My first week at Su Beng's (Part I)

I can't believe that I've already been in Taiwan for over a month!

For the past week I've been staying at Su Beng's. My stay with him started on February 27th. The following day, on February 28th, Su Beng was invited as a special guest to speak at a 228 memorial service to commemorate the February 28 Massacre at the Holy Mountain in Nantou, and I was fortunate enough to be able to accompany him there.

The February 28th Massacre refers to an anti-government uprising in Taiwan that was violently suppressed by the Kuomintang, and resulted in the massacre of 20,000-30,000 civilians, many of whom were organizers calling for government reform and the intellectually elite.

228 Incident (The Terrible Inspection)/ Jun Li (Rong-zan Huang) (1916-1952)/ Woodcut Printmaking/ ca. 1947

For those who don't know about the 228 Massacre, here's what led up to the bloody massacre (otherwise feel free to skip this paragraph):

On February 27, 1947 a woman selling contraband cigarettes was struck by an officer of the Monopoly Bureau. The crowd protested and this led to larger scale public protests on February 28th. The Taiwanese had been frustrated with the corruption, mismanagement and unemployment that they'd experienced since the Chinese Nationalist Party (aka Kuomintang) had arrived in 1945. The Chinese had taken over most political and judicial offices, and state monopolies in tobacco, sugar, camphor, tea, paper, chemicals and cement, just to name a few. The price of rice had inflated 400 times it's original price. Chiang Kai-shek ordered the Chinese Nationalist troops to crackdown and declared martial law. What followed was the 40 year reign of White Terror in which people were harassed, executed, and jailed for their dissent. For further reading on the 228 Massacre visit: TaiwanDC.org or this Wikipedia entry.

I'm so glad that I had this unique opportunity to commemorate 228 with Su Beng. We took the high speed rail from Taipei to Tai Chung, which only took 45 minutes!

The Holy Mountain is located in central Taiwan and is a part of the Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation that was set up by Dr. Yang Hsu-Tung in 1996. The Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation's mission is to educate the Taiwanese people and illuminate the world with the core values of democracy, liberty, human rights, freedom, and independent national sovereignty. It is a place where many of the martyred spirits of Taiwanese people who have died for fighting for these core values especially around the time of February 28, 1947 and during the subsequent White Terror era have been commemorated.

The altar to worship martyred spirits of those who died because of the 228 Massacre.

Lunch with Su Beng before going to the 228 memorial rock commemorating victims of 228. (Left to right: Bin Hong, me, A-Diong and Su Beng)

When we arrived at the site of the 228 memorial rock I suddenly felt a flood of tears as the ceremony began. I had no idea that I'd be affected like this. I'm not even sure that I can fully comprehend all the emotions that I felt. It was a complex rush of emotions- sadness, frustration and anger. I suppose knowing the significance of what has happened in the past- all the injustice, sacrifice, pain and suffering- raised some really deep seated emotions that I didn't know I had. Fortunately I wasn't a blubbering mess the whole time, just during the first 5-10 minutes. After I discretely let the tears flow I felt fine.

Years ago, I came to a similar realization when I was trying to learn Mandarin Chinese. I realized that I somehow had a psychological block in learning the language. Why the psychological block? Because I knew that when the Chinese Nationalists came to Taiwan, the Taiwanese were 1) forced to speak and learn Mandarin Chinese and 2) banned and punished for speaking their native languages. After understanding the root of my block and seeing language simply as a tool for communication, I have since then learned to speak Mandarin Chinese at a conversational level. 

The 228 rock commemorating victims of the 228 Massacre. It reads: The 228 Taiwan Divinities preside over this stronghold

Su Beng speaking at the 228 memorial service at the Holy Mountain. Photo courtesy of: 廖建超

There was also a statue and plaque commemorating Lin Mosei (林茂生) who was the first Taiwanese person to receive a PhD from Columbia University. Tragically he disappeared days after the 228 Massacre.

The Chinese characters on the left side of the bell, 氣蓋山河護台保國 from top to bottom can be loosely translated as: May the air above the mountains and the rivers protect Taiwan. Metaphorically, it means: Guarding Taiwan with immense righteousness. The characters on the center of the bell 自由鐘 translate as: Liberty Bell. The characters on the bottom of the bell 台灣即地大菩薩 can be loosely translated as: Bodhisattvas here in Taiwan. The metaphorical meaning would be: For those who have become great Bodhisattvas in saving Taiwan and protecting her people at this moment in this place.

