in the U.S. and am an American citizen, I do not identify as being American. I’m Taiwanese American.” I asked him what does he think needs to be done in the future? He said, “So many DPP politicians keep asking me to recruit more DPP youth to join the party. My belief is that the DPP party needs to clean itself out and get rid of the corrupt self-serving politicians before new blood comes into the party.”
He continued, “I believe in Taiwan independence. I’m very open to any kind of new ideas on how to achieve that goal. I believe that Taiwan should be a sovereign nation and we need to have entrance into world organizations such as the United Nations and the World Health Organization. We may have different ideas on how to get to that end goal but the common denominator is that, as long as we all believe in that goal, any avenue in which we reach that goal is a possibility that needs to be explored. I’m willing to collaborate with people with different ideas and work together to reach that goal.” Freddy stated, “I’m encouraged to meet so many young Taiwanese professionals who care and love Taiwan. No matter whichever profession you are in, we can cooperate and make Taiwan prosper.”
Witnessing the passion this man has for Taiwan, makes me ashamed of my lack of participation in the Taiwanese Independence movement. However, I intend on changing that. According to the bible, Jesus states, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Luke 9:11) Does it really matter how I got motivated to do something about this issue? Yes, a wonderfully inspirational Taiwanese singer with a social agenda moved me to tears. I invite you to join us in the Taiwanese Independence movement. Thank you NATWA 2 and especially Tsuann Kuo and Joann Lo for extending me this opportunity to learn more about myself and my community.
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