On May 11th (last Saturday), the Taiwan American Professionals – San Francisco Bay Area Chapter (TAP-SF) hosted the “2024 Taiwan Cultural Festival” at Union Square in San Francisco. This event is the largest Taiwanese carnival on the West Coast of the United States, aimed at allowing mainstream audiences and overseas compatriots to appreciate Taiwan’s traditional high-quality culture and showcasing Taiwan to the world.
Organized with the coordination of the Taiwan Center of San Francisco Bay Area, the event for the first time combined the Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission’s “Taiwan Traditional Culture Week Visiting Group – Formosa Circus FOCA” with the “Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission Taiwan Food Lecture Tour”, adding highlights to the cultural festival. It featured exhibitions on Taiwan tourism, food, culture, TCML Chinese language learning center, and exciting performances by various Taiwanese overseas communities, attracting over tens of thousands of mainstream audiences and people of different ethnicities to participate.
The event was attended by officials including Director General Lai Mingqi of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in San Francisco, Director Zhuang Yashu of the San Francisco Bay Area Overseas Chinese Education Center, Mayor Christine Krolik of Hillsborough, Councilwoman Zhuang Wumingfang, Vice Mayor Shao Yang of Fremont, San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu, Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commissioners Zhong Zhenqian, Wang Longwen, Li Wenxiong, Li Hanwen, Wei Dezhen, Overseas Compatriot Affairs Advisory Commissioner Chen Li, representatives of Taiwanese American associations, and others.
The event kicked off with a lion dance performance, with TAP President Jennifer Chen, Taiwan Cultural Festival Chairman Allen Ma, and Taiwan American Citizens League (TACL) President Peter Han expressing their joy at having the second-generation Taiwanese Americans host the event to introduce Taiwan to the mainstream community.
Director Lai Mingqi delivered a speech, stating that the Taiwan Cultural Festival is the largest annual event in the San Francisco Bay Area and the best opportunity for mainstream individuals to experience Taiwanese tourism, arts, culture, education, and cuisine. It also serves as a platform to convey Taiwan’s social development and its aspiration to participate in the World Health Organization to the mainstream community.
In her speech, Director Zhuang Yashu thanked TAP for introducing Taiwanese culture to the mainstream society and highlighted the Formosa Circus FOCA dispatched by the Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission this year. The circus showcases Taiwan’s diverse culture by combining acrobatics with dance, traditional opera, music, and artistry. Taiwanese Food Lecture Tour head chef, Li Jiaqi, known as the “Asian cooking god,” and assistant chef Liao Taijun joined forces to showcase Taiwanese cuisine, aiming to make friends with the world through Taiwanese food and culture.
The “Formosa Circus FOCA,” themed “Songs of the Land,” performed two shows led by Executive Director Lin Zhiwei, combining Taiwanese acrobatics, dance, traditional opera, and artistry, captivating the mainstream audience and interacting with them throughout the performances, which received thunderous applause and enthusiastic feedback. The Taiwanese Food Lecture Tour head chef Li Jiaqi and assistant chef Liao Taijun showcased Taiwanese dishes including the classic Five-Flavor Soft Silk, Golden Kimchi, and Treasure Island Salty Water Chicken, attracting many mainstream individuals to stop and watch.
The event featured various Taiwanese-themed booths, as well as promotional enrollment booths for six Taiwanese Chinese language learning centers in Northern California, to help more mainstream individuals become acquainted with local avenues for learning Chinese. The Overseas Chinese Education Center set up a booth at the venue to support Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly petition drive, handing out flag caps representing both Taiwan and the United States, garnering active participation from mainstream audiences and second-generation Taiwanese Americans alike. ◇