On July 13th (last Sunday), the Love Soaring Chinese School held an event titled “Food is the People’s Prime Concern” at the South Bay Overseas Education Center, showcasing Taiwan’s traditional cuisine and children’s games culture in 2025. The event attracted nearly a hundred enthusiastic participants.
The event was hosted by two outstanding young individuals, Crystal and Jeremy, who kicked things off with a spirited flag dance performance. Principal Shan Shengling told Dajiyuan that the event, centered around cultural heritage, started last year and is now in its second year. They hope to continue promoting it in the future.
She explained that the event drew families from Taiwan, China, Uganda, and the United States, showcasing linguistic diversity with three generations coming together. While many young people have English as their native language, they can also speak Chinese. The hosts and performers were all youths, embodying the continuation and development of Taiwanese culture overseas.
At the venue, there were six classic nostalgic Taiwanese cultural interactive booths, including origami xiao long bao, “papa label,” chopstick bean picking, ring tossing game “Cooling Off in Summer,” sandbags, and a children’s play experience combining stilts, diabolos, and shuttlecocks.
On that day, the Director of the Education Center, Zhuang Yashu, delivered a speech via video, expressing gratitude to the Love Soaring Chinese School for organizing the event. She stated that the day allowed everyone to savor Taiwanese snacks and experience traditional folk customs firsthand.
Naya Lee, President of the Northern California Chinese School Association, also remarked that Love Soaring, which initially only taught Mandarin to children, has now evolved into TCML, offering adult courses and actively connecting with mainstream communities in recent years with significant results. “I am very proud of Love Soaring,” she added.
Michael Leinhos, Student Affairs Manager and Chair of the Teacher Association at San Francisco Bay University, was also invited to attend. He expressed great enjoyment of the music and dance performances at the event, praising the enthusiasm and selflessness of the Love Soaring Chinese School teachers. “They reached out to me proactively, suggesting the establishment of a Chinese club at our school. I had thought it was for fundraising, but they served as volunteers throughout, purely for education and cultural promotion, which deeply moved me,” he shared.
He further disclosed that the Chinese club would start on August 27th, meeting every Wednesday at 4 p.m. on campus, offering courses on Chinese conversation, songs, calligraphy, and cultural activities. In the future, there could even be cultural festivals like the one held on campus.
He also enthusiastically shared his 20-year-old Chinese tattoos, including phrases such as “God Gives Me Strength,” “Noble,” “Loyalty and Valor,” and “Love Conquers All,” showcasing his love for Chinese culture.
In recent years, Love Soaring Chinese School has been actively expanding its cultural promotion initiatives. In July, they started eight free Chinese classes at the Fremont Library; in September, they will collaborate with National Taiwan Normal University to host six online Chinese cultural activities under the theme “Hello Chinese, See the World with Us.” They also partnered with San Francisco Bay University to establish a Chinese club, aiming to be a cultural blessing in the city of Fremont.
Basir Jan, a student from TCML, expressed in Chinese to the media: “I love Taiwan, I love Taiwanese people, I love Taiwanese beauties.” Apart from interactive booths, the event featured a series of exciting performances, including Jeremy singing “Ode to the Republic of China,” Lee Naya leading a cheongsam dance to “The Moon Represents My Heart,” Shan Shengling and Hada Sha’s heartfelt duet of “I See God’s Love,” earning vigorous applause from the audience.