The First Taiwanese Association Center: Taiwanese Association of Cincinnati
Hard Work and Results
Taiwanese Association of Cincinnati
Cheng Hsien-chang
Today I have the wonderful opportunity to stand here with you all and celebrate the grand opening of the Taiwanese Association of Cincinnati’s Center, which is the result of our community’s long-term investment of effort. As far as I am aware, our Taiwanese Center is the first of its kind in the United States.
Every time you start a business, it first starts with an idea, and later it is put into practice; both steps were necessary for the Center to be established. We have no ways of knowing when the idea of building a Taiwanese Center was first conceptualized. In 1985, when President Lin Rui-yan was in office, he went to look at a house in the University of Cincinnati area, which he wanted to turn into a Taiwanese Center. In the end, however, due to a number of different obstacles, he was unable to complete this project. Later, many community members began to seriously consider the establishment of a Taiwanese Center. Among these people was Kao Hui-yang, who wrote an article to express his thoughts and published it in the Taiwanese Journal, for everyone’s reference.
Dr. Ching Tai Lee was also very interested in establishing a Taiwanese Center. He wasn’t just interested in imagining the Taiwan Center; at the 1988 annual association meeting, he presented his research about the feasibility of a Center-building project. After hearing the results of Ching Tai’s research, as well as then-President Wu Bai-chien’s advocacy for the project, it seemed that the idea of establishing a Taiwanese Center was not as far-out as many initially thought. It could be said that it was this moment that the establishment of the Taiwanese Center took its first step forward, and for this we must thank Ching Tai. Unfortunately, Ching Tai is out on a business trip today, so he couldn’t attend. We ask Mr. Lee’s wife, Hsing-tzu Chen, to convey our thanks to him.
The desire to establish the Taiwanese Center has finally been fulfilled today. One of the major deciding factors of our success was the generous provision of the Center building, courtesy of Dr. S. T. Cheng (Cheng Hsin-chuan) and Miao-kuei Wei. They have given us the building to enjoy, completely free of charge. Hsin-chuan, Miao-kuei, thank you very much!
For this idea to come into existence, there were thousands of things that had to be done, and we also needed the help of many community members. In a second, there will be an opportunity to thank everyone who was involved. I have three thoughts that I would like to share with you all regarding the establishment of the Taiwanese Center, I hope they can be of some encouragement to you.
Firstly, the successful establishment of the Center is a manifestation of our community’s love for our association. Many association members had concerns about the association’s future and had been discussing their thoughts both in public and in private. Gradually, we were able to come to a consensus. If we have a task to complete, as long as we are mentally prepared, we can complete it successfully.
Secondly, the establishment of the Center is a testament to our ability to gather our strengths and work together towards a single goal. It proves that Cincinnati Taiwanese have the ability to cooperate and work together in groups.
Thirdly, establishing the Center today is a great start. I hope that our community will use and love this Center. I hope that it will continue to grow, and that one day we will have an even larger-scale, more perfect Taiwanese Center.
The main object of today’s opening ceremony is our community; we must continue to organize, collect, and enrich our cultural artifacts. I hope that not long in the future, there will opening ceremony that we will be able to invite the American people to attend.
Thank you everyone
Source from Taiwan Tribune Issue 915, 11/29/1990
A Great Beginning
Taiwanese Association of Cincinnati
Hsing-tzu Chen Lee
My husband, Ching Tai Lee, is the founder of the Taiwanese Center Foundation. He is away on a business trip and unable to attend today’s grand opening ceremony, so I am here today to greet all of our fellow association members and guests on his behalf.
Those of us Taiwanese who have settled down here, all have the desire to make this place our home. Of course, deep in my heart, there is a part of me that will always hear the call of my motherland. In order to feel at home, the Taiwanese of Cincinnati created the Taiwanese Association of Cincinnati in 1969. 15 years later, in 1985, there were association members who thought of creating a Taiwanese Center. Ching Tai felt that it was imperative to complete this project, but it was a project that required taking action step-by-step. The first step was to suggest that the Taiwanese association should apply for tax-exempt status, in order to encourage
association members to prepare to donate. In 1988, the application process was finally complete. The second step was to convene a meeting to discuss the feasibility of building a Taiwanese Center. The source of funding was the first problem that needed to overcome. In December of 1989, we convened the Taiwanese Center Foundation preparation committee. After we obtained the endorsement and assistance of our community leaders, and we finally finished drafting the Foundation’s constitution, we officially began fundraising in 1990. The funds we raised were only enough for equipment and basic maintenance costs. Fortunately, thanks to the fact that Cheng Hsin-chuan and his wife were able to temporarily lend this venue to us, we have the rare opportunity of celebrating the birth of the Taiwanese Center tonight.
The Foundation is financially independent, so funds will only be used on projects related to the Taiwanese Center. The is a system of checks and balances for the board of directors and decisions regarding expenditures. The President and one officer from the Taiwanese Association attend Foundation meetings on the behalf of the association. After all, this Center is the result of the monetary contributions and volunteer work of all of our association members!
From now on, we’ll have a place where we can gather together, where we can host the association’s various activities. Here we can collect and save various artifacts and documents related to Taiwan and display the achievements of our local Taiwanese community over the years. This will also be a place where we can reminisce about the past, share our roots with our children and our friends, and to give our future generations a goal worth putting their forces together to work towards. In the end, we were finally able to make a home for them! We did not bring them to this land just to let them get lost. They will forever be proud of the entrepreneurial founders who brought their Taiwanese descendants glory. This noble idea can be used as a reference for other overseas Taiwanese associations; our experience preparing and operating the Taiwanese Center can become the model for the creation of other Taiwanese Centers.
Our Foundation should continue to put in effort. This is only the beginning! Our goal is to purchase a permanent location. Even more, we hope that one day, the Foundation will have enough resources to help out struggling community members, to grants scholarships, and more. This is our dream, a dream that is waiting, waiting for everyone to dedicate themselves to achieving this long-term goal, starting now.
Thank you J.Y. Lin, Lin Rui-yang, Hsieh Chi-peng, Cheng Hsien-chang, Wu Bai-chi, Taitzer Wang, Tsai Chi-hui, Chuang Ming-tsung, Pan Chung-kuang, and all the other countless community members who worked behind-the-scenes so that we could have this great of a beginning.
Source from Taiwan Tribune Issue 915, 11/29/1990
Our Community Members are the Behind-the-Scenes Heroes – A Testimonial of the Establishment of the Cincinnati Taiwanese Center
Mei Kuei Wei
Today, the Taiwanese Association of Cincinnati finally opened its first center. Many people are crediting us for this accomplishment, which makes me extremely nervous, to the point that I have difficulty expressing my emotions. The establishment of the Taiwanese Center is the pride of the Cincinnati Taiwanese community, and it is the result of our community’s collective hard work!
In 1974, when I flew from Taiwan to Cincinnati, through a series of Taiwanese association banquets, I could feel a difference in the way that Taiwanese people, in these moments of satisfaction, breathed with simple honesty. It is this breath that holds together these rich and deep bonds of friendship so tightly. I found this so moving that I realized, if I wanted to enter this circle, I would have to help burden some of the heavy weight on their shoulders, despite being a woman of little learning.
The first few years, I was unable to participate in much of the work because my children were still young. But I saw the elder association members who worked around the clock just to make the “Taiwanese Association” signage. I also saw members who, regardless of gender, all brought their children with them and spared no effort, each of them suddenly becoming skilled in all 18 of the martial arts weapons. For example, when the annual association meeting was help, there were ring-shaped snacks and even 18 different famous Taiwanese dishes. These culinary masterpieces were created by the women of the association, so it wasn’t necessary to cater from a restaurant. The annual International Folk Festival is the biggest gathering of Taiwanese. The leaders begin planning for it six months before the event, focusing especially on the culture booth. They brainstorm ideas, the production process, the manpower and knowledge that will be needed, and other details that an outsider could never even fathom. Moreover, during the three days of the event, the men who typically stay far from the kitchen put on aprons and chef’s hats to act as cooks and kitchen managers. The women were shouting as loud as they could, “Egg Roll! Best in Town!” Now, I too help with sales every year by calling out in the same way; I really enjoy it. The refined and tasteful men and women of the association dress up and stand in front of the booth to advertise our goods. Even some leading professors and doctors of the science and technology industries dress up as fortune-tellers and help direct people around the venue.
By dividing up the work and cooperating like this, the association slowly saved up some money over the years. Some association members suggested that we purchase a building for a Taiwanese Center, so that we would have roots here, so we could have a place to hold gatherings and preserve our culture. The conclusion, after many discussions, was we felt that building a center was a must. However, being able to purchase a property was still beyond the association’s capabilities. If we took out a loan, the burden of a monthly mortgage added on top of our maintenance costs would be far too difficult for our association, which has no fixed income, to handle.
Over these past few years, after being inside this big bucket of dye, the desire to help make calculations and build budgets for the Taiwanese association had already seeped in, and I was already psychologically prepared. If we could not fulfill our dreams due to economic reasons, it would have been too much of a pity. For this reason, my husband and I felt that it was our obligation to donate a location for the Taiwanese Center. In the process of establishing the center, there were many association members who put in a lot of effort into creating the rules and regulations of the Center, into raising funds (for maintenance fees), and into planning how the Center would be managed and used. These were all long-term projects which took far more effort than we contributed. Therefore, these hard-working association members are the invisible, but real heroes working behind-the-scenes. If you give us all the credit for this accomplishment, how can we not blush with shame?
Source from Taiwan Tribune Issue 914, 11/22/1990
Translated from 293. 第一個台灣同鄉會的會館:辛城台灣同鄉會 / 鄭憲章、李陳幸子、魏妙圭 /06/2017
Source from Taiwan Tribune 台灣公論報 Issue 912, 11/15/1990
Taiwanese Association of Cincinnati front door 2017 (photographed by Mei Kuei Wei, 08/2017)
Grand opening group photo, Cincinnati, OH/1995 (provided by Cheng Hsien-chang, 10/2017)
Taiwanese Association of Cincinnati Taiwan Center, Cincinnati, OH/1995 (provided by Cheng Hsien-chang, 10/2017)
