Social Justice in Schools in Taiwan

On September 26th, I had the wonderful experience of giving a talk on social justice and community service in schools to the Phi Delta Kappa group in Taipei. This is a group of teachers, educators, counselors, administrators, staff, parents, and high school students. It was a diverse group with representatives from many local schools as well as from private schools. Part of the talk focused on work with the aboriginal communities in Taiwan and the need to enter communities in a way that "maintains the humanity and integrity of the group" (Suzuki, 2005). After the talk, a group of us went out to dinner and the conversation focused on how schools can meaningfully partner with local and international communities and create collaborations that are integrated and sustainable. All too often partnerships and engagement remain on the superficial level and do not involve authentic relationship building. The people I spoke with seemed to really care about these issues and think deeply about how to develop meaningful connections in their community service work. I was also impressed with how many people in the crowd were already doing work and supporting the Taiwanese aboriginal groups. I met four students in particular who have spent the past three summers working at a camp for aboriginal children (from all different groups). They were especially moved that they viewed their experience as reciprocal and that both groups were benefiting from the relationships created.

Asian Immigration in the U.S. Exhibition

Last week, I had the opportunity to see the grand opening of the "Building America" Asian immigration in the U.S. exhibit at Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall. It is an impressive exhibit with extensive historical photographs, essays, oral histories, and incredible memorabilia from the past and present. It was interesting to see the photographs that I had previously seen in California but this time through Taiwanese eyes. The opening of exhibit was attended by many journalists, politicians, academics, and dignitaries. I was able to hear the Vice President of Taiwan, Wu Den-yih 吳敦義 give a welcoming speech which was very inspiring. The exhibit was such an important reminder of the struggles that Asian immigrants faced when coming to the U.S. and the number of restrictions that were placed on them that made entry into the country difficult (for example, the Chinese Exclusion Act).

A few days later I had the great pleasure of having lunch with Professor Erika Lee from the University of Minnesota and many members of the American Institute of Taiwan at Formosa Restaurant. Professor Lee is a historian and an expert on Asian American immigration and Angel Island. She gave an incredible talk "Unbound Feet" The History of Immigration of Asian American Women" on the history of Asian immigration and the discrimination faced by this important group. Her stories about her own family history and the history of many invisible others was beautiful. The talk was given in the Taipei Public Library and was heavily attended by many interested people in the general public as well as many academics. I am very grateful that there is such a strong interest in Taiwan about the experiences of Chinese Americans and Taiwanese Americans living in the U.S.

Counseling Psychology in Taiwan

On September 25th, I had the opportunity to present my research and background to first year students in Counseling Psychology and Educational Psychology at National Taiwan Normal University. The first 15 minutes of my time was spent just finding the most relevant Chinese characters to use to translate many key concepts in US psychology into Chinese. These include concepts such as discrimination, aboriginal, racism, ethnic identity, and acculturation. Even the term Asian American is not commonly used in Taiwan because such race-specific terminology is not as appropriate in Taiwan. People would want to know why you would not use Taiwanese-American for example. I was impressed by the questions and many of the comments. Counselor trainees in Taiwan are deeply concerned with whether or not a counseling program is stigmatizing or culturally-based. I appreciated the help I received from two outstanding students and the Professor in translating ideas into Chinese. I am continuing to learn more about how to think about Counseling from a purely Taiwanese perspective and to not assume that a Western or US approach can be applied and just tweaked until it fits. I look forward to more conversations about this idea.

Elders Drinking Song

Difang and Igay Duana are Amis (an aboriginal tribe in Taiwan) farmers who became folk singers. They are also the original voices and artists behind the Elders Drinking Song--an Amis traditional chant. During a performance in France (during which they were paid $15), their beautiful voices were recorded without permission and released by the French government as part of an anonymous aboriginal CD. The music was then plagiarized by the German group, Enigma for the mega-hit Return to Innocence. As many of you may remember, Return to Innocence was so popular, it was named the  theme song for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. While this incident happened many years ago, it is indicative of the numerous ways aboriginal voices have been made invisible around the world. Difang and Igay's music is powerful and definitely worth listening to in the original and true form.

Full Circle

I feel that being a Fulbright Senior Scholar is a wonderful gift for me and my family. Being in Taiwan has deep personal and professional relevance for me. My father is from Chiayi and my mother is from Tainan. They lived in Taiwan during Japanese colonial rule and thus grew up speaking Japanese and assimilating to Japanese culture. As a Professor in Counseling Psychology at the University of San Francisco and previously at Teachers College, Columbia University, I have pursued scholarly and community activities related to my interest in understanding how Asian cultural values and identities inform mental health and ways of coping with stress. Many of these studies have focused on or included Asian Pacific Islander participants. Now, I seek to explore these critical issues while immersed in an Asian culture (Taiwan) and not from the outside looking in. 

Recent global shifts in Taiwan represent possibilities and challenges facing Taiwanese students living in Taiwan as well as Taiwanese immigrants living in the United States (U.S.). Taipei in particular embodies many technological and social advances that often contradict traditional cultural values, hierarchical family roles, and fragile political histories. I am simultaneously fascinated and concerned with the multiple changes that Taiwan schools have endured and their impact on the psychological and educational experiences of aboriginal communities in Taiwan as they navigate experiences with discrimination, academic expectations, shifting cultural identities and pressure to assimilate to cultural norms (as examples). These conditions are further complicated by the increases in U.S. and Taiwan interactions in educational systems as growing numbers of Taiwanese high school students pursue post-secondary degrees in the U.S. (Institute of International Education, 2010). Students in Taiwan may struggle with many of the same stressors shared by their immigrant counterparts in the U.S. (see Huang, & Chou, 2010), but cultural stigmas and indigenous practices may intensify their mental health concerns and offer limited outlets for successfully managing their stress (Asia One News, 2009). I believe that living in Taiwan will give me a deeper appreciation and understanding of aboriginal and Taiwanese adolescents, their counselors, and their families, as well as access to Taiwanese researchers, students, teachers, and community members. This year will also give me the opportunity to explore living in Taiwan through my parents' eyes as I try to better understand the impact of Japanese assimilationist practices and silenced cultural identities. 
How to apply for a Fulbright: learn more here.