Flocks of bluebirds spread their wings and rose toward the skyscrapers of Manhattan. Massive digital billboards shared a giant message: “Stand strong with Taiwan”.

New York Times Square looked different this June 4. Photos of that day show hundreds of people, mostly Taiwanese Americans, holding banners that read: “I oppose the abusive legislative reform” and “Stand for democracy.”

It might have been confusing for passersby in New York, but the event served a purpose. It was organized by Keep Taiwan Free, a group affiliated with the Taiwanese American Council of Greater New York. The campaign echoed protests in May against Taiwan reforms that critics say amount to a power grab by a group of legislators.

Highly focused on Taiwan’s political movements, Katie Hsieh decided to bring the protests to New York through an advertisement in Times Square. So Hsieh, who co-organized the New York protest, began to raise funds for the digital ad. On Facebook, she wrote that it was to “defend Taiwan's freedom and democracy both at home and abroad.”

In just two hours, Taiwanese Americans raised more than $80,000 for the temporary but high-profile billboards.

It is a group that is particularly focused on politics in their ancestral homeland, he explained. “They pay close attention to political parties in Taiwan to an extent that I don't see in other Asian or other immigrant groups,” said Chen.

From Taiwan to America

As World War II ended, civil war broke out again in China between Communists and Republicans. The Communists, led by Mao Zedong, took control of all of mainland China and then established the People's Republic of China, while their enemies, the Kuomintang military, led by Chiang Kai-shek, managed to hold onto the island of Taiwan where they established a dictatorial regime.

Over the years, the Communists set up the People's Republic of China laid claim to Taiwan, and threatened to unify the country by force. To stop the expansion of Communism, the U.S. sided with Taiwan, providing military support to prevent an invasion from the mainland.

In the ensuing years, Taiwanese people who wanted to move to the U.S. were legally prevented from doing so by the Asian Exclusion Act, a discriminatory law enacted in 1924 that specifically blocked immigrants from the East from entering the U.S.

The situation changed in 1965 when the U.S. government passed the Immigration and Naturalization Act, which made it possible for some Asians and other aspiring immigrants to move to the U.S.

A wave of Taiwanese immigrants then settled in the U.S. While they aimed to pursue a better economic future, many of them brought their passionate political support to Taiwan. The legislation making it possible came with requirements; most of the immigrants were therefore well-educated — professors, professionals, physicians, and scientists.

In the late 1980s, as the tech industry began to boom in Silicon Valley, Another wave of educated Taiwanese immigrants arrived.

As China became a major military and economic power, it held onto its ambition to seize Taiwan by whichever means were necessary. In the last two years alone, China has held four large military exercises around Taiwan island.

As a result, Taiwan remains under perpetual threat that leaves it reliant on U.S. military backing.

Fear for their homeland has reached beyond the minds of Taiwanese citizens to many Taiwanese Americans.

Similar to immigrants from Cuba, Vietnam, and Cambodia, Taiwanese immigrants shared the same anti-Communist attitudes. But what differentiates Taiwan from other Asian groups is that Taiwanese people survived a war with their nation’s Communists, and later transformed into a democratic country.

Similar to immigrants from Cuba, Vietnam, and Cambodia, Taiwanese immigrants shared the same anti-Communist attitudes. But what differentiates Taiwan from other Asian groups is that Taiwanese people survived a war with their nation’s Communists, and later transformed into a democratic country.

Taiwanese immigrants in the U.S. Want their homeland to survive and thrive in peace, and they overwhelmingly feel good about Taiwan. 95% of Taiwanese Americans have a favorable view of their homeland, which is the highest percentage among other major Asian immigrant communities in the U.S., according to a 2023 Pew Research Center survey.

Like many Taiwanese Americans proudly voice their love for their ancestral homeland, Comedian Jason Cheny said in an interview with Central News Agency, “I am so happy and proud to be a Taiwanese…because that’s where I was born and raised.”

Small but Devoted

The Taiwanese American population has grown significantly since the 1960s, with current estimates ranging from about over 700,000.

Half of Taiwanese Americans reside in California, the state where many Taiwanese people first arrived. In Los Angeles alone, there are over 70,000 Taiwanese Americans.

Despite being politically engaged, Chen says Taiwanese Americans are unlikely to tip the scales of the presidential election this year. “Taiwanese Americans are generally in blue states, so California and New York are where you find most Taiwanese Americans,” he said. “The swing states with significant Asian populations, Nevada and Georgia, have little Taiwanese population.”

In California, Chen says that districts have been gerrymandered in a way that has divided the Taiwanese vote. “Taiwanese votes are not going to flip a seat from Democrat to Republican or vice versa," he adds.

However, for congressional or municipal elections, the Taiwanese’s vote could be significant. For politicians in the Bay Area, Taiwanese Americans can be a crucial race between two democrats, especially since the community has a high turn-out rate.

When Chen ran the school board in Hacienda La Puente in 2007, he visited churches to reach out to Taiwanese Americans. "If they see you are Taiwanese American, they’re very happy to support you and vote for you."

In Hacienda Heights, which is located east of downtown, nearly one in five potential voters are Taiwanese Americans, Chen says. But since they are more likely to vote on election day, he adds, “they would comprise 30-40% of the turnout … When I was on the ballot.”

Silicon Valley-based tech engineer Kevin Chu said that this is the third U.S. Presidential election he will participate in since becoming a U.S. Citizen.

“My friends and I care more about local elections than presidential elections. We care who won the governor’s election, and we care who won the congressional election, and how many Asian representatives there are this year,” said Chu. When there are Taiwanese American candidates, he added, he will probably vote for them.

Extension of home

Some voters in the community even care about which Taiwanese political party Taiwanese American politicians lean toward.

