Echopedia

Franklin Ping Cheng (程炳成)

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Franklin Ping Cheng (程炳成)

Franklin Ping Cheng served as President of the Taiwanese American Historical Society (TAHS) from 2014 to 2017, succeeding founding president Charles Yang (楊嘉猷) who stepped aside due to health reasons. He previously served one year as vice-president before his election.

Identity Snapshot

  • English: Franklin Ping Cheng
  • Chinese: 程炳成
  • Role: President, Taiwanese American Historical Society (2014–2017)
  • Organizations: |Taiwanese American Historical Society (TAHS)
  • Era: 2014–2017 (TAHS presidency); 2017 publication year

Overview

Franklin Ping Cheng assumed the TAHS presidency in 2014 after serving one year as the Society’s vice-president. The term was originally intended to be three years. He took on the role at a pivotal moment: founding president Charles Yang (楊嘉猷) had stepped aside due to physical health conditions, including two major surgeries, and recovered within a year — but the Society needed steady leadership in the interim.

Under his presidency, the Society emphasized several key initiatives:

  • Website development: Strengthened the Society’s online presence at www.TAhistory.org
  • Senior member interviews: Prioritized recording oral histories from senior community members before memory loss could erase their stories
  • Lectures and forums: Organized community educational programming
  • Video outreach: Published content on YouTube and the Society’s website
  • 2017 yearbook: Supported founding president Yang’s vision to publish a special yearbook introducing community profiles — the 台美菁英錄 (Taiwanese American Elite Record) — which introduced four prominent TA entrepreneurs and outstanding second-generation leaders — among them |Sam Chang, |Katherine Huang, |Lisa Su and |Shawna Yang Ryan

In his November 2017 會長謝詞 (President’s Gratitude) in the yearbook, Franklin expressed hope that future publications could include many more community members, and invited recommendations for future profile subjects. He also noted his satisfaction that Yang was well enough to lead the Society again the following year to complete his term.

The 2017 yearbook was made possible with special sponsorship from TECO (僑委會 — Overseas Community Development Foundation), acknowledged in the publication.

Network

Pages that link to 程炳成 (franklin-ping-cheng):

People (18)

  1. alan-thian
  2. anne-shih
  3. bob-j-wu
  4. ho-chie-tsai
  5. jack-j-chen
  6. john-chiang
  7. katherine-huang
  8. liao-shu-zong
  9. lisa-su
  10. martha-vandriel
  11. sam-chang
  12. shawna-yang-ryan
  13. su-chun-huai
  14. tiffany-huang
  15. wang-gui-rong
  16. wang-neng-xiang
  17. yang-jia-you
  18. yang-xin

Organizations (1)

  1. taiwanese-american-historical-society

Sources (1)

  1. 2017-tahs-publication

Source Notes and Confidence

  • Content priority A: 2017 TAHS Publication 會長謝詞 (President’s Gratitude) — Franklin Ping Cheng’s own account, Part 2, L2594–2618
  • Content priority A: TAHS organizational leadership records
  • Hub: |2017 TAHS Publication
  • Note: Franklin’s profile is brief in the source — primarily the 會長謝詞 — rather than a long-form biographical interview like other 菁英錄 subjects. His significance derives from his institutional role as TAHS president during a formative period.

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