The Taiwanese Association of Southern California, Northern California Chapter, held its 2025 Thanksgiving dinner and the 56th president handover ceremony at the Southern California Overseas Chinese Education Center on November 22 (last Saturday). With the presence of about a hundred fellow Taiwanese from the South Bay area, including Director Zhuang Yashu of the Golden Gate Bay Area Cultural and Educational Center, Overseas Chinese Affairs Advisory Committee member Li Hanwen, the event was filled with warmth and liveliness.
Outgoing president Chen Juncheng expressed his great pleasure to pass the leadership baton to Zheng Zhaohu. He stated that this year, the vision of the association is to “restart” and aims to attract more young people through various activities to participate in driving the growth of the association and community service together.
Director Zhuang Yashu thanked the association for its long-standing support of Taiwan’s international participation, including issues related to the World Health Assembly and the United Nations, always standing in full support. She noted that the Thanksgiving gathering is an important tradition aimed at uniting compatriots, inviting young people and students studying abroad to participate, and demonstrating the unity of the overseas Taiwanese community. She congratulated President Chen Juncheng on successfully completing his term and commended the rich experience of President Zheng Zhaohu, looking forward to his leadership in continuing to serve the community.
During the event, Director Zhuang also promoted the Overseas Community Affairs Council’s “i Overseas Card,” encouraging compatriots to actively apply and introducing the council’s six major community platforms to facilitate access to the latest overseas Chinese affairs information.
In his speech, incoming president Zheng Zhaohu emphasized that the association is a big family for overseas Taiwanese and will, in the future, promote association affairs with a new generation’s mindset while accelerating youth participation to ensure the organization’s sustainable development following tradition and regulations. He told the Epoch Times that in the past, limited participation from young and middle-aged generations caused a generational gap in the association, and this restructuring aims to revitalize it.
He proposed the vision of “Taiwanese Association of Southern California 2.0,” which will collaborate with cultural and sports clubs, hire more consultants, and incorporate the power of the technology industry and younger generations to make the association more modern and energetic. He also mentioned that senior members will gradually step back to assist young people in assuming more responsibilities through guidance and support.
He further mentioned that in the past, Thanksgiving activities primarily aimed to allow Taiwanese students studying abroad to experience the warmth of the festival overseas, and although the number of students has decreased, and living conditions have improved, nearly a hundred people still signed up to participate this year, with many old members returning, adding more significance to the event in terms of reunion.
The dinner featured traditional American Thanksgiving dishes such as turkey, sweet potatoes, corn, and pies, along with Taiwanese specialties like fried rice noodles, allowing compatriots to enjoy the delicious food while chatting and catching up with each other, creating a warm and lively atmosphere at the event.
A special performance of the guzheng was arranged, featuring Overseas Chinese Affairs Advisory Committee member Li Hanwen and his teacher Fu Xufang performing together, presenting songs like Teresa Teng’s “Small Town Story” and “Taiwan Is Good,” allowing compatriots to listen to guzheng playing Taiwanese folk songs and classic tunes for the first time. The addition of the song “Song of the Eagle” sparked enthusiastic responses from the audience.
Li Hanwen expressed that celebrating Thanksgiving together with compatriots while enjoying a feast and traditional musical instrument performances creates a festive atmosphere, showcasing the continuity and vitality of Chinese culture overseas. ◇