At the time, my career at an LA-based Japanese company felt like it was plateauing, so I decided to do something interesting and go back to Taiwan to help. He said they needed volunteers to canvas the district, including young people, to reach out to different demographic groups. Freddy talked about running for a seat in the legislature with the New Power Party (NPP). Virtually all of the attendees were born in Taiwan, but had immigrated to the United States, and were very supportive of the democracy movement. Later that year, Freddy spoke at the Taiwanese American Conferences – West Coast (美國西部台灣人夏令會), which I attended with a group of friends.
I really liked their lyric, “Let me stand up like a Taiwanese!” from the song “Supreme Pain for the Tyrant” so I performed that song as a contestant for the Taiwanese American Heritage Festival. It turns out Freddy Lim was the lead vocalist of the group. I listen to metal, and Chthonic is the only band from Taiwan that people really know about. I was motivated to get involved with the FAPA Young Professionals Group, to get trained and better understand Taiwan’s situation. This had consequences during the SARS epidemic, when we couldn’t get information fast enough, as China claimed it represented Taiwan at the UN. During the pageant, the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) sent a representative, who shared that Taiwan was not allowed to be part of the World Health Organization (WHO). I was raised as the latter, because our family is deep Blue. In that process, I learned how being Taiwanese American is different from being generally Chinese American. K: Why did you move to Taiwan full-time in 2015?ĭ: While living in Los Angeles, I was selected as Miss Taiwanese American for 2014-2015. I still volunteer with that camp and attend classes sometimes. That experience also let me make local Taiwanese friends, so when I moved here, I could plug into a social network. It was very intense, helping me connect with what it means to be ‘secularly spiritual’ in Taiwan. We practiced qigong and meditated every day, all in Mandarin. I attended a summer meditation camp hosted by a Chinese-language school. What are those?ĭ: I did not do Love Boat-my younger sister and cousin did that, but not me. In Netflix docu-series Midnight Asia, drag king performer Darice Chang explains that in Taipei, “you can really be yourself.” The episode features diverse facets of the city’s nightlife. In the fall of 2015, I moved here permanently. I loved it and kept looking for opportunities to return.
After graduation, I originally intended to spend a gap year in Japan-but that was the year of the earthquake so I came to Taiwan instead. My parents are from Taiwan, so I had visited a few times while growing up, and also attended youth camps during high school and college. I attended university there, and then worked in Los Angeles. Kevin: Tell me about where you’re from and what brought you to Taiwan?ĭarice: I’m originally from Minnesota, where I was born and raised. (Find them at and their drag king persona at ). Chang, who identifies as “non-binary/post-gender” and uses the pronouns “they/them,” is also a contributor to Ketagalan Media. In this interview, the Taipei resident shares with us performing in the small but growing community of drag kings, and how they bring Netflix audiences along for the ride in nocturnal Taipei. Taiwanese American Darice Dan-huei Chang ( 張芯甯 or Dan Dan 丹丹 ), is one of the episode’s guides, which also includes a mixologist, a DJ, and an oyster omelet ( 蚵仔煎 ) vendor. Episode 5 stars the incandescent city of “Taipei, Taiwan” after dark. The latest entry: an episode of “Midnight Asia,” a six-part docuseries by InFocus Asia celebrating the diverse nightlife found in Asian metropolises, such as Seoul, Mumbai, Tokyo, Manila and Bangkok. This interview was originally published by Ketagalan Media and is reprinted here with permission.įrom buzzy soap operas and historical dramas to award-winning films, programming centered on Taiwan continues to proliferate across Netflix.