For Chen, the attention Taiwanese American people pay to the political parties in Taiwan is perplexing. He pointed out that other Asian American groups like South Koreans, might support their former country, but the political parties of their former country are not as important.”

Chen posted the photo without a second thought. “I thought, ‘He’s the former head of state.’ So I went over, said hello, and took a photo with him." Soon after he posted the photo on Facebook, some Taiwanese Americans contacted his family to say, “Why is he taking a photo with this person and posting it online?” The backlash stunned Chen.

Politically in the U.S., Chen suggests that 40% of Taiwanese Americans probably declined to state, and of the remaining 60% it could be 35% Republican and 25% Democrat. Chen said, “They will vote. They'll vote for a Republican, they'll vote for a Democrat. They don't have a preference.”

Stevan Wang, a Taiwanese freelancer claimed he has no preference for any of the parties. “I am just kind of in the middle…I tend to decide after I do my research on both candidates.”

Chu said he makes his electoral decisions with daily information intake from NBC News and local cable news services. ”Now that I live in California, I care about what happened in San Francisco, and what the politicians do, because I am going to vote.”

For Chu, voting is a way of revealing his Taiwanese American identity. “It’s sort of an American’s responsibility…I would like to fulfill my obligation as an American.”

Asian Hate for Taiwanese Americans

In 2020, Former President Donald Trump began to call the coronavirus “China virus” or “Wuhan flu.” that led some people to believe that China and Chinese communities should be held responsible for the pandemic and the losses, even though there was no conclusive evidence.

Taiwanese immigrants in the U.S. Want their homeland to survive and thrive in peace, and they overwhelmingly feel good about Taiwan. 95% of Taiwanese Americans have a favorable view of their homeland, which is the highest percentage among other major Asian immigrant communities in the U.S., according to a Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism California State University, San Bernardino, found that violent and hate crimes targeting Asian individuals surged by nearly 150% in 2020.

The stigma affected Taiwanese and other Asian communities, since some people cannot differentiate between Chinese and other ethnicities. Chen stated, “That's one of the things that Trump brought forth, which was making it open season on Asians.” It helped to establish a climate of harassment for many people.

“When I ran for Congress, my opponent called me a Communist spy,” Chen said, forcing a smile.

When Chen was a congressional Democratic candidate in the 2022 congressional election, his opponent Michelle Sheen claimed that he accepted funding from Chinese Communist Party. The fund that was wronged actually came from Chen's brother, who works in Hong Kong.

Chen explained, that the political environment is so hostile that, “It has become completely toxic when you talk about China and Chinese people.”

Sheen, as a Korean-American candidate, might understand what it was like to be confused for Chinese at that time and to be linked to Chinese authorities. She made defamatory videosand sent blackmail flyers in an effort tolink Chen to the Chinese Communist Party

Cyberbullying followed. People left comments on Chen’s Instagram account asking about the “CCP” (Chinese Communist Party), and calling him “Jay Chen for China.”

“ I was disgusted by those ads," Chen said with fury and disgust, "Not only am I a proud American, born in the United States, but I’ve also served my country in the military, hold a top-secret security clearance…I was born in this country, unlike her, and yet she still felt it was easy to smear me despite my background."

Other Taiwanese people faced harassment or worse, just walking on the streets.

Although Wang, the Taiwanese freelancer, avoided the question at first, he eventually said that he has experienced racism while chatting with friends on the video site, Omega, during the pandemic.

While Wang and his friends chatted with strangers on the online random video chat platform, there was a moment when the people on the other side of the screen said “Oh Corona, Corona”. Wang then mimicked the gesture he had received from strangers, who playfully pulled at the corners of his eyes to narrow them into an anti-Chinese stereotype.

“I cannot control them,” he shrugged. “it's just netizens you will encounter while surfing the internet.”

Wang further pointed out that although he lives in a Chinese community and hasn't been greatly affected, he is aware that other Asians have faced discrimination.

Chu, living in the Bay Area, has some similar experiences. While he WAS walking with friends, he noticed a man harassing an Asian couple at a crosswalk, shouting “Go back to your country.”

“We kept walking, but as soon as we passed him, he started hurling the same insults at us,” Chu said, “I was scared but didn’t engage — we just walked away quickly.”

Similar encounters have been reported in San Francisco. After Chu ignored a beggar’s man’s request for money, the man began yelling for him to go back to his country. Chu recalled, “I told my friends to get in the car, and we left immediately.”

Finding Voice

Dr. Wen-Ho Lee, a Taiwanese-American nuclear scientist, faced a wrongful accusation of espionage for China in the late 1990s. Without sufficient evidence, he was accused of being a spy for China . Lee spent 278 days in solitary confinement without bail. There weren't any Chinese Americans or Taiwanese Americans serving in Congress at the time.

Eventually, Lee was released in September 2000 after pleading guilty to a single count of mishandling classified information, while the government's 56 other cases against him had fallen apart. Upon his release,U.S. District Judge James A. Parker offered an apology, saying Dr. Lee had been "terribly wronged."

“When Wen Ho Lee was prosecuted , nobody spoke up for him.” Chen said,” And that's why it's important that we have Taiwanese Americans and Chinese Americans in (elected) office.”

"Two Taiwanese-American candidates, Melinda Liu and Jackie Khan, are competing for a seat on the Irvine City Council this year. Meanwhile, Ted Lieu, entering his 22nd year in public service, is seeking re-election in California's 36th Congressional District. Judy Chu is also running for re-election in the 28th District.

By nurturing a pipeline of Taiwanese-American politicians, injustices based on stereotypes and misconceptions are less likely, and even minor communities' voices can be heard.

“I think it will be good,” Chen said, “because there will be people who have a podium and a position to speak from.”