Sissi Lin (林以心), who was crowned Miss Taiwanese-American on Aug. 3, urged Taiwanese-Americans to write “Taiwanese” as their race in the US Census on April 1 next year.
Hosted annually by the Taiwan Center Foundation of Greater Los Angeles, the Miss Taiwanese-American pageant was first held in 2000 to encourage Taiwanese-Americans to check “Other Asian” and write “Taiwanese” in the census.
About 230,000 people filled in “Taiwanese” in the 2010 census.
Photo: CNA
Raised in Argentina, Lin moved to the US when she was 15. She is a sophomore at the University of Southern California majoring in Communication and East Asian Languages and Cultures.
Lin and her family are often involved in the center’s activities and she has a deep understanding of Taiwan, she said on Saturday.
She is fluent in Chinese and speaks some Hoklo (commonly knwon as Taiwanese).
She received seven weeks of training for the pageant, along with the eight other finalists, which included workshops on makeup, dance, public speaking and Taiwanese-American identity, Lin said.
The greatest reward she received was self-confidence, she said, adding that although she doubted herself at first, she gradually discovered that the source of her self-confidence is Taiwan.
Over the next year, Lin is to promote Taiwan at community events with the other finalists who have been named princesses and ambassadors.
The second generation of Taiwanese-Americans embodies both Eastern and Western cultures, which is their greatest advantage, foundation chairman Alan Thian (田詒鴻) said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it