The Liberty Times Newspaper (自由時報) reported on Su Beng's participation in the 228 memorial at the Holy Mountain. The Chinese language news article can be read online by clicking here.

We spent the night in Nantou and took the Taiwan High Speed Rail promptly back to Taipei the next morning and then went straight to the Taiwan Association of University Professors luncheon, which Su Beng had been invited to.

A group photo taken at the end of the Taiwan Association of University Professors luncheon on March 1, 2014. Photo courtesy of: 許文輔.

Talk about a busy schedule! I've been kept quite busy just keeping up with Su Beng's schedule during my stay with him. He certainly has quite a bit of energy for someone of his age and is still quite sharp.

The following days were filled with daily visits by different people, such as Neil Peng, a noted journalist.

There's also been some intrigue which I can't go into right now, but perhaps I will in one of my books- either the ACCIDENTAL BIOGRAPHER ebook that was offered as a perk for my MAKING HISTORY crowdfunding campaign or in the biography of Su Beng.

First weeks back in Taiwan

It has been an interesting couple of weeks here. Last week, I spend some time in sunny southern Taiwan where I met Joe Lin, the grandson of Lin Mosei (林茂生), who was the first Taiwanese person to receive a PhD from Columbia University. Tragically he disappeared days after the 228 Massacre which happened in Taiwan on February 28, 1947. To learn more about the 228 Massacre please visit: TaiwanDC.org or read this Wikipedia entry.

I met Joe because he learned about the MAKING HISTORY campaign through one of his classmates and my friend Wen-Chi who supported my campaign. Joe took me to the Chang Jung Senior High School in Tainan where there is a memorial for his grandfather.

Joe Lin standing beside a bust of his grandfather Lin Mosei (林茂生)

Besides all of the documents related to Lin Mosei, we discovered that the school also had Taiwan's first printing press (which was from England).

Joe lives in Taichung and amongst the personal possessions left behind by his grandfather were these eyeglasses.

Joe showed me around Taichung and we had planned to visit to the Miyahara Eye Clinic (宮原眼科), a historic building that has been converted into the Dawncake storefront where they now sell pastries, desserts and ice cream. Before we went there, Joe discovered that his grandfather's eyeglasses actually came from the Miyahara Eye Clinic, which made our visit there all the more meaningful!

We also went up to Taipei where Joe was able to meet Su Beng.

While at Su Beng's I met Lihkuei Chen, the director of the film Dear Taiwan (好國好民) She is shooting a documentary about Su Beng and I'm excited to see how we might be able to work together and to "compare notes" with her. I also met Su Beng's long time friends Ming Chuang, Professor Kai-Huang Chen, and Nicolas Chiou who has drawn new illustrations for Su Beng's Illustrated Taiwan's 400 Years of History book aka Cartoon Taiwan's 400 Years of History. It was good to see Su Beng in good spirits that night.

Last week I also met with a professor of Taiwan history and I've been putting out feelers through my contacts and have been introduced to several scholars, so things are falling into place. 

This past weekend (February 21-23), Su Beng spoke about Taiwan's past and present in a 3 part lecture series. Each night he'd speak for about 3 hours from 7-10pm. Then after class he'd invite several of his students out for a late dinner, which often made for a late night with dinner ending around 11pm or midnight. At 95 he definitely still has quite a bit of energy and stamina.

It's great to see so many young faces in the audience. The youngest student was a fifth grader brought by her parents!

A photo taken of everyone on the last day (February 23) of Su Beng's 3 day class.

In the time that I've been in Taiwan, I've already personally met a few of the people who contributed to MAKING HISTORY and have run into people who have heard about my crowdfunding campaign and project to document the life of Su Beng. It's incredible how the word has gotten out about my project! Here's a look back at the milestones of the crowdfunding campaign and a few highlights from the Victory Party on January 27th for those of you who weren't able to make it. *Special thanks to Robin Adams for putting this together for me.

MAKING HISTORY: Milestones and Victory Party

First days back in Taipei

Today is my fourth day in Taipei. I had no problems escaping the winter weather and snow of New York, when I left on February 5th and experienced no flight delays. However, when I arrived at the Taiwan Taoyuan Airport I figured that I should put on a raincoat, knowing that Taipei is rainy this time of year. When I opened my luggage to retrieve my raincoat, I discovered my luggage had arrived wet. All of my clothes and several items inside were soaked! I'm glad that I found this out before leaving the airport because I was able to file a claim with the airline about this. That's the bad news.

