The Growth of Taiwanese American Citizens League (TACL): From Seed to Sprout

Author: Frank Chou

Preface

When I left Taiwan in 1966 to study abroad, my mother asked when I would return. Suppressing the feelings of sorrow about our parting, I managed a smile and said it would only be three or four years, never imagining that it would take me twenty-one years to return to my homeland. I thought that when I went to study abroad, I would be like a migratory bird, naturally flying home when the spring came and the flowers blossomed. I had absolutely no intentions of “immigrating” or “taking root” in another country.

Eleven years later, I was serving as the President of the Los Angeles Formosan Club, my daughter Michelle was already two years old, and my friends all had children too. As our children played, the adults naturally would discuss the future of the second generation. Should they also have an organization like the L.A. Formosan Club? The idea was planted in people’s minds. For the same reason, I called for the creation of a “Taiwanese American Association” in the fourth issue of the Los Angeles Formosan Bulletin. I encouraged those interested in serving fellow Taiwanese people to come and collaborate with the Los Angeles Formosan Club, forming a new association of people with similar ideas and goals.

Dropping Seeds

After four years of stillness, then-Vice President of the Southern California Taiwanese Association for Interculture (SCTAI)* Y. C. Hsu convened a meeting of sixteen Taiwanese community members on January 21, 1982 (community members included Mr. Chung, Chia-yu Yang, Mao-ching David Huang, Ko-chung Tseng, Ying-chung Shen, Chan-ao Lai, Mu-i Lo, Chen-hui Tseng, Tien-hao Lin, Hsien-chih Chen, Chao-kuei Hung, Ho Rui Hsu, Pang-mao Lin, Teh-ho Cheng, Jin-Sheng Jian, and Frank Chou). He called the meeting to discuss the feasibility of establishing an association, as he’d visited JACL (Japanese American Citizens League) and collected some relevant information. There was a very long discussion during the meeting about whether we should establish an association or a foundation, but in the end, we decided to create TACL (Taiwanese American Citizens League), which would incorporate more people, and for which we had a more urgent need. Additionally, we could use JACL as our reference, and apply to be a non-profit organization. Chia-yu Yang, Chao-kuei Hung, Shih Chou, Ko-chung Tseng, Jin-Sheng Jian, and Y. C. Hsu were nominated to serve on the preparatory team.

Though we’d originally planned to meet again on March 4^th, Y.C. Hsu sent a letter on March 3^rd saying that since he would be taking over as the President of the SCTAI, he would be too busy to lead preparations for TACL. Instead, he recommended that I take the lead for the preparatory team. I had no idea that this responsibility would come full circle, landing back on my shoulders! I had no choice but to accept it.

Since I had previous experience with helping the SCTAI apply for non-profit status and establishing the Southern California Taiwanese Federal Credit Union (SCTFCU), the position of preparatory team leader wasn’t difficult for me. However, a problem arose in the meeting that the preparatory team members all had different ideas. Some people even disagreed with the decision that we’d made during the first meeting (1/21/81), which was to make the official acronym TACL. There were all sorts of new name suggestions, like American Citizens League from Taiwan (or Formosa); they just didn’t want to use the word “Taiwanese.” It seemed to me that from the start, the team could not form a basic consensus, which would make it difficult to make progress in the future. Like this, our budding flower returned to the freezer to hibernate.

Beginning to Bud

On November 10^th, 1984, the 213^th issue of the Formosa Weekly published an article by my high school classmate, Jer-Shung Lin, titled “Discussing the Importance of Establishing TACL (Taiwanese American Citizens League) – What Japanese People are Able to Do That Taiwanese Can’t” (Penname Hao Lin). The article was filled with encouragement and expectations, but I still felt a little reserved, and didn’t want to be too optimistic.

My long-term plan had always been that TACL would be organized by SCTAI, so that they would complement one another, avoid competition or opposition between the two. The older generation should emphasize the 1.5 generation (born in Taiwan but came to the U.S. to study during their childhood), and the second generation (born in the U.S.). In 1984, when Y.C. Shen became president of SCTAI, I encouraged him to convene a meeting to resurrect the preparatory work for TACL. On December 1^st, he brought 12 Taiwanese community members together to discuss the issue at the Holiday Inn in Chinatown (community members included Frank Chou, Cliff Yang, Ko-chung Tseng, Tom Lee, Catherine Yang, Symeon Woo, Chia-yu Yang, I-ming Hung, Hsi-yuan Wu, Wen-chih Chang, Hung-chuan Lin, and Ho Rui Hsu). During the meeting, I made a chart to introduce how, starting in 1919, JACL evolved to its current state: it has five chapters, with its headquarters in San Francisco. During the discussion, everyone spoke very enthusiastically, unanimously agreeing to establish a new preparatory committee led by me. The five members were Ho Ru Hsu, Wen-chih Chang, Hsi-yuan Wu, Chia-yu Yang, and me.

As the saying goes, you have to “strike the iron while its hot.” I immediately convened a meeting with the five committee members on December 13^th at Ahhee Hsu’s office in Monterey Park. As I was waiting for our host to open the door, I saw Ahhee Hsu and Chia-yu Yang walk over with a man, who they introduced as the newly appointed President of General Bank, Li Pei Wu. Thus, the first preparatory committee meeting had seven attendees. Chia-yu Yang said that he’d be asking Li Pei Wu to take his committee position, while Ahhee Hsu said that he was just listening in. During the meeting, it was decided that the English name would be the pre-established TACL, that American citizens and permanent residents could obtain formal membership, and how we would structure of the Board of Directors. All this information is necessary to register an organization with the State government. Ho Rui Hsu and I were responsible for contacting Lawyer Chung-yuan Liao to start the government registration process. The progress which had halted two years prior was finally starting to move forward again. As the saying goes, “God has his own schedule.” How could one believe otherwise?

On December 17^th, Jer-Shung Lin called me and invited me to Little Tokyo to visit JACL. It was my first time seeing the Japanese Culture Center’s theater and the large buildings next door; they were truly enviable. On the fifth floor, we met the Regional Director, Mr. John J. Saito, who after hearing the intentions of our visit, took us to see where they printed their newspaper, Pacific Citizen, and the busyness of all the staff members. He also gave us some JACL materials, like their articles and bylaws, for us to reference. As we were saying goodbye, he shared a very sincere word of advice: “Organization work isn’t easy. You must be courageous and persevere. Do not be afraid of setbacks.” Proving his point, out of an estimated 700,000 Japanese living in the United States, only 30,000 have joined JACL, accounting for only about 4% of the total population. How could he not sigh?

The second preparatory meeting was held on January 5^th, 1985 at the same place as the first. Li Pei Wu, Hsi-yuan Wu, Chia-yu Yang, Ho Rui Hsu, and I were in attendance. I first reported on our visit to JACL with Jer-Shung Lin, and then I reported on how Ho Rui Hsu and I went to visit Chung-yuan Liao to discuss our organization’s registration. In order to increase participation, I also mailed out 40 letters to enthusiastic Taiwanese community members, inviting them to come participate in the expanded preparatory meeting on January 12^th. During the meeting, we decided that the organization would be registered with the state government under our five names. The organization was registered in Cerritos; permanent membership would be granted to those who gave $500 or more per household, and those who gave $100 per person would be made founding members. Additionally, Hsi-yuan Wu was asked to be responsible for managing the finances during the preparatory period.

One week later, the preparatory meeting was held in Monterey Park at the Belle N Beau Banquet Hall on January 12^th. That day, there were over 40 Taiwanese community members from all different walks of life in attendance. First, I asked Mr. Saito to introduce the situation regarding JACL, and then the 5 preparatory members reported on our progress over the past month. Li Pei Wu asked our fellow community members to consider joining as members, resulting in 13 individuals expressing interest in becoming permanent members, and another 15 who were willing to become founding members. This was extremely comforting! Even some of the community members who rarely attend association events were present at this meeting, which proves that the Citizen’s League has the power to attract people.

The fourth preparatory meeting was held on January 21^st in Alhambra. Mu-i Lo joined us, but Li Pei Wu was absent with a cold. During the meeting, we discussed the potential founding members and reviewed the membership application form and organization introduction. One week later (January 29^th), we met again, and delegated the work among ourselves: Hsi-yuan Wu would continue managing finances, Li Pei Wu would be responsible for member recruitment, Ho Rui Hsu would be responsible for the preparations for the establishment of the general assembly, Frank Chou would manage documents, and Wen-chih Chang would handle general affairs. Li Pei Wu suggested that there needed to be a title to help facilitate the recruitment of members and workers. After discussing, we decided to temporarily establish the post of chairman of the preparatory committee for him to hold.

After talking to Li Pei Wu a number of times, I realized that he was broadly talented, enthusiastic about public service, decisive, and had strong ambitions, so I agreed to let him be the future leader of the organization. Instead, I would manage the meeting minutes and public announcements, and I would focus on our governmental registration and IRS application.

In the five months from February 10^th to July 8^th, the preparatory committee held a total of 13 meetings. I attended all of them, and it would be a lie to say it wasn’t tiring. But I held on and persisted in the spirit of “never giving up, even in the face of failure.” During this period, we expanded the number of members on the preparatory committee, adding Chuang-i Lin, Mao-sheng Yang, San John Huang, Chin-tsung Li, C.B. Chien, Jeffrey Tsai, Cliff Yang, Chung-yuan Liao, and Mu-i Lo. How could we possibly not feel grateful to everyone for contributing their money, effort, and time?

In order to encourage the members of our community to participate and support us more, TACL’s goal was set on striving for and supporting benefits for our community. Additionally, we wanted to nurture our community and encourage both ourselves and future generations to integrate with mainstream American society. Our goals included (1) actively participating in American politics and advance the rights and benefits of Taiwanese American citizens, (2) getting in contact with the associations of other ethnic groups and promoting mutual understanding and cooperation, (3) hosting or co-hosting various events, and encouraging members to fulfill their duties as American citizens, as well as fight for their rights, (4) promoting Taiwanese American culture and our community’s contributions to society within American’s diverse society.

Formal Establishment

When a seed falls to the ground, you hope it will sprout; once TACL’s preparatory work had reached maturation, it was decided that the organization would be formally established on Saturday, July 13^th, 1984 at the Bilmore Hotel in Los Angeles. That night, there were nearly 800 people in attendance, and the event program included speeches by Senator F.H. Murkowski, Chairman of the East Asian and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee, and California Secretary of State, March Fong Eu. Miss U.S.A. 1984, May Shanley (阿梅) also performed in a talent show; her mother is Taiwanese, making her half Taiwanese. The entire event was primarily held in English, supplemented with a few short summaries in Taiwanese. The atmosphere was enthusiastic and warm, and everyone returned home joyfully that evening.

The attendees of the first meeting elected the first Board of Directors via written ballots. The first Board included 15 members: Tsai-hui Wu, Kuang-ming Kao, Wen-chih Chang, Frank Chou, Ho Rui Hsu, San John Huang, Chung-yuan Liao, Chuang-i Lin, Jeffrey Tsai, Li Pei Wu, Mao-sheng Yang, C. B. Chien, Mu-i Lo, and Cliff Yang.

The Taiwanese American Citizen League (TACL) finally sprouted after ten years of nurturing. Its future growth will be completely dependent on the loving care of the Taiwanese American community.

Words of Thanks

From seed, to germination, to the first sprout, without the persistent help and selfless efforts of the Taiwanese community, TACL could have never grown from “nothing” into “something” – unity is strength. The original reason for TACL’s existence was to smooth out the road for future generations, but who could’ve guessed that the students who arrived in the 1960s would also become beneficiaries of the organization, becoming the first generation of “Taiwanese American immigrants.” Doesn’t it seem like fate is up to its own tricks? My goal in writing this article is to leave behind a precious little memory of the past for the first generation of Taiwanese Americans; it’s just something to discuss after a meal.

* In 1978, the Los Angeles Formosan Club officially changed the name to Southern California Taiwanese Association for Interculture (SCTAI).

Written in November 2016.