8 Asians

If you are at all involved in the Taiwanese American community, especially the 2nd generation (those of us born in the United States), then you probably know who Ho Chie Tsai is. I like to describe him as the “embodiment of the Taiwanese American spirit.” By day (and by night), Tsai is an urgent care pediatrician and hospitalist working around the San Francisco Bay area.

During his free time, Tsai empowers the Taiwanese American community through his website, TaiwaneseAmerican.org and as a speaker on Taiwanese American identity through his many travels at various Taiwanese American (like the Taiwanese American Conference – East Coast) and Asian American conferences, especially on college campuses. He is a connector. Seriously, I don’t think you can be considered actively involved in the Taiwanese American community if you have not heard of or met Tsai. He is literally the Taiwanese American Kevin Bacon. Before moving to the Bay Area, I had heard of Ho Chi Tsai, probably due to my early involvement in the Society of Taiwanese Americans (SOTA) – New England in the mid-to-late 90s, a sort of pre-cursor to Taiwanese American Professionals (TAP), or maybe even at TAC-EC.

Recently Tsai posted an eight episode travelogue on TaiwaneseAmerican.org where he wanders around Taipei, Taiwan with a video camera in hand during a one week journey exploring the city and surrounding area. If you want to learn a little more about Taipei and Taiwan through the eyes of a Taiwanese American, do take a look!