The good news is that I somehow had the good sense not to put any of my equipment in my checked luggage. In the past I have just thrown my camera or video camera in my checked luggage because it would mean less to carry on. With all of this nice new equipment and such a long haul flight something told me that I had better not take any chances. Boy am I ever glad I did that! That's a huge disaster averted.

For the majority of my stay, one of my uncles has generously offered to let me stay at his apartment in the Shih Lin district of Taipei. I've settled in quite well with the help of my uncle's neighbor and friends here. I've even done a few loads of laundry already because what the airline to offered to cover cleaning my clothes wasn't enough to get everything cleaned. 

Taipei has most definitely been overcast and rainy. I had forgotten how rainy and wet Taipei can be at this time of year. When I lived in Taiwan, I lived in Kaohsiung most of the time, which in contrast has been quite sunny the last couple of days. 

I realize that it is quite meaningful for me to be staying here in Shih Lin as it is the ancestral home of my of Su Beng and mother's family. In fact, when I embarked on this project I didn't know about this connection. It turns out that my granduncle and Su Beng were good friends and classmates. 

Yesterday, it was raining when Su Beng's assistant Bin Hong arrived in a taxi to pick me up to go to Su Beng's residence in Sinjhuang. The night before I had heard the heavy rain as I slept and when I awoke it was still raining. 

Su Beng and I have not seen each other since 2011 when he was in the U.S. for a visit.

I brought Su Beng a little piece of New York.

We talked about scheduling regular times to meet during my stay and about what I will need to complete his biography.

I am going to have to get the hang of using all this fancy new equipment!

We stopped for lunch- hot pot which is the perfect thing to have on a cold, wet and rainy day!

After that we resumed talking until about 4pm. It was just as it has been in the past when we would meet around 10 or 11am, break for lunch and continue talking until 4 or 5pm. 

It's really starting to come together

Since the MAKING HISTORY crowdfunding campaign has ended, I have had quite a few people have ask if I have sorted out my accommodations in Taipei. I have been given a few recommendations on affordable places to stay. And someone who I've been corresponding with but have never met, actually tried to find me a place to stay by reaching out to several of her relatives in Taiwan. Just a few days ago I was contacted by someone who heard about my Making History Victory party. He told me that he had a relative in Taipei who wanted to offer to put me up. I soon found out from one of my friends on Facebook that it was his mother who was offering me a place to stay. What a small world it is when it comes to the Taiwanese community- it's only one or two degrees of separation!

I am so touched by the continued outpouring of support for my project to document the life of Su Beng.

Last week one of my uncles offered to let me to stay at his apartment in Taipei. So now I won't have to worry about my accommodations.  Rent would have taken a significant chunk out of the funds that I've raised, so this will be a huge help. Things are really starting to come together!

Making History Happen

TaiwaneseAmerican.org has posted a piece that I've written about my project to document the life of Su Beng. In writing the article, Making History Happen, I've tried to share what's behind my motivation to document the life of Su Beng. I'm posting it below or you can read it as it appears on TaiwaneseAmerican.org.

When I first heard about Su Beng, a lifelong Taiwan independence activist, former undercover Chinese Communist agent, would be assassin of Chiang Kai-shek, historian and author of Taiwan’s 400 Years of History, in 2003, I was intrigued. I wondered what would motivate a man like this and quickly decided that I wanted to meet him because I knew that his was a story to be told. What began as a simple idea to write a story based on his life has grown into a project to document it. Three years after I started documenting the life of Su Beng, I started to blog about it and now I’ve created a website dedicated to this project: www.aboutsubeng.com

It’s been nine years now since I began working on writing the biography of Su Beng and documenting his life in 2004. The incredible thing about this journey is that initially, I did not set out to write this man’s biography, in fact I resisted the whole idea at first, because I thought, I am no historian; I am no Taiwan expert.

Actually, the first time I met Su Beng, I asked him if I could interview him to get some ideas to write a story. I really had no intention of writing his biography. I will always remember his answer to me that day. He simply said, “Yes if it’s for the good of Taiwan.” And I think, that sentence pretty much summarizes the motivation behind much of what he does.

So we began meeting every other month or so and I’d diligently record our interviews on camera and with a digital audio recorder. After about six months, of this, I was reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X when I realized that I had already taken on the responsibility of being Su Beng’s biographer, so I decided to do it and formally asked him if I could write his biography in English.

Who am I and why does this project matter so much to me?

I am a second generation Taiwanese Canadian/American who is simply interested in increasing awareness and understanding of Taiwan. 

