Echopedia

Taiwanese American Historical Society (TAHS)

15 min read

Taiwanese American Historical Society (TAHS)

The Taiwanese American Historical Society (TAHS) is an organization dedicated to preserving and promoting Taiwanese American history, culture, and heritage.

Identity Snapshot

  • Type: Historical and cultural organization
  • Geography: United States (Taiwanese American diaspora)
  • Mission: Historical preservation, cultural education, community building
  • Registered office: 1910 Kanola Road, La Habra Heights, CA 90631 (owner-provided 2026-10-26; relocated from San Gabriel)

Mission and Activities

TAHS works to:

  1. Document and preserve Taiwanese American historical records
  2. Build community connections across generations
  3. Support research and education about Taiwanese American experiences
  4. Maintain digital archives and knowledge bases (Echopedia)

Leadership (2025 organization chart)

Source: TAHS 2025 org chart (台美人歷史協會組織表), Tax ID 46-4005384, plus owner handwriting on chart (2026-08-03). Roles and public names only — no private phones or LINE IDs.

RolePerson
會務指導會主席 — 會務[[people/alan-thian|
會務指導會主席 — 會計[[people/paul-chen|
創會會長 (Founding president)[[people/yang-jia-you|
顧問 (Advisor)[[people/gene-tsai|
會長 (President)[[people/leonard-hsu-jr|
副會長 (Vice President)[[people/roger-tsai|
特別助理 (Special assistant)[[people/john-yang|
財務 (Finance)[[people/phoenix-ko|
秘書長 (Secretary-general)[[people/freeman-huang|
資訊 (Information / IT)[[people/tzetsai-eric-shen|
總務 (General affairs)[[people/sunu-tsai|

Notes:

  • LINE L1 (not chart officer): |Kevin Lee (ZH pending); |Willy Pan (LINE: Will).
  • Chart title uses 會務指導會主席 (not separate 財務指導主席). 陳柏宇 is labeled 會計 under that block.
  • 財務 on chart is 柯貝昀 — not Charles Yang.
  • Charles Yang is 創會會長 on this chart (also historically founding president). |Franklin Ping Cheng (程炳成) served as president ~2014–2017.

Echo System / digital leadership (owner-appointed)

Not on the 2025 paper org chart. Owner-confirmed for public leadership listing (Telegram Echopedia, 2026-08-20).

RolePerson
Chief Technology Officer (CTO)[[people/david-lee|
Director of Echo System Engineering[[people/ashton-hsu|

Member records cross-linked in the vault (deepen pass 2026-09-10)

History & public activity (in-vault records)

Founding (2013–2014)

  • 2013-12 — Epoch Times (2014-12-15, 柔斯密市報導) at the 年度報告暨會長交接: 「臺美人歷史協會於2013年12月正式成立」，第一批成員含楊嘉猷、林水泉、陳榮儒；楊嘉猷交棒鄭炳全。Retrospective (written the same month as 林衡哲’s 2014-12-02 「推動成立」 letter) — strengthens but does not resolve the held 2013/2014 dating; succession also held (鄭炳全 memoir vs chart note 程炳成 ~2014–2017). Epoch Times

  • 2024-06 — IRS granted 501(c)(3) exemption, EIN 46-4005384, NTEE A80 (Historical Societies), filings under “Taiwanese American Historical Society Inc”, San Gabriel CA. In book-facing text use “501(c)(3)” only — no EIN prose, no city, no tax code.

  • 2026-10 — Organization address relocated from San Gabriel to 1910 Kanola Road, La Habra Heights, CA 90631 (owner-provided, president). IRS filing address on record still shows San Gabriel until updated with the IRS.

  • 2013 — founding member |鄭炳全 Zheng Bingquan’s own account (旅美五十周年 memoir): 「2013年夏由楊嘉猷出面邀各方賢逹共籌台美人歷史協會 Taiwanese American Historical Society，年底正式成立，他當首任會長，我當副會長，理事廿名，顧問七名，申請非營利組織，次年我接會長」 — i.e. 楊嘉猷 first president, 鄭炳全 vice president, ~20 directors / 7 advisors; 鄭 succeeded as president the following year, with the logo designed by |黃根深 and the TAhistory.org website by |黃樹人. He records interviewing 三四十位鄉親先賢 over four-five years, hosting 十多場追思會、演講會和展覽會, and publishing 一輯《台美人菁英錄》. |taiwanjustice.net, 2025-02-09 (same memoir text also archived as |2024-03-02 republication). (HOLD: founding date — 鄭炳全’s memoir says organized summer 2013 / 「年底正式成立」, while 林衡哲’s 2014-12-02 shareholder letter describes 楊嘉猷 as then 「推動成立」 the society in Southern California. Both kept; not merged.)

  • 鄭炳全’s account also states he served one 3-year presidential term and then asked founding president 楊嘉猷 to resume, 「續任至今」 — consistent with the 2025 chart listing 楊嘉猷 as 創會會長.

  • 2016-02-24 — the society is listed in the TAH encyclopedia as 「台美人歷史協會 / Taiwanese American History Society」 with its original site http://www.tahistory.org/ : [[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/3-taiwanese-american-history-society||TAH #3]].

  • 2014-12-02 — in a letter to 台灣出版社 shareholders, 林衡哲 records that shareholder 楊嘉猷 was then in Southern California 「推動成立海外台美人歷史協會」, with the mission of having the generation of overseas Taiwanese Americans record the history they have walked — 「給當代台美人歷史做一個交代，並留給下一代台美人做參考」 (|林衡哲, 股東同仁公開信, 2014-12-02). This places the founding push of TAHS (創會會長 |Charles Yang 楊嘉猷) in late 2014, consistent with the society’s first encyclopedia listing in 2016.

  • 2015-12 — the 「台美人的腳跡」/ Taiwanese American Journey to the West autobiography-collection project is recorded in the vault at [[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/pub-928||TAH #928]] — context for TAHS’s memoir-documentation mission.

  • 2016-02-10 — TAHS listed among the associations joining 大洛杉磯台灣會館’s relief/fundraising drive for the 南臺灣大地震 (Tainan earthquake): 「…全美台灣人權協會，美國台南同鄉會，台美人歷史協會，南加州台灣客家會，大洛杉磯台灣讀書會 (LA Taiwan Buzz)…」 |taiwanjustice.net, 2016-02-10.

  • 2018-02-23~25 — TAHS 主辦 「台灣司法改革的先鋒—王育霖檢察官」特展 at 大洛杉磯台灣會館 |taiwanjustice.net, 2018-02-24. (HOLD: 王育霖 has no existing person page in the vault; no slug invented.)

  • 2024 — TAHS listed as a co-organizing 台美社團 of the 2024 大洛杉磯 228事件追思紀念會暨聯合社團系列活動 |taiwanjustice.net, 2025-03-28.

  • 2021-05-13 — TAHS (台美人歷史協會) is listed as a 共同發起單位 of the 2021年南加州僑界支持台灣參與世界衛生大會(WHA)聯合聲明, announced at a press conference at 洛杉磯華僑文教服務中心; TAHS co-initiated alongside 大洛杉磯台灣會館, NATMA chapters, FAPA chapters, 台美公民協會 and ~40 SoCal groups (|TJJ, WHA 聯合聲明, recorded 2021-06-16).

  • 2023-03-25 — TAHS 舉辦「如何寫回憶錄(自傳)座談會」 at 大洛杉磯台灣會館第五教室; 講員: 國策顧問、前國科會副主委 |謝清志（回憶錄《生命的震動》）, 顧問 |蔡錦榮 Gene Tsai（自傳《我的奮鬥人生及美國夢》）, and 會長 |楊嘉猷 Charles Yang（《咱的故鄉咱的故事》）— report archived at |taiwanjustice.net, 2023-06-01.

  • 2025-09-03 — TAHS held the inauguration of new president |Leonard Hsu Jr. (許景鴻) at the 台美人長輩會 office, followed by a board meeting on bylaw revision (president term set to one 3-year term, officer terms synced), finances, and work plan. Founding president |Charles Yang 楊嘉猷 framed the handover as 「世代傳承」, with the society turning to collect/interview/publish 台美人 second- and third-generation figures; TAHS had by then published two 「台美人菁英錄」 volumes. Attendees included 楊嘉猷, 許景鴻, 蔡漢成, 劉玲華, 李意盛, 楊錦忠, 沈梓在, 蔡淑女, 黃樹人. Hsu said that, budget permitting, TAHS would consider staffing Wikipedia entries for outstanding Taiwanese Americans (|taiwanjustice.net, 2025-11-07). (The article dates the event 九月三日星期三; Sept 3, 2025 was a Wednesday — date taken as recorded.)

  • 2025-07-05 — TAHS hosted a public-interest lecture, 《打造健康安全防護罩──身心保健與氣功養生》, by disaster-prevention expert / 交通大學環工博士 劉明哲, at 2:00 pm (|taiwanjustice.net, 2025-07-13). (HOLD: 劉明哲 has no existing person page in the vault; no slug invented.)

  • 2025-02-22 / 2026-02-27 — TAHS appears as a co-organizer (協辦單位) of the 大洛杉磯台灣會館 228 memorial series: 2025 「228追思紀念大會」 with 24 台美社團, attended by 會長 |楊嘉猷 and many elders (|2025-03-20); 2026 二二八紀念會轉型正義研討會 with TAHS listed among co-organizers alongside 南加州台灣人長輩會, 美國台灣文化協會, FAPA-洛杉磯, NATMA-南加州 and others (|2026-02-09).

  • 2017 — TAHS community site-visit series recorded in taiwanjustice.net category archives: 「蔡開倫(Kai Tsai)先生的百香果王國參觀記」 (2017-09-13) and 「Gina Lai 創造的世外桃源——參訪 Escondido 瑜珈禪園」 (2017-05-05) (|taiwanjustice.net, 2017-11-09). (HOLD: 蔡開倫 / Gina Lai have no existing person pages; no slugs invented.)

From the record

  • 2025-09-03 (reported) — 許景鴻 (Leonard Hsu) 會長就職典禮 held at the 台美人長輩會辦公室, followed by a board meeting; founding president 楊嘉猷 presided and framed the handover as 世代傳承, pledging a focus on collecting, interviewing and publishing 二代/三代 台美人傑出人物紀事 (the society’s two 台美人菁英錄 volumes had centered on the first generation); board adopted a 3-year presidential term with officers’ terms synchronized, and took up bylaw amendments, finances and work plans; attendees incl. 蔡漢成、劉玲華、李意盛、楊錦忠、沈梓在、蔡淑女、黃樹人; president Hsu said the society would consider staffing Wikipedia entries for outstanding Taiwanese Americans if funding permits — 美洲台灣日報

Compliance — 501(c)(3) activities & reporting (audited 2026-10-26)

Compiled from IRS/FTB/CA-AG primary sources; cross-checked with a Grok adversarial pass and leginfo spot-checks of the two load-bearing citations (Gov. Code 12583; raffle 90% rule). Statuses below are as of this date; items marked unverified still need a live check.

Designation facts

  • IRS 501(c)(3) determination 2024-06; EIN 46-4005384; NTEE A80 (Historical Societies); BMF classification 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) (publicly supported, not a school code) (unverified — confirm on the determination letter). Calendar-year filer.

What the designation requires (activities side)

  • No fundraising requirement. The IRS imposes an operate test (primarily exempt purposes), a bar on private inurement, no more than incidental private benefit, an absolute bar on political campaign intervention, and a limit on lobbying (501(h) election if ever needed).
  • A year of zero fundraising spent building the free public Echopedia archive is not an operate-test risk — a free public historical archive reads as educational/charitable (Treas. Reg. 1.501(c)(3)-1(c),(d)); NTEE is a coding label, not a condition.
  • The real risk is public-charity status, not the operate test. As a 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) org, TAHS is treated as publicly supported for its first five tax years (2024–2028) only if it can reasonably be expected to meet the one-third public-support test (Treas. Reg. 1.170A-9(f)). Standing zero fundraising past ~2029 risks reclassification to private foundation → 990-PF (not 990-N) and Form 199; filing the postcard when 990-PF is owed does not stop the 3-year revocation clock. A single founder gift counts only up to 2% of total support.
  • Mitigations: board minutes adopting Echopedia as the exempt program and recording it as public (Corp. Code 6320 books duty too); receipts for donated cash/property (counts toward both the $50k threshold and the support test); do not receipt or count volunteer time (Treas. Reg. 1.170A-1(g)).

Three independent filing clocks (each can kill something on its own)

  1. IRS Form 990-N — due 15th day of 5th month after FY end (May 15); no late penalty, no extension; 3 consecutive misses = automatic revocation effective the 3rd year’s due date (IRC 6033(j)). Filed FY2024 and FY2025 (verified via ProPublica/IRS data). Next: FY2026, due 2027-05-15.
  2. FTB Form 199N (CA e-postcard) — only after FTB grants 23701d exemption (FTB 3500A + federal letter; acceptance is not automatic); 3 consecutive misses revoke the CA exemption (FTB Pub. 1068). Until FTB grants it, the corp owes Form 100 + minimum franchise tax. unverified — confirm FTB status and 199N history.
  3. CA AG Registry (RRF-1 + CT-TR-1) — annual renewal due 4 months 15 days after FY end (May 15), required even at $0 revenue; fee $25 under $50k total revenue; do not send the 990-N itself. Delinquency can cost the FTB exemption and bars solicitation (11 CCR 312). unverified — confirm registration/good standing (public search tool was down 2026-10-26 during the Aug-2026 Online Filing Service migration).
  • Escalation thresholds: 990-N only if receipts are normally ≤$50k (3-yr average; $75k in year 1); above that file 990-EZ (allowed under $200k current-year receipts and under $500k assets); at/above either cap → full Form 990.
  • The Registry’s blanket renewal relief for filings due 2025-01-07 → 2026-08-31 has closed; the standing rule applies.

CA Registry registration — the assumption that was wrong

  • Initial registration (CT-1, $50) is due within 30 days of first receiving property — any charitable asset incl. noncash/any contribution of value (Gov. Code 12585); not triggered by mere existence.
  • There is no small-charity registration exemption (no <$50k / <50-donor carve-out — small size only cuts the fee and substitutes CT-TR-1).
  • The registration exemptions live in Gov. Code 12583 (not 12581(e)): government, religious corporation sole / religious-purpose orgs, cemetery corporations, political committees, and orgs organized and operated primarily as a religious organization, educational institution, hospital, or licensed HCP. “Educational institution” is narrowed by 11 CCR 300.1 (formal instruction, faculty, curriculum, enrolled student body) — a historical society + wiki fails it, and the IRS/FTB “educational” label does not control. The Registry decides exemption on written request; a charity cannot self-declare.

If a raffle is ever used (Penal Code 320.5)

  • Register with the DOJ Nonprofit Raffle Program (CT-NRP-1) and receive the confirmation letter before selling tickets (AG recommends 60 days ahead); annual aggregate report CT-NRP-2 due Feb 1 for the prior year.
  • ≥90% of GROSS ticket receipts (not net) per draw must go directly to charitable purposes in CA (Const. art. IV §19(f); Pen. Code 320.5) — only 10% of gross may cover raffle costs.
  • Also required: FTB 23701d exemption (federal letter alone is not enough) and ≥1 year qualified to do business in CA; no internet ticket sales; 50/50 raffles illegal outside the narrow 320.6 sports program; delinquent Registry status → raffle registration denied.

Other standing duties

  • Secretary of State Statement of Information (Form SI-100) biennially — failure suspends the corporation (Corp. Code 2204/2205). unverified — check bizfile.
  • Public inspection (IRC 6104(d)): determination letter + Form 1023 on request; 3 years of returns.
  • Donor paper once gifts exist: contemporaneous acknowledgment ≥$250 (IRC 170(f)(8)), cash-gift records (170(f)(17)), quid-pro-quo disclosure >$75 (IRC 6115).
  • Address change: IRS CP120A-free standing requires updating the IRS filing address after the 2026-10 relocation to La Habra Heights. unverified.
  • Pre-2024 history: BMF shows a stray 2013 filing and the 2024-06 ruling; if the corporation existed long before applying, CA minimum tax may have accrued for nonexempt years (IRC 508 makes exemption run from application, not formation). unverified — confirm formation date on bizfile.

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