In the Bay Area, the overseas Chinese community held a Town Hall Meeting on March 15th at the Pure and True Restaurant in Cupertino. The event featured an informative session with the Director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) and the Director of the Southern Bay Area Overseas Community Affairs Council to introduce the roles and services provided by TECO and OCAC. They also engaged in a Q&A session, attracting dozens of overseas Chinese attendees.
The event was jointly organized by the Founder of the North American Taiwan Major League Baseball, Wenze Chen, the President of the Northern California Taiwan Cultural and Athletic Association, Yanxin Jiang, and the Founder of the Dragon Heart Foundation, Zhengyi Wang, in their personal capacities. Yanxin Jiang, the President of the Northern California Taiwan Cultural and Athletic Association, chaired the meeting. The two-and-a-half-hour exchange was lively, with attendees raising over ten questions covering topics such as the positioning and budget of TECO and OCAC, the Overseas Community Affairs Committee system, government interactions with the overseas Chinese community, passport processing efficiency, language policies, and cultural promotion. Wu Zhixiang and Zhuang Yashu addressed each question, with unresolved issues to be handled in writing post-event.
Wenze Chen, the Founder of the North American Taiwan Major League Baseball, told Epoch Times that the Town Hall Meeting was a new attempt for the Taiwanese community. He found it significant that both the Director and the Director attended, hoping this event would pave the way for more similar activities in the future to allow the voices of overseas Chinese to be directly heard by the government. The overall response to the event was positive, establishing a direct communication bridge between the overseas Chinese community and the government.
Amy Wang, the Founder of the Dragon Heart Foundation, and an industry veteran with over 20 years of experience in Silicon Valley’s high-tech sector, expressed that hosting the Town Hall Meeting aimed to provide a platform for the public to interact face-to-face with the Director, fostering interaction between the overseas Chinese community and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office.
Wu Zhixiang mentioned that this was the first time since he entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to have direct communication with the local Taiwanese community in such a manner, which he found very gratifying. He emphasized that through activities like this, they could better understand the needs and expectations of the Taiwanese community in the Bay Area, which would guide them in continuously improving services and strengthening cooperation to enhance visibility of Taiwan in mainstream American society.
Zhuang Yashu informed reporters that while previous overseas community dialogues held by the Overseas Community Affairs Council often involved honorary personnel and community leaders, the Town Hall Meeting allowed direct interaction with ordinary overseas Chinese to understand their sentiments. She added that if overseas Chinese couldn’t attend the event, they could provide feedback through the council’s Facebook page, official website, or public opinion mailbox, welcoming inquiries in person and ensuring all feedback would be addressed.
Business Affairs Committee Lin Zhengyuan also attended the meeting, expressing to Epoch Times that this novel activity format brought many new faces unfamiliar in the past, signifying the community’s establishment of new communication and connections. By getting acquainted with each other and sharing resources and experiences, such events contribute to uniting the Taiwanese community in the Bay Area for common efforts towards Taiwan.
Rommie Tsai, the owner of Pure and True Restaurant, expressed his support for Taiwanese community activities, aiming to provide more opportunities for overseas Taiwanese to come together and unite. Whether through baseball events or seminars, such activities help bring the community together, bridge distances, and increase awareness of the work of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office and related institutions, thus he felt obliged to contribute and support.
Alyssa Tong, a professional in the biotechnology industry, raised the idea of establishing a direct donation channel to support Taiwan during the meeting. She believed such activities helped overseas Chinese understand the work of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office and brought officials and overseas Chinese closer together, advocating for more involvement of overseas Chinese in promoting Taiwan.
Another attendee, Jerry, representing the Taiwanese community in Silicon Valley’s tech industry, attended the meeting. He viewed the face-to-face interaction with official representatives as a rare opportunity and hoped to understand what resources TECO could provide for the Taiwanese in Silicon Valley. He shared that inspired by Google’s Taiwanese community about two years ago, he initiated a Taiwanese community within the tech company he works for. Looking ahead, he aspired to share Taiwanese values and culture with a more diverse background of colleagues through more activities. ◇