Growing up, in Ottawa, Taiwan was this mysterious, distant land that my parents were from, where the other half of my relatives, my Dad’s side lived. While my cousins frequently went back to Taiwan to visit their grandparents and relatives there, my family never did. I remember asking my cousins to tell me what it was like. And even though they described it as a hot, stinky, dirty place, I was still curious about it.

In bits and pieces I learned that after my parents got married, they were separated for nearly a year since my Mom was not allowed to leave Taiwan to join my father in the U.S. She wasn’t able to leave Taiwan until my father and a few Alaskan senators put pressure on the Kuomintang government to allow her to leave. Because of this experience, my parents were afraid to return to Taiwan for years. As a child I just couldn’t understand how a government could restrict someone’s right to come and go as they pleased. I also learned about something called a black list, which was a list of people who were considered troublemakers and not allowed to return to Taiwan.

The first time my parents applied for our visas to return to Taiwan, my sister and I had our passports returned with a visa granted within a month, but there were suspicious delays in the processing of my parents’ visas. Finally, in 1988, a year after martial law had been lifted in Taiwan, my parents, sister and I finally visited Taiwan together. By then, my parents had been away from Taiwan for over 15 years.

My parents instilled a strong sense of Taiwanese identity in my sister and I, and they have always adamantly identified themselves as Taiwanese and not Chinese. But it wasn’t until I went to the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana that I met other second generation Taiwanese Americans who had parents or relatives who’d also been black listed. I still remember the day I received a flyer in my campus mailbox inviting me to attend a meeting to form a Taiwanese American students’ club. It was during this time, of the late 1980s and early to mid 1990s that many Taiwanese American student associations and clubs started forming at college campuses across the country. What many of us had in common was the understanding and experience of Taiwan being under martial law with no civil liberties and certainly no democracy. It wasn’t until after many of us had already graduated from university that Taiwan actually had its first direct Presidential election in 1996.

The Intercollegiate Taiwanese American Students Association (ITASA) was conceived out of this need to connect Taiwanese American students across the country and to share our experiences. For me, my experience in forming ITASA and running an ITASA conference was key in developing my leadership skills. Things have really come full circle since ITASA celebrated its 20th anniversary this year and I was invited speak at the conference in New York about my work as a writer. I spoke about my personal struggle to get on the path to write and my project to document the life of Su Beng. In fact, I am currently running a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds to complete the biography of Su Beng, and my campaign pitch video opens with a video clip from my talk at the ITASA Conference in February of this year. You can watch the pitch video here: http://igg.me/at/makinghistory/x/5122304

As Su Beng turned 95 this year, I have felt an increasing urgency to complete his biography. So I have decided to quit my job and take three months to go back to Taiwan to gather the remaining research needed. When I thought about this late last year, I wasn't sure how I was going to make this happen until I realized that I should reach out to the community and the world at large for support on this. So I decided to launch a crowdfunding campaign to raise $15,000 to cover the expenses for me to spend 3 months in Taipei 1) to do the additional research needed to complete the book and 2) to produce a short documentary about the life of Su Beng. 

Learn more about my crowdfunding campaign pitch video and/or make a contribution here: http://igg.me/at/makinghistory/x/5122304

I feel like I am in a really unique position to be able to tell Su Beng’s story and to share it with the world. In a way, all the years of my involvement in the Taiwanese American community have led me to this point and have given me the resources needed to bring this project to fruition. I see Su Beng’s struggles, as the struggle of the people of Taiwan. As a writer what drives me is the wish to leave a legacy, make a mark, to inspire and motivate. And I believe that telling the story of Su Beng will do just that. 

Special thanks to Ho Chie Tsai who has been a long time supporter of my project to document the life of Su Beng and who interviewed me about my work for TaiwaneseAmerican.org in 2011 when I was in LA with Su Beng.

August 2011: TaiwaneseAmerican.org's Ho Chie Tsai meets up with biographer Felicia Lin, who is documenting the life of 92 year-old Taiwanese independence activist, Su Beng. As the author of the influential text "Taiwan's 400 Years of History," first published in 1980, he still remains active on the political scene in Taiwan.

First Time up at an Open Mic Event

Photo courtesy of: Stephanie Hunt

Tonight (11/22/13) I did something a bit outside of my comfort zone. I got up to say something impromptu without any notes at the Asian American Writers' Workshop Mouth-to-Mouth Open Mic Event. I've been to this event quite a few times in the past. It's actually a pretty entertaining night with people getting up and taking turns at the mic- some read a poem, or a piece of writing, others do stand up comedy, or sing a song and/or play an instrument. It's like a mini-variety show. 

However, I've never taken a turn at the mic. I guess I wasn't prepared or inspired. And it really makes me nervous to have to so something like this, especially if I were expected to do it on the spot!

Well when I heard that the theme this month was "Ancestors," I thought to myself, this is the perfect opportunity to step up and say something about Su Beng. So I did.

I had informally prepared something to say, but my nerves still got to me. Here's what I said:

This man has wrapped a million dumplings and fried tons and tons of Chinese lo mein.

This man’s hands have written thousands of pages of TAIWAN’S 400 YEARS OF HISTORY.

This man’s birthplace is the Shih Lin district of Taipei, which is the same as my ancestors.

The book that this man wrote, TAIWAN’S 400 YEARS OF HISTORY, sat on the bookshelf of my parents’ home for years.

Incredibly I didn’t know any of this when I embarked on the journey to write his biography, which has taken almost 10 years at this point. 

Who is this man?

This man in Su Beng, a 95-year-old Taiwan independence activist, who worked undercover for the Chinese Communists for seven years, tried to assassinate Chiang Kai-shek and wrote the book TAIWAN’S 400 YEARS OF HISTORY. 

And I, Felicia Lin am his biographer.

Then Ed Lin the master of ceremonies kindly invited me back up to make some announcements, which  I did:

The announcements were that:

1) I'm currently running a crowdfunding campaign MAKING HISTORY: The Story of Su Beng.

2) On Wednesday December 4, 2013 from 7-9pm I'll be speaking at the Taiwan Center (137-44 Northern Blvd, Flushing, NY 11354)- about my work on documenting the life of Su Beng and my personal journey as his biographer. For complete details regarding my talk click HERE or here: www.feliciatalksaboutsubeng.eventbrite.com

Special thanks to my support team of friends who came that night, a Friday night! I really meant a lot to me that you made the effort to be there for me!

Telling the story of Su Beng

Making public speeches or presentations to audiences always makes me a bit nervous. it's something that I know I definitely need to work on and get comfortable with. So I try to welcome opportunities to speak publicly. These days I see each one as another chance to get some more practice.

The last time I spoke formally about Su Beng was as a speaker at the 2013 ITASA Conference in February. I prepped for that for a lot, rewriting and reworking my speech a few times and rehearshing it to the point that I could speak naturally, mostly from my memory. But even then, I brought my iPad with me so that I could refer to my notes in case I forgot what to say next.

I wasn't sure what to expect or how to prepare for the TAA-NY Dinner Discussion on Monday. I knew that it was going to be a small group and therefore a more casual setting. So I figured I would just have to just wing it.

It was a small group of about eight people. As I started talking about Su Beng, I felt as if I was in the role of a story teller. And essentially, as his biographer that's what I am. Su Beng's life has been action-packed, complex, and full of contradiction, drama and intrigue. As I talked, the various themes in his life that I've observed replayed in my mind and I recounted stories demonstrating Su Beng's temerity, strong personal conviction, adventurous spirit and determination to make a lasting impact on the social conscience of the people of Taiwan. I think that my audience was pretty captivated. 

Through the reactions of my audience that night, I "heard" Su Beng's story again for the first time and that was priceless. I really enjoyed it. Telling a story firsthand is so different from writing. The process of writing is such a solitary thing and actually, reading is too. 

I brought a copy of the book 史明口述史, to give away. The title can be translated as THE ORAL HISTORY OF SU BENG. It is a biography of Su Beng written by three Taiwan National University students that was released in February of this year. 

November 11 TAA-NY Dinner Discussion: The Story of Su Beng

I'm looking forward to speaking about Su Beng at the TAA-NY Dinner Discussion tonight at 7:30pm. 

I have been so wrapped up in the Making History Crowdfunding Campaign that I completely forgot to post about it here!

Birthday celebrations for Su Beng on November 9th

November 9th is Su Beng's birthday. He will be 95 years old or 96 as it would be counted in Taiwan.

There's going to be an evening of celebration of Su Beng and his lifelong work for Taiwan on November 9, 6:30-9:30pm at the Taipei train station 5th floor performance hall.

It will be a night of Taiwanese lion dance, drum, modern dance, and rock music performances.

Happy Birthday Su Beng O-ji-san!

October 9, 2013

On October 9th Su Beng was at the Taipei Train Station and later at Ketagalan Boulevard joining protestors calling for President Ma Ying-Jeou to step down.

October 9, 2013 Su Beng speaking at the Taipei Train Station

October 9, 2013 Ketagalan Boulevard, Taipei, Taiwan