Taiwanese American Association of the Capital District (紐約州首府區台灣同鄉會)
Identity Snapshot
- English: Taiwanese American Association of the Capital District
- Also seen: the directory form drops “the” and adds New York. The 1984 name is the one the founding history says is still in use. 1970–71 forms were Formosan Fellowship and Formosan Club.
- Chinese: 紐約州首府區台灣同鄉會
- Era: Contemporary
- Geography: Taiwanese American community
- Core roles: Community organization (TAH directory)
The Taiwanese American Association of Capital District, New York (TAA-CDNY; 紐約州首府區台灣同鄉會) is a chapter of the Taiwanese Association of America (TAA), the national umbrella organization of Taiwanese American community associations. The chapter serves the Capital District region of New York State, including Albany, Troy, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Colonie, Latham, Malta, Clifton Park, and Saratoga Springs.
History (from community record)
Absorbed from Chungchin Chen’s founding history, 311. 紐約首府區台灣同鄉會及台美文化促進會簡介 (紐約首府區台灣同鄉會及台美文化促進會簡介, English: A Brief History of TAA-CDNY and TACS):
- 1970-12-25 — Founded at a Christmas dinner of over ten Taiwanese families, initially as the “New York State Capital District Formosan Fellowship” (紐約州首府區台灣人聯誼會). First president: William H. (錫洋) Lee, settled in Capital District in 1967 and working at the state water bureau; vice-president Chia-min (价民) Wang.
- 1971 — 20 family members and 5 individuals; about one-third worked for New York State government, one-third for General Electric, plus three medical interns and six Ph.D. students at R.P.I. Renamed “New York State Capital District Formosan Club” and registered with New York State. Annual dues were $0.50/person (total income $58.00, year-end balance $27.66).
- 1974 / 1984 — Two failed attempts to gain 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.
- 1984 — English name changed to “Taiwanese American Association of the Capital District,” still in use.
- Membership peak — 53 households (1974), 64 (1979), 69 (1982), peak of 78 households (HOLD: conflict, Chinese text says 1995, English translation says 1998), then stable around ~70 households.
- 1980s — Activities diversified: seminars, film screenings, concerts, art exhibitions, ping-pong and tennis tournaments, youth camping, skiing, a choir, a Taiwanese Bible study (led by pastor Ching-fang Chen), and a softball team. From 1980 the East Coast Taiwanese softball tournaments were mostly hosted in Albany at SUNY Albany; from 1984 the championship was the “Ming Min Peng Cup” (彭明敏杯), honoring his contribution to the Taiwan independence and democracy movement, presented in person by Peng in July 1986.
- 1983-08 — Under president Chungchin Chen, the association co-hosted a welcome dinner at the R.P.I. student center for Taiwan Provincial Chairman Lee Teng-hui (snubbed by Gov. Mario Cuomo), where Lee gave his first U.S. speech, “An Army of a Hundred Thousand Agricultural Workers,” to 200+ attendees.
- 1986 — FAPA Albany chapter founded with 10+ core member families from the community.
- 1999 — Began participating in the Capital District Festival of Nations under the name “Taiwan” (2015 Festival of Nations record), promoting Taiwanese culture and cuisine and entering Taiwanese American candidates in the “Miss Festival” pageant.
- 2002–2004 — Organizational fatigue; founding members William H. Lee and Chungchin Chen returned as presidents (2003, 2004).
- 2003–2004 — Sister organization Taiwanese American Cultural Society of the Capital District (TACS; 紐約州首府區台美文化促進會) chartered as the tax-exempt vehicle (TACS directory record); first general assembly 2004-08-04, officers: William C. Lee (president), Chungchin Chen (vice-president), Wei-shih Yang (secretary), Li-ling Chen (finance). It took over hosting Taiwanese American Heritage Week at The Egg, the New York State performing arts venue with a 1,000-seat stage.
- 2006 — General assembly vote approved joint governance of the two organizations under one board (HOLD: conflict, Chinese text says August 2006, English translation says August 2008); Wen-liang (文良) Yang became first joint board chair and president of both.
- 2013-09 — A proposal to fully merge the two organizations failed at a special general assembly; the seven-year joint board ceased operations.
Sources
- TAH organization directory
- Chungchin Chen, 311. 紐約首府區台灣同鄉會及台美文化促進會簡介 (2017/09), TAH “Our Journeys” corpus