Taiwanese-American women’s empowerment is on the rise again, following Tiffany Chang representing Taiwan in 2023 and winning the title of “Miss Asia USA, 2024”. More and more Taiwanese-American women are participating in beauty pageants, stepping onto the international stage to showcase Taiwan.
The Asia USA Beauty Pageant will hold its final competition on November 16 at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center. Amy Wang, competing for the title of “Mrs. Asia USA”, moved from Taiwan to Utah with her parents and grew up in the Midwest. She graduated from UC Berkeley and obtained an MBA from UCLA, actively engaged in the technology and real estate investment sectors in Northern California.
Amy Wang has held senior executive positions in several Silicon Valley high-tech companies for over twenty years and founded the real estate investment company, Wayo Ventures. She not only has an impressive career, is happily married with children, but also gives back to society when she has spare time. Amy Wang hopes to cultivate more young Asian women to shine in various fields in the United States.
Also competing for the title of “Mrs. Asia USA” is Angela Kang, the 71st descendant of Confucius. Born in Boston, she was a figure skating coach for many years and a professional figure skater. After retiring from her sports career, Angela practiced acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine, obtaining her license and practicing in Irvine for 15 years.
For both Amy Wang and Angela Kang, participating in beauty pageants is a step out of their comfort zones. Despite their outstanding achievements in their respective fields, beauty pageants present a completely different challenge for them. Both women have gained a lot from the preparation process and have created a new platform for self-expression.
This year, Amy Wang established the Dragon Hearts Foundation, aiming to provide opportunities for more Asian women and help young people with similar backgrounds, while also planning to assist disadvantaged Asian families and groups, actively promoting philanthropy. Amy Wang is proud of her Asian heritage and hopes to take on challenging new roles, inspiring women of any ethnicity and age to boldly pursue their dreams and redefine themselves.
Angela Kang believes that participating in beauty pageants helps boost confidence and allows introspection to resolve internal conflicts. She also sees the significance of beauty pageants not only in judging grace and appearance but in integrating cultural, social values and personal qualities, providing a platform to fully convey one’s opinions. Despite many of Angela Kang’s patients finding her participation in beauty pageants “unbelievable”, they all offer their blessings.
Angela Kang encourages women to cherish themselves, reject biases and violence, maintain a positive attitude in facing challenges, and hopes to highlight the inner wisdom and resilience of Asian women, encouraging more women to stand up and change society. She said, “Taiwanese Americans have indeed developed their own culture and lifestyle, which is very different from immigrants from China. Taiwanese culture is unique and amazing, and Taiwanese people are not a subordinate subgroup of China.”
Joining Angela Kang and Amy Wang, another contestant proudly representing “Taiwan” is Ejenn Huang, competing for the title of “Miss Teen Asia USA”. At just 16 years old, she is the youngest contestant in this competition, currently a senior at Orion International Academy, exuding confidence with every movement.
Reflecting on her journey preparing for the beauty pageant, Ejenn Huang feels like she has undergone a transformation. Besides refining her appearance, posture, and grace, she has built inner confidence and learned lifelong skills such as public speaking and eye contact. During the sponsorship search process, she broke through her own limitations, began to showcase herself courageously, and learned to increase her own value.
Ejenn Huang takes pride in being a Taiwanese-American and believes that competing alongside 40 representatives from different countries is a rare and invaluable experience, hoping to showcase the vitality and resilience of Asian-American youth.
The 36th Asia USA Beauty Pageant aims to promote the beauty of Asian culture and heritage, welcoming the public to support their favorite contestants. The organizers held a Charity Haute Couture Fashion Show on October 27 (Sunday) as a warm-up before the final competition, urging everyone to participate in the grand finale banquet